From blockbuster to franchise
28/11/2022
How big movies created even bigger franchises and Hollywood made lots of money.
Great Lyrics
I Think I Love You
“ossibly the creepiest and weirdest bubblegum love song ever written, I Think I Love You is little heard today, beyond its deployment as an ironic pointer to a different kind of teen sensibility than that currently ‘enjoyed’ by the youth of the West.”
Today in statistics
Latest articles
How Amazon Music Prime upgraded and infuriated its members.
David Bowie is interviewed on The Russell Harty Show over a satellite link to rather baffling effect.
The magic of Original Pirate Material
27/10/2022
Mike Skinner catches the imagination of the British nation.
How MTV changed the world
20/10/2022
A cable music channel has something of an impact.
OMD's Dazzle Ships is indeed dazzling
04/07/2022
After all these years, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark's 1983 album remains an intriguing gem.
Divisions
Who could have thought the Age of Division would begin like this? Probably not George H. W. Bush, Eric Honecker or Mikhail Gorbachev (or indeed, most observers).
Its historical reach will only be revealed (slightly inevitably) as the years and associated events pass, and once we can all finally stop talking (and bickering) about Brexit.
History
Politicians beware as the public awakens from its Covid dream state.
Bill Clinton and the Schindler's List effect
13/03/2022
The release of Spielberg's critically-acclaimed movie came at a telling moment during the Balkan Civil Wars.
The organisers of the Ballon d'Or awards seem to think so, but are they right?
From collectivism to infantilisim
28/01/2022
How Covid-19 showed us what we have really become.
History repeating: Expect to see growing reports of direct action and stunts not dissimilar to those executed by Extinction Rebellion, but delivered by an increasingly angry, detached lockdown generation which sees itself as no longer having anything left to lose.
Perhaps Marx was right after all and history is indeed about to repeat itself as a farce.
Or possibly as something more sinister.
TV Hit or Miss
How MTV changed the world
20/10/2022
A cable music channel has something of an impact.
The West Wing's smart and sexy politics
04/02/2022
The hit Washington drama remains sharp, witty and moving.
Bosch is a hit for all the right reasons
02/12/2021
It's a show with a solid moral core, balanced with a realistic portrayal of politics, power and Los Angeles policing.
The fall of Channel 4's breakfast show RI:SE
16/09/2021
Between 2002 and 2003 RI:SE had two drastic launches but fewer viewers. Not perhaps the channel's finest hour(s).
Eurovision
A hot favourite going into the final, the Spanish entry turns out to be even hotter on the night.
Lulu goes full Boom Bang-a-Bang
11/04/2022
You can see why Lulu had to be prodded onto the stage to sell this song for the UK.
After years of nearly winning, the United Kingdom finally pulls its socks up and takes the Eurovision prize.
Timelines
Videomatic
David Bowie is interviewed on The Russell Harty Show over a satellite link to rather baffling effect.
The Big Car YouTube channel's take on how the Marina helped destroy the British car industry.
Products
The original (and much smaller) Mini is considered to be an icon of the 60s and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout has influenced a generation of car-makers.
Part of the appeal of Concorde, even to this day, is in its design and aesthetic, in the graceful sweep of the delta wing, in the perky nose and the long, thin passenger cabin.
Pop
The Pet Shop Boys go shopping
24/03/2022
A disco beat political statement from the electropop duo.
Sleeper get caught in a moment
21/10/2021
Clever, funny and charming, Sleeper added some much-needed cheek to the UK pop scene.
Five wonderful albums you think you know
26/08/2021
Even if you have never heard them before.
Stay Calm, it's The Smiths
08/07/2021
Catching the moment, The Smiths are dancy, excitable and thrilling.
Bruce Springsteen remains the boss
24/06/2021
Having found an unlikely home on Broadway, Bruce Springsteen is now back in the spotlight for all the right reasons.
Diana Ross is jubilant
08/04/2021
A sassier and smarter diva re-emerges with an iconic album featuring a gay anthem (or two).
Sequels
The blockbuster franchise starts out terrifying before becoming confused and mystifying.
Grease is a massive hit, until the sequel
20/02/2022
A camp, silly and entertaining shuffle down nostalgia lane for those who have no memory or experience of 50s Americana.
Baffling but brilliant from 2001 to 2010
04/11/2021
A druggy, confusing, visually splendid mediation on humanity, the nature of the universe, life, and all that stuff.
Divisionary latest
Lawfare
“The strategic use of legal proceedings, systems and institutions to damage, intimidate or hinder an opponent or to deter an individual's use of their legal rights.”
