I’m going to take a slight detour from the usual topics of this site to talk about my recent New Zealand and California trip. After all it was pretty much all I was thinking about for three weeks! If you just came here to read about obscure 1970s artists you’re welcome and there’s lots of … Read more
I’ve just finished reading Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography Born To Run. It’s a strong book, as strong as his best songs. That same mix of drama, fervent belief, bluster and a sense of the ridiculous that marks his live show is here in every chapter. Perhaps surprisingly it leaves you with a strong sense … Read more
SECRETS ARE LIES SHARING IS CARING PRIVACY IS THEFT These are the slogans of the the eponymous organisation in Dave Eggers’ The Circle, a Google/Apple/Twitter search and social media outfit run by young Silicon Valley enthusiasts. Despite the (deliberate) echo of Orwell’s 1984, this organisation doesn’t set out deliberately to be brutal or fascistic. It’s a dystopia created by … Read more
I’ve been reading this a little at a time over the last week or two. It’s a strange one. Unlike, say Dylan or Keith Richard’s autobiographies, there’s no flamboyant writerly style in this book. The prose is almost mundane in places, which is surprising given the skill and dedication of its author. That’s not to … Read more
Last year I took a subscription to Time magazine, mainly because I liked the free watch you got. I still use it and like it, and I think it’s a good magazine too. Last week I got a nice letter from their publishe, a gentleman called Andy Bush. He begins with a sense of urgency: … Read more
When I was 12, I came across Thor Annual #2 in a local chip shop cum newsagent. I liked all forms of comics but not in any serious way. I’d read some American comics, all DCs like Batman and Superman but only the occasional Marvel and what I’d seen of them just confused me. But … Read more