or, the power of the narrative you want to believe. It was reading New York Magazine's interpretation of Patient Zero that really hammered home to me how much people have the blinkers on about Taylor Swift. To me, this song was an obvious homage to a friend [1] who is "sick of him" but still... Continue Reading →
“You say God / give me a choice!”
Who do you pray to? According to Genesis 1:27, God made us in his image. In 1977, Genesis wrote "I was feeling part of the scenery / I walked right out of the machinery".[1] These are both powerful statements which speak to how and why we worship what we do: we find the numinous in... Continue Reading →
“What Are My Words Worth”: the role of academia’s ivory tower in cultural transmission
my talk given at the Creative Industries Festival 2026 “What is left, what is remembered and what is still fit for use in the heritage of classical bourgeois culture?” It is with these words that Eric Hobsbawm opens his 2012 essay ‘Heritage’. Hobsbawm, a historian in his 95th year when this was written, is concerned... Continue Reading →
Love Songs In Middle-Age
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 →
Expand Your Sad Girl Autumn Horizons
The season of mist and mellow fruitfulness is upon us, and we must acknowledge that the mellowest of all fruits is the pumpkin. It it time, then, to grab a PSL and transition, as the leaves are, into new versions of ourselves with appropriate reading, listening, and pastimes. Here are some tips, fresh from the... Continue Reading →
Tarot Meets Taylor Swift: Discover the Taylor Arcana
How I made the Taylor Swift tarot deck
#MayIRecommend: Explore This Month’s Top Book and Entertainment Picks
an internet 'month challenge' from the archive.
A House of Bootlegs
Growing up in a house of bootlegs, and developing my own music collection.
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 →
Amp It Up: Exploring Live Albums
How do you feed your burgeoning love of live music without entirely emptying your wallet? As a veteran show-goer, I'm here to share my most loved performances, as well as a guide to the most famous festivals of the 20th century. What more could you need?
