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Issue 624

Sorted by date / most viewed. Showing 25, 50, 100 per page.

Rob Brydon

Glasgow Comedy Festival - Rob Brydon

5 Mar 2009

For the laughter Under the Bruce Forsyth jawline and what he describes as ‘Olympic acne’ the man just has funny bones. Fact. In Brydon’s world, the losers are the real heroes. The pathetic, the blissfully irony-free, the nice guy that always…

The Chemosphere

Mr Lautner Builds His Dream House

5 Mar 2009

With a new film and major exhibition celebrating his life and work, maverick architect John Lautner’s time may finally have come. Paul Dale looks back at the life of the man who shaped the look of US moviemaking’s hometown.

James Frey

Aye Write! - James Frey

5 Mar 2009

Truth is a slippery business, and those who deal in it should be careful. This was what Haruki Murakami was saying last month when he accepted the Jerusalem Prize, a controversial writers’ award. He opened his speech saying: ‘I have come to Jerusalem…

Emily Blunt - Young Victoria

Emily Blunt - Yo majesty!

5 Mar 2009

When people got an eyeful of Emily Blunt’s striking good looks and acting ability in My Summer of Love, winner of the Best New British Feature award following its world premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2004, the general consensus…

Edward Gant’s Amazing Feats of Loneliness

Edward Gant’s Amazing Feats of Loneliness

5 Mar 2009

There’s a sensitivity and warmth to writer Anthony Neilson that a cursory glance at his plays would not make immediately apparent. Works such as Normal, a story based on the exploits of a serial killer, and Penetrator, which features an army veteran…

Norave

NORAVE

5 Mar 2009

Nights which concentrate on local guests can often come with an air of apology, and the unspoken suggestion that what’s going on is a bit second-best in the absence of funds to bring bigger guests in from further afield. So it’s refreshing to hear…

David O'Doherty

First Word - David O'Doherty

5 Mar 2009

First record you ever bought I got Thriller for my Communion, but my first actual purchase was the 7in single of Roland Rat’s ‘Rat Rappin’ when I was six. Last time you were chatted up I can’t remember the last time. Although I get asked if…

The Xcerts

The Xcerts

5 Mar 2009

Three boys from Aberdeen and Exeter are making a name for themselves among the throng of new bands out there, and that name is The Xcerts. The culmination of years of hard work for Murray MacLeod, Jordan Smith and Tom Heron (who barely grace their 20s…

Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick & Rainer Werner Fassbinder

5 Mar 2009

This month two monsters of cinema meet in the central belt. As German auteur Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s takes over the Glasgow Film Theatre (courtesy of Goethe Institut) with a small selection of his better known films (Fear Eats the Soul, Effi Brest…

Redwood

Redwood - Hail to the chef

5 Mar 2009

Democracy can be a beautiful thing, as recent events and a certain Mr Obama have shown. Edinburgh has its own little piece of democratisation to celebrate, as high-end private caterer Annette Sprague has backed away from cooking for boardrooms and…

Resident Evil 5

Resident Evil - Capcom interview

5 Mar 2009

Videogames have delved into the world of horror for a good number of years. Haunting Ground, The Suffering, Jericho, Alone in the Dark and many more have fought for the crown, but Resident Evil is the daddy of them all. On its launch back in 1996 it was…

International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day

5 Mar 2009

2009 is a significant year for women’s rights in Scotland: Saturday 10th October is the 100th anniversary of the first big suffragette march in the country and there will be a commemorative procession following the original route down Princes Street in…

Scottish Honey

Taste test - Scottish Honey

5 Mar 2009

Honeyhill Bee Farm’s Scottish Heather Honey 454g, £5.49 at Peckhams With its toffee consistency, dark colour and distinctive rich taste, heather honey is one of Scotland’s unique foods, with bees spending July and August in the Grampian foothills…

U2 - No Line on the Horizon

U2 - No Line on the Horizon

(3 stars)5 Mar 2009

ROCK It’s only that guy in the coma, buried deep in that underground bunker, with his earplugs in that doesn’t know enough to have an opinion on U2. And today, it’s more likely that your opinion of the band is informed as much from your opinion of Bono…

Anna Krzystek

Anna Krzystek

5 Mar 2009

CONTEMPORARY DANCE Sometimes dance comes with bells and whistles, assaulting your senses with a riot of music and colour. Other times it touches you gently, gradually searing itself onto your memory. The work of Glasgow-based choreographer, Anna…

Laurent Cantet

Profile - Laurent Cantet

5 Mar 2009

Name Laurent Cantet Born 5 June, 1961, Melle, France Background A graduate of La Femis film school in Paris, Cantet made his impressive feature debut in 1999 with Human Resources, which used a mainly non-professional cast and married the…

Music Festivals - Field of dreams

Music Festivals - Field of dreams

5 Mar 2009

While there were no great surprises at this year’s T in the Park launch, the programme was still hailed a success with Lily Allen (pictured) and Franz Ferdinand added to the bill, already including headliners Blur, Kings of Leon and The Killers. Snow…

SpongeBob SquarePants

SpongeBob SquarePants

5 Mar 2009

STAGE ADAPTATION Lifting one of the most popular animated TV programmes of all time from the small screen to the stage is no mean feat. When that programme takes place underwater, things get even tougher. Since it first aired in 1999, SpongeBob…

Kapital

Kapital

5 Mar 2009

MINIMAL Although Kapital’s promoter and resident DJ Barry O’Connell describes his night as plugging a specific hole in the Edinburgh clubbing market, it still draws from a broad spectrum of musical influences. ‘Kapital is mainly minimal techno,’ he…

Alex Horne

Alex Horne

5 Mar 2009

STAND-UP ‘Oh that’s a very strange bird,’ exclaims Alex Horne looking out of the window as he chats to me. ‘Once you start birdwatching, I tell you, any noise you just can’t ignore.’ Horne took up this leisure pursuit in 2006 when he had a bet with…

Profile - Adrian Sherwood

Profile - Adrian Sherwood

5 Mar 2009

Name Adrian Sherwood Occupation Legendary producer and proprietor of On-U-Sound Records, who over 30 years have cut a swathe of British squat rock dubplates through records by The New Age Steppers, Mark Stewart & the Maffia, Tackhead, African…

Toby Litt - Journey into Space

Toby Litt - Journey into Space

(4 stars)5 Mar 2009

LITERARY SCI-FI There’s a good track record of literary writers dabbling in science fiction, from Doris Lessing and Margaret Atwood to Iain Banks, and we can add to that fine company this remarkable and moving offering from Toby Litt. Having long…

Peter Sellers as Queen Victoria

Young Victoria - Giving us the Viccies

5 Mar 2009

Other screen portrayals of Queen Victoria include Judi Dench, Kathy Bates, Michael Palin, Miriam Margoyles, Patricia Routledge, Pauline Collins and Peter Sellers (pictured).

Red Light Company - Exposure

Exposure: Red Light Company

5 Mar 2009

How did you meet each other? It started in 2006 when I posted an ad on the internet looking for musicians. Our bassist Shawn (Day) replied, even though he was based in Wyoming at the time, but he flew over, we moved in to a flat off Baker Street…

Profile - Rhod Gilbert

Profile - Rhod Gilbert

5 Mar 2009

Name Rhod Gilbert Who’s he? He’s the Welsh comic who created a fictional village of Llanbobl for his early solo Fringe shows. Prior to his solo success, he was one half of the Stereocomics, the other half containing Mark Watson. Who’s not actually…

Carnival of Souls

Carnival of Souls

(5 stars)5 Mar 2009

HORROR Herk Harvey’s 1962 slice of low-budget horror has become a touchstone of today’s horror cinema, foreshadowing genre classics like George A Romero’s Night of the Living Dead and M Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense. After surviving a violent…

Clothes Customising Workshop & Swap

Clothes Customising Workshop & Swap

5 Mar 2009

Clothes swap parties are nothing new these days, but given the current economic climate, they are looking increasingly essential, and given the well-dressed lovelies who tend to shop and/or hang out at Glasgow fashion den Che Camille, you’re bound to…

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy - Beware

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy - Beware

(3 stars)5 Mar 2009

ALT.COUNTRY Wildwood lothario Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – the alter ego of Kentuckian alt.country outlaw Will Oldham – has inhabited and advanced the guise of folk defiler, kinship analyst and hirsute, horny man-beast since his come-hither intones were…

Northern Ballet Theatre: Swan Lake and Mixed Bill

Northern Ballet Theatre: Swan Lake and Mixed Bill

5 Mar 2009

It may be the world’s most popular ballet in its traditional form, but Swan Lake can withstand a fair bit of manipulation. David Nixon’s innovative version takes place in New England during the early 20th century, where a wealthy college boy and his…

Sian Bevan

Glasgow Comedy Festival - Tell us a Joke

5 Mar 2009

Bruce Devlin ‘I’m always fascinated by the sign in the Glasgow chip shop: ‘Jack McPhee, Fresh From The Sea. ’Since when did a sausage come from the sea?’ Mark Nelson ‘I recently asked my girlfriend to role play as a nurse. She’s taken it a bit…

Mari Strachan

Mari Strachan

5 Mar 2009

From The Catcher in the Rye to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, literature in English is littered with novelists attempting to capture the bold yet naive voice of adolescence. In her debut novel, The Earth Hums in B Flat, Welsh writer…

Artist Rooms: d’Offay Collection

Artist Rooms: d’Offay Collection

5 Mar 2009

Outside of major retrospectives, the opportunity to see bodies of work by international artists doesn’t come along too often. This is what struck collector and dealer Anthony d’Offay when he first mooted the Artist Rooms project, which bears its first…

Joanna Neary

Glasgow Comedy Festival - Joanna Neary

5 Mar 2009

When character comic Joanna Neary worked as a nanny in a previous life, she didn’t let the job stop her imagination running wild. One boy she took to school would be entertained by stories of how he lived in a house where the food would come out of the…

Goodstead

Street Smarts

5 Mar 2009

This week, Goodstead and Oddities, both much loved Edinburgh streetwear boutiques, are shutting their flagship stores and opening new premises. Currently, people tend to assume that any change is related to the economy, so it’s refreshing to find two…

The Penny Dreadfuls

Glasgow Comedy Festival - The Penny Dreadfuls

5 Mar 2009

Conspiring in the darkest bowels of BBC’s Henry Wood House in London, three earnest young men, exemplars of aggressive Victorian ambition, are hatching a dastardly, somewhat far-fetched plot to conquer Edinburgh this August. Beginning with sorties into…

Bronson

Bronson

(5 stars)5 Mar 2009

The brutal true story of Britain’s most notorious and dangerous prisoner Michael Gordon Petersen aka Charles Bronson is given an expressionistic makeover by gifted Dutch auteur Nicolas Refn Winding (Pusher Trilogy, Fear X, Bleeder).

Turkey Shoot

Interview - Mark Hartley

5 Mar 2009

‘To me they were just like American exploitation films, but they had Australian locations and Australian actors. So I felt a connection to them. After seeing them I wanted to read about them, but I realised they hadn’t been written about at all. ‘In…

Interview - Mark Strong

Interview - Mark Strong

5 Mar 2009

‘You cannot play an “evil” character without finding the humanity in them. That’s what I find very interesting. You’re not asking for sympathy, but you’re not just painting a one-dimensional character,’ says Mark Strong. Having played his fair share of…

Graham Fagen: Sombodyelse

Graham Fagen: Somebodyelse

(4 stars)5 Mar 2009

REVIEW MIXED MEDIA Living up to the promise of its name, The Changing Room’s move to the Tolbooth has led to the gallery’s being successfully reconfigured within a historic setting. In keeping with this theme of recontextualisation, Somebodyelse is a…

The Burning Plain

The Burning Plain

(3 stars)5 Mar 2009

DRAMA After a publicised falling-out with the filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, with whom he collaborated on Amores Perros, 21 Grams, and Babel, the Mexican screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga has now made his own directorial debut, the sombre…

Labels of love: 17 Seconds

Labels of love: 17 Seconds

5 Mar 2009

The label 17 Seconds. Based in Edinburgh. Roster Aberfeldy, Ex Lion Tamer, The Gillyflowers. The gaffer Ed Jupp (brother of Balamory’s Miles; ‘I’m easy to spot, I look like Archie the Inventor with a Kurt Cobain beard’) and Laurent…

Watchmen

Watchmen

(3 stars)5 Mar 2009

SCI FI/THRILLER Considering that Alan Moore’s Watchmen was believed unfilmmable. Director Zach Snyder has done a sterling job in bringing Moore’s influential graphic novel to the big screen. Snyder worked with comic book scribe Frank Miller on 300…

St James Centre

News in brief

5 Mar 2009

Six short films have been made with a £250,000 Scottish Screen investment, to be shown at international festivals in 2009 and 2010. Scottish shorts have already enjoyed success with documentary Breadmakers which screened at Sundance 2007 and won the…

Nanette Burstein

Profile - Nanette Burstein

5 Mar 2009

Name Nanette Burstein Born 23 May, 1970, Buffalo, New York Background Burstein’s graduate film from New York University Tisch School of Arts became her debut feature-length documentary. The Oscar nominated On the Ropes portrayed three young…

Site Specifics

Site Specifics

5 Mar 2009

What is it? Two converted old buildings on the Royal Mile, housing a very impressive selection of toys and children’s clothes, concentrating on the 18th–20th centuries. What’s it like then? Not as big as you remember it being when you were little.

Mr McFall’s Chamber with Michael Marra

Mr McFall’s Chamber with Michael Marra

5 Mar 2009

COLLABORATION If there is one thing predictable about Mr McFall’s Chamber, it is that they are never predictable. Every performance brings something completely out of the ordinary. For their latest musical adventure, the core string quartet is joined…

Marley & Me

Also Released - Film

5 Mar 2009

American Teen (15) 101min •• Nauseating reality TV style documentary about a year in the lives of four teenagers in the senior year of a high school in Indiana. Director Nanette On The Ropes Burstein plays with ideas of truth and representation to such…

Kyoto

Kyoto

5 Mar 2009

PREVIEW NEW WORK Those ancient, lurking passions that linger in the subtext between two people, who, because of vicissitude and circumstance can’t consummate an attraction that exists between them for years on end is an experience common enough for…

Alan Bennett - The Uncommon Reader

Aye Write! - Highlights

5 Mar 2009

Alan Bennett Everyone’s favourite northern talking head chats about The Uncommon Reader which speculates on the daring books HRH might flick through. Fri 6 Mar, 6pm. Willy Maley on Muriel Spark The man who co-edited the 100 Best Scottish Books Of…

The Young Victoria

The Young Victoria

(3 stars)5 Mar 2009

ROMANCE/HISTORY Young Queen Victoria (Emily Blunt) kicks against the royal pricks but is tamed by a man whose name has become synonymous with penile piercing. Who would of thought it. Miserable old Queen Victoria was the proto feminist. As a young…

Visual Arts News - Picture perfect

Visual Arts News - Picture perfect

5 Mar 2009

The List are pleased to report that Washington Garcia has launched a new contemporary art gallery space in Glasgow. The already successful gallery will base itself beside the Glasgow Sculpture Studios and SWG3/Studio Warehouse in the Eastvale district…

The Boxer Rebellion

The Boxer Rebellion

5 Mar 2009

ROCK It used to be the case that once a band had toured the UK into submission, they were shipped over to the US to try to – gulp – break America, but a growing number of British acts are finding success across the pond before they’ve made a…

Monox_100

Monox_100

5 Mar 2009

TECHNO In order to celebrate the 100th Monox party, Rubadub’s Dan Lurinsky has invited Monolake and T++, two of Berlin’s most inventive electronic musicians to perform at the Sub Club. As one of the key contributors to the development of Ableton…

Ipso Facto

Ipso Facto

5 Mar 2009

INDIE Last time über-bobbed female quartet Ipso Facto were in Glasgow, two of their number were aloft the shoulders of their companions in the auditorium of the O2 Academy, going nuts to reformed post-punk fabulists Magazine’s encore of Captain…

Records - Also Released

5 Mar 2009

Various - Strictly Erick Morillo (Strictly Rhythm) The original Strictly superstar delivers three discs of underground and commercial house. Classics like HCCR’s re-mix of ‘Deep Inside’ rub shoulders with new tunes such as Mike Domico’s remix of ‘Luv…

Catriona McKay

Catriona McKay

5 Mar 2009

PREVIEW FOLK CATRIONA MCKAY Harpist Catriona McKay may be best known for her role in Fiddler’s Bid and her duo with Chris Stout, another mainstay of the Shetland outfit, but she is also an innovative explorer of less well-travelled musical…

Taste of Edinburgh

Side Dishes - Food News

5 Mar 2009

● The List has teamed up again with Taste of Edinburgh, the high-profile food festival at the end of May, to find out readers’ current favourite places to eat out. Vote online for your favourite restaurant in either Edinburgh or Glasgow and you’ll earn…

Surveillance

Surveillance

(3 stars)5 Mar 2009

THRILLER Director and co-writer Jennifer Chambers Lynch (the 40-year-old daughter of filmmaker David Lynch) has said that Surveillance was originally about witches. That might explain why the finished film, which is a thriller involving serial…

The Killers

Hitlist - Music

5 Mar 2009

● The Killers Brandon Flowers and co. present their newly synthed-up rock sound of Day & Age. SECC, Glasgow, Fri 6 Mar. (Rock & Pop) ● Elbow These prize plundering miserablist Mancunians might brighten your night with their version of ‘Independent…

The Mystery of Irma Vep

The Mystery of Irma Vep

(3 stars)5 Mar 2009

PARODY Apparently, the contract for the original Off-Broadway production of The Mystery of Irma Vep stipulated that the play was to be performed by two actors of the same gender. Having seen Ian Grieve’s revival of Charles Ludlam’s 1984 spoof ‘penny…

Wendy and Lucy

Wendy and Lucy

(4 stars)5 Mar 2009

DRAMA Twentysomething Wendy (Michelle Williams) and her golden retriever dog Lucy embark on a cross-country road trip from Indiana to find temporary work in a fishing cannery in Ketchikan, Alaska. Their problems begin in Oregon when Wendy’s old Honda…

Frida Kahlo

Hitlist - Theatre

5 Mar 2009

● Frida: Viva la Vida Still flushed with success from last year’s Edinburgh Fringe the Tirso Theatre Company revives its enjoyable account of the life of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Tron Theatre, Glasgow, until Sat 7 Mar. ● Technological…

LGBT Speed Dating - Pink Links

LGBT Speed Dating - Pink Links

5 Mar 2009

SPEED DATING Valentine’s Day may have departed for another year on a bin lorry piled high with trampled roses and dog-eared cards, but for many the search for love goes on. As luck would have it, Edinburgh’s busy LGBT scene just got a little more…

Jimmy Robert: Grey Flannel Suits Any Man

Jimmy Robert: Grey Flannel Suits Any Man

(4 stars)5 Mar 2009

MIXED MEDIA Jimmy Robert’s practice focusing on the fragility of representation is so intelligently rendered and meticulous it makes you want to swoon. This show, his first in Scotland, presents his image-object and performance work in a neat…

5 Reasons to Go See: Doves

5 Reasons to Go See: Doves

5 Mar 2009

1 They’re Madchester survivors Prior to becoming a sweeping melodic indie rock band, Mancunian trio Doves – Jimi Goodwin (bass, vocals) and brothers Jez (guitar) and Andy (drums) Williams – enjoyed moderate success in the early 90s as dance outfit Sub…

Flame and Citron

Flame and Citron

(2 stars)5 Mar 2009

THRILLER World War II is so en vogue right now. Sixty years after the end of the war and the movie world has decided it no longer needs to trot out The Dam Busters line that the allies were all heroes and all Germans were Nazis. Recently we’ve had…

Hush

Hush

(2 stars)5 Mar 2009

THRILLER British director Mark Tonderai’s peacefully titled debut feature begins anything but silently. Couple Zakes (William Ash) and Beth (Christine Bottomley) are on a midnight car journey down the M1 and their bickering is gradually turning…

Lola Jaye

Food for Thought - Lola Jaye

5 Mar 2009

This is a subject close to my heart. For a fantasy breakfast, a fry up. Organic mushrooms, scrambled eggs, bacon – with no fat on – and maybe a sausage. Nice, lovely cherry tomatoes, yum. Oh, and a glass of Coke. My ideal lunch? I got back from…

Alex Pollard and Clare Stephenson: The Dirty Hands

Alex Pollard and Clare Stephenson: The Dirty Hands

(4 stars)5 Mar 2009

MIXED MEDIA In this two-person show paintings, collages and free standing objects have been constructed into mise-en-scènes enabling fantastic characters to act out their scripts. Entering the space, one is immediately impressed. Brushstrokes of…

Hitlist - Classical

Hitlist - Classical

5 Mar 2009

● Scottish Chamber Orchestra: Bach and Mozart Not long back from India, the SCO are just about to jet off on their travels again, this time to Krakow, Budapest and Istanbul. Hear their tour programme in Edinburgh and Glasgow before they set off, with…

The Gillyflowers

The Gillyflowers

(4 stars)5 Mar 2009

COUNTRY ROCK In the short term, Edinburgh’s Gillyflowers won’t be able to escape drawing attention due to the fact their lead singer Kirsten Adamson is the daughter of the late Stuart Adamson. In the long term, though, the feeling is that they – and…

Scottish Opera – Five: 15

Scottish Opera – Five: 15

(4 stars)5 Mar 2009

OPERA Following on from the great success of last year’s showcase of five new, short operas from Scottish composers and writers, the latest batch of Scottish Opera’s Five: 15 once again shows that the company is onto a winner. Taking five completely…

Silent Hill: Homecoming

Horror Games Roundup

5 Mar 2009

With the launch of Resident Evil 5 Henry Northmore looks at why it’s a great time to be a fan of digital terror Silent Hill: Homecoming PS3/Xbox 360 (Konami) ●●●● Silent Hill has always been one of the most disturbing titles on the market…

Neat diners around town & beyond

5 Mar 2009

The Wee Curry Shop 7 Buccleuch Street, Glasgow 0141 353 0777, www.motherindia.co.uk For over a decade this Garnethill dining room has been one of Glasgow’s best loved little eating spots, with just 25 covers but a big reputation for simple, fresh…

Trembling Bells

Trembling Bells

(4 stars)5 Mar 2009

FOLK ‘Does that sound okay?’ says Alex Neilson near the beginning of the show. His eyes are beseeching the crowd to cough up a sound engineer with a firmly-stated opinion either way. No such luck, though; the audience are doing that awkward passive…

Hitlist - Visual Art

Hitlist - Visual Art

5 Mar 2009

● Graham Fagen: Somebodyelse The Changing Room relocates to the Tolbooth and inaugurates the space with this compelling exhibition of portrait works by acclaimed Scottish artist Fagen. The Changing Room, Stirling, until Sat 11 Apr. ● Alex Pollard…

Findo Gask

Findo Gask, Babygod and Night Noise Team

(4 stars)5 Mar 2009

REVIEW INDIE FINDO GASK, BABYGOD AND NIGHT NOISE TEAM The changing seasons of Scottish music can be hard to judge, although there’s little doubt we’re heading back into summer right now. So let’s enthuse about one reason why; Findo Gask, the…

5 Paperback Debutants

5 Mar 2009

Edward Hogan - Blackmoor A dark tale of a close-knit mining community forced to abandon their homes while, ten years later, a child discovers exactly how his mother died there. Pocket. Lauren Liebenberg - The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and…

Gazwrx - The Films Of Jeff Keen

Gazwrx - The Films Of Jeff Keen

(4 stars)5 Mar 2009

SHORT FILMS Jeff Keen aka Dr Gaz is Britain's answer to American underground cinema legends Stan Brakhage, Kenneth Anger and Andy Warhol. Born in 1923, the Brighton-based Keen started making films in the late 1950s and has to date made upwards of 50…

Joan Bakewell - All the Nice Girls

Joan Bakewell - All the Nice Girls

(3 stars)5 Mar 2009

WARTIME DRAMA Much like the time period it’s set within, the passion and intrigue in Joan Bakewell’s first novel hides behind a stodgy façade of 1940s wartime repression and tightly buttoned morals. Set in a prim girls’ school, the jolly hockey…

John Snow

We Like

5 Mar 2009

● Channel 4 news using Twitter to try and find sources and interviewees: ‘Anyone know any angry Lloyds shareholders?’ Oh, and Twitter itself, of course: follow our idle meanderings at twitter.com/thelistmagazine ● Getting emails from Downing Street…

Tony McManus - The Maker’s Mark

Tony McManus - The Maker’s Mark

(5 stars)5 Mar 2009

FOLK On the face of it the Edinburgh-born guitarist’s latest outing has more than a touch of the guitar anorak’s dream project about it, but the music is simply glorious. Tony, now based in Canada, got together with guitar dealer Paul Heumiller to…

Walter Jon Williams - This Is Not a Game

Walter Jon Williams - This Is Not a Game

(2 stars)5 Mar 2009

TECHNO THRILLER If a novel set in a world of ‘greed, betrayal and social networking’ doesn’t sound especially exciting, that’s because it’s not. Walter Jon Williams might be highly acclaimed as a sci-fi writer, but This Is Not a Game engages a muddle…

Tim Garland - Libra

Tim Garland - Libra

(4 stars)5 Mar 2009

JAZZ The centrepiece of this multi-faceted and hugely impressive double set is the saxophonist’s four-piece suite Frontier, written for his Lighthouse Trio (with pianist Gwilym Simcock and percussionist Asaf Sirkis), plus the Royal Philharmonic…

Stona Fitch - Printer’s Devil

Stona Fitch - Printer’s Devil

(5 stars)5 Mar 2009

DYSTOPIAN NOVEL Cormac McCarthy set a new benchmark in dystopian fiction with his remarkable The Road, but this powerful and profound novel makes a good stab at matching it. In a future world blighted by post-apocalyptic environmental threats…

The Blue Note 7 - Mosaic

The Blue Note 7 - Mosaic

(3 stars)5 Mar 2009

JAZZ This septet was convened to celebrate this year’s 70th anniversary of the founding of Blue Note Records by Alfred Lion, although both the recording and an extensive American tour took place last year. The band features a number of top names in…

The Baxter

The Baxter

5 Mar 2009

COMEDY This likeably old fashioned comedy showcasing the talents of comic actors Michael Showalter (who also writes and directs), Paul Judd, Justin Theroux and a pre-Brokeback Mountain Michelle Williams has taken four years to cross the pond. And yet…

The Girl in the Park

The Girl in the Park

(3 stars)5 Mar 2009

DRAMA It’s easy to see why this quiet little film about a missing child was overlooked for glitzy Angelina Jolie weepy The Changeling on its first release. As Julia Sandburg, whose toddler was snatched from a park 16 years earlier, Sigourney Weaver…

John Wagner, Alan Grant & Various - Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 12

John Wagner, Alan Grant & Various - Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 12

(3 stars)5 Mar 2009

SCI-FI COMIC Yet another huge Judge Dredd compendium from the pages of 2000AD. As per usual John Wagner and Alan Grant take up the writing reins of the ultimate lawman as he brings tough justice to the streets of sci-fi metropolis Mega City One.

Various - Sci-Fi-Lo-Fi Vol 3 compiled by Rob Da Bank

Various - Sci-Fi-Lo-Fi Vol 3 compiled by Rob Da Bank

(3 stars)5 Mar 2009

SHOEGAZER TRIP Having spun off from Soma’s Sci-Fi-Hi-Fi compilations of 2005 onwards, their lo-fi offshoot has now grown arms and legs. Following in the eclectic fingertips of Andrew Weatherall and Damian Lazarus, this collection from Robert Gorham…

Wake the President - You Can’t Change that Boy

Wake the President - You Can’t Change that Boy

(2 stars)5 Mar 2009

POP Hard to know whether those ‘Smiths to reform’ rumours would hurt a band like Wake the President. Should Marr and Morrissey eventually kiss and make up in public, there would be no point in going anywhere near such newfangled janglepoppers, yet…

Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve - Re-Animations Vol.1

Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve - Re-Animations Vol.1

(3 stars)5 Mar 2009

PSYCHTRONICA Re-Animations, says the title of Erol Alkan and Richard Norris’ (of The Grid) new pet project, rather than remixes. There’s something about that which suggests they’re bringing these tracks back to life, and there could be a grain of…

The Invisible - The Invisible

The Invisible - The Invisible

(3 stars)5 Mar 2009

ELECTRONICA The Invisible; a fusion of dark funk, pop and electronics are the latest act to rise out the London music scene. Being touted as the ‘next big thing’ by Radio 1’s Zane Lowe may aid their cause, but could also be the kiss of death.

Oumou Sangare - Seya

Oumou Sangare - Seya

(4 stars)5 Mar 2009

WORLD Oumou Sangare shows why she is one of the most significant African female musicians alive in this stunning set in which she marries gutsy lyrics about arranged marriage and polygamy to her seductively zippy Wassoulou music. Sangare’s…

Nick Lowe - Quiet Please – The New Best of Nick Lowe

Nick Lowe - Quiet Please – The New Best of Nick Lowe

(4 stars)5 Mar 2009

POP Curtis Stigers sang ‘What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace, Love and Understanding?’ on the silly-selling soundtrack to The Bodyguard in 1992, and Nick Lowe turned into a millionaire. And that’s how it’s been for him. Never really much of a front man…

The Red Well - Amid Storms We Arrive

The Red Well - Amid Storms We Arrive

(4 stars)5 Mar 2009

ROCK This Edinburgh outfit have been impressing live audiences for years, and this debut album does a great job of capturing their unique blend of post-grunge and Scottish folky indie. It’s an ambitious record, epic grandeur lurking in the dynamics…

A Full Larder

A Full Larder

5 Mar 2009

Local produce from every region of Scotland is the focus of a brand new publication from The List. The Larder will be free with the issue of The List out on 1 April, and in bookshops priced £7.99. The Larder will be the most authoritative, up-to-date…

DigiCult kicks off in style

DigiCult kicks off in style

5 Mar 2009

DigiCult, the new Scottish company led by local producers, has put together a pool of talent including BAFTA Scotland award winners, film programmers, recent graduates, experimental filmmakers, and television directors to make a selection of films.

International Women’s Day

International Scottish Student Festival

5 Mar 2009

A student party with a bit of a twist. This day long festival has been specially put together to celebrate the diversity of international students coming to Scotland. Crammed into the programme of events are various musical workshops (pictured)…

Various - A Psychedelic Guide to Monsterism Island

Various - A Psychedelic Guide to Monsterism Island

(3 stars)5 Mar 2009

PSYCHTRONICA Norris also turns up on A Psychedelic Guide to Monsterism Island, which must be one of the most whacked-out comps ever. The follow-up to 2005’s The Sounds of Monsterism Island, this record expands upon the Monsterism characters created…

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