6th, March 2014
Flashback
IN the disco era there began a phenomenon of immense historical insignificance: the emergence of all female musical trios. Sure, there had been The Supremes, and there were various disco/soul trios that genuinely kicked ass (etc. The Three Degrees, Labelle), but these bands were different. This new breed was basically talentless, and exuded an overt sexuality (i.e. they couldn’t sing, but at least they were hot). Every song in their entire catalog (with 0.00 exceptions) was about sex, and every performance and music video operated unflinchingly to the “sex sells” approach... More »
6th, March 2014
Strange But True
TO Portland, Oregon, where Mark Fischer has been arrested for attempting to break into an ATM machine... More »
6th, March 2014
Film
ALTHOUGH Alfonso Cuaron’s blockbuster film Gravity (2013) earned a whopping seven Academy Awards last Sunday night, one crucial supporting player didn’t pick up the Honorary Oscar it so clearly deserved: NASA’s space shuttle... More »
5th, March 2014
Money
I think we're all also aware that vaping, or using electronic cigarettes, is an alternative to smoking. Gives people the nicotine hit but without that cloud of toxic carcinogens to go with it. So, all other things being equal we'd probably think it's a good idea for people to switch, from one to the other. To stop smoking, or at least smoke fewer, cigarettes and to suck on some steam containing nicotine instead... More »
5th, March 2014
Music
IGGY Pop, star of one of the greatest rock photos of all time, the man who faked Lou Reed's death, Richard Wilson look alike, ToTP teddy molester, performer of the most revered failed stage dive, the man for whom the show did not always go on, has created one of the most memorable tour riders for his shows... More »
5th, March 2014
Key Posts
THERE are a lot of people who will go on and on and on about the amazing theme songs of '80s and '90s cartoons. While they have a point (who can resist the Willie Fogg theme or indeed, M.A.S.K. and Thundercats?), they pale in comparison to those cartoons brave enough to get a full orchestra on the go... More »
5th, March 2014
TV & Radio
Lest we forget the best of BBC three... More »
5th, March 2014
Reviews
While Littlejohn rarely, if ever, refers to his American residency, it’s frequently evident in his column that he doesn’t know obvious things about modern Britain. Witness this week’s confusion over Frankie & Benny’s, a restaurant that utterly baffles poor old Dick and leads him to pen an encomium to the greasy spoon:
“And whatever happened to greasy spoons? Once, you could find decent transport caffs at regular intervals along all major trunk roads.”... More »
5th, March 2014
Key Posts
In 1975, there were no operas in America. I was interested in opera and it seemed to me that the only possible theatre for contemporary opera would be television. So I started working towards a kind of television kind of opera. I started designed the work so that it would be usable on television. I think it's still true... More »
5th, March 2014
Flashback
IN 1976, The London Weekend Show, introduced by Janet Street-Porter, took punk to the masses... More »
5th, March 2014
Celebrities
You have to say that, for a lot of people, if killing BBC Three meant less of Jack Whitehall on our TVs, then it is absolutely paramount will stick a pickaxe through its heart... More »
5th, March 2014
Film
IN the 1980s, Ghana's video renters hired artists to create posters for all the latest films. Predictably, these posters are fabulous. Free of Hollywood's global marketing departments, the posters could reflect local tastes... More »
5th, March 2014
Reviews
He began his career with the Mergenthaler Linotype Company in 1959 and ended with the Font Bureau. You've seen his work... More »
5th, March 2014
Books
MAD Magazine is an American institution. It's been going since 1952 and is still funny, but it's given the world more than just gags... More »
5th, March 2014
Books
THIS photo is from an actual Irish school textbook in the 70s. Readers are invited to identify God's pecking order... More »
5th, March 2014
In Pictures
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5th, March 2014
Flashback
Paper plates and cigarettes... More »
5th, March 2014
Strange But True
Do you know this balaclava..? More »
5th, March 2014
Sports
Alan Pardew is speaking... More »
5th, March 2014
In Pictures
12 signs you're in Kent... More »
5th, March 2014
In Pictures
IN 2007, David Guttenfelder recorded the legacy of the US Army's use of the defoliant Agent Orange in Vietnam...
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5th, March 2014
Film
THERE is just something inherently creepy about a doll coming to life. I think it falls into the same category as clowns, kids and the elderly. Because they are supposed to be so benign or innocent, it becomes all the more warped and vulgar when they take a bloodthirsty bent.... More »
4th, March 2014
Flashback
IN Jan 1942, the Nazis opened an entomological laboratory in the Dachau concentration camp... More »
4th, March 2014
Money
DEAR God this is one hell of a surprise, isn't it?
The more drunk a woman looks in a bar, the more likely she is to be targeted by predatory men, a study has claimed... More »
4th, March 2014
Reviews
BILL Clinton never inhaled. But now a few politicos in DC who did make a sharp intake of breath, can finally exhale... More »