I am 31 and fully dead. Lloyd Cole says the first song he ever wrote about being middle-aged was Hey Rusty. Anybody listening to his 1987 album 'Mainstream' can tell he's having a bit of an identity crisis: songs like Sean Penn Blues and My Bag are sharp satires of a world Cole doesn't seem... Continue Reading →
When Visual Art Turns To Words
At a recent(ish)* visit to the Tate Modern, I was captivated by art with words. An image of Venice with paragraphs of text, a flashing light installation which ran ribbons of words to make pithy phrases - it's surprising in a gallery with such emphasis on form and impact to see words, associated with other... Continue Reading →
#MayIRecommend: Explore This Month’s Top Book and Entertainment Picks
an internet 'month challenge' from the archive.
Essential Gig Etiquette Tips for Concertgoers
It was my great joy to see Ms Rebecca Black live last week when she brought her Salvation tour to London. I've been so glad to see her reach her potential, and I bought the ticket mainly to support an indie artist, since I'm really much too old to be heading to the club on... Continue Reading →
The Abbey.
A poem inspired by Lord Byron's ancestral home, Newstead Abbey.
Why William Morris is the prophet of our time
You know the artwork of William Morris. He opens the eyes to a positive response to conventional Western philosophy.
Rejection, Endless Rejection
Rejections are a fact of life. Rejection comes in friendship, work, creativity… and my god does it come hard and fast when you're trying.
The Picture of Dorian Gray.
I feel like a badly drawn picture of a girl Bent out of shape, losing features in the swirl Or the dot of the Impressionist brush Something about being such a beautiful mess is a headrush I feel like a child's illustration of a woman My features indistinguishable from others I could embody a Picasso;... Continue Reading →
The League of Gentlemen: Papa Lazarou and punching up
I want to investigate - coming from a place of love - how it came to be that League of Gentlemen had some, uh, Not OK jokes, how this might be changed, and what we can learn from the ideas articulated by and radiating from some of the more offensive jokes of the series - and from how beloved they always were.
The Art Museum of the Future
It can be stifling, going to a gallery. Imagine if we could touch the artworks. If blind people could engage with the brushstrokes and the shape of the oils on a canvas. If children could play, and stare, and laugh. If the Old Masters were in a room with the Blue Riders, if we didn’t have to guard the paintings from natural light and thieves and damage.
Late Romantic 