Issue 569

Five things

Websites where you can get something for nothing

14 Feb 2007

Whoever said you can’t get something for nothing was clearly lying. Here are the websites that should be in every cheapskate’s favourites.

Love!/Hate!

Love!>>Lost

14 Feb 2007

Ignore the criticisms. Lost, which returns to UK screens this month, is the best soap opera on television, the kind that keeps you awake wondering what a polar bear is doing on a desert island. It has more layers than a deep-fried Mars Bar, and always…

Music promoter Billy Kelly dies

14 Feb 2007

We at The List were saddened to hear of the death from cancer of Billy Kelly, who was a driving force in Scotland’s live music industry. Kelly was perhaps best known as the visionary behind Glasgow’s Big Big World and Big Big Country showcases through…

News - The View play Edinburgh Castle

A view from the castle

14 Feb 2007

Words: Allan Radcliffe It’s a venue usually reserved for MOR rock royalty. Rod Stewart and Lionel Ritchie have both graced the main stage in front of vast audiences, while Elton John and his entourage transformed the Great Hall into a…

News Extra

14 Feb 2007

Lonely Planet is making a jaunt north of the border to host screenings of the 1969 cult classic The Italian Job and offbeat French romantic comedy Amelie on Thursday 22 and Wednesday 28 March at Edinburgh’s Cameo cinema. The films are being shown as…

News in brief

14 Feb 2007

Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer are making a rare visit north of the border for the next series of Channel 4’s Location Location Location. The straight-talking property gurus will be in Glasgow at the end of February and are keen to hear from anyone…

Protect the human

14 Feb 2007

Darius Danesh stands in a swimming pool, Courtney Love sprawls on the floor of the Dorchester Hotel, newspaper in one hand and placard in the other. Terry Jones mugs as he loads the dishwasher and protests about control of the arms trade and Dougray…

Rage!/Rave! - Mika

To believe or not to believe the hype

14 Feb 2007

Doug Johnstone: Mika is not the next big thing. He is merely the latest creation of the music industry’s marketing machine.

The Leech

Sucking the blood of popular entertainment

14 Feb 2007

All you need is love. Love and the trademark rights to your music. In a deal that will have at least one soon-to-be divorcee hopping for joy, computer giant Apple and The Beatles reconciled their long-running dispute over the Apple name, with the best…

Endrick Brothers - album review

ENDRICK BROTHERS

13 Feb 2007

POP ROCK (Hypertension) Wearing your heart on your sleeve has always sounded like a painful and messy sacrifice to me, while displaying your musical influences like a big clanging medal round the neck is nothing short of a grave mistake. So…

Explosions in the Sky - album review

EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY

13 Feb 2007

POST ROCK (Bella Union) Girls’n’stuff bothereth not Texas post-rock rangers Explosions in the Sky. On their fourth long player, they have infinitely more important thematic fish to fry. Take opener, ‘The Birth and Death of the Day’ for instance…

Grapevine - showbiz news

Grapevine

13 Feb 2007

Expect many cries of ‘there’s been a murder’ with news that more episodes are to be filmed of ITV ScotCop dramas Taggart and Rebus . Four new 90-minute mysteries of the former start filming in April and further adventures for Ian Rankin’s world-weary…

GusGus - album review

GUSGUS

13 Feb 2007

HOUSE (Gung Ho!) Starting out life as a sprawling 12-strong Icelandic art/film/music collective in 1995, GusGus have mutated over the years. At their heart has always remained a soulful electronic throb wrapped in alternately soothing and wanton…

Idlewild - album review

IDLEWILD

13 Feb 2007

ROCK (Sequel) Around the time of his folky solo project’s first release, Roddy Woomble hinted at a return to heavy music for his main band Idlewild. And boy was he right. Make Another World sees the Edinburgh quintet get back to blasting out…

Kris Drever - album review

KRIS DREVER

13 Feb 2007

FOLK (Reveal Records) Folk music is not the usual field of activity for this label, but they were so impressed with singer and guitarist Kris Drever playing live that they snapped him up to record this debut album. It has been eagerly anticipated…

Miles Davis - album review

MILES DAVIS

13 Feb 2007

JAZZ (Rhino) A single disc selection from the final phase of the trumpeter’s career, drawing on the music he released after his switch from Columbia in 1985. It is billed as the Very Best of Miles Davis, but is well short of meeting that claim.

MSTRKRFT - album review

MSTRKRFT

13 Feb 2007

EVIL ELECTRO (Modular) You probably know this Canadian duo as Death From Above 1979, or perhaps from their stellar remixes of Kills, Gossip, Metric and Bloc Party. But scrap all that: ‘MSTRKRFT, purveyors of the most thrilling dance music around…

Preston Redd - album review

PRESTON REED

13 Feb 2007

JAZZ (Outer Bridge Records) Guitarist Preston Reed continues to elude precise genre classification in his his distinctive style of solo guitar music, but this ballad-oriented set is the closest he has come to a straight jazz outing. In his insert…

Singles and downloads

Singles and downloads

13 Feb 2007

An almighty Single of the Fortnight has this reviewer’s eager digits already itching to rattle off their glowing textual praise. But first credit where it’s due to some of the largely stiff short-playing competition coming your way in the next 14 days…

The Decemberists - album review

THE DECEMBERISTS

13 Feb 2007

INDIE (Rough Trade) It is increasingly difficult to find records that are pure in their intentions. The Decemberists wear their ambitions on their (record) sleeves, wishing to create an album filled with quirks that remains welcoming. It recalls…

* Hitlist

Hitlist

12 Feb 2007

Ahlam Shibli An exhibition of photographs documenting the life of an artist growing up amongst the political turmoil of the ongoing war in Palestine. Shilibi’s photographs highlight the small everyday dramas that take place, avoiding salacious subjects…

* Hitlist

Hitlist

12 Feb 2007

Mrs Warren’s Profession George Bernard Shaw’s witty and elegantly structured drama is as much about the British class system as prostitution. In it, young career woman Vivie Warren discovers that her expensive upbringing is the product of brothels owned…

* Hitlist

Hitlist

12 Feb 2007

The Gossip So what is this, the third time here in as many months? The Gossip seem to love Glasgow almost as much as Glasgow loves The Gossip. ABC, Glasgow, Tue 27 Feb. (Rock & Pop)

* Hitlist

Hitlist

12 Feb 2007

Souled Out The Opal Lounge host two quality guests in the guise of hip hop master Qool DJ Marv (Thu 15 Feb) and Good Times architect, Norman Jay MBE (Thu 1 Mar). Opal Lounge, Edinburgh, Thu 1 Feb & 1 Mar.

* Hitlist

Hitlist

12 Feb 2007

Comedy Academy 4 Kids Got a nipper at home who is just a little bit too quick off the mark for their own good? Send them to school on a Saturday as punishment. The workshop run by James Campbell might even do them some good. The Bongo Club, Edinburgh…

* Hitlist

Hitlist

12 Feb 2007

Aye Write! A host of big names come to Glasgow for this festival which is now a crucial date in the literary diary. The likes of Howard Marks (pictured), Simon Armitage, Michael Buerk, Sue Cook, David Blunkett and Steve Bell all feature. Mitchell…

*Hitlist

Hitlist

12 Feb 2007

Science of Sleep Filmmaker Michel Gondry asserts himself as the natural heir to Jean Cocteau with this fantastical and surreal French comedy. Selected release from Fri 16 Feb.

15 Storeys High

12 Feb 2007

DVD With questionable wisdom, voters in the BBC’s Best Sitcom Ever poll back in 2004 utterly ignored 15 Storeys High, instead opting to find slots near the business end of the top 100 for the risible likes of ‘Allo Allo’ and Vicar of Dibley. History…

African Soul Rebels

Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Sun 18 Feb

12 Feb 2007

FUTURE AFRICA Last year this nationwide future-African showcase counted crossover sensation Amadou and Miriam among its triumphs and, now in its third year, the African Soul Rebels tour ups the ante with pre-eminent Afrobeat figurehead Femi Kuti…

Ahlam Shibli

Everyday war

12 Feb 2007

Shibli’s lens attends to the bleak realities of Palestinian identities lived within Israel and the Occupied Territories. Born in Galilee, which became part of Israel in 1948, Shibli explores the topographical and emotional contradictions of people…

Amy Winehouse interview

Life and soul

12 Feb 2007

It’s the morning after the tabloid outrage the night before. The weekend before we meet, Amy Winehouse was due to perform at GAY, the full-on, no-holds-barred club institution in the heart of London. Kylie’s done it with her sister Danni, McFly dropped…

Andy Zaltzman

12 Feb 2007

FIVE THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT 1 In 1999, Andy Zaltzman’s fledgling comedy career took off in a big way when he reached the final of So You Think You’re Funny. Also nominated that year were Josie Long and Russell Howard while the winner was…

Annie Mac

Mixed Bizness at The Sub Club, Thu 22 Feb

12 Feb 2007

ELECTRONICA According to promoter/DJ Ben Coghill (Mixed Bizness), ‘Annie Mac is the first person in a long time that I have heard on national radio that has made me ‘shoosh’ those in the room. She strikes a perfect balance between pushing exciting…

Antony Johnston

Dreams of Inan: Stealing Life (Abaddon)

12 Feb 2007

SCI-FI DRAMA Antony Johnston The publishers behind British sci-fi comic 2000AD continue their new imprint Abaddon Books, where prose takes centre stage over the words and pictures of their core title. Abaddon specialises in large scale series’…

Aron Tarjani and Miranda Whall: If I Open My Eyes I Might See Teeth

Washington Garcia, Glasgow, run ended

12 Feb 2007

VIDEO INSTALLATION The second offering from the Glasgow artist-run collective Washington Garcia brings together video and film work by Hungarian artist Aron Tarjani and Cardiff-based Miranda Whall. (Their first exhibition, a month ago, featured…

Artbeat - art news

Artbeat

12 Feb 2007

A new exhibition at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, celebrating the 300th anniversary of the Treaty of Union, features a newly commissioned video installation and a selection of works from the gallery’s permanent collection in a marriage of the…

Aye Write!

Mitchell Library, Glasgow, Fri 16-Sun 25 Feb

12 Feb 2007

BOOK FESTIVAL At times, it might seem like the world of children’s writing is a woman’s domain. You can barely move in the kids section of a book store without bumping into a whole shelf dedicated to JK Rowling, Jacqueline Wilson, Anne Fine or Lauren…

Aye Write! highlights

Write In

12 Feb 2007

Raj Persaud With a twinkle in his eye, the dapper broadcaster, author and psychiatrist entertains with talk about seduction. It’s fine, though, you can trust him, he’s a doctor. Fri 16 Feb, 6pm.

Brian Azzarello & Eduardo Risso

100 Bullets: Decayed (Vertigo/Titan)

12 Feb 2007

CRIME Now possibly three-quarters of the way into this cracking crime drama (this tenth volume collects issues 68 through 75 of what’s perhaps going to be a double dead-eye 100), it’s clear just what an enormously impressive feat of writing 100…

Cabaret Voltaire's second birthday

Come to the cabaret

12 Feb 2007

Regardless of musical tastes, most people will be able to find a great night out in Edinburgh if they pick the right club on the right evening. Unlike anywhere else in the city, however, turning up on just about any night at Cabaret Voltaire is likely…

Calvin Harris

Ultragroove, Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, Sat 27 J

12 Feb 2007

ELECTRO POP Stop me if you’ve heard one this before: Calvin Harris is the new Mylo. I must admit I didn’t get the anticipated use out my old one and am somewhat wary of upgrading my pop-club saviour should it prove obsolete or, heaven forbid…

Casablanca

(U) 102min

12 Feb 2007

NEW PRINT/CLASSIC Michael Curtiz’s superb 1942 classic re-emerges from the evergreen bush in a sparkling new print (both celluloid and digital depending where you see it). Nothing much has changed - it’s war time in Algeria and cynical nightclub…

Charlie Hammond

Sorcha Dallas, Glasgow, until Sat 3 Mar

12 Feb 2007

PAINTINGS, SCULPTURE AND PHOTOGRAPHY There is both an undeniable sense of conceptual precision and a wicked sense of humour informing the work of Charlie Hammond at Sorcha Dallas. The selection of work on display bears the marks of its making - but…

Charlotte Hatherley

Oran Mor, Glasgow, Tue 27 Feb

12 Feb 2007

ROCK Charlotte Hatherley was always the odd one out in the lads’ gang that is Ash, but she brought a refreshingly spiky new dimension to the Irish rockers, so after almost ten years as a fully-fledged member it’s a shame that she’s left. But…

Chinese New Year

Gung hei fat choi!

12 Feb 2007

Chinese New Year falls on Sunday 18 February this year, and this time it’s the turn of the Pig (or more properly the Boar). Chinese communities in Edinburgh and Glasgow will be celebrating throughout the week - the two biggest and most spectacular…

Cold War Kids

Barrowland, Glasgow, Sat 3 Feb

12 Feb 2007

ROCK Instead of nipping over to the UK to establish a reputation that can be built on back home, as so many American bands do, you sense California-based quartet Cold War Kids won’t need any such fix to win over their country folk. Having skimmed…

Dispatch - Roddy Woomble

The Dispatch

12 Feb 2007

Celtic Connections passed by in all its hazy, folky glory. I had a great time during the festival, and managed to see a few concerts I’d been looking forward to: John Martyn performing Solid Air, and Dick Gaughan performing his 1981 folk masterpiece…

DVD Round-up

12 Feb 2007

Back in the early part of the 20th century when cinema first spluttered to life, all films were short films. Film stock was expensive and temperamental and the idea that anyone would want to spend longer than 15 minutes in a Nickelodeon was an anathema.

Earfull

Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Fri 23-Sat 24 Feb

12 Feb 2007

NEW WORK If you like your theatre fringey, there are few greater assurances of quality than seeing the acronym BAC on the flyer. The Battersea Arts Centre might be in London, but the benefits of this creative hive of the arts have been plain to see…

Edward Dolnick

Stealing the Scream (Icon Books)

12 Feb 2007

ART HISTORY The title of Edward Dolnick’s light-hearted look at art history is misleading. This is less about the theft of Munch’s classic The Scream and more the tale of its saviour: policeman Charley Hill. The author worked with Hill to get the…