• Mixtape Preview: Donnie Darko

    September 24, 2019 - By 

    Mentally divorce, for a moment, music from Richard Kelly’s Donnie Darko. You’re still left with a genre-defining film. A contemporary indie classic. A movie blurring the lines between horror, black comedy, teen drama and cult sci-fi mind-bender. Put it back – Michael Andrews’ motifs brimming with vintages Moogs and electric vibraphone, alongside era-defining jams from Tears For Fears, Oingo Boingo, Echo & The Bunnymen and more – and you have a near perfect big-screen encapsulation of a particular breed of ’80s suburban ennui.   Despite its lacklustre performance at the box office, Donnie Darko was, of course, a runaway critical…

  • The Workman’s Club Set for Tony Hawk’s Soundtrack Night

    January 15, 2019 - By 

    On Friday, February 8, Dublin’s The Workman’s Club will host Story Mode, a night of Tony Hawk’s soundtrack nostalgia. Aimed squarely we who have whittled away countless hours playing the long-running skateboarding series throughout the 2000s and beyond, the night is presented as “a club night dedicated to celebrating [the] tunes” from its soundtrack, including The Violent Femmes, NOFX, NAS, The Offspring, RUN DMC, Dead Kennedys and more. Better still, slick skate visuals are promised on the big screen throughout the night, featuring classics such as Flip’s Extremely Sorry and CKY and Tony Hawk’s featured skaters like Eric Koston, Mike Vallely, and Bam…

  • Insert Coin: Benny Smiles

    April 17, 2015 - By 

    In our second installment of Insert Coin, Eoghain Meakin chats to Ross Fortune AKA Benny Smiles about being featured in the Hotline Miami 2 video game soundtrack and the major influence games have on his music. Photos by Aaron Corr. Mr. Ross Fortune is a busy man these days. When not racking up a no.1 single as a member of Vann Music he fills the rest of his time as the electronic solo artist and producer Benny Smiles. As the latter he’s accumulated a strong following and critical response to his achingly pretty, synthy, sparkling musical output. It is also as Benny…

  • Classic Album: The Wicker Man OST (1973)

    October 31, 2013 - By 

    What is the sound of fear? Over the years, musicians and composers have tried various things, and certain tropes have emerged: the stabbing strings, the gothic grandeur, the discordant noise, or the Theremins and strange electronic sounds. But back in 1973, Paul Giovanni and Magnet took a completely different path, tapping into an altogether more earth vein of horror, capturing the cruel majesty of The Wicker Man. For many people, The Wicker Man is one of the towering giants of horror (if you’ll pardon the pun), a masterpiece of sustained dread that digs deep into our hearts to unearth a…

  • An A-Z Playlist of Grand Theft Auto

    September 17, 2013 - By 

    With the release of arguably the most anticipated video game of a generation, Grand Theft Auto V, Shannon Delores O’Neill casts a nostalgic ear back at some of the best music from GTA – a series that vividly captures the sounds of the era in which each game is set, from the pop and funk of Vice City to the alt-rock and hip hop of San Andreas. And what better to do that than with an A-Z Spotify playlist kicking off with Alice In Chains and ending with Zapp & Roger (“who?” we hear you cry)? NB: don’t forget to do…

  • Top Ten Alternative Summer Songs

    July 11, 2013 - By 

    The world is melting! The seas will boil, and the sky will become as one great fireball! We’re doomed! Well, that’s what they tell us anyway, but we know better. So allow us to take you by the hand, offer you a delicious ice cold lolly, and give you ten incredible summer songs that are never, ever going to trouble the likes of NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL SUMMER, VOL 2,856. And are all the better for it. 10. The Cure – ‘If Only Tonight We Could Sleep’   Hazy, sweaty, uncomfortable … but enough about Robert Smith’s underpants, this…