Sprezzatura

WAAAAHHHH I MISS BEING SEVEN WHEN THE ONLY INTERNET I USED WAS THE CBBC WEBSITE there now you don't have to read the post, you're free :) Some housekeeping before we begin. Firstly, here's Alan Shearer taking like one sentence to say what I took a few paragraphs to. Secondly, in case you were worried , Freedman DID pull the trigger and bring in Batshuayi . David, this internet thing will never catch on... 🤦‍♀️ #davidbowie @timberners_lee pic.twitter.com/XKoSBVqZGU — BBC Radio 6 Music (@BBC6Music) January 13, 2019 To business, then. When I first had the idea to blog, I thought this post would come a lot later, as a sort of grand finale, but it's come to my attention that I can't do a lot of what I want to in the near-future without explaining what I believe. Perhaps I will do something a lot more in-depth, more well-researched, and less bluster-and-bullshit focused in future, but hopefully this will suffice. Samzdat has to walk us through Plato and ...

I'm reviewing another offering from Trickhouse Recordings - this time it's the third release from Lancaster duo Cake & Menstruation. Public Egg-nemy Number 2 (2) by Cake & Menstruation "This is our dark release. If you can't handle it, you'll wanna go FUCKING OUTSIDE!" screams guitarist Alex George at the beginning of Public Egg-nemy Number 2 (2), thus cementing his bands reputation as confrontational iconoclasts. Over their past three releases, 2018s Public Egg-nemys number one and number two , and now this project, Cake and Menstruation have carved a niche out in the art-punk world. Their philippics contra eggs, the menstrual cycle, and anything else foolish enough to displease them, are impressively vitriolic, not to mention catchy. This album is (mostly) no exception. Before we begin, a word on lore. The events of this album take place before the events of the first two Cake and Menstruation albums, making it a prequel. Singer Chloe Arbury...

I'm reviewing a couple of projects from the local record label Trickhouse in the modern critical style - think Pitchfork, Stereogum, etc. First up, it's the debut EP from the indie project Sweet Embrace. Isabelline by Sweet Embrace In case it isn’t clear from the black nail polish and eyeliner he insists upon wearing at appearances, London-born, Lancaster-based Phillip Johnson is an emo at heart. It’s clear in the over-reliance on proper nouns ( Mitcham ? St Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham ?? The IJsselmeer ???) that we so detest here, it’s clear in the rapid time-signature changes and histrionic coda of “Isabelline” ( cribbed directly from Sunny Day Real Estate, natch ), and it’s clear even in Johnson’s choice of alias (his full webpage title reads ‘Sweet Embrace… of Death’ because of course it does). Most importantly, however, it’s clear in the fact that the entire project is misogynist garbage. You know, like his heroes make ! Opener “Isabelline” starts off strongly enough...

Remember how important the period immediately following the Global Financial Crisis is to me ? Here's a missive from 2011, recalling those halcyon days. As my friend says, "Justin Timberlake was there, and it wasn't terrible." Take it away, Alex. 5 times I thought Andrew Niccol’s ‘In Time’ was a flawed, but respectable enough film In many ways, 2011’s dystopian thriller ‘In Time’ is pretty reflective of the year it was released; you can’t really remember what happened, but Justin Timberlake was there and it wasn’t terrible. The film, written, directed and produced by Andrew Niccol, centered around the premise that people stopped aging at 25, at which point a clock embedded in their forearm would start counting down, indicating how much time they had to live. From there, time is literally money; you work for more time, and you spend time on goods and services. It received mixed to negative reviews, with Rotten Tomatoes awarding it an average score of 5.2/10...