It’s 2001. The music world is monopolised by bland, monotonous, irrefutably ‘safe’ music. Whilst America is split between listening to ‘N Sync or parent-approved Linkin Park, Britain had the choice of Travis or Dido. Where is the danger? the excitement? the unpredictability? The world needed something… That something turned out to be the destruction of the World Trade Centre. The event sent shockwaves throughout the world, re-igniting a feeling of anger, guilt, confusion, a sense that everything isn’t ok. The [...]

“I want to make it absolutely fucking clear…” starts singer-guitarist in-chief Andrew Ferris, neck arched toward, eyes bulging; “…sorry, would you like a beer?” Umm, sure. Andrew sits down; bassist Jamie Burchell sits content in the corner, fingering large amounts of sushi into his mouth. “…Make no mistake about it, we’re not a band who’s out to f*** anyone over…” continues Andrew; “we’re not here to sell people a lifestyle, we’re here to mean something, we’re here to make music [...]

Considering the unpredictability of Ang Lee’s previous filmic ventures: middle-class melodrama, high-wire Kung-Fu drama, English period-drama, and less successfully, the ‘Giant-Green-Man Drama’ it’s perhaps not such a stretch for Lee to opt for ‘shepherding-homosexual-drama’ as the choice for his latest; a tale of forbidden love against the oppressive homophobia of Southern America, 1963. Wisely released in time for an Oscars shoe-in, Brokeback Mountain started its life as a short story by E. Annie Proulx published in The New Yorker magazine, [...]

SO, HOW IS the psychedelic sci-fi surf-rock scene in Wigan? It’s very well, thank you. Wiganites The V.Cs have a bit of a ‘thing’ for 1950s B-Movies and Sci-fi; so much so their beanpole lead singer (that’s Vocoder Joe to you) plays each gig with outsized ski-goggles strapped to his face, bass-siren FemBot-S4FF wears only PVC and Keyop-503 treats his synth and theremin like a rare specimen of, like… space goo. But let’s do the time-warp (I apologise) back to [...]

From mid 2005, the Arctic Monkeys were already being zealously tongued in the massive stinking gob of Hype. Said to be yet another band that will be ‘the greatest thing ever ever ever’, and for this, you could be forgiven for hating them before even hearing them. It’s not the Arctic Monkeys fault either, they were just born into a time where many people would rather put burning hot coals under their eyelids than listen to the ‘next big thing’, [...]