Issue 642

Biffy Clyro - Only Revolution

And evolution too chaps?

16 Oct 2009

It’s all making sense now with Biffy Clyro, since Muse showed that you didn’t need to follow the entirely conventional path and attain rock band enormodome status. And it’s not like with the demise of Oasis there will be a flood of rock geeks filling up…

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Inspired take on the Dahl classic

16 Oct 2009

Wes Anderson’s animated adaptation of Roald Dahl’s much loved book is no straightforward children’s film. Wee ones might enjoy it to a degree, but they won’t get much of the typically arch humour and wanton eccentricities the filmmaker once again…

Interview: John Irving

Exploring the tragedy and death of the American author's work

15 Oct 2009

In the closing chapter of John Irving’s epic new novel, Last Night in Twisted River, a character struggles to find the opening line for his latest book. He agonises over it for a morning, then puts it to one side – and 24 hours later hits pay…

Taste test: Vodka made in Scotland

It's not all whisky here

22 Oct 2009

Grafitti, Pincer, Glen's, Blackwood's, Straight Strawberry, Raspberry Vodka

We Will Rock You

Steve Cramer sets his reservations to one side to make a positive case for the Queen musical

15 Oct 2009

It’s a very queer place indeed on the other side of the looking glass. Within weeks of the Conservative Party staking a claim to be the defenders of the poor and downtrodden, along comes a classic catalogue McMusical, which sets out its stall as the…

Interview: Julie Fowlis

The Scots singer on a hectic couple of years

15 Oct 2009

Julie Fowlis is right to describe the past couple of years as being a ‘bit of a whirlwind’. In recent months the crystalline-voiced musician has earned worldwide acclaim for her second album Cuilidh (pronounced ‘cool-ee’), was named BBC Radio 2 Folk…

Rahzel and JS-1

Hip-hop on the decks at Cab Volt

15 Oct 2009

This fortnight Cabaret Voltaire welcomes a great hip hop double act: Rahzel and DJ JS-1. Probably the best known beatboxer of all time, Rahzel has been leading the scene for years, having brought the ‘fifth element of hip-hop’ to the world’s attention…

The Dark Things

23 Oct 2009

Ursula Rani Sarma’s first full-length commission for the Traverse offers a fascinating commentary on contemporary attitudes to death, specifically as manifested in the confessional, commercial nature of contemporary art. The central focus of the piece…

An American Werewolf in London

23 Oct 2009

(15) 97min Second John Landis directed reissue to be re-released this fortnight. Still good after all these years. Selected release from Fri 30 Oct.

Profile: Cristian Mungiu

A look at the award winning director before his latest work, Tales From the Golden Age

22 Oct 2009

Name Cristian Mungiu Born 27 April 1968 Background The graduate of the Bucharest Film School became the first Romanian director to win the Palme d’Or with his abortion drama 4 months 3 Weeks and 2 Days. Before becoming a full-time director…

Interview: Greg Dillahunt

Speaking to The Last House on the Left's most vicious villain

16 Oct 2009

Are you a fan of Wes Craven? I have always been a huge fan of Wes Craven! He was on my mental checklist of people I wanted to work with. When did you meet him? I met him just before we started shooting because he had the last word with casting…

Also Published: Debut novels

Getting off to a good start

16 Oct 2009

Jacqueline Yallop - Kissing Alice, Laleh Khadivi - The Age of Orphans, Nick Stafford - Armistice, Camillia Noli - The Mother's Tale, Jeannette Walls - Half Broke Horses

Interview: Wes Anderson

The director talks about adapting Fantastic Mr. Fox for the big screen

15 Oct 2009

Texan born director Wes Anderson is renowned for making highly detailed and idiosyncratic films populated with slightly neurotic, child-like characters (The Royal Tenenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited). Seeing him in person, you realise that he wouldn’t…

Biffy Clyro

Once again, 'mon the Biffy!

15 Oct 2009

The List has had a long documented love affair with Biffy Clyro. You see, from the moment we first heard stunning debut Blackened Sky in 2002 we knew the trio were onto something very special. So, forgive us for sounding like proud gushing parents when…

Diwali at the Square

The Hindu Festival of Light in Glasgow

15 Oct 2009

Never mind the dubious sectarianism of Bonfire Night. Come early November, George Square is going to be submerged in light for much more joyful reasons, with a fire, light and dance spectacular in celebration of Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Light.

Alan Cumming, Calvin Harris and Glasvegas among nominees at Scottish Style Awards 2009

30 Oct 2009

Glasgow certainly knows how to do things with class, and this year’s Scottish Style Awards look set to raise the bar even higher. The starry event takes place on Hallowe’en and their stylish cauldron is likely to be spilling over with high profile…

Natalie Merchant, The Chieftains and Ry Cooder set for Celtic Connection 2010

30 Oct 2009

Celtic Connections launched with a suitable level of expectation this fortnight – and it doesn’t look set to disappoint. Comprising 1500 artists, 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, workshops, free events and late-night sessions, the programme of events will…

Scottish BAFTA nominations announced

30 Oct 2009

Peter Capaldi, Richard Jobson and Armando Iannucci are just some of the names nominated at this year’s BAFTA Scotland Awards. The awards, to be held at the Glasgow Science Centre on Sun 8 Nov, will see Capaldi fight it out with Stephen McCole and James…

David Austen: My love, I have been digging up my own bones in the garden again

23 Oct 2009

The topsy-turvy poetics of David Austen’s exhibition title are in keeping with the tragicomic works of which the exhibition is comprised. At once fragile and striking, this collection of watercolour figures, bold text paintings and a silent film study…

Confessions of a Justified Sinner

23 Oct 2009

Fans of this touchstone of the Scottish literary canon can breathe fairly easy. Mark Thomson’s adaptation of James Hogg’s 1824 novel Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner pulls off the neat trick of being very faithful to the plot of the…

Document 7

23 Oct 2009

The International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival just gets stronger and stronger. This year punters are spoiled for choice with a selection of local and international films dealing with everything from child neglect to women’s rights and endemic…

Dark Nature

23 Oct 2009

Special Hallowe’en screening of this scary Scottish eco thriller about one family’s not so relaxing holiday to a remote Scottish village. Up and coming producer/director Marc de Launey pulls out all the stops for this very low budget production, much…

Starsuckers

23 Oct 2009

Also out this fortnight is Chris Taking Liberties Atkins’ wonderfully mischievous documentary foray into the world of celebrity obsessed media. Atkins and his team hilariously illustrate just how easy it is to plant hoax celebrity stories with an…

Dead Man Running

23 Oct 2009

(15) 91min A loan shark gives an ex con 24 hours to pay his debt. Disappointing thriller from the writer/director of appalling 2004 boxing drama The Calcium Kid. The casting however which includes renta-mockney Danny Dyer, rapper turned self help…

Mike Inglis: Shadows Fade

23 Oct 2009

Inglis’ installation of prints and human scale paste-ups explores spiritualism and attitudes to grief, death and loss through the stories of the artist’s great aunt, a spiritualist in a Fife mining village and his grandmother, who lost her first…