• Electric Picnic 2013: 10 must-see acts

    August 30, 2013 - By 

    Celebrating its tenth anniversary this very weekend, the organisers of Electric Picnic have, once again, pulled out all the stops to come up with a colourful line-up worth every penny (or indeed cent) of a weekend ticket. Despite Giorgio Moroder pulling out at the last minute, there is still a boundlessly diverse three-day showcase in store, headlining by Björk, Fatboy Slim and Arctic Monkeys. Running a fine comb through this year’s line-up, we have compiled a ten-track Spotify playlist featuring our must-see acts. If you’re bound for Stradbally Estate this weekend, do take note. See below for the acts (in no particular…

  • Everything Sucks #005.5: Local Music Rant

    August 30, 2013 - By 

    If you’ve read the original column that was here and were offended in any way by my statements, I apologise. Opinion has been pretty much down split evenly from what little I’ve seen of it, some in agreement, some not so much. I hope to address this now. To those who have differed with it, I say this. To patronise or look down on anyone was not the intention. Far from it, in fact. The tone of the rant was fairly crass, but that was the point. My regular column here is an angry rant. As such, a certain humour…

  • Death Of The Naturalist: Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)

    August 30, 2013 - By 

    How do you write words for the master? Is it possible to pay tribute in language to a man whose legacy is to have captured the very essence of our soul in words? Perhaps not, but for all the words that Seamus Heaney put to paper, it’s a safe bet that over ten times that will be written about him in the years to come. The Castledawson born poet has been hailed as the greatest Irish poet since William Butler Yeats, an iconic figure, sitting comfortably in a pantheon of great Irish voices alongside Beckett, Joyce, Behan, Shaw, Wilde, and…

  • Kick Ass 2

    August 30, 2013 - By 

    The long awaited sequel hit the screens to mixed reviews and with one of its stars Jim Carrey boycotting the film, it begs the question; where does Kick Ass 2 falter? It’s been said that Kick Ass 2 is a sequel with nowhere to go, perhaps a slightly unfair statement. The premise of what a superhero might be like in the real world holds weight, and is still a thoroughly enjoyable aspect of the film. What would one do? It’s almost like starting a band; you build a persona set up a Facebook page, Twitter and get blogging. These are…

  • Franz Ferdinand – Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action

    August 30, 2013 - By 

    Franz Ferdinand have kept a deliberately low profile ahead of their latest release, Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, with lead singer Alex Kapranos having being quoted as saying that he felt “misinformation” had been forthcoming about their last album Tonight: Franz Ferdinand. Being cut from a literary sort of cloth, there is – you’ve guessed it – a concept of sorts linking the songs, apparently based around the cynic’s search for optimism and the sceptic’s search for a manual ‘crop up’ here and there. Don’t follow Alex’s words? No, I don’t either, and if your listening pleasure is enhanced…