1970s
Blu-ray: Scorsese ShortsMonday, 20 July 2020
At this year’s Oscars Bong Joon Ho brought the audience to its feet in honour of the director whose words had struck a chord with him as a film student. The comment, simple but difficult to adhere to in the cut-throat, risk-averse movie business,... Read more... |
New Music Unlocked 1: Reef, Supersonic Festival, Elton John and moreWednesday, 15 July 2020
The lockdown which began in March is now noticeably easing, although in the realm of gigs and festivals things are still nowhere near operative. Nonetheless, theartsdesk is responding to the changes by ceasing our many weeks of New Music Lockdown... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Philip Rambow - The Rebel KindSunday, 05 July 2020
“Strange Destinies” is the first track. “Take your eyes off me Svengali” is its memorable opening phrase. Conjuring up Van Morrison, Tom Petty, Mike Scott, Bruce Springsteen and even The Boomtown Rats when they were aping the first and fourth of... Read more... |
Album: Neil Young - HomegrownWednesday, 17 June 2020
In the series one finale of metal-detecting sitcom Detectorists, Lance fills in a hole he’s dug after unearthing nothing more than a rusted ring-pull. As the camera pans downwards, we see the riches that were hiding beneath. He was looking in the... Read more... |
Theatre Lockdown Special 9: Alan Bennett revisited, and so is OzThursday, 11 June 2020
The government may occupy shifting sands when it comes to handling Covid-19, but the arts thank heavens continue to step up to the plate with a dizzying array of online options. This week's output mixes a soul musical from 1970s Broadway alongside a... Read more... |
This House, National Theatre at Home review – timely revival of brilliant House of Commons dramaFriday, 29 May 2020
There is a line of argument that – unfairly – blames playwright James Graham for Dominic Cummings. Would Cummings, some might ask, have achieved the influence he has now if it hadn’t been for his depiction in Graham’s brilliant TV drama Brexit... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Keith Relf - All the Falling AngelsSunday, 24 May 2020
“Collector of the Light” is based around what sounds like a treated bass guitar. As the neck is moved up and down, multiple notes are plucked at once. The instrument’s sound is subaquatic, wobbly. Over this, a distant, echoey voice sings of being... Read more... |
New Music Lockdown 6: David Gilmour, Taylor Swift, Prince, Bat For Lashes and BlossomsWednesday, 13 May 2020
As the music industry slips into the rhythm of lockdown, so the spigot slowly becomes untapped and events, livestreams and similar start to flow more steadily. This week a host of big names are up to a bunch of different stuff, all worth checking.... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Bob Stanley & Pete Wiggs Present The Tears of TechnologySunday, 10 May 2020
“Like mellotrons before them, synthesisers could project a strange and deep emotion – something in the wiring had an inherent melancholy. Previous generations had often disparaged synths as dehumanising machines but, at the turn of the 80s, a new... Read more... |
New Music Lockdown 4: Neil Young, Roger & Brian Eno and a trip to NashvilleWednesday, 29 April 2020
Midway through another week of lockdown, here's a cross section of small good things to keep the eyes and ears entertained. There's some lively stuff here for the old grey matter to chew on. Take a look. Dive in!Neil Young Fireside SessionsNeil... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Hans-Joachim Roedelius - Tape Archive Essence 1973-1978Sunday, 26 April 2020
Even though nothing on Tape Archive Essence 1973–1978 was released at the time it was recorded, every track evokes material which was issued. Any fan of the German legends Cluster and Harmonia needs this album gathering extracts from tapes key... Read more... |
Berlin Philharmoniker, Karajan, Digital Concert Hall review - a captivating musical time capsuleThursday, 09 April 2020
When I saw that the Berlin Philharmonic had thrown open the doors to its virtual concert hall the thing that most interested me was to see some Karajan. When I was a child in the mid-1980s I lived for a while in Berlin and my father took me to the... Read more... |
