Issue 574

Arctic Monkeys

ROCK

26 Apr 2007

The weight of expectation hasn’t affected the Arctic Monkeys one iota. They’ve hardly broken their stride and have tossed off a second album of casual brilliance. It almost feels unfair how off the cuff Favourite Worst Nightmare feels; the lyrics are as…

Pinhole Photography Day

Life through an absent lens

26 Apr 2007

Contemporary life is cluttered with days commemorating anything and everything. April 30 is, of all things, Hairstyle Appreciation Day. Personally I’m not especially interested in celebrating perfectly coiffed locks, but occasionally one of these events…

* Hitlist (Classical)

Hitlist

26 Apr 2007

The Sixteen: Music from the Sistine Chapel The seventh choral pilgrimage of this outstanding group of 16 singers takes the Renaissance music of the Papal chapels as its inspiration. The sumptuous sounds of Allegri’s famous Miserere forms the centrepiece…

1990s

Records

26 Apr 2007

INDIE After years of ferreting away with his former band, John McKeown’s brilliantly quirky songwriting is finally getting the recognition it deserves. Of course Cookies is an altogether different offering from anything The Yummy Fur ever released…

Björk

Records

26 Apr 2007

ERM . . . BJORK? Heralding an album as ‘the most commercial thing Björk has ever done’ is really a bit like declaring the new David Lynch movie ‘his most coherent narrative ever’. For the last decade she has been making the most unashamedly artful…

Elliott Smith

Records

26 Apr 2007

FOLK/ROCK Music from beyond the grave is always kind of spooky, especially when it is from an artist whose demise life was cut short like Smith’s. This is even more so given the bare nature of his songs, often little more than a couple of guitar…

Fields

Records

26 Apr 2007

INDIE Imagine, if you will, Fleetwood Mac getting together with My Bloody Valentine. Add some crystal meth, the melodies of angels and a poet’s heart. Fields’ sound ranges from exquisite skewed folk to powerhouse drone-rock mayhem, frequently in the…

Injuns

Records

26 Apr 2007

POP Skye boys Leighton Jones (keyboard and vocals) and Hector MacInnes (drums) and the four other Injuns lads know their stuff and aren’t afraid to prove it. This debut is a densely influenced, multi-genre-encapsulating smorgasbord swerving from the…

Leg, The

Records

26 Apr 2007

ROCK Those who have been hanging about the venues of Edinburgh for a few years now might know this lot as ‘the band formerly known as Desc and Khaya’. Every vague shift in musical direction from long-time collaborators Dan Mutch, Pete Harvey and Alun…

Mark O'Keeffe

Records

26 Apr 2007

CONTEMPORARY JAZZ The Edinburgh-based label is doing its fair share to support contemporary Scottish composition. The Edinburgh Quartet’s fine recent disc of new Scottish string quartets, The Cold Dancer, is followed by this solo outing from the BBC…

Quentin Collins

Records

26 Apr 2007

JAZZ Trumpeter Quentin Collins is an emerging name on the London jazz scene, and this debut album suggests that the buzz around his work is well justified. His bright, cutting tone is in a recognisable line of descent from the likes of Freddie…

Rory Campbell

Records

26 Apr 2007

FOLK Barra-born Rory Campbell is best known for his work in bands like Deaf Shepherd and Old Blind Dogs. His latest project features Jonny Hardie (a band-mate in Old Blind Dogs) on guitar and drummer Donald Hay, and offers strong and expressive…

Scottish Ensemble with Gwilym Simcock

City Halls, Glasgow, Thu 26 Apr; Queen’s Hall, Edi

26 Apr 2007

SEASON FINALE Well known for its innovative programming, the Scottish Ensemble bring their 2006/07 season to a close with a collaboration that straddles the worlds of classical and jazz. Leading young jazz pianist and composer, Gwilym Simcock, joins…

Singles & Downloads

26 Apr 2007

Dancing girls galore this fortnight. Sophie Ellis Bextor kicks things off with 90s dance throwback, ‘Me and My Imagination’ (Fascination - 1 star), all sunny Ibiza beats and disco strings, but sadly low on charm. Crazy London girls, Duloks have more…

Travis

Records

26 Apr 2007

POP The scholarly quest for songcraft for songcraft’s sake is now the only real endeavour for Travis these days, which is preferable of course to trying to regain former glories that, as their contemporaries Oasis will never tell you, are…

Willy Mason

Records

26 Apr 2007

FOLK POP Wee Willy Mason launches his second tasty platter, with a voice that still sounds way beyond his tender early 20s. This new set of songs makes his acclaimed debut, Where the Humans Eat, seem like a slab of raw meat, with lush production…

American Literature

Born fighting

24 Apr 2007

At the exact moment Chuck Palahniuk greets me with a hushed ‘Hello?’ his home in south-western Washington State is being invaded by a group of unfamiliar men who are chanting in unison at the author: ‘His name is Robert Paulson!’

Arts and minds

News

24 Apr 2007

Mark Cousins: Film writer I’d like to see art schools for 15-year-olds. I’d like the excitement of philosophy and aesthetics to be taught at primary school. I’d like our media to be more passionate about art and culture. I’d like modern…

Eat - The Italian Job

Life & Style

24 Apr 2007

Earlier this year I was employed to eat. And no, I wasn’t cramming pies into my face, a guinea pig for Greggs; I was hired to dine at some of the best restaurants in Scotland. You’re probably thinking, ‘bully for you’, but with a few more four-letter…

Eating & Drinking Awards

News

24 Apr 2007

Words: Allan Radcliffe (Left to right: The Kitchin and Bistro at One Devonshire) As the 14th annual Eating and Drinking Guide is published, The List can exclusively reveal the winners of this year’s awards for Best Restaurant, Best New…

Justin Timberlake

He’s lovin it

24 Apr 2007

Justin Timberlake is all over the place. He’s traversing the world with the nine-month-long FutureSex/LoveShow tour, an in-the-round extravaganza of singing, dancing, panto sex moves, human beatboxing and tequila-drinking (in the course of the show…

Play - War Room

Life & Style

24 Apr 2007

Gaming is great - digging out your console or powering up your PC for a dose of virtual action. It’s even more fun if you get a few mates together for a bone-crunching Tekken session or a pass-the-mic round of SingStar. Now imagine a group of 28 with…

Scottish Opera

Access all arias

24 Apr 2007

It’s the climax of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. Having sung themselves into a state of romantic bliss, the delicate geisha and her American lieutenant lover fall into each other’s arms. Their lips are trembling on the verge of a succulent kiss when a man…

Travel - Whisky galore!

Life & Style

24 Apr 2007

In almost any bar in Paris or Barcelona, you’ll spot young females drinking whisky. Not old men in tweed bunnets, swirling heavy tumblers and singing to themselves but young, fashionable women. A whisky-cola may be a very popular ladies’ choice in clubs…

* Hitlist

Hitlist

23 Apr 2007

Maria McKee (pictured) Her new album Late December has finally arrived, featuring skilfully drawn, unassuming alt.country nuggets. Oran Mor, Glasgow, Sat 28 Apr; Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, Mon 30 Apr. (Rock & Pop)

*Hitlist

Hitlist

23 Apr 2007

Happy Birthday Miffy! Everyone’s favourite carrot-muncher (after, perhaps, Bugs Bunny and, maybe, Jessica Rabbit) gets her own gig at the NLS as Dick Bruna’s creation becomes the subject of an extensive collection of art works and interactive gear.

*Hitlist

Hitlist

23 Apr 2007

Sunshine on Leith At last, The Proclaimers musical (pictured)! The story of two returned army veterans finding a different city to the one they left is accompanied by the likes of ‘I’m Gonna be (500 Miles)’, ‘Letter from America’ and the title song, all…

*Hitlist

Hitlist

23 Apr 2007

Neil Clements: Paranoid The Glasgow-based artist examines the relationship between art and music, focusing on the simultaneous emergence of Bridget Riley as the ‘High Priestess’ of Op Art in Britain and the nosey ‘birth’ of the de-tuned guitar. The…

*Hitlist

Hitlist

23 Apr 2007

Tony Carter (pictured) We’ve recently seen Will Andrews twiddling the knobs and flicking some switches as a tech guy for other comics, but we love him most when he’s bounding on stage as his feckless Geordie jester alter ego. Liquid Room, Edinburgh…

*Hitlist

Hitlist

23 Apr 2007

Pete Rock and Marley Marl Late change to the bill as DJ Premier drops out of Triptych with Pete Rock stepping in to fill the void. Renfrew Ferry, Glasgow, Thu 26 Apr; Bongo Club, Edinburgh, Fri 27 Apr.

5 Things - Brendon Burns

5 Things you might not know about . . .

23 Apr 2007

1 Aussie comic Burns believes that death is our second biggest fear. Number one is speaking in front of a group of people.

65daysofstatic

Exposure

23 Apr 2007

65daysofstatic are a Sheffield rock band who are distinctly different to their indie-bretheren. Combining drum & bass beats, glitches and synths over an instrumental rock template has seen them win over the rock press, Zane Lowe and the late John Peel.

A Model American

Elsie Burch Donald

23 Apr 2007

POLITICAL DRAMA In Elsie Burch Donald’s study of US foreign policy in 1970s Cambodia, there is little doubt the author is inviting parallels with the current crusade for democracy in the Middle East. To this end she has conjured a gaggle of debating…

Alex Pollard

White lines, black marks

23 Apr 2007

If the 70s were the era that fashion forgot, the 80s were the decade that fashion had a gushing aneurism. There was something for everyone, with David Bowie managing to embrace almost every genre and fashion. Thankfully he lost it in the 90s and we got…

Also Published

5 AUDIOBOOKS

23 Apr 2007

Stef Penney The Tenderness of Wolves Set in the wilds of Canada during the 1860s, a man has been brutally murdered while a 17-year-old boy disappears. Siobhan Redmond reads this romance/thriller. Quercus.

Also Released

Straightheads

23 Apr 2007

(18) 79min (1 Star) More dire vigilante antics from the oeuvre of Danny Dyer. This time he’s one half of a middle class couple (the other half is a slumming Gillian Anderson), at the beginning of their romance, who embark on a violent killing spree…

Angels In America, Parts 1 & 2

Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, Tue 1-Sat 12 May

23 Apr 2007

REVIVAL There’s little doubt that in the future, when the great histories of theatre post-1950 are written, Tony Kushner’s classic will take a prominent role. Reckoned by many a critic to be the greatest play of the 1990s, its cultural shockwaves…

Away From Her

(12A) 109min

23 Apr 2007

DRAMA Canadian short and TV filmmaker Sarah Polley’s leap into feature film directing is a moving adaptation of Alice Munro’s short story The Bear Came Over the Mountain. Set in present day Ontario, middle class Fiona (Julie Christie) and Grant…

Babyhead

Trouble Fifth Birthday, Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburg

23 Apr 2007

SKA While it can be difficult to get excited about a live ska band on paper, even after the fact, it can be harder to maintain one’s cool when they’re up on stage. This troupe of oddball acid jazz throwbacks from Bristol are tipped for big things but…

Bad Men

Clive Stafford Smith

23 Apr 2007

POLITICAL ESSAY Clive Stafford Smith has been privy to some horrible maltreatments of human beings down the years. As a Cornishman with dual UK/US citizenship, he is seen as a saviour to the many Death Row prisoners he has tried to rescue from lethal…

Big in Falkirk

Callendar Park, Falkirk, Sat 5-Sun 6 May. Free.

23 Apr 2007

‘Nine or ten years ago, if I’d said to you “come and see a show in Falkirk” you’d have laughed at me.’ Neil Butler, Artistic Director of the Big in Falkirk festival, which has been running in Callander Park since 2001, is quite used to this particular…

Bis

King Tut’s, Glasgow, Fri 6 Apr

23 Apr 2007

FUTURE RETRO POWER POP COMEBACK They announce themselves like superheroes, maybe, or superstar wrestlers, starting out in silhouette and dry ice, turning round one at a time. ‘Hello! We are Bis from Glasgow, Scotland!’ The palpable excitement that’s…

Carthage Must Be Destroyed

Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Fri 27 Apr - Sat 19 May

23 Apr 2007

NEW WORK The history play is, and has always been, a way to speak of contemporary times. Just as Shakespeare’s versions of Henry V, Richard III and even King Lear were more a commentary on contemporary events than the past, so every history play…

Comics - Spider-Man & Black Cat

Kevin Smith & Terry Dodson

23 Apr 2007

SUPERHERO There has been some amazing creative talent on Spider-Man through the years. Comics bad boy Todd McFarlane (Spawn), Jeph Loeb (Lost), Pete Bagge (Hate) and John Byrne have all thrown in their artistic tuppence worth, while even Frank Miller…

Comics - Spider-Man Family 1 & 2

Various

23 Apr 2007

SUPERHERO Some may call it cynical marketing that Spider-Man is ‘back in black’ just as the new film hits the screens, but hey he looks cool as hell so we’ll forgive Marvel. Spider-Man Family is the latest monthly to hit the shelves, an anthology…

Comics - Spider-Man: Skin Deep

J Michael Straczynski & Mike Deodato Jr

23 Apr 2007

SUPERHERO Jump cut to the latest collection from Marvel UK of exactly the same title (Amazing Spider-Man, now running at issues 515-518 in this compendium). Now married to Mary-Jane, this is more the world of Spidey we know and love. Dipping back to…

David Lynch

Wild at art

23 Apr 2007

At the Paris launch of David Lynch’s first major exhibition of his drawings and photographs, the 61-year-old director was asked to offer some insight into the work. To seasoned Lynch-watchers, the response was a typical mixture of beguiling and…

Dirty Wee Middens

Dirty Wee Middens, Lycanthrope and Billy Liar

23 Apr 2007

HORROR PUNK Dundee is spewing forth all kinds of interesting bands lately and Dirty Wee Middens are no exception. Despite slatherings of ghoulish make-up (as far away from The View as you can imagine), the Middens definitely have a pulse and it is…

Fast Food Nation

(15) 114min

23 Apr 2007

SATIRICAL ADAPTATION Texan filmmaker, vegetarian and activist Richard Linklater’s fictional interpretation of Eric Schlosser’s bestselling non-fiction book exposing malpractice in the America’s fast food industry is an enjoyable and shocking…

Fiona Jardine

Interview

23 Apr 2007

Alexander Kennedy What will you be showing? Fiona Jardine I’m showing a series of photographs which have developed from my interest in, on the one hand, the image of the suited figure - an unconscious appreciation of it as well as particular…