thefreethinkingmovementThere are few statements which you can make which are beyond any doubt, despite the fact that there’s no documentary evidence to prove your point. Words which blur the line between fact and opinion. Statements such as: The Beatles changed the world. They did. Next… Ultravox’s ‘Vienna’ shouldn’t have been kept from the number one […]
Staggering onto the stage, in front of 1,000 other students experiencing the effects of advanced alcohol consumption, one of my mates came out with a cracking line. One of the best. He was introducing Mancunian dancefloor pioneers 808 State. For a period in the mid 90s, Lancaster University had an annual set of outdoor end […]
I’ve always rode pretty hard for the Beastie Boys. I remember going to this South Jersey Mall as a teenager and picking up the Cookie Puss 12″ (which I still have today) and then going absolutely nuts when License to Ill came out. In fact, I wore the cassette out in my first car stereo. […]
People often write off ‘the 80s’ as a barren period in music. It wasn’t. Likewise, the entire decade is referred to by some as a genre in its own right. It wasn’t. Q: ‘What kind of music do you like?’ A: ‘80s’ I find this really hard to get my head around. It’s a decade […]
You’ve got to tread very carefully with Marvin. I get protective. From his early, chart-friendly soulful pop music through his re-invention as a social commentator, and his emergence as a disco-stomping legend – I could take just about any of this and have my desert island discs right there. Just Marvin. I’d be happy. The […]
This isn’t going to be easy. I know near on nothing about the subject of this blog post. I say that, but what I mean is that I know nothing about the artist. Other than the fact that she’s responsible for one of my favourite pieces of music. Ever. So – it’s worth having a […]
‘Everything they ever recorded was either on, or about, drugs’ I’d love to know where that quote came from. Sadly, I don’t. It’s the kind of quote which is often attributed to a band – and you pretty much know that the stories are overbaked. With The Small Faces, you can’t help but think that […]
From my last post celebrating one of Manchester’s overlooked bands, it seems appropriate to turn my attention to one of their finest current exports. OK, technically they’re from Bury. And OK, their studio is in Salford. But when I’m sitting here a few thousand miles away, it seems academic to draw too fine a distinction. […]
My love of Manchester is no secret. It’s a great city. Second only to New York in ‘places I want to live’. It’s a close second, at that. I totally acknowledge that I have the capacity to bore people with my paean towards the heart of the Industrial North. So, I won’t go down the […]
I discovered Van Halen when I was about 10 years old. I heard them covering the Kinks (“You Really Got Me”) and I was hooked. I made my mother play the local Classic Rock Radio station on eleven whenever they came on. At 13, by chance, I was watching a news program that highlighted a […]
In the history of human evolution, there have been some big questions. Questions which have occupied the minds of the great and good. Questions which have demanded serious thought, and have warranted prolonged debate. Questions like: Is there a God? What’s the meaning of life? Here’s one such question: Thriller, or Off The Wall? It’s […]
Jay Dee. Dilla Dawg. J.Dilla. Government name James Yancey. Perhaps you’ve heard of him? If you’ve been a fan in the Hip Hop world over the past 10 + years and you say you haven’t, you really have. If you have heard tracks by Common, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, the Pharcyde, The […]