Fallout

19 Jun 2008

DRAMA Channel 4, Thu 3 Jul, 9pm The issue of young people and crime is such a hot topic that it was only a matter of time before documentary-makers got in gear and happy slapped Channel 4 commissioners into submission with a series to mark the sorry…

Mamma Mia!

3 Jul 2008

Set on a sun-kissed Mediterranean island, musical blockbuster Mamma Mia! features Meryl Streep as the mother of Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), a bride-to-be trying to identify her natural father amongst three wedding guests, played by Pierce Brosnan, Colin…

Tattoos

Written on the body

11 Dec 2006

A glorious butterfly is gazing up at me. It has a cutesy, cartoon face and curled lashes. Its larger than life wings are a dazzling explosion of pop-art colour and bubble dimensions. Flowerheads, blasted with vibrant, glowing blocks of green and red ink…

T in the Park line up 2008

17 Jun 2008

The full line up for Scotland's biggest music festival, which takes place 11th to July 13th in Balado, Kinross.

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!’

Top comedy gigs to look out for

10 Sep 2007

Tom Stade It takes years of hard, dedicated gigging to appear as relaxed as Tom Stade does on stage. Charming, handsome and unflappable he may be, but the Canadian émigré also possesses that indefinable knack of drawing you completely into his offbeat…

Scotland: A Changing Nation

3 Jul 2008

‘I don’t want to blow our own trumpet, or anything,’ says Maureen Barrie, standing with her arms spread in front of a blank wall that will shortly be emblazoned with a giant replica of a Tunnock’s Teacake, ‘but we’re a hell of a nation if you think…

T in the Park - The Ting Tings

3 Jul 2008

Walking through Glasgow’s Botanic Gardens with the band who are number one in both the UK singles and downloads chart is a cheerful feeling, and it’s not purely down to the bright, sunny Saturday afternoon weather. Katie White and Jules De Martino…

Remote Control

3 Jul 2008

When it comes to making new TV dramas, being brave and original can either make or break the show. Sometimes just playing it straight off the bat and keeping things safe can help your programme reap the rewards. Two hot and hyped BBC affairs go for the…

Singles & Downloads

3 Jul 2008

Why is there so much slickly produced, pretend-to-be-credible pop around these days? Newton Faulkner, Amy MacDonald, The Hoosiers, Sara Bareilles – the insipid list just keeps on getting longer. Eurgh, and here’s another one; the emotionless and utterly…

T in the Park - Panic at the Disco

3 Jul 2008

It’s hard to be cool when you were ‘discovered’ on the internet by Pete Wentz with only three songs in your repertoire and your ‘fans’ were a few thousand e-friends who thought you were totally hot. Still, you’ve got to give Panic at the Disco points…

Smith/Stewart: Enter Love and Enter Death

15 Nov 2007

SCULPTURAL INSTALLATION Royal Botanic Gardens, Inverleith House, Edinburgh, until Sun 20 Jan Simply entering Smith/Stewart’s new exhibition is difficult. Faced directly with a black horizontal girder, one feels tempted to advance, yet hesitant.

My Bloody Valentine

19 Jun 2008

SHOEGAZE COMEBACK Barrowlands, Glasgow, Wed 2 & Thu 3 Jul There are some musical reunions the whole world wants to happen, and others that start out and then fall away without the populace paying the slightest bit of attention. Then there are…

Kung Fu Panda

3 Jul 2008

COMEDY/ANIMATION (PG) 91min In the words of Carl Douglas’ 1974 disco hit: ‘Everybody is kung fu fighting.’ Everybody, that is, apart from overweight panda Po (voiced by Jack Black). He dreams about joining his heroes, the Fierce Five, in butt-kicking…

T in the Park - KT Tunstall

3 Jul 2008

‘I remember playing T in the Park for the first time in 1996. I was 21 and a backing singer with the Skuobhie Dubh Orchestra, the band led by the man now known as King Creosote. We played in the ceilidh tent and Radiohead, Alanis Morrisette and Beck…

The Merchant of Venice

3 Jul 2008

OUTDOOR THEATRE Botanic Gardens, Glasgow, until Sat 12 Jul Don’t be put off by Glasgow’s unpredictable weather and miss this summer’s Bard in the Botanics. Cheerful and casual in its approach to theatre, the outdoor play season is a big hit with…

T in the Park - Running order

3 Jul 2008

FRIDAY MAIN STAGE The Verve Richard Ashcroft and co make a long-awaited return promising all the hits and some newly recorded material. Stereophonics Welsh outfit still successfully peddling their distinctive brand of pub rock with…

Judas Priest - Nostradamus

3 Jul 2008

METAL (Columbia) Rob Halford’s howl and tracks as powerful as ‘Breaking the Law’ and ‘Painkiller’ have cemented Judas Priest’s status as a driving force that helped shape the entire metal genre. Formed back in the early 70s vocalist Halford left…

Pick of 2006 - Hot 100

Pick of 2006

12 Dec 2006

I can admit it now: I was a fool to set up the Hot 100. When you think of the broad spectrum of cultural activities that we cover in The List, from film and music through to eating out, shopping and occasionally sport, it’s clear that the number of…

T in the Park - The Fratellis

3 Jul 2008

The Fratellis aren’t a band you’d think of as suffering from existential self-doubt, eh? But a spell out of the spotlight has left singer and guitarist Jon Fratelli with the slightest lingering doubt about his band’s success and longevity. ‘I’m…

Paolo Nutini

21 Aug 2006

He has some beautiful tunes and cheekbones to match but Mark Robertson reckons Paolo Nutini has what it takes to make the successful transition from aspirant roadie to international superstar. Reclining in the June sunshine on the verdant grass…

Beck - Modern Guilt

3 Jul 2008

POP (XL Recordings) Beck seems to have found his mojo over the last few albums, the self-conscious idea of him being an ‘artist’ is gone and he lets the ideas flow. Modern Guilt is as sharp, clean and crisp a record as you’ll find, a compact, focussed…

Into The Hoods

1 Aug 2007

One of the undisputed hits of last year’s Fringe is making a welcome return to Edinburgh.

Wet Sounds

3 Jul 2008

Underwater, you hear things differently. This is part of the thinking behind Wet Sounds, a knowingly named tour of sound art which takes place not in uptight white space galleries, but in ten public swimming pools between London and Nairn. With the…

The Hold Steady - Stay Positive

3 Jul 2008

ROCK (Rough Trade) If ever a band suited a time, a place and a mood then it is The Hold Steady. Their innate ability to capture that great moment on a warm summer Friday night when everything comes together and things are just . . . right. For four…

Radiohead Nude remix film finds audience

3 Jul 2008

A Glasgow School of Art student has become a YouTube sensation. James Houston featured a remix of the Radiohead single 'Nude' from their album In Rainbows in a four minute video, 'Big Ideas (Don't Get Any)', as part of his Degree Show. Houston has…

Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913-2008

3 Jul 2008

PHOTOGRAHY National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh, until Sun 21 Sep Any exhibition that begins with an Ashkenazi Jewish songwriter (Irving Berlin) and ends with a sloaney celebrity culture muse (Diana, Princess of Wales) is worth a peek. Following New…

T in the Park - T Break Stage

3 Jul 2008

Friday State of Affairs Promising Edinburgh-based foursome who cater in wonderfully heartfelt indie rock. No Kilter Excitingly frenzied math-punk quartet from Glasgow. Figure 5 Much-adored skiffle-tinged, psychedelic garage pop…

The Mist

3 Jul 2008

HORROR/SCI-FI (15) 126min After The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, writer/director Frank Darabont continues his one-man championing of the Stephen King estate with an adaptation of novella The Mist. After a thunderstorm in an isolated rural…

Numbers 5th Birthday

3 Jul 2008

TECHNO The Sub Club, Glasgow, Fri 4 Jul; Club 69, Paisley, Sat 12 Jul. As they say, there’s strength in numbers. After all, there’s a small army of people involved with genre-straddling Glasgow club promoters Numbers, including Richard Chater, Adam…

Come on Gang!

3 Jul 2008

INDIE Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, Thu 10 Jul ‘I’m a nightmare on a train,’ says Sarah Tanat Jones, drummer and lead singer of Come on Gang! ‘I’m that annoying person who can’t help tapping a beat with my feet or hands. Or both.’ She wanted to channel her…

T in the Park - Biffy's James Johnston recommends

3 Jul 2008

I n Case of Fire Festivals are always a great place to check out new bands, and T in the Park has a great tradition for uncovering hidden gems. In Case of Fire are definitely worth checking out. We played some shows with them last year in their native…

T in the Park line-up

28 Feb 2008

This year’s T in the Park line-up features seasoned acts such as Rage Against The Machine, The Verve, REM, Stereophonics, Prodigy and Chemical Brothers alongside more recent success stories The Fratellis, Kaiser Chiefs, and Glastonbury headliners Kings…

Lazytown Live!

4 Oct 2007

From Jamie’s School Dinners to Honey, We’re Killing The Kids, there’s no shortage of advice on how to feed our children. But perhaps the most successful TV programme to combat rising levels of childhood obesity, is aimed at the kids themselves. Created…

Ian Smith - Peeping at Bosch

3 Jul 2008

Some performance projects simply have to be seen to be believed. This is certainly the case with Mischief La-Bas’ fascinating slice of live, interactive entertainment, Peeping at Bosch, the first stage in an attempt to realise the iconic Hieronymus…

Altered States of Paint

3 Jul 2008

According to clichéd legend, if you can remember the 1960s, you weren’t really there. The artists taking part in Altered States of Paint at DCA who were around during that heady decade were still in their wide-eyed infancy. The ones who weren’t are…

Last Word - Ewan Morrison

3 Jul 2008

First film you saw that really moved you The Elephant Man. I was 12 and ran away from the TV and wept in the shower for an hour. It was that whole thing about the Cathedral made of matchsticks, and him going to sleep without a pillow even though he…

BBC search for Lottery show contestants

1 May 2008

The BBC are now inviting applications for their new Saturday night Lottery game show This Time Tomorrow. Auditions will take palce in Glasgow in May, and applicants with 'big personalities' are advised to get in touch now. Further information and…

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

24 Apr 2008

ROMANCE/COMEDY (15) 110min The Judd Apatow movie production line shows no signs of abating as Forgetting Sarah Marshall follows the template of Knocked Up to deliver some laughs, banal moralising and side characters that outshine the lead. Writer and…

Apocalypto

(18) 138min

3 Jan 2007

ACTION/ADVENTURE Welcome to the jungle. A place where pierced savages josh and jest as they rip the flesh of a freshly speared boar. Life is simple, life is good, but trouble is hiding in the undergrowth and young family man Jaguar Paw (Rudy…

Belle & Sebastian revealed as ‘Best Scottish Band of All Time'

1 Jan 2005

After a three-month public vote, Belle & Sebastian were named as the ‘Best Scottish Band Of All Time' at an exclusive Announcement Party at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow. The prestigious accolade, sponsored by Orange, was announced in front of an…

Steve Mason - Black Affair

3 Jul 2008

The last many people will remember hearing of Steve Mason was when, in April 2006, he prompted much head scratching amongst the press by cancelling a nationwide tour with his post-Beta Band project King Biscuit Time, before leaving a curiously oblique…

Preview of the year 2007

2007 is about the future. And about the past. It’

3 Jan 2007

THE FUTURE Cyberspace invaders We may not be flying around in hover cars or wearing spangly all-silver outfits, but thanks to the internet the future has truly arrived. And the revolution will continue apace in 2007, argues Suzanne Black. A…

Foto: Modernity in Central Europe 1918-1945 (Group Show)

3 Jul 2008

PHOTOGRAPHY Dean Gallery, Edinburgh, until Sun 31 Aug The years between the two World Wars marked an incredibly innovative period in the development of Modernist photography. Today the photographic image is so ubiquitous that it barely merits comment…

Stephen McGinty - Fire in the Night: The Piper Alpha Disaster

3 Jul 2008

SCOTTISH HISTORY (Macmillan) The Scotsman journalist Stephen McGinty’s Fire in the Night is a moment-by-hideous-moment account of the Piper Alpha oil platform disaster in which 167 men died, and published to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the…

Luna

3 Jul 2008

Russian dolls and stubbly Niko Bellic lookalikes filled out Club Ego a month or so ago, when the Picardy Place venue hosted Rockstar North’s fancy dress launch party for Grand Theft Auto IV. The walls were glowing with projections of soviet propaganda…

Also Released - Film

3 Jul 2008

Garbage Warrior (15) 88min ••• Hippie, sustainable housing architect and all round recycling guru Michael Reynolds presents his self sufficiency vision of the future in this absorbing documentary. The film follows Reynolds attempt to make his dream of…

Sigur Rós - Meo Suo í Eyrum Vio Spilum Endalaust

3 Jul 2008

ROCK (EMI) Iceland’s favourite sons recently toured their homeland for free and released a stunning acoustic record, and these both rejuvenating processes seem to have fed into the joyous spirit of this fifth studio album. Opener ‘Gobbledigook…

Christopher Kane

Sexy Boy

27 Mar 2007

Imagine you’re a 23-year-old fashion postgraduate from Motherwell. Your work is featured in Vogue in an article on student designers, and then Anna Wintour herself turns up at your degree show. She recommends that you meet Donatella - yes, Versace - and…

T in the Park - Up-and-comers

3 Jul 2008

MGMT What Psychedelic synth-pop duo from Brooklyn Unique Selling Point They sound wonderfully woozy on record but the MGMT live experience reveals a harder, darker and much more edgy side to the band. Imagine full-on swampy rock colliding with…

Hancock

3 Jul 2008

SUPERHERO/COMEDY (12A) 91min The writers and director of Hancock take a hyper-powered leaf out of the Mystery Men and Return of Captain Invincible school of heroism with Hancock. Will Smith plays a nihilistic superhero who has fallen out of favour…

Savage Grace

3 Jul 2008

DRAMA (18) 97mins Sixteen years on from his debut, the New Queer Cinema-defining Swoon, Tom Kalin finally makes a return with his sophomore feature, a flawed but nevertheless fascinating examination of dysfunction among the American aristocracy. Based…

WALL-E - Angus MacLane interview

Edinburgh International Film Festival

19 Jun 2008

Could you fall in love with a robot? Animation studio Pixar is betting that you will. The little metal critter with designs on your heart is called WALL-E, and this summer, he’ll be giving Indiana Jones and Carrie Bradshaw a run for their money at the…

Studio 24’s 13th Birthday Weekender

5 Jun 2008

TECHNO/METAL Studio 24, Edinburgh, Fri 13 & Sat 14 Jun ‘We don’t usually celebrate birthdays here,’ says Studio 24’s manager Gill McArthur, ‘but I’m superstitious, so I couldn’t ignore our 13th.’ She would do well not to invite any more bad luck…

Pick-up techniques - interview with Neil Strauss

31 Jan 2008

IceDragon, Scotland’s number one PUA (pickup artist), is trying to lock me into conversation. However, he’s quickly surrounded. Deep Vertigo has perched at his shoulder and five other members of the Glasgow lair are hovering on the fringes. Chance, 20…

American Gangster

15 Nov 2007

Ridley Scott’s American Gangster opens with callous urban cruelty as a man is tied to a chair, doused with petrol and set on fire. But the reasons behind this violent act are less to do with anarchy than with good business, or at least that’s the lesson…

Hadouken! - Music for an Accelerated Culture

10 Apr 2008

INDIE/RAVE/GRIME/PUNK/ELECTRO (Atlantic) The so-called new rave scene has been responsible for spewing out a load of old meaningless tosh since it was coined by desperate music journalists two years ago, but its latest wrong comes in the form of the…

The Edge Festival announces line-up

5 Jun 2008

The line up has been announced for The Edge Festival, the new August music festival which replaces T on the Fringe. The festival takes place in August throughout the capital in various venues ranging from Cabaret Voltaire to the Corn Exchange.

Glasgow grins and bares it

29 Nov 2007

Celebrate your cellulite this Christmas! Professional ego-booster Gok Wan is in town for the live How To Look Good Naked roadshow. Two audience members will get the full-on nudie glow, and a host of hairstylists and make-up artists will be doling out…

Irvine Welsh - Crime

3 Jul 2008

CRIME DRAMA (Jonathan Cape) Irvine Welsh has never shied away from the seamy side of life, and for his ninth novel he crosses the Atlantic to the balmy climes of Florida, only to uncover a cesspit of evil that would put some of his previous local…

Profile - John Gordillo

3 Jul 2008

Name: John Gordillo Who’s this fella, then? You may have seen the name ‘John Gordillo’ somewhere in your house, but perhaps you just can’t quite place it. No, it’s not the name of a brand new kitchen product (the ‘Gordillo grill’ does have a certain…

Superstars

3 Jul 2008

SPORT Five, Fri 11 Jul, 8pm Sporting life was very different in the 1970s. Kevin Keegan had bubblier hair, the only athletes who used artificial enhancement to boost their performance seemed to be born female in East Germany and it was still possible…

Mother India’s Café

3 Jul 2008

Monir Mohammed is the quietly spoken, congenial proprietor of six restaurants in Glasgow operating under the Mother India and Wee Curry Shop banners. In a sector grossly overpopulated with long, samey menus, kitsch decor and blandly ill-defined dishes…

T in the Park 2007 - Running Times

3 Jul 2007

Please note times and order is subject to change. 6 FRIDAY • Arctic Monkeys 9.20-10.50pm Sheffield’s all-conquering guttersnipe punk poets get the weekend started in earnest. • Bloc Party 7.50-8.50pm Angular London art rockers Bloc Party…

Fitter Happier - Radiohead interview

19 Jun 2008

They’re one of the biggest bands in the world despite refusing to play the music industry’s game. Mark Robertson talks to Radiohead about success, self-indulgence and their reputation as the most miserable men in rock

Edinburgh Art Festival announces programme

Where the art is

3 Jul 2008

Another week, another festival launches. Hot on the heels of the Fringe, the EIF and the Edinburgh International Book Festival, relative newbie the Edinburgh Art Festival last week laid out its stall, boasting a roster of art glitterati from a 20-year…

Food For Thought

3 Jul 2008

I’ll eat anything but I’m not a good cook and so I avoid cooking and food publications at every turn. I only do one dish well, and it’s easy: a salad featuring mozzarella, mint, peaches, lime juice, olive oil, and prosciutto. I like to drink tap water…

Foto: Modernity in Central Europe 1918-1945

5 Jun 2008

PHOTOGRAPHY Dean Gallery, Edinburgh, Sat 7 Jun–Sun 31 Aug The Dean’s new exhibition argues that across Central Europe between the wars the driving force of modernity in art could be found in the field of photography. Artists and amateur practitioners…

T in the Park - Rob da Bank

3 Jul 2008

Richie Hawtin ‘Spastik’ ‘Will he play it, won’t he play it? Hawtin is the don, and this record lives on and on. This track IS the Slam Tent at T.’ http://tiny.cc/Plastik Aphex Twin ‘Analogue Bubblebath’ ‘Heard this at sundown at Sonar…

Also Published - 5 Debut Novels

3 Jul 2008

Shona MacLean - The Redemption of Alexander Seaton Historical crime set in 1620s Banff in which a disgraced minister seeks to clear his name when a body is found in his house. Quercus . Harry Sidebottom - Warrior of Rome: Fire in the East The first…

Dirty Pretty Things - Romance at Short Notice

3 Jul 2008

INDIE (Vertigo) This fiery London bunch have always seemed very much like a Carl Barât-centred, post-Libertines offshoot but with their second full-length release, Dirty Pretty Things take one step closer to being a proper band. More polished than…

The Visitor

3 Jul 2008

DRAMA (15) 106min Ageing widower and economics professor Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins) is a grouch. He spends his days giving his students a hard time. When he is sent to Manhattan to present a dull paper, a series of misunderstandings lead him to…

In control

Samantha Morton

16 Aug 2007

Samantha Morton is in control. The critically lauded, hard working and in-demand British actress plays the long suffering wife of troubled singer of legendary Manchester band Joy Division in the Ian Curtis movie, Control. Fresh from winning the Best…

Found

3 Jul 2008

ART/MUSIC INSTALLATION Dialogues of Wind and Bamboo, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, Sat 21 Jun It was the all-you-can-eat buffet of line-ups. There were robots playing bamboo instruments, dancing in the sculpture garden, tai chi and the chance to…

Good Vibrations

3 Jul 2008

One of the Capital’s most exciting visitor attractions, Our Dynamic Earth, has teamed up with Edinburgh International Science Festival to bring you Good Vibrations. Join Maestro and Bella as they embark on a journey of discovery to find out how noise is…

Our House

3 Jul 2008

MUSICAL Theatre Royal, Glasgow, until Sat 5 Jul; Playhouse, Edinburgh, Mon 7–Sat 12 Jul Following in the footsteps of popular jukebox musicals Mamma Mia! and We Will Rock You, comes this effort from writer Tim Firth (Calendar Girls), featuring the…

Jason - I Killed Adolf Hitler

29 Nov 2007

IDIOSYNCRATIC SCI-FI I Killed Adolf Hitler (Fantagraphics) Having re-imagined heavyweight modernist writing icons Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Ezra Pound as criminals involved in a heist in The Left Bank Gang, and plundered George Romeo’s zombie…

Creative Cultures have arts in North East in mind

2 Jul 2008

The arts in The North East should have no trouble displacing headlines concerning local difficulties and the price of oil given the current crop of news. The gathering at The Peacock Visual Arts centre in Aberdeen last night was organised by…

Nanakusa

28 Feb 2008

There’s no such thing as a Japanese restaurant. So David Wan concluded during a fact-finding mission to the Far East last year – just as he was planning to open up such an establishment in Glasgow. There was no shortage of specialist bars selling sushi…

The Cool Kids

14 Feb 2008

HIP HOP Ego, Edinburgh, Sun 17 Feb For the past few years hip hop in the states has been suffering. In 2007 album sales nose-dived and the ‘hip hop tycoon’ icon with clothing labels, butlers and perfumes finally crumbled under street level scrutiny.

Connect Festival: Music, massages and mud, glorious mud

3 Sep 2007

Connect Festival, Inverarary Castle, Sunday. Festival gossip has it that Mike D from the Beastie Boys took a shine to the castle and challenged the Duke of Argyll to a duel. Jarvis Cocker is acclaimed as the best thing about Friday by fans still…

Profile - Andrea Parker

3 Jul 2008

Name: Andrea Parker Occupation: Sister, doing it for herself. Doing what, exactly? Building and maintaining a reputation and currently moving swiftly towards the status of ‘esteemed’ with a career in leftfield electronica that stretches back a…

Smoove

3 Jul 2008

FUNK/HIP HOP Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, Fri 4 Jul. Smoove is a man in the thrall of the funk, and while he’s happy to pilfer from any genre or decade, it all needs to have that groove. ‘Everything is rooted in the funk; soul, even music going way, way…

Kevin McDermott

3 Jul 2008

ROCK Oran Mor, Glasgow, Mon 23 Jun ‘Was that good?’ says the chipper Scots musician early on in his set, and 20 years into his career as a singer-songwriter. ‘I thought so,’ he adds, tongue in cheek. ‘And I liked the guitar solo.’ But he has every…

Also Released - Music

3 Jul 2008

Daedelus - Love to Make Music To (Ninja Tune) This leftfield hip hop doyen takes a few trips into the unknown, expanding his repertoire of beats bleats and cuts into hunks of textured, hypnotic, mirthful magic. Our Sleepless Forest - Our Sleepless…

Chris Bradley - Voices

3 Jul 2008

COUNTRY ROCK (Splashing Duck) Edinburgh-based Chris Bradley’s biography is an impressive read, all tales of musical scholarships, first class honours studying Music at Newcastle University and – most memorably – forming Ukrainian folk groups in Kiev.

LGBT Youth Scotland National Gathering 2008

3 Jul 2008

YOUNG PEOPLE’S EVENT Westpark Conference Centre, Dundee, Sat 5 & Sun 6 Jul This year’s LGBT Youth Scotland National Gathering, ‘In Control, Your Life. Your Choices’, is a Scotland-wide event for LGBT young people up to the age of 26, their friends and…

Tom Waits to play Scotland

21 May 2008

Tom Waits, legendary singer-songwriter, actor and raconteur is to perform two shows at the Edinburgh Playhouse on 27 and 28 July. Waits has not played in Scotland in almost 21 years, when he last appeared live it was also at the Playhouse in November…

The Ting Tings

15 Nov 2007

POWERPOP Liquid Room, Edinburgh, Wed 17 Oct If record labels really must go getting caught up in unseemly ‘bidding wars’, the least they can do is make sure they’re getting a good band. Columbia recently won the squabble for Manchester duo The Ting…

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…

Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny

The devil plays guitar

13 Nov 2006

Tearing modesty a new asshole, Tenacious D describe themselves as ‘the world’s greatest rock band’. The D’s two members, Jack Black (vocals and rhythm guitar) and Kyle Gass (lead guitar and backing vocals), name check among their inspirations Kiss, Dio…

Exposure - Ross Clark

3 Jul 2008

Looking like the bastard rockabilly son of a Proclaimer and with a singing voice like a shot of raw Glasgow bluegrass, 20-year-old Ross Clark’s exuberant, sweat-drenched live sets have been getting him a reputation. He sings brainy songs about girls and…

Kid Canaveral

3 Jul 2008

INDIE Henry’s Cellar Bar, Fri 20 Jun Henry’s, for all its charms, is hardly the most sparkly place in town. However, bringing a solid dose of summer to the venue’s dimly lit confines, St Andrews four-piece Kid Canaveral’s lively guitar pop does the…

Andrew Sean Greer - The Story of a Marriage

3 Jul 2008

HISTORICAL TALE (Faber) Can you ever, really, truly know someone? Andrew Sean Greer begs this question with his third, remarkable piece of fiction, a compelling and beautifully-penned tale of love, long-kept secrets and motherly sacrifice set against…

Circus Summer School

3 Jul 2008

The Arches’ long-running circus school rolls around again, headed up by the ever-excellent performer, artist and professional buffoon Al Seed (pictured). It’s a week-long intensive course open to anyone between 15 and 25, during which time you’ll train…

Tick Tock Lullaby

3 Jul 2008

DRAMA (15) 72min (Peccadillo DVD retail) In one particular scene of this film, a good looking thirty-something notices that he’s been trailed by a couple of ladies, and comments that it’s the first time he’s been cruised by two gay women, and that…

Charlie Newton - Calumet City

19 Jun 2008

COP NOIR (Bantam) Charlie Newton makes no effort to dodge cop noir’s inherent clichés in his debut, but rather uses them to lure the reader into something grimmer than they could have anticipated. There’s naturally a hard-as-nails Chicago detective at…

Stonewall

9 Aug 2007

Doubtless huge progress has been made regarding gay rights in recent decades but there are still reports of gay people being persecuted across the world.

5 Reasons To Go See - Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip

3 Jul 2008

They’re unclassifiable - to some they’re outsider pop, to others they’re hip hop played through a punk filter. Then again their recent debut album Angles could easily be called lo-fi electronica mixed with spoken word poetry. Whatever, the end result is…

Bethan Roberts - The Good Plain Cook

3 Jul 2008

FAMILY DRAMA (Serpent’s Tail) In the mid-30s, the American heiress and philanthropist Peggy Guggenheim set up house in the Sussex countryside with her daughter, her poet lover, his daughter, and a young local girl to cook for them. Bethan Roberts has…