Alternative culture in previous decades was fuelled by printed fanzines. Making one required effort. Websites and music blogs don’t carry that same feeling of uniqueness. Why would they? You’re only ever one click away from another site. But just as it’s easier to ignore an email than a handwritten letter, printed zines can still serve a […]More »
On more than one occasion I found myself plugging the merits of sound recording engineer Robin Sutherland as Dundee’s answer to Jack Endino. The reference was more about Robin extracting amazing sounds from tiny budgets as opposed to any technical comparison of approaches. For example, he recorded the Bronto Skylift 7″ released on Pet Piranha […]More »
We’ve laughed at Metallica’s ‘Some Kind of Monster’. We’ve lost ourselves with the help of Mogwai in ‘Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait’. Now admittedly, the Zidane piece wasn’t a music documentary but it was a fascinating piece of art. These journeys were more or less what we expected. ‘Anyone Can Play Guitar’, by Jon Spira, […]More »
Let’s play Man Without Machines bingo. Dundee! Debut Album! 80′s influenced synth pop! That’s enough to put some people off their soggy cornflakes. But hold your horses. “We’re ignoring UK’s best music, says Steve Lamacq” – and you know what? He’s right. So if you can put aside your preconceptions for a minute, there’s a ridiculously GREAT […]More »
There is no petpiranha podcast. As much as I enjoy listening to podcasts generally, right now I’d rather help out on one than take the lead. Future Library podcast is the creation of Alex Botten. The arrival of Episode 7 reaches us after an extended break. In this episode Alex and his wife Kat have […]More »
If the thought of writing creates a barrier then you have to ask yourself why. Why am I finding this so difficult? Upon reflection, writing a post about why there aren’t enough video game concept albums was probably a bit of a stretch. I blame Robert Florence. And Lollipop Chainsaw. And the 80s.More »
Gig calendars scattered across login screens and dog-eared post-it notes. There’s a packet of brand new highlighter pens around here somewhere but inevitably the biro always wins. Staying on top of which gigs to go to has become a ‘buy ticket immediately, then forget about it until a few days before‘ affair. If the universe is […]More »
Ears still a bit sensitive after the pummelling from two gigs in one night in Glasgow. Kvelertak at Stereo and then United Fruit at Bar Bloc. Sitting here looking at a blank screen wondering how on earth to return to music criticism and wordsmithery.More »
