Issue 640

Dizzee Heights - Dizzee Rascal interview

Erstwhile underground sensation, critical darling and now serial chart-topper Dizzee Rascal, aka Dylan Mills, has just notched up three MOBO Award nominations to complement his three consecutive number one singles. Fame has not phased him, however, and…

Conversation piece - Dani Marti interview

Exploring gay men's health and sexuality through art

Dani Marti’s new exhibition, insideout, has been safely installed in the sh[out] space at Parnie Street as part of Glasgay! Yet the convoluted tale of how one of the show’s installations ended up in this space still sticks in the craw of the…

Guide to Edinburgh's Old Town

Not for nothing is the Old Town famed for its tartan tat. From Jimmy hats to bagpipes and ‘I Heart Scotland’ badges to ‘I Love Ewe’ cards, it’s all too easy to write off Auld Reekie’s historical hub as simply a place to partake in the city’s…

Glasgay! - Steven Thomson interview

2009 will be both one of Glasgay!’s best and most troubled years. The programme is stronger than ever, but as Glasgay! has grown in its cultural importance it has attracted new levels of criticism and controversy that now threaten to undermine its…

Urban Legends - MOBO Awards 2009 come to Glasgow

‘You’ve heard of us, even if you don’t know it yet. Remember that boy driving you mad on the bus, playing music on his mobile at full volume? He’s listening to us. So is his sister, his best mate, his best mate’s older brother and his teacher. We make…

Public Interest - Edinburgh Royal Mile pub crawl

Between the sprawling concrete shapes of the Scottish Parliament and the historic heights of Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile covers some of the best and worst aspects of the city. Plenty of tartan tourists and Australian backpackers stroll aimlessly up…

Ripe Time - L’Artichaut

France isn’t a country known for its abundant vege sympathy, with non-meat-eaters often having to make do with a half-hearted omelette, a green salad or frîtes for every meal. But in a way the concept of a vege French restaurant shouldn’t seem so…

First Word - Peter Hook interview

Founder of Joy Division, and bassist with New Order, Peter Hook lets off some steam about music piracy. First record you ever bought. ‘Ride a White Swan’ by T Rex. Now that was very, very long time ago. Last time you were chatted up. Tragically, I…

Dizzee Rascal’s YouTube Hits

A selection of Dizzee’s most colourful moments, available for posterity on YouTube.

The House of Bernarda Alba

Rona Munro's reimagining of Federico Garcia Lorca's all-female ensemble piece, blinging neon, dripping in credit, is the sort of glossy, hard-edged melodrama River City dreams of being After the gangland execution of her husband, Siobhan Redmond’s…

John ‘Hoppy’ Hopkins – Taking Liberties

Among many remarkable pictures in this essential retrospective of London’s 1960s counter-culture’s snapper-in-residence, there’s a wonderful study of the editorial team behind International Times, the era’s alternative bible. In it, eleven people huddle…

Baddies

Mixing post punk and art rock Baddies are ready to step out alongside the likes of Franz Ferdinand, The Futureheads and The Maccabees. Instantly catchy and boasting big anthemic choruses as they unleash their debut Do The Job on the public.

Sugar Crisis

Apple Store, Glasgow, Thu 17 Sep

Even before they’ve played a note, the bubblegum pink guitar onstage seems like a sign that this boy-girl duo could well be about to perform a heady sugar rush of fluorescent pop. And so it proves – the short and sweet half hour set reveals a…

Confined Human Condition

Comprising song, acting, dance and original musical scores, the two compositions that make up Confined Human Condition are both, evidently, Theatre Cryptic, but otherwise make strange bedfellows. The first, ‘Baghdad Monologue’, is an examination of…

Books hitlist

Nick Cave The Death of Bunny Munro is only veritable polymath Cave’s second novel, presumably, the band, the film scores and the film scripts all kind of got in the way a little bit of him getting round to another one until now. Here he reads from it…

Lorrie Moore - A Gate at the Stairs

(Faber) Lorrie Moore is a writer who doesn’t exactly believe in rushing things. Not only is A Gate at the Stairs her first book since her 1998 short story collection Birds of America, but it seemingly takes an eternity to get anywhere, steadily and…

Rage

‘The world’s first interactive multi-venue film premiere’ as Rage is launched in London, Edinburgh and Glasgow simultaneously, with footage from the London red carpet broadcast live on screen at the other venues with an interactive Q&A with director…

Wigtown Book Festival

Edinburgh might have the biggest book festival in the world but Wigtown stands up as an individual one the with over 150 events over ten days, mixing up big names like Roddy Doyle (pictured), Julia Donaldson and Nick Nairn with local specials including…

International Guitar Night

A trio of truly outstanding guitar talents join forces. Lulo Reinhardt (grandson of the great Django Reinhardt) specialises in gypsy jazz; Itamar Erez combines European classical, jazz and world styles all brought together by IGN founder Brian Gore for…

Odemba OK Jazz

Scottish debut from African collective for a night of hypnotic guitars, horns, driving rhythms and dancefloor jazz. This twelve-piece are led by guitarist Dizzy Mandjeku in this special gig to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the death of the King of…

The Godfather preview

The most iconic mafia film of all time, and rightly so, in which Francis Ford Coppola weaves a rich and detailed story of family, bloodshed and crime all ruled by a masterful Marlon Brando. A great opportunity to see the life of the Corleone family on…

The Hurt Locker

It’s well worth highlighting that Kathryn Bigelow’s Hurt Locker is still on limited release. Based on a journalist’s account of the Iraq war, this is one of the most realistic films to tackle the conflict, as you’d expect from the woman who gave us such…

The Invention of Lying preview

Gervais is back on the big screen

Ricky Gervais is back on the big screen in the this offbeat romcom, co-written and co-directed by Gervais, who also takes the starring role as Mark, the first person who learns how to tell a big fat porkie in a universe where lying doesn’t exist.

Claire Martin

Singer Claire Martin remains the front-runner in the jazz vocal department on the UK scene, and celebrates the release of A Modern Art, her 13th album for the Glasgow-based Linn Records, on this latest foray north. The Lot, Edinburgh, Fri 2 Oct…

The 40 Year Old Virgin

Despite the title The 40 Year Old Virgin is a surprisingly sweet film from comedy juggernaut Judd Apatow that brought Steve Carroll to the public at large’s attention in the titular role. Screening here with The Hangover for a smart comedy double…