America
Who Do You Think You Are? USA: Lionel Richie, BBC OneWednesday, 04 April 2012
“It's about as close to a spiritual awakening as I’ve had in my entire life,” said Lionel Richie. He was standing close to the unmarked grave of his great-grandfather, in the pauper’s section of an overgrown Chattanooga cemetery. Richie began the... Read more... |
Tiny FurnitureWednesday, 28 March 2012
Perfectly peculiar and as cute as can be, Tiny Furniture is the second film from writer/director Lena Dunham. Her first, Creative Nonfiction (2009), was based on her own romantic woes, shot whilst she was attending college and featured a cast of non... Read more... |
Into the Abyss: A Tale of Death, A Tale of LifeMonday, 26 March 2012
Into the Abyss sees celebrated German filmmaker Werner Herzog take a sharp turn away from those marvels of early man he so magnificently captured in the stereoscopic Cave of Forgotten Dreams to the shocking violence of which humanity is also capable... Read more... |
WikiLeaks: The Secret Life of a Superpower, BBC TwoThursday, 22 March 2012
If you’ve ever had that cold, clammy feeling following the realisation that an email, in which you have been less than flattering about a colleague, has accidentally landed in said colleague’s inbox, then you will have experienced roughly a... Read more... |
The Civil Wars, Shepherd's Bush EmpireWednesday, 21 March 2012
The Civil Wars are one of those bands rendered suddenly white hot in the UK by a classy performance on Later with Jools Holland. They’re a photogenic country-ish acoustic singer-songwriter pairing whose style is just un-country enough to fit neatly... Read more... |
CD: The Shins - Port of MorrowSaturday, 17 March 2012
It’s two songs into Port of Morrow, the Shins’ first album since 2007’s Wincing the Night Away (and the band’s first to be distributed by a major label, Columbia) and it hits me that what I’m hearing isn’t something I’ve heard before. Sure, the... Read more... |
21 Jump StreetFriday, 16 March 2012
Those of a certain age will remember the television series 21 Jump Street, a huge hit for the then fledgling Fox network in America. It ran from 1987 to 1991 and starred Johnny Depp. The titular address was where he worked as an undercover cop, one... Read more... |
Mark Lanegan, Shepherds Bush EmpireWednesday, 14 March 2012
He has terrible tusks, and terrible claws, and terrible teeth in his terrible jaws… Ah wait now, that’s The Gruffalo. Mark Lanegan doesn’t have any of the above (although he does have tattooed fists and a considerable jaw, and past heroin addiction... Read more... |
Earth, Union ChapelMonday, 12 March 2012
There have been many Earths. Dylan Carlson has been the only constant, using the shifting line-ups as the vehicle for his vision of a music that is all about space, slowness, and repetition. As last night's concert made clear, he no longer needs a... Read more... |
CD: Lionel Richie - TuskegeeWednesday, 07 March 2012
When an artist releases an album of new readings of old material, there’s usually cause for concern. But not with Lionel Richie’s new release, a foray into light country. In fact, given Richie’s recent efforts to stay down with the kids, maybe he... Read more... |
He Was More Than a Monkee: Davy Jones, 1948–2012Wednesday, 29 February 2012
The death of Davy Jones is a surprise. A horrible surprise. Less than a year ago he was on stage at the Royal Albert Hall in the reunited Monkees, full of life, hogging the stage, hamming it up and celebrating the wonderful songs of America’s... Read more... |
St Vincent, Shepherds Bush EmpireTuesday, 28 February 2012
It ended with Annie Clark on her back, being passed around the audience like a volleyball. Scrubbing at her guitar, the squall didn’t stop. As encores go it was pretty memorable, the confirmation that Clark – as St Vincent – has arrived. Earlier in... Read more... |
