thefreethinkingmovement
It’s been a year with so much to choose from. 2025 was packed with some cracking albums, from artists old and new. Until the very end of the year, I was struggling to pick a clear winner, and then an album of pure brilliance emerged and made the decision easy for me. Starting with the […]
2024 closed out with me pretty much mainlining McCartney. One show in Manchester, two in London, and a soundcheck thrown in. The year ended on about as much of a musical high as you could get. It was a year where I decided to step back from streaming as much (my Spotify wrapped was ‘sparse’). […]
Well, that was an emotional ride. I didn’t make it to Glastonbury – boo! I did see loads of live music – yay! And, I wasn’t prepared for the impact of ‘Now and Then’, the final song by The Beatles. It knocked me for six. Sleaford Mods released a version of ‘West End Girls’ which […]
Some years, there are just too many to choose from. 2022 has been agonising, with superb new releases from established bands and newcomers alike. This was a year where we’ve really plugged back in. Where live music returned with force. Where joy, connection, optimism and compassion were common themes. That said, the best album of […]
These pages started over a decade ago. The original intent was for the freethinking movement to sit alongside a club night, operating every week in NYC. My mate Jamison, AKA DJ Prestige, and I kicked it all off and it was a blast. As I sit to compile my top ten albums of 2021 – […]
As we entered 2020, I expected the year to be overshadowed by political uncertainty; Brexit turmoil on this side of the Atlantic, and a nation taking a long, hard look at the socio-political fabric falling apart over in the US. And, while this was a fairly bleak view, I was longing for musicians to respond […]
It’s good to be back. I missed writing these pages. More to the point, I missed drinking music in at every possible opportunity. I’d become lazy. I was waiting for music to move me, as opposed to hunting it down. Maybe it’s that I no longer live around the corner from Rough Trade NYC. Maybe […]
Liines. It’s their fault. Let me explain. While I was away, getting on with ‘real life’, I managed to let discovering new music slip down my priority list. It’s not that I didn’t bother at all, but I became pretty much reliant on the one source that I said I wasn’t going to dip into: […]
Here we are at the start of a new decade. And, here we are with a relaunched site and a new look for the freethinking movement. Refreshed, and ready to dive in. I’m looking forward to further re-invigorating these pages, and discovering more music… There’s no better way to breathe some life back into the […]
Look, I know it’s nearly the end of January. But, hands up if you’ve just spent the last few weeks moving house. I hope that you’ll give me a break in this being possibly the latest ‘best of 2018’ list out there, but I didn’t want to ignore an entire year’s worth of music. While […]
If you’re going to pay homage to Prince, do it right. Janelle Monáe has nailed it (admittedly, with a little help from the Purple Genius himself). On the strength of this, ‘Dirty Computer’ will be one of the releases of 2018. Built around a guitar lick that nods in the direction of ‘Kiss’, and synth […]
There’s a scene in Curb Your Enthusiasm where Larry, looking perplexed, walks into a coffee shop. He’s struggling with what to order… the choice is so vast. After some reflection, he settles on a ‘vanilla bullshit’. Too much choice can be a bad thing. Access to a wide range of options limits your scope – […]