Been really enjoying Dom Whiting’s mobile Drum and Bass sets recently, they’ve been catching fire on YT and are a rare treat. Dom is clearly riding a rising wave and its interesting that Drum and Bass is part of the equation. ‘This one’s a banger’ In part it helps to see where Drum and Bass […]
There were times growing up, when I was quite hooked to the tv, specifically the children’s programmes that would be after school. At other times I was very much an outdoor child, particularly when we moved to Pontarddulais when I was 8, a village-becoming-town (much more so now) situated in a valley to the north […]
Why did the series do so well…? It was strange. This was a question talk show host Larry King once asked the actor David Carradine – star of the series Kung Fu, consisting of three seasons broadcast between 1972 and 1975, it had a pronounced impact and was an international success. The story of Kwai […]
An untimely river, ‘Near Wild Heaven’ and Synecdoche New York (2008) Part 1 For a number of years, I hadn’t listened to R.E.M. much if at all. I came across Stipe’s performance a few years ago on late night American TV in remembrance of David Bowie, a solo sung version (above) of ‘The Man Who […]
This sketch from US Comedian Dave Chappelle’s show – which ran from 2003 to 2006 on Comedy Central is a gem. Its a very simple idea, a switch of cultural context and image in the portrayal of the US justice system’s different approach to white collar (white) criminals and drugs related, black criminals. Amazing in […]
Nature, traps and escape in songs from R.E.M.’s ‘Green’ album (1988) Like many people 1991 was when I first heard R.E.M. spearheaded into my consciousness via breakthrough single ‘Losing My Religion’, a song that blasted the band into the mainstream. While there had been early TV appearances, they were part of an alternative rock scene […]
Gruff Rhys, former front man with Super Furry animals has a new solo album coming tomorrow! (21st May) ‘Seeking New Gods’ and there’s a really lovely tune from that at the end of this piece. I’ve followed Gruff’s work in and out, from the wonderful ‘American Interior‘ from 2014 the lead song of which certainly […]
While not having much of a history of watching videos of this kind, I have recently seen some very interesting (and very different) recordings of ‘timelapse builds’ in the wild or outdoors, which lead out to a couple of interview videos where people are living with permaculture (in one instance) in a cob built house […]
A little while back this section of the Guardian featuring Sleaford Mods‘ Jason Williamson’s Cultural highlights caught my attention, especially his praise for the 2017 album ‘Party’ by singer songwriter Aldous Harding (Hannah Sian Topp of New Zealand). It led to seeing a couple of Harding’s videos and the fascinating way that dance is used […]
I’ve touched before on the use of electronic music in film soundtrack, something which at its best generates a sense of possibility for feeling and experiencing that takes the mergent synthesis (moving images and sound) to a different kind of place. Of course this can be said for all the best productions in this area […]
By way of Jay Griffiths, Wes Anderson, Rosie Swale Pope I’ve been working on an album of songs under the name Solar Violet for a number of years and the sound element has been finished for a good while now. While the album has been mastered by the peerless James Dunn of Cafe Oto, there […]
Following the last post, John Brown (Bass Player and 3D animator) sent this video through from Youtuber Ogmios and it is such a treat. Partly a car based exploration of parts of North London, with its unique socio-cultural communities and partly a meditation on road etiquette. It is a reminder that it is possible to […]
Images of the city cycle One of the unanticipated impacts of Covid and lockdown has been to change the relationship with the spaces of the cities where many of us live. Like so many people, when Covid first hit and the UK went into lockdown in March for the next few months I was stuck […]
A friend introduced me to The Eric Andre show a few years ago, but only recently I encountered it again through its segmented Youtube presence, realising just how much of an achievement it is. Its interesting that Adult Swim, a late night programming node of Cartoon Network has spawned two of the most rupturous programmes […]
‘Realising that you are the dream figure in another person’s dream, that is self awareness…’ Timothy Levitch (Waking Life). * Part 1 The final episode ‘Fall Out’ – is where transformation through abstraction in the Prisoner becomes most vital. It would appear very much as if the techniques and approaches of Surrealism are at work, […]
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