DVD Times (Free subscription) | 11/05/2009
News: The BFI have announced the UK DVD release of The Miners' Campaign Tapes on 30th November 2009 priced at £12.99 RRP. These six short films, released for the first time, are described as a crucial document of a cataclysmic episode of British history 25...
Fitstreet Total Health Solutions (Free subscription) | 11/05/2009
Recently, in an effort to drag myself away from work at the weekends and have a hobby, I've been rummaging through the record racks in second hand shops, looking for old vinyl treasures and I've unearthed a whole pile of nostalgic hits! Last night I was listening to 'Come Live With Me' by Heaven 17. British band from Sheffield? 1983? The song is about an older guy who falls in love with a much younger...
Word Magazine blogs (Free subscription) | 11/03/2009
There he is, on the left in a red tie, playing keyboards and dancing to give Peter Mandelson nightmares. "Lead us not into temptation" might have been a better watchword for the last twelve years than "prudence" .
curnow.org (Free subscription) | 10/26/2009
wonders if trains from Luton to London are always this quiet at this time of day. I'm off at Farringdon tonight. # Dear Malcolm. I'm not "JasmynSneed" nor Australian so can't vote for you. You might stay in opposition if your list is this good. mail #fail # wonders who's Postman Pat's agent? His career's taken off [...]
Dilated Choonz (Free subscription) | 10/21/2009
The Human League – Flexi Disc This post was inspired by the BBC4 documentary “Synth Britannia” which aired last Friday (still available on the BBC iPlayer for UK residents) – a good documentary on the late 1970s and early 1980s UK ‘synthpop’ scene. Well worth 90 minutes of your time. Synth-”pop” started out as a bunch of geezers in industrial locations...
BBC - Music - BBC Music Blog (Free subscription) | 10/16/2009
Early on when we were discussing themes and motifs to explore in Synth Britannia the topic of JG Ballard came up in conversation. It was immediately clear that there were parallels between Ballard and the work of the earliest synth pioneers. The world Ballard described in books like Crash and Concrete Island felt like a dystopian vision of the future and yet it was actually the present day rendered...
17 SECONDS (Free subscription) | 10/12/2009
The latest issue of The Wire arrived today. Maybe it was the appearance of Julian Cope on the front - but my brain suddenly started obsessing about the Roland 303, that legendary squelchy synth, responsible for some of the best bass ever that wasn’t played on a, well, bass. The Wire does some wonderful primers that [...]
Fitstreet Total Health Solutions (Free subscription) | 09/27/2009
This Saturday I had the morning to myself. My girlfriend had a sports massage appointment booked so I decided to do a bit of shopping, indulging in one of my favourite hobbies; buying music. There really is nothing better to make you smile and feel good than a little nostalgia. Back when you were a child and teenager you had little pressure, no job to worry about, no children, no money worries... Life...
Spinner.com (Free subscription) | 09/18/2009
Filed under: Concerts and Tours , Down the Front! Location: 6-7 Leadmill Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S1 4SE. Website: http://www.leadmill.co.uk/ Capacity: 900. Come to see: Despite living in the musical shadow of other major northern cities like Manchester and Liverpool, Sheffield too has its own proud place in the British musical firmament. Its vibrant and varied scene has, in the past, given...
lost at e minor (Free subscription) | 09/17/2009
You gotta love the 80s. How can you beat the music? New romantic, new wave, new everything. It was quite an era, and we have a giveaway to prove it. The 12”80s Electro:Pop 3CD set showcases 80s music all its extended mix glory. To enter, just leave the name of your favorite 80s band and [...]
Wild Horses Of Fire (Free subscription) | 09/11/2009
Exercise: rewrite these lyrics (from Heaven 17's "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thing") any way you wish: (Everybody move to prove the groove) Have you heard it on the news About this fascist groove thang Evil men with racist views Spreading all across the land Don't just sit there on your ass Unlock that funky chain dance Brothers, sisters shoot your best We don't need this fascist...
Expository Thoughts (Free subscription) | 09/09/2009
. . . in order to get a picture of Heaven–which will one day be centered on the New Earth–you don’t need to look up at the clouds; you simply need to look around you and imagine what all this would be like without sin and death and suffering and corruption. [Randy Alcorn, Heaven, 17] [...]
Olga Loves YuЯi (Free subscription) | 09/07/2009
Just read an interview with Elly Jackson, the lead singer and frontwoman for La Roux , and it seems that Elly feels a bit sorry for Little Boots ' singer Victoria Hesketh, citing the hype placed around them both as new electro artists. Elly said: The reaction she got was so unfair. Hype can be a very dangerous thing, it can accelerate people's expectations... Not sure how Little Boots feels about that...
Electric Roulette (Free subscription) | 09/07/2009
The Eighties were long enough ago now to allow people the chance to re-evaluate. Now, it seems, that idiots like me are able to cast a more favourable critical eye over Formerly The Worst Decade Ever because, well, it almost...
Electric Roulette (Free subscription) | 08/28/2009
Here's a new comp, if like me, you want to delve into all that synthish pop music of the '80s. Universal is releasing 12”/80s which gathers up a mishmash of 12”s of the Eighties under the umbrella of “Electro:Pop.” The...
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