In this world of bland, unchallenging chart pop, where a small pool of blankly pretty boys and girls mumble a few words over each others’ tracks to the same sanitised, autotuned backing, we need pop stars like Rae Morris. Pop stars who sing lyrics like “I don’t want […]
The triumphant, emotional finale to my trilogy of Manics gigs in London in December 1996.
A journey through the world of ABBA guided by the dulcet tones of Jarvis Cocker. What better way to spend a Saturday morning could there possibly be?
My second ever Manics gig, in which I discovered the true nature of Home, and that Moshpits And Me Don’t Mix.
From now, instead of a weekly roundup of New Killer Tunes, I will feature longer musings on new and fab tunes as and when they spring into view. To start off, this wonderful, resoundingly tuneful ode to the true meaning of life, which is of course: pop music. […]
21 years old, in a new country, and here was my favourite band in the world, three nights in a row. Three nights which decided the course of the next 21 years of my life.
Some waffle about new music. Brought to you by the letter ‘P’ rollerskating through the 1980s with Pale Waves, Paramore, Paul Draper, Poliça and the (Manic Street) Preachers.
There is a kind of narrative that the journey of a music fan starts with generic chart pop and gradually develops towards Proper Music like rock and indie. There are a lot of problems with the narrative, in particular its inherent sexism – it’s no coincidence that Proper […]
A bunch of really quite good songs hitting the “airwaves” at the moment. This week: Sunmi, Let’s Eat Grandma, Gaz Coombes, Chvrches, and Rita Ora & Liam Payne.
The song that made me a Manics fan, in October 1993: