Today BBC 6 music is making a big fuss about the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds album because it was released exactly fifty years ago. Well, how astounding. What a perfect opportunity to celebrate a seminal work of popular culture, apart from the fact that Brian Wilson’s alleged masterwork sounds exactly the same as it didContinue reading “Anniversaries to Forget….”
Tag Archives: “rock music”
Rock Dinosaurs Team Up
It could only happen in America. I can just picture hundreds of thousands of psychedelic beach chairs, picnic hampers and parasols spread out on the ‘Empire polo field’ (that famous rock’n’roll venue…) as Bob Dylan, the Stones, Paul McCartney, The Who, Roger Waters and Neil Young perform at a mega-gig in Indio, California this October.Continue reading “Rock Dinosaurs Team Up”
Waiting For the Mantra
Nowadays it seems everyone is getting spiritual. Meditation and mindfulness in particular are booming, with courses and classes available all over every city. We tend to think of meditation as a silent practice, but there is one meditation method which is anything but silent. Mantras are repeated phrases, chanted or sung as part ofContinue reading “Waiting For the Mantra”
Caving In…
It was Christmas Day and my step-mum had just given me a present – a DVD of the Nick Cave documentary 20,000 Days on Earth. As I studied the cover she told me: “They were talking about him on Radio 4. They’ve reassessed his life and career…you like him don’t you?” “Yes, I’ve heard aboutContinue reading “Caving In…”
Beanie Bohemia – A History of Wooly Hats.
One of the compensations of winter is donning a nice, cosy wooly hat. There’s nothing like the snug feeling of those knitted sheep fibres embracing your cranium. But for me and many others, these items are more than just a way to keep warm. Woolen headgear has played a role in subculture for many years. It’sContinue reading “Beanie Bohemia – A History of Wooly Hats.”
Goth But Not Forgotten…
It was the eighties, I was a youth and I was often in the company of goths. Evenings around friends’ houses were often suffused with the smell of cheap hairspray and hot crimping irons. ‘Cider and Black’ was the drink of choice at our underground haunts. It must have been a comforting subculture to join;Continue reading “Goth But Not Forgotten…”
The Mystery of Charisma
We have all met people possessed of a natural charm that enables them to hold the attention of groups of people, who listen to their opinions, laugh at their jokes and possibly want to share bodily fluids with them. Charisma is like a magical chemical product flowing in certain peoples’ bloodstream. If you start outContinue reading “The Mystery of Charisma”
Achtung Maybe!
Rumblings on the grapevine suggest that a new U2 album is likely to appear before the end of the year, in fact according to Rolling Stone magazine it could even be released this month. Love ’em or hate ’em, it’s a significant moment as U2 have now been spent several decades amongst the very biggestContinue reading “Achtung Maybe!”
Bruce Springsteen – ‘Rosalita’ live
I’ve been listening to Bruce Springsteen recently so I thought I’d share a clip that is probably my favourite live clip by anyone. I’m not sure that Springsteen’s somewhat serious, brooding image does justice to his live performances, which are always packed with energy and fun. It’s all here in this epic and exhuberant performanceContinue reading “Bruce Springsteen – ‘Rosalita’ live”
Childhood Obsessions #1: The Motorcycle
When I was a kid I was in love with motorbikes – along with dinosaurs and knights, they were one of the great obsessions of my childhood. I can’t remember how it started, but by the age of nine my bedroom walls were lined with posters of Kawasakis, Suzukis and Hondas; I amassed a sizeableContinue reading “Childhood Obsessions #1: The Motorcycle”
Tom George 