Could The Changing Music Industry Help International Diplomacy?
It used to be quite rare for big international musicians from the USA or Europe to include Brazil on the tour itinerary, but now it's seen as a far more desirable destination. Artists can earn a lot...
View ArticleLong Live Radio
Video Killed The Radio Star, proclaimed Buggles as they were the first song played on MTV's launch in 1981. For the first time, music videos were part of music, instead of bands miming to their hits of...
View ArticleComputer Says No Thanks, You're Not My Type
Spike Jonze new film, Her was released in the UK this weekend. I'll go and see it - it's been well reviewed, I've liked his previous work, and he has a fun name: Spike! Jonze with a 'Z'! Who knows what...
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The Boys Are Back in Town
Everyone knows that men leave things to the last minute and that was certainly the case this week on Dancing on Ice. The remaining boys in the competition Kyran Bracken, Sam Attwater and myself took on...
View ArticleExtreme Beauty
Sitting down to watch BBC3's Extreme Beauty Queens I think it's fair to say my initial reaction- stunned with wide open mouth for one hour- was probably a reflection of those held by the thousands of...
View ArticleShabba-Doo Boogaloo
At the end of 2011, I heard about a new documentary being made by a director called Mark Hartley. It was to be called Electric Boogaloo and tell the story of notorious B movie production company Cannon...
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Jess Glynne - 'Home' (Video)
Jess Glynne: the lead vocalist on two of the biggest hits of 2014 so far, Clean Bandit's current number one record Rather Be and Route 94's My Love. The 'girl on vocals' has everyone, not just waiting...
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How Creative Spoken Word and Music Projects Are Helping the UK's Literacy Issues
GEORGE THE POET PERFORMS AT TATE BRITAIN- PHOTO SAI PHOTOGRAPHY. How creative spoken word and music projects like Poetry Luv - Late at Tate Britain are helping the UK's literacy issues. Lets face it,...
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George Condo On His New London Exhibitions
George Condo's simultaneous new shows opened in London last week, one at Skarstedt and one at Simon Lee Gallery. For reasons I am not yet sure of these shows inspired me more than anything I have seen...
View ArticleEight Minutes Idle From Book to Screen
I've always found offices at night fascinating places. Whenever I walk around streets at three a.m. and look up and see a solitary worker still at his or her desk I can't help wondering what they're...
View ArticleWhy We Need Neknominate
This week brings with it the third death by neknomination. Not the last though. Obviously. Presumably you don't wile away your days locked in a sensory deprivation tank so you know what neknominate is....
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Subtitles - The Good, the Bad and the Funny
Subtitles - where would the deaf be without them? Definitely not up with the latest soap operas, that's where. Jim Trelease, an American literacy expert even argues that subtitles help children learn...
View ArticleAn Independent Artist's Take on Spotify
My name is Ron Pope. I'm an independent musician, producer, songwriter, and label owner. I read the recent post on the Guardian 'Plugged In' which questioned why no independent artists are standing up...
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Derek Jarman 20 Years On: Artist and Activist, Pioneer and Rebel
On this day, 20 years ago, the film-maker, painter, sculptor, gardener, author and queer rights activist Derek Jarman died of HIV. One of Britain's leading post-1945 avant garde artists, he is best...
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Interview with 'Sally the Life Coach' Star Natalie Gumede
During 'Strictly Come Dancing', you couldn't keep Natalie Gumede out of the news. And by news I mean, articles on tabloid websites about what she was or was not wearing, and whether she was or was not...
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Film Review - Stranger By The Lake
An intelligent psychological thriller with a Hitchcockian feel. Alain Guiraudie's assured direction results in a seductive, powerful, menacing and fascinating film. Sexually explicit but not...
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From Perivale With Love...
Before I say anything worthwhile, I want you to watch this renowned 20 second clip from one of the greatest films in Hollywood history - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyophYBP_w4 - (note: the...
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The Society of the Golden Slippers: Is This the Best Night Out in London?
It's the second stair from the top that gets me every time. I trip on it while balancing a drink under my chin as I struggle with a big oak door. I've usually spilled half my drink before stumbling...
View ArticleRonan - The One Farrow That Left the Scandals Behind and Ready to Make it Big
One look at this young lad and you end up telling yourself - "So this is what Joffrey Baratheon would be like if he were a nice person, and in the real world, not in HBO's Game of Thrones". We know him...
View ArticleThe Philosophy Behind House of Cards
Since February 2013, Kevin Spacey has been magnificently spilling his dark charisma all over our TV/computer/laptop screens in the form of seedy congressman and Democratic House Majority Whip Francis...
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