Feature

Manga

17 Jan 2008

It’s not always easy being a pioneer, something Neil Armstrong, Christopher Columbus or Marie Curie would have no doubt attested to. The same can be said for George Macdonald, lesser known perhaps, but equally forward thinking in his field: the world of…

Persepolis - An interview with Marjane Satrapi

24 Apr 2008

Sitting across from me in a tartan-walled basement of a London hotel room, Marjane Satrapi cuts an imposing figure. Arms folded, with an all-black outfit reflecting her mood, the Iranian-born 38-year-old is in town to discuss Persepolis, her…

The Edge of Love - Sharman Macdonald interview

Edinburgh International Film Festival

5 Jun 2008

At the programme launch of the 2008 Edinburgh International Film Festival artistic director Hannah McGill thanked the makers of The Edge of Love for providing her with the perfect opening night film. What McGill no doubt meant by this was that The Edge…

Edinburgh International Film Festival - Jeanne Moreau

5 Jun 2008

Born between the wars to an English chorus girl mother and a French restaurateur father, Jeanne Moreau was born to play what feminist film critic Molly Haskell called ‘the glorious fantasy, appealing to both sexes, to men as eternal mistress, to women…

Art School Degree Shows

22 May 2008

GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART Ragnar Jonasson Painter Originally from Iceland, Ragnar Jonasson paints, but not using brushes or canvas. ‘I’m pouring paint,’ he explains, ‘from saucepans. I pour it onto plastic, then peel it off, so there’s nothing…

Property - House rules

House rules

10 Apr 2007

With property prices continuing to soar and half of UK buyers reportedly being forced out of the market, buying a home has never been costlier or more nerve-wracking. But take heart, The List’s reporters have scoured the country and consulted the…

Ben Kingsley - The Wackness

14 Aug 2008

Seeing Gandhi with crazy hair is even weirder than watching 64-year-old Sir Ben Kingsley snog 22-year-old Mary Kate Olsen. But fear not, the knighted actor hasn’t had some innovative hair treatment to unpolish his famously shiny snooker ball, he’s…

Nick Cave

24 Apr 2008

Nick Cave is in his car. It’s a big car, but no Chelsea tractor. He’s in the driving seat, howling madly along with the bombast blaring out of the speakers. This isn’t a cruise down endless stretches of autobahn, freeways of America or through the arid…

Fitter Happier - Radiohead interview

19 Jun 2008

They’re one of the biggest bands in the world despite refusing to play the music industry’s game. Mark Robertson talks to Radiohead about success, self-indulgence and their reputation as the most miserable men in rock

Property special - Beat the credit crunch

8 May 2008

If you are looking for a new mortgage, consider the issues around affordability, the tie-in period of the deal, the loan to value percentage available and other conditions. Do not focus on the published headline rate and assume that is the deal for you.

Tight Budget

17 Jan 2008

Going for a song January is a great time to check out up-and-coming bands for free. Remember, even the most unpromising nights can be historic. On the west coast, Mono, Stereo, 78, the Liquid Ship and Tchai Ovna all have exciting free line-ups. In…

Summer Film Special - Audrey Tautou - Priceless

22 May 2008

She scurries into the opulent embrace of the Grand Hotel in Paris, leaving behind the hubbub of the city, and plonks herself down in a capacious settee, legs decorously crossed, for a morning of interviews. The arresting brown eyes still exude a…

Property special - Sarah Beeny offers some advice

Moving on up

8 May 2008

Sarah Beeny may have flirted with the idea of a different career path but property was definitely in her stars. ‘My father is an architect and I grew up around building sites so they didn’t seem daunting,’ she explains. As her then-boyfriend (now…

Katrin Himmler

9 Aug 2007

Katrin Himmler was born into a family with a dark history, but has only now been able to write about it. She tells Doug Johnstone about reliving the past

Festival Books - Rosemary Goring

The history woman

21 Aug 2008

Rosemary Goring tells Doug Johnstone about finding the voices or ordinary people. There’s been a resurgence of interest in Scottish history among ordinary punters, a trend Scotland: The Autobiography taps into brilliantly. Edited by Rosemary Goring, a…

Kristin Hersh

After the flood

7 Aug 2008

To the casual observer, Kristin Hersh is a bundle of contradictions. Just seconds into our conversation she is gabbing away like an old friend, expounding on her one-woman show Paradoxical Undressing, the tale of a tumultuous teenage life when, in the…

Polish theatre

Poles apart

31 Jul 2008

Sitting in a picturesque café in the heart of Warsaw – Poland’s capital and largest city – it’s easy to forget the turbulent history that has shaped this country’s place in the world today. The city has long had a reputation as a vibrant playground…

Edinburgh Art Festival

Street arts

31 Jul 2008

Edinburgh residents are used to a takeover at this time of year. As hoardes of performers, artists, comedians and their assorted entourages set up a whole other city on top of theirs, the festivals can feel divorced from the realities of Edinburgh life.

Festivals - Capital Gains

5 Jun 2008

Kicking off the capital’s world famous summer festivals in late July, it’s the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival (25 Jul–3 Aug) which is the longest running jazz festival in the UK. Following hot on its heels is relative newbie to Edinburgh’s festival…

Sex and the City - Sarah Jessica Parker interview

22 May 2008

Carrie would not be impressed. She may be decked out in stylish Versace threads, and clutching a Fendi bag, but Sarah Jessica Parker is struggling to remember who designed her shoes. ‘Um, I can’t pronounce the name correctly . . .’ She might not have…

Gone Baby Gone - Ben Affleck interview

22 May 2008

Ben Affleck returns to his childhood stomping ground for his directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone. It focuses on the story of a child who gets kidnapped with the mother a prime suspect and, like Mystic River, it is adapted from a work by Dennis Lehane.

Ida Maria

22 May 2008

How do you solve a problem like Maria? Don’t worry, we’re not talking about any scary Saturday night television show featuring melty-face Andrew Lloyd Webber. No, this is a much nicer problem, in fact, this Maria isn’t really a problem at all, she’s a…

Property special - City guides

8 May 2008

EDINBURGH HOTSPOTS Leith How much: Average one bed £126,540; two bed £164,420 What: For better or worse, the Leith of Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting is almost unrecognisable as new cafés, restaurants and bars jostle for space alongside the…

Property special - Rental guide

8 May 2008

Know what you want Where do you want to live and who with, if anyone? What are your expectations? Be realistic but don’t settle for something which, in a few weeks, won’t make the grade. Go it alone or agent Consider if you want to scour the…

Festival Books - Mark Watson

Eco-friendly, my dear Watson

21 Aug 2008

According to Mark Watson, saving the planet would, at the very least, ‘look pretty smart on all our CVs’. With an already sterling comedy résumé, Watson takes on environmentalism in his latest book, Crap at the Environment, which through the author’s…

Calvin Johnson

7 Aug 2008

When Calvin Johnson plays a booze-free all-ages show in a church hall in Glasgow this week, he won’t be attempting to be cute. Rather, it’s just one more wilfully skewed strategy in this most single-minded of mavericks’ ongoing mission of DIY…

Live at Loch Lomond - Róisín Murphy

31 Jul 2008

A backless dress with a microscopically small pork pie hat. A sequinned black body sock topped off by a feather boa. Spray-on Lycra and a red ‘Allo ‘Allo beret. Pop chameleon and ex-Moloko frontwoman Róisín Murphy knows a thing or two about killer…

T in the Park - KT Tunstall

3 Jul 2008

‘I remember playing T in the Park for the first time in 1996. I was 21 and a backing singer with the Skuobhie Dubh Orchestra, the band led by the man now known as King Creosote. We played in the ceilidh tent and Radiohead, Alanis Morrisette and Beck…

Festivals - Something For Nothing

5 Jun 2008

If you’re looking to wet a whistle, then look no further than the Orkney Beer Festival (22–24 August, www.visitorkney.com ), held at the Stromness Hotel. A now annual wing-ding, guests are invited to join fellow tipplers for a taste of the local Orkney…

Festivals - Strange Days Indeed

5 Jun 2008

An integral part of the cultural calendar, festivals are fast becoming a vibrant part of the tourism industry – both at home and abroad – and organisers are undoubtedly raising the bar to keep up with demand, pushing the boundaries to give the audience…

Preview 2008 - Fashion

4 Jan 2008

Is it just me, or has it got dark in here? Spring/summer fashions usually burst out in bright colours, but this year most designers haven’t managed to shake the winter blues (and purples and greens). Klaxons, who led 2007’s tooth-jangling Technicolor…

Immaculate collection

The work is serious

1 Aug 2007

Alexander Kennedy strays from the beaten track and discovers some hidden cultural gems at Glasgow’s studio warehouse

Scotland: A Changing Nation

3 Jul 2008

‘I don’t want to blow our own trumpet, or anything,’ says Maureen Barrie, standing with her arms spread in front of a blank wall that will shortly be emblazoned with a giant replica of a Tunnock’s Teacake, ‘but we’re a hell of a nation if you think…

T in the Park - Rob da Bank

3 Jul 2008

Richie Hawtin ‘Spastik’ ‘Will he play it, won’t he play it? Hawtin is the don, and this record lives on and on. This track IS the Slam Tent at T.’ http://tiny.cc/Plastik Aphex Twin ‘Analogue Bubblebath’ ‘Heard this at sundown at Sonar…

T in the Park - The Fratellis

3 Jul 2008

The Fratellis aren’t a band you’d think of as suffering from existential self-doubt, eh? But a spell out of the spotlight has left singer and guitarist Jon Fratelli with the slightest lingering doubt about his band’s success and longevity. ‘I’m…

T in the Park - Up-and-comers

3 Jul 2008

MGMT What Psychedelic synth-pop duo from Brooklyn Unique Selling Point They sound wonderfully woozy on record but the MGMT live experience reveals a harder, darker and much more edgy side to the band. Imagine full-on swampy rock colliding with…

Chris Waitt interview

Edinburgh International Film Festival

5 Jun 2008

If someone gave you money to interview all your exes and find out what you did wrong in those relationships, would you do it? Filmmaker Chris Waitt didn’t hang around for an offer and approached Warp X with the pitch for his documentary A Complete…

Summer Film Special - Best of the rest

22 May 2008

The Incredible Hulk The big angry green killing machine gets another bite at the superhero film franchise cherry (after the box office disaster of Ang Lee’s Hulk). This version is adapted by the folk behind the X-Men films, directed by Louis Leterrier…

Property special - Old versus new

8 May 2008

For many property buyers these days, draughty old flats in need of repair just won’t cut it. Luckily there are plenty of shiny new options available across Scotland’s central belt, from swanky waterfront developments such as Coalhill in Leith to sleek…

Property special

8 May 2008

Though she may have started house-hunting before the credit crunch hit the headlines, it took a quick look at the property market to tell Michelle Davies, 29, a software engineer who had lived in a rented flat since arriving in Edinburgh from Australia…

Nova Scotia - From working class revolutions to conceptual art

24 Apr 2008

1978 Traverse director Chris Parr commissions The Slab Boys. ‘Chris decided that the Traverse was going to focus on new Scottish writing, and in doing so he changed the face of theatre in Scotland,’ says Byrne. 1979 Margaret Thatcher elected…

Preview 2008 - Books

4 Jan 2008

So, surely this year will mark a big new beginning when proper literature, you know, actual novels, replaces the ridiculously self-serving and endless charade that is the celebrity autobiography? Nah, not really. 2008 will witness little in the way of a…

Preview 2008 - Film

4 Jan 2008

I lost count of the number of times the death knell rang for the traditional Hollywood filmmaking model last year. The ongoing writers’ strike, the collapse of the star system (due to exorbitant actor salaries) and increasingly low box office returns…

Preview 2008 - Kelly Macdonald

4 Jan 2008

Kelly Macdonald caught the Coen brothers on the hop. Having convinced the casting director of the Coens’ new film, No Country For Old Men, that she could pull of an authentic West Texas accent, the 31-year-old Glaswegian actress was presented to the…

Sounds of the City

Hey You Get Off My Pavement

1 Aug 2007

Fed up wading through the mud and the crowds at major music festivals? Karin Goodwin gets the lowdown on an innovative alternative and finds there is a whole lot going on in Glasgow this summer

Glasgow Smiles Better

Hey You Get Off My Pavement

1 Aug 2007

Don’t want to spend August sitting in front of your TV? You don’t have to, as Karin Goodwin brings you some of the weird and wonderful events taking place in and around Glasgow this month

T in the Park - Biffy's James Johnston recommends

3 Jul 2008

I n Case of Fire Festivals are always a great place to check out new bands, and T in the Park has a great tradition for uncovering hidden gems. In Case of Fire are definitely worth checking out. We played some shows with them last year in their native…

T in the Park - Panic at the Disco

3 Jul 2008

It’s hard to be cool when you were ‘discovered’ on the internet by Pete Wentz with only three songs in your repertoire and your ‘fans’ were a few thousand e-friends who thought you were totally hot. Still, you’ve got to give Panic at the Disco points…

T in the Park - Running order

3 Jul 2008

FRIDAY MAIN STAGE The Verve Richard Ashcroft and co make a long-awaited return promising all the hits and some newly recorded material. Stereophonics Welsh outfit still successfully peddling their distinctive brand of pub rock with…

T in the Park - T Break Stage

3 Jul 2008

Friday State of Affairs Promising Edinburgh-based foursome who cater in wonderfully heartfelt indie rock. No Kilter Excitingly frenzied math-punk quartet from Glasgow. Figure 5 Much-adored skiffle-tinged, psychedelic garage pop…