• The Perfect Hallowe’en Song: Public Image Ltd. – Poptones

    October 29, 2013 - By 

    Hallowe’en is fast approaching and what better way to celebrate it than to listen to horrific music. While a hearty debate on what is the scariest song can be had, for me, no song is scarier than ‘Poptones’ by Public Image Ltd. What becomes immediately apparent while first listening to ‘Poptones’ is the disturbing feeling that this is something that has happened to you before. It recalls the tale of a woman taken to a wooded area in the English countryside to be raped and beaten and left for dead in the cold, wet foliage. It was first released on…

  • That’s The Story of my Life – The Life and Death of Lou Reed

    October 28, 2013 - By 

    When all is said and done, Lou Reed was never the easiest figure to love. For someone who is so intrinsic to the very notion of what we consider popular music to be, for someone who tore up the rulebook so fundamentally and set us all free, it’s rarely been an easy ride. And now that he has moved on, that journey will only become more difficult. Like all the truly great artists, to be “into” Lou Reed is to be “into” a variety of different personas, of different masks, of different ideologies. The snarling twenty-something, sunglasses strapped permanently to…

  • Lou Reed: A Tribute Playlist

    October 27, 2013 - By 

    Arguably punk’s greatest ancestor, Velvet Underground founder and uncompromising solo artist and collaborator for the last five decades, Lou Reed has passed away the age of 71. One of the finest songwriters of the twentieth century (and, for many, beyond) his songs and art traversed genre, sentiment and style, dividing critics and fans from his 1972 self-titled effort right up his notoriously at odds collaboration with Metallica in 2011. From heroin and the NYC underground to Diet Coke and t’ai chi, Reed came a long way from the sixties, constantly re-affirming his right to be restless and fearlessly re-inventing his musical manifesto…

  • Interview: John Carpenter

    October 25, 2013 - By 

    As movie directors go they don’t get more legendary than the pioneering, inimitable and boundlessly influential John Carpenter. From his 1978 landmark horror debut Halloween to innumerable other cult classics including Escape from New York, Dark Star, Assault On Precinct 13, The Fog, The Thing, Starman, Big Trouble In Little China and They Live, his ever-increasingly legacy as one of the most important directors in the history of cinema is beyond refute. With Samhain lingering just around the corner, Will Murphy grab a few words with the man himself, touching on comics, composition and Kickstarter campaigns. Firstly, I’d like to ask about new…

  • Track Record: Chris Leckey (PigsAsPeople)

    October 24, 2013 - By 

    Ahead of their Idles & Us EP launch tonight (Thursday, October 24) at Belfast’s Radar, Belfast-based photographer and all-round gent Liam Kielt caughtup with bassist and vocalist from Belfast-based hardcore/noise three-piece PigsAsPeople to get the lowdown on some of his favourite ever records, everyone from post-rock pioneers Slint to two records from his much beloved Fugazi. Fugazi – Repeater I first heard this when I was about 14. At that point I was really into things like Billy Talent and Alkaline Trio, who I still love. I came across ‘Waiting Room’ and decided to check them out. I went on Wikipedia,…

  • Exclusive album stream: Captain Kennedy – Draw It In Chalk

    October 24, 2013 - By 

    Ahead of its release next week, we have an exclusive first listen of the fantastic Draw It In Chalk, the long-awaited new album from Lurgan band Captain Kennedy. Recorded live and in one session at Mogul Studios, Portadown exactly two years prior to its November 1 release, the album mark encapsulates Captain Kennedy’s change to a 4-piece line-up and reveals the path the band were headed prior to their indefinite hiatus. Ahead of our review of the album, check out the artwork and listen to the stream below!

  • Under Cover: It Was All A Bit Black & White

    October 25, 2013 - By 

    Hey there! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started? We are a Galway based band called It Was All A Bit Black & White. We have together since the begining of 2011. We are a two piece experimental band that make music based on loop stations primarily. Matt Sutton (me) on guitars/synth and Mosey Byrne on drums. We started jamming when we met in art college four years ago. Why are you called ‘It Was All A Bit Black & White’ and how did it come about? There is 2 answers to this.…

  • Do You Still Want To Believe? 20 Years of The X-Files

    October 23, 2013 - By 

    Arguably, television has replaced cinema as the preeminent visual entertainment medium. Shows like Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, and The Wire have stolen Hollywood’s thunder when it comes to dynamic and progressive storytelling. It wasn’t always this way, however, and back in 1993 a strange, cultish show about two mismatched FBI agents struck a chord with the public, tapping into a throbbing vein of pre-millennial angst and paranoia. But twenty years later, just what was the impact of Mulder and Scully’s unflinching look into the paranormal abyss? They said the truth was out there, but what happened when we actually found…

  • Lesser Known Pleasures: Stereolab – Chemical Chords

    October 22, 2013 - By 

    The latest Lesser Known Pleasure is a Stereolab album overlooked in favour of their earlier classics Emperor Tomato Ketchup and Dots and Loops. By 2008, their sound may have shifted, mellowed and lost some edge but not necessarily to it’s detriment. Chemical Chords has LKP criteria in spades. It came late in their career long after their heyday, long after their coolness quotient was no longer a factor. The band had endured numerous lineup shifts, side projects and the end of the personal relationship between the songwriting team of Tim Gane and singer Laetitia Sadier. However in 2002, following the…

  • Interview: Gambles

    October 18, 2013 - By 

    It’s interesting to listen to Matthew Siskin (aka Gambles) speak about his debut album, Trust. Borne out of a set of circumstances that are nothing short of tragic, it is a record that is raw and poignant. Roughly three years ago, Siskin got engaged, then lost a child, left his wife, and turned to drink and drugs for two years.  Much of Trust is addressed to his ex-wife of whom Siskin has previously said, “I wanted her to hate me. I did things to make her hate me. Because that would be easier than saying,  ‘I have to leave'”. Trust…