Freelance writer specializing in comedy and the geekier end of the pop culture spectrum.
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The Canyon Star
I recently heard from my old pal Jamie, one of those old pals of mine I haven't heard from for too long. Jamie's an accomplished singer/songwriter - by my reckoning a damn fine one, too - and a veteran of the London music scene. It's good to hear, then, that he's recording again - under the wonderfully evocative, Country-tinged sobriquet The Canyon Star. According to his MySpace page (he's a musician, that's what they do), his "influences range from Tim Buckley and Terry Callier to Little Feat and The Band." Pretty good influences, then. There's a hint of early Ryan [...]
Wrath of Khan in 60 Seconds
Clare showed me this earlier, so I'm sharing it with you. It's an entry to this year's Empire magazine-run Done in 60 Seconds competition by Mawgan. It made us smile. On a related note, our beautiful daughter Edie is now 21 months old. One of her first words was "KHAAAAAAAN!" I blame her sister, Lily. Lily blames me.
Home taping did not kill music, after all..
I've been listening to Frank Zappa's music on and off since I was in my teens. Without giving too much away, that's a long fucking time. Zappa's music is an acquired taste so you may not like it, but he was one of rock music's smartest and most erudite voices, which is one of the reasons why I've been listening to his music on and off since I was in my teens. As the media once again predict a final dirt nap for the music industry as we know it (Gee, it must be Saturday), here's a Zappa interview from the [...]
Naughtie Boy
This morning, I was getting ready for work while listening to Radio 4's Today Programme. That's just the way I roll. I skipped breakfast, which is probably just as well because this NSFW gem would have made me drop my toast: God bless you, James Naughtie - you made my day! I went to work with a spring in my step and a smile on my face. As I sat at my desk and worked, unbeknowest to me, Andrew Marr was discussing Naughtie's faux pas on his Start The Week programme. This is priceless: [...]



























