Joe Jackson talks to Paul Meade, director of Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing , the hugely successful examination of sexual politics which is currently enjoying an extended run at Andrew’s Lane Theatre.
With her own debut album, ELEANOR McEVOY, one of the stars of 'A Woman's Heart', has come out of the folk closet and revealed herself to be a real rocker - feedback, distorted guitars and all. Interview: COLM O'HARE
With her own debut album, Eleanor McEvoy, one of the stars of A Woman s Heart , has come out of the folk closet and revealed herself to be a real rocker feedback, distorted guitars and all. Interview: Colm O Hare.
Taking the DIY ethic a step further than many, Alan Roe, aka Roesy, devised a rather creatively impressive way to raise money to record his album Only Love Is Real.
Although Real Girl is too inconsistent to have you rushing down the bookies, nonetheless it’s a steely attempt at spirited urban R’n’B pop, with nods to Mary J. Blige, Macy Gray, Joss Stone and even Jamelia.
As U2 get ready to launch their Vertigo World Tour in San Diego, a whole gaggle – or should that be whoop? – of Irish artists have covered their songs on the Today FM supported Even Better Than The Real Thing.
As his first solo series concludes on Channel 4, respect is due to SACHA BARON COHEN,
creator of ALI G, comedy s king of keeping it real.
BARRY GLENDENNING says Bo selecta!
Following John Waters’ article on fathers’ rights in the last issue of hotpress, Ivana Bacik responds to his criticisms of herself and feminism in general.
Tribute bands may not capture the true spirit of rock’n’roll – but they do succeed in attracting fans, starved of the music of the originals of the species.
Tribute bands may not capture the true spirit of rock’n’roll – but they do succeed in attracting fans, starved of the music of the originals of the species.
Or that's what the proponents of the phenomenon of Virtual Reality might want us to believe. GERRY McGOVERN enters this brave new world and discovers that its capacity to transform our lives - at work, rest and foreplay - is truly mindblowing. Now, put on your headset and start reading!
From gigs with cider punks in limerick to playing for Fidel in Havana and from the low of Richey’s disappearance to the high of performing before Wales’ victory over Italy – life has never been boring for the Manic Street Preachers. Stuart Clark listens intently as Nicky Wire discusses their defining moments
Is she a manufactured pop act made to look like a rock chick? is she a rock chick who sells records like a manufactured pop act? or is she something else entirely? Why’d Avril Lavigne have to go and make things so complicated?
Er, perhaps not, but after 25 years of waxing, back-combing and tottering around on six-inch heels, Mr. Pussy has certainly earned the right to call himself ‘Ireland’s Most Misleading Lady’. LIAM FAY gets a lesson in cross-dressing from the man who’s stripped Bono to the waist, offered solace to Charlie Haughey and stuck a hairy appendage under Ringo Starr’s nose. PIX: Colm Henry
Why the recent record drugs haul off the Irish coast will do little to stem to cocaine tide- and my pose a very real public health risk as dealers move to fill the gap in the market.
Three years ago this month, MICHAEL HUTCHENCE s body was found in a Sydney hotel room. Now, his mother PATRICIA GLASSOP and half-sister TINA HUTCHENCE have written a book about their memories of the singer s life and the bitter legal battles which followed his death. They spoke to NIALL STANAGE
How much of the 50 Cent phenomenon is for real and how much for effect? Danielle Brigham meets the mainman and his crew in Dublin and attempts to make sense of the shootings and the sales figures.
It?s real, it?s now and it goes all the way back to the source ? roots music is taking the world by storm and Ireland is very definitely on the map.
By siobhan long.
With Lights Of The City, underground faves JUBILEE ALLSTARS have finally made the album they ve always talked about. And they re still talking about disappearing Dublin, real Irish pop, love songs, dinner parties and much more. words: EAMON SWEENEY. Star Charts: Declan English
In the first instalment of a regular new column for Hot Press, former Irish international PAUL McGRATH remembers Italia 90 and looks forward to the season ahead
Never mind Cradle of Filth and their “Jesus Is A Cunt” t-shirts, if it’s real, honest to Beelzebub offensiveness you’re after look no further than Norwegian death metallers Gorgoroth who’ve been charged with blasphemous obscenity following a particularly boisterous gig in Poland.
The demise of No Disco leaves RTE with no real rock music programme at a time when the Irish music scene has hardly been in a more healthy state. We cast a wary eye back over some of RTE’s chequered contributions to musical eye candy. Look upon these works and weep.
The recent release of the compilation album So Real: Songs From Jeff Buckley was a potent reminder of the extraordinary impact Jeff Buckley made during his short life. In an exclusive interview, on the 10th anniversary of his death, his mother Mary Guibert reflects on the singer’s legacy.
When time comes for the models to put on their real life clothes, chances are they’ll turn to Filippa Knutsson. Alison Bourke meets the designer who’s more interested in “style than fashion”
• If the number of albums being released at a given time is any indication, then Gaelic culture is in its healthiest state for years. It is particularly encouraging that real roots music is still being recorded, and indeed that the Irish language is still finding its place in this context.
You’ve never seen them like this before. Now available on DVD with extra features and footage, the new edition of The Beatles Anthology is as close to a definitive visual tale of the band as we’re ever likely to get. Producer Chips Chipperfield tells Colm O’Hare how it came together
In the last issue of Hot Press, NIALL STANAGE wrote about his experiences as a busker-for-a-day. This time around he meets the real thing those who try to make their living on the streets of Dublin. PICS: CATHAL DAWSON
Gloria Steinem was 65 last month; Germaine Greer was 60; Jill Johnston was 70. There are some who will not understand the resonance of this roll-call of veterans they are doubtless too busy poring over the latest edict of the Catholic Church, which holds that maturbation is not always a sin. Ho-hum. Listen up wankers, while I tell you how it was when real women strode the earth.
The rise and rise of the female singer/songwriter is fast achieving phenomenon status in Ireland - here,
Peter Murphy profiles an eclectic mix of new and distinctive talent
Art with a capital ‘F’ or the real, raw thing? In London, Phil Udell strolls among – and at one point nearly falls over – an exhibition of controversial, cutting edge, headline-grabbing work from Hirst, Emin et al. But is it, like, y’know, any good?
Sex & Death & Rock 'n' Roll
With The Divine Comedy's new album Casanova, the dreamily romantic Neil Hannon has come over all carnal. "I felt I had to get an awful lot of real shit out of my system", he tells Niall Crumlish. "Sometimes you've got to get a bit scummy".
Paul Wilkinson of widely touted Coleraine duo, The Amazing Pilots, on the making of the group’s Dave Odlum-produced debut album, Hello My Captor, joining artists like Jarvis Cocker and Evan Dando in paying tribute to Lee Hazlewood, and surviving a visit to the real-life Twin Peaks.
Albert Reynolds has, it seems, wilfully wrecked a coalition government whose achievements were numerous and real, possibly endangering the peace process while he’s at it. BILL GRAHAM wonders why, and ponders the repercussions of the foolhardy actions of Harry Whelehan’s No. 1 fan.
PETER MURPHY previews SWEET DREAMS, a new series beginning this Wednesday on RTE1 at 8.30pm, which tells the real-life stories of performers yearning to realise their career aspirations in the entertainment industry.
It is every boy's wildest fantasy (bar, perhaps, Brett from Suede) to make a living playing with a fantastically successful football side. Craig Johnston was there, saw that and quit while he was ahead. But he has continued to make his dreams real. Gerry McGovern meets the kangaroo who won't be tied down, sport.
In a rare interview, US alt culture icon Tom Waits talks to Dave Fanning about touring with Zappa, getting the nod of approval from Dylan, his fastidious approach to songwriting and why Bill Hicks remains America’s foremost political commentator
The creators of the new Eyebrowy DVD expound on the inspiration behind their hilarious cartoons, their decision to leave their Irish characters behind, and how the real-life counterparts of their ‘toon army view their small-screen siblings.
The brutal regime of Idi Amin is the subject of Kevin Macdonald‘s The Last King Of Scotland. Here the director explains why, to capture the real Africa, he insisted on shooting on location in Uganda.
Damien Rice has emerged as one of the most distinctive and independent voices of recent years, achieving a remarkable level of success and artistic respect with O – the debut album that was recorded on a shoestring in his own bedroom. Famously media shy, he agreed to talk to Hot Press about the Free Aung San Suu Kyi 60th Birthday Campaign, and the beautiful tribute single ‘Unplayed Piano’, recorded with Lisa Hannigan. But, tape rolling, he talked about a whole lot more, giving the most candid and complete insight yet into the real Damien Rice.
Masters of the macabre the League Of Gentlemen have now extended their reign of terror beyond the confines of sinister township Royston Vasey. Their feature film sees Tubbs, Edward and the rest of the gang set their sights on a fresh target – the real world. Interview by Tara Brady.
“Crossover” may be a favourite buzz-word at the moment but as rap and the rock mainstream strike an uneasy alliance, it’s clear that a huge gulf still exists between black and white culture.
Cast by certain sections of the media in the role of villain, Ice-T has spent the past decade pounding home the message that unless America is willing to accept a major race war, something has to change.
Here, the Iceman talks to GERRY McGOVERN about censorship and the politics of rap and gives him an exclusive preview of his Return Of The Real album. Pix: CATHAL DAWSON.
From Timeless to Celebrity Big Brother to stopping Esso, and all points in-between – is it any wonder Eamon Sweeney has to ask if the real Goldie would please stand up
Confronted by an autobiography with a dual narrator, Joe Jackson asks the real Ray Davies to stand up and testify on homosexuality, marriage, groupies, the essence of Kinkdom – and the true story of Lola.
CORONATION STREET. It s an
institution. So who wants to live in an institution? Well - there s Ken Barlow, Vera Duckworth, Deirdre, Fiona . . . you know them all, don t you? Be
honest! ANDY DARLINGTON visits
the Street of Dreams, and finds out that it s real!
He’s played with The Corrs and was a member of the real-life Commitments. CONOR BRADY talks about life as one of the great unsung mainstays of Irish rock and roll. photos Ruth Medjber
He's famed for his method-acting obsessiveness and supposed reclusive streak. But could the real secret about Daniel Day-Lewis be that he's actually rather normal?
Watching David Bowie on television recently one couldn't help but think of Neil Hannon. Not that he is a musical "chameleon"—to use the phrase most often applied to Bowie—but he does seem to be a person more comfortable presenting to the world a series of ever-changing poses designed to conceal rather than reveal his "real self", as in vocally situating himself somewhere between Barry White and Prince on the magnificent Charge, or satirising—while still relishing—his role as the eponymous sexist hero in Becoming More Like Alfie. Strangely enough, Neil confesses that he was thinking something similar while watching Bowie being interviewed
With the new publication in book form of a collection of his newspaper columns, the Sinn Féin president addresses matters both personal and political. Here he offers further thoughts on Omagh, death threats and the peace process as well as on music, his late mother, his own family and his vision of a private life beyond politics.
Glasgow on the morning of the release of Deacon Blue's second album, "When The World Knows Your Name", is bathed in sunshine boasting a skyline view of the drive from the airport that is in sharp contrast to the image entrenched on the cover of the band's debut album "Raintown". Bright and sharp, the morning reflects the initial impressions of the new record, the bustle of the first rush-hour of the day reflecting the urgency of the opening tracks, "Queen Of The New Year'', "Wages Day" and "Real Gone Kid".
When Siniad O Connor tore up a picture of the pope on the Saturday Night Live television show in the US recently, she unleashed a storm which has been swirling around her ever since, causing her at one point to announce her premature retirement from the music industry. One month on, bruised and weary she may be but Siniad is neither downhearted nor repentant. Having declared war on the Roman Catholic Church she is determined to keep taking the battle to the real enemy. Interview: Niall Stokes.
JONATHAN O’BRIEN (real name) meets
WREKKED TRAIN DAVE (not real name) of the
LO-FIDELITY ALLSTARS (real name) and finds out how CLAUDIO GENTILE (real name) fits into their chaotic scheme of things.
Ireland's most hyped event of the year, the MTV EUROPE AWARDS may have had as many gossip columnists as winners thanking God, but after hours it was IGGY POP and heavy friends who made the real headlines on a night when rock'n'roll bit back. Report: OLAF TYARANSEN and PETER MURPHY. Awards Pics: PETER MATTHEWS. Iggy Pics: Cathal Dawson
Masturbating for charity – it was a new one on us. So whose idea was it? What was the purpose? Who would turn up? And what would happen in real life, when the doors to the Wank-a-thon were finally declared open? There was only one way to get the real SP on what promised to be one of the most bizarre events ever mounted in London. Send for our man Tyaransen: he wouldn’t make his excuses and leave! Or would he?
Their debut album Hopes And Fears launched a host of hit singles, going on to become one of the most successful British records of the past five years. But, their indie background notwithstanding, Keane have still been dismissed by some self-styled aficionados as just too nice to be considered real rock'n'rollers. "If only people knew," says lead singer Tom Chaplin.
They re calling it Little Africa, this area close to Dublin s city centre where the country s first real ethnic quarter is slowly taking shape. Peter Murphy reports on the birth pangs of a new kind of Irish nation. Photography: Peter Mathews
As Albert Reynolds basks in the post-ceasefire glow and Dick Spring’s Labour party strives to assert its
independence in government, BILL GRAHAM believes that the real losers in the new political landscape are the Progressive Democrats.
Thought that’d grab your attention! Having made his name with such arthouse classics as In The Mood For Love, Fallen Angels and Chungking Express, legendary Hong Kong director Wong Kar-Wai is back with the eagerly anticipated 2046. A dazzling collage of existential longing, wacky sci-fi and lurid pulp thrills, it confirms his status as, well, one of the real greats of modern cinema.
MICHAEL NOONAN may be the most follicularly-challenged member of the Fine Gael front bench but he is also seen by some as the party's leader in waiting, the only person capable of bringing about the kind of revitalisation which has so conspicuously eluded John Bruton. Now aged fifty, Noonan was for years known as the man who as Minister for Justice in the mid-eighties exposed the Sean Doherty bugging scandal and ordered the release of Nicky Kelly. More recently, however, he has achieved real fame as a Scrap Saturday caricature. Interview: LIAM FAY.
After two decades of electro-pop hits, the PET SHOP BOYS have gone back to basics with their new album Fundamental – and thrown some timely political digs into the mix while they’re at it. But the real battle is getting people to take them seriously.
Although arguably the outstanding female country artist of her generation, Emmylou Harris has always distanced herself from the Nashville
mainstream. From early recordings with Gram Parsons and Bob Dylan through to her most recent Daniel Lanois-produced album Wrecking Ball, her work has been characterised by a maverick spirit and real fire in the belly.
PETER MURPHY caught up with her in Dublin.
They ve been gigging for 27 years and they were doing Words when Boyzone were still in the balls zone. They are Big Chief Flaming Star, Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Little Thunder, Wild Hawk and Dull Knife (not their real names). They are
THE INDIANS
and they hope to still be on the warpath in the next millennium.
LIAM FAY
pow-wows with an authentic showband phenomenon.
From stardom with Westlife to the breakup of his marriage, and a subsequent attempt to kickstart his solo career, Brian McFadden had an extraordinarily eventful year. With his private life routinely splashed all over the tabloids and controversy currently raging over everything from his latest video to his admiration for Nirvana, he remains in the eye of the storm. In a candid interview with hotpress, he discusses living his life in the media spotlight, his decision to leave Westlife, drink, drugs, sex and the continuing fallout from his break-up with his wife Kerry.
Coke is it. Coke is the real thing. It's not the choice of a new generation but the choice of countless generations past, present and future. Coca-Cola knows how to get American presidents elected and is even responsible for Santa Claus as we know him.
Here BILL GRAHAM delves into Mark Prendergast's unauthorised history of the company, For God, Country and Coca-Cola, and discovers over a century's worth of evidence that Coke is no ordinary soft drink.
The only problem with writing about any new Tom Waits record is the man himself describes his own work so accurately that any further attempts at conceptualism are rendered superfluous.
t’s a lovely album in the best sense of the word, Rosey’s warm vocals matched by a musical background that manages to be inventive without being intrusive.
On her first (brilliant) album, Supa Dupa Fly, Missy Misdemeanor Elliott and her producer, Tim "Timbaland" Mosley, effortlessly mastered the trick of mixing the avant garde with the accessible, in the process giving a welcome injection of energy to American R&B.
There was a time when our sex columnist might have enjoyed a flirtation with gender crossover. But not anymore. So why does she find the so-called ‘metrosexual’ less than a complete turn-on?
The surprise huge success of last year’s EBTTRT album proved that, despite the continuing bootleg craze, there’s still a market for the gentle cover version, and that people are prepared to dig in their pockets for charity records.
With any collection of this sort, some tracks don’t work as well as others. However, there are so many highlights here that it seems churlish to focus on the few that don’t work.
The pirate music industry is now making millions of pounds each year. But that s at the expense of those legitimately entitled to earnings from their work. Report: JACKIE HAYDEN.
Though often overlooked, some of U2’s most exciting and challenging music through the years is to be found hidden away on the flip side of their singles. From U23 to Melon bill graham rides the wild horses of the U2 back catalogue and finds that there’s quite a few thoroughbreds among their many cover versions and experimental remixes.
Based on a true story, The Pursuit Of Happyness is far less saccharine than we had any right to expect from a movie starring “Will Smith and his real life son.”
The proliferation of San Fran house music may have provided the perfect opportunity for all the major league DJs who wanted to ‘go back to their roots’, but the hype has also helped to highlight some of the scene’s real stars.
A real firecracker of a single from Archer. Certainly, it’s the most raucous thing he’s put his name to so far. Containing references to his northern background, the record fizzes with tension and energy. Excellent stuff.
HOTPRESS is encouraging the real fans of music and sport to let us know who is ripping you off! Contact us on outatout@hotpress.ie or call (01) 241 1500 to tip us off. The fans must stand up and play their part in the Out A Tout campaign. The time for complaining is over. The time for action is now.
It’s hilarious the way that even Billy Nasty and Transparent Sound are making minimal tracks these days. However, as ‘Cider Club’ demonstrates, Orson and Martin keep it real with a spooky synth riff borrowed from Kraftwerk’s ‘70s dystopia.
Purveyors of guitar pop, the Dublin up-and-comers gear up with a finely crafted album that wears its influences on its sleeve, but manages to sound vibrant and relevant. No real surprise when you consider what those influences are; shades of the Stranglers here, a whisper of Wedding Present and a touch of Teenage Fanclub there, but the overall sound is a lot more than the sum of its parts.
Karmarouge launches the Noir sub-label to cater for a rougher, more abstract take on German minimalism. The first release is a real trip to the dark side as De Costa spews out murky rhythms, out of time beats and wild hardcore basslines.
Upcoming producer Matt John impresses with the “falling down the stairs” wooden beats version of ‘Daktari’. Isolee’s remix is the real highlight, as squelchy acid, hissing percussion and dark synths gradually climax over a bumping backing.
Minus has ridden the minimal wave with some average releases, but Tractile redress the imbalance. ‘Silent Movie’ borrows from Hood and Bell rather than Houle and Pierce and the wild analogue riffs, crazy acid lines and visceral rhythms are a real return to form.
The real highlights on ‘Sugar’ are the remixes: Trevor Jackson’s Playgroup mix unites tough bass licks with visceral Chicago rhythms and Metronomy bring Ladytron’s bittersweet pop into a domain where acid trax and '80s industrial are the main components.
Andrea Parker’s Touchin’ Bass imprint digs deep to deliver underground electro that flirts with industrial and rave influences, but the real power behind these tracks is the bass, evident on the gut-wrenching low end frequencies on Eggfooyoung and Plaid’s contributions.
Following Tiefschwarz, it’s the turn of Anu Pillai to mix it up for Fine, which he does in a wide ranging style that takes in nu Italo, electronic hip-hop, Seymour Bits’ electro funk and even Aphex Twin’s off the wall ‘Windowlicker’. It’s a real mish mash.
‘Apple’ is the product of a youth spent listening to obscure ‘80s Italo: the doomy, Gothic sound of ‘The Fog’, delivered amid grandiose piano sweeps, and the uplifting, quasi-Jean Michel Jarre synths of the title track make this release a real guilty pleasure.
Old dub reggae bands don’t retire, they just transform themselves into DJs and mix compilations like ‘Beatz & Bobz’. Dreadzone deliver exactly what you’d expect from a typical breaks set, although the ravey ‘High Noon’ by Tom Real and Renegade Sound Wave’s bass rumble are the undoubted highlights.
The second album from the Derry duo is a pleasant collection of acoustic, folk-based songs replete with laid-back melodies and lush harmonies. Think Simon & Garfunkle and you’re not far off the mark, though the country-ish ‘Faults And Gains’ might appeal to Americana fans. A tad too downbeat at times but a real grower.
After a shaky start with Volume One, Rod Modell and Steve Hitchell raise the game on this wonderful 12”. ‘Abraxas’ is more quality, crispy dub techno, but the real delight is ‘Empyrean’: a reggae refix, like it’s being viewed through a frosty Berlin window, with unexpected warmth thanks to some classic organ work. Fantastic.
Karmarouge Noir travel to the dark side as Spanish producer Pablo Akaros delivers the spooky, acid-infused ‘Por La Boca’. However, the real madness is audible on ‘Big Wave’ and lead track ‘Celofans’, where space trance riffs and epic chords unfold over churning, grinding drums.
It’s been quite a year for Maxïmo Park, one that’s seen them emerge as a band with real longevity as opposed to mere scenesters. They’ve done it through a succession of thrilling singles of which ‘Apply Some Pressure’ was the first and, now through the magic of the re-issue, is probably the last for the moment. With new material already starting to appear over the horizon it’s a case of job done and see you next year.
HOTPRESS is encouraging the real fans of music and sport to let us know who is ripping you off! Contact us on outatout@hotpress.ie or call (01) 241 1500 to tip us off. The fans must stand up and play their part in the Out A Tout campaign. The time for complaining is over. The time for action is now.
OK, so we know that Lara Croft is the star of the Tomb Raider computer games and that she’s not actually a real person, but she is impersonated here by model Rhona Mitra, with the aid of Eurythmic Dave Stewart.
Never trust anyone who tells you they're honest‚ as la mère Porcelli used to say. Advice like that might give one pause when listening to Black Eyed Peas' sophomore foray into Keeping Hip-Hop Real For The Masses.
There’s something reassuringly real about Delays. They’ve kicked around the dreary provinces (in their case Southampton), gigged every toilet in the UK, supported Ocean Colour Scene and released a string of singles that have inched their way towards the bottom end of the Top 40.
In all honesty, is there any real point in validating, contextualising, or reviewing this music? Surely this has about as much to do with music as the launch of a new kid’s toy?
While loop techno fans will love the original track and Deetron’s Detroit-themed re-work, the real highlights are on the flip, where Kiki delivers a squelchy, EBM-themed track and Hacker’s remix of ‘TNN’ boasts wiry electro rhythms, tight handclaps and the kind of seductive melodies that make his new album so special.
‘Smile’ was a nice tune, but ‘LDN’ has always been the real jewel in young Lily’s crown, an infectious, joyous and utterly thrilling pop song that is impossible to resist (how could you not love the "Tesco/al fresco" couplet?) You do have to wonder if they haven’t missed the summer boat by re-releasing this so late in the year, although you suspect that this is all part of a plan to have a crack at the Christmas number one slot with ‘Littlest Things’.
She’s a sweet gal – and no, she won’t mind us describing her as such – with a voice that could raise blisters on a corpse. Still, the Rilo Kiley singer’s solo foray into bruised country-rock is several emotional scars short of convincing. You need to have lived through real pain to get away with this material. Lewis’ travails are, one suspects, strictly of the first world ‘mocha or latte grand? – being top of the Starbucks queue is SUCH a dilemma’ blend.
This single provokes a troubling psychological question: is there any escaping the Oedipus Complex? Or do we just move onto someone else’s mother? For, according to the Black Eyed Peas frontman, “If the girl real sexy/Nine times out of ten she’s sexy like her momma”. Oh well. Lyrical content aside, the sliding indie guitars and well-timed bleeps and bloops make this a surefire hit – even if his look makes his studly braggadocio sound lecherous rather than anything else.
Lou Barlow’s efforts with grunge-pioneers Dinosaur Jr generally took a back seat to frontman J Mascis, while his subsequent work with Sebadoh and Folk Implosion was often unhelpfully mired in no-fi under-production. So his first real solo album, much of it recorded at his home in LA (home-emoh, get it?) sees him crawl from under the noise to deliver a very personal selection of indie folk tracks that bear comparison with the introspection of more mainstream singer-songwriters like Neil Young or Jackson Browne.
To say Know Your Station Gouger Nation grates in parts is an understatement. In truth the combination too often sounds more like street poetry with an improvised backing than anything of real musical heft or subtlety.
The least promisingly-titled record of the fortnight is actually its best – by a considerable distance, too. Jóhann Jóhannsson is an Icelandic-born composer and musician – not a household name, and he probably won’t become one, unless scarcely-moving, heart-rendingly beautiful classical-ambient mood pieces come into fashion. Still, hopefully this five-track EP’s gorgeous glacial melt will find its way into one or two listener’s hearts. Tired of Sigur Ros’ coffee-table whalesong? The real Scandinavian deal is right here.
For the most important album of their post-Joshua Tree career, U2 loaded up on Nine Inch Nails, My Bloody Valentine and Sonic Youth records, whilst also taking account of rhythmic developments in Manchester and Detroit. The result was an intoxicating brew of hard-edged industrial klang (‘Zoo Station, ‘The Fly’) and funky, danceable grooves (‘Even Better Than The Real Thing’, ‘Mysterious Ways’).
This year’s Brits provided few moments of genuine horror, with the notable exception of Stone’s stupefying turn, who tottered around, sending out love to Robbie Williams in a god-awful trans-Atlantic accent and trying to upstage Amy Winehouse. A bad move and one that could single handily de-rail her comeback, which is a shame because ‘Tell Me ‘Bout It’ is a decent record, brimming with hip-hop attitude and Motown cool and perhaps the first real indication of what she could be capable of.
If there was a worry that ‘Thou Shalt Always Kill’ was a glorious flash in the pan, then ‘The Beat That My Heart Skipped’ is equally glorious proof that the London duo might just be the real deal. Less consciously preachy than their debut, it adds a welcome personal angle to their sound before moving up a gear for the rant-filled, closing moments. With as much in common with US underground rappers such as Sage Francis and Atmosphere as the stuttering UK scene, this odd pairing could well be the surprise find of the year.
Irish jazz releases are rare enough and this one (recorded in Kinsale of all places) looks and sounds the real deal with artwork to match the classic Blue Note house style.
The combined talents of chief songwriter Wayne Murray and Icelandic chanteuse Thorum Magnusdottier makes this a real grower – fans of Air should snap it up!
Robbie Williams missed a trick! The lyrics for Fergie’s first solo single (were The Black Eyed Peas that great their members can go off and have their own solo careers?) are up there with that of ‘Rudebox’. Aside from starting the song by spelling out ‘glamorous’ (well done, Fergie), she proves how real she is by insisting: “I still go to Taco Bell/Drive-thru, raw as hell.” The music, on the other hand, was probably written by a former aide of Gwen Stefani who was fired after producing nothing but flops, and who subsequently turned to the drink and lost all hearing in a bizarre gardening accident. Then came up with this.
They’re following a blueprint set by The Cramps and the only real difference between them and Dublin underground band The Things is their proximity to A&R men. But woah, do they know how to create an atmosphere.
Strictly speaking, this isn’t a real artist album, but a collection of the best bits from Lindstrom’s first nine EPs. While the Norwegian space disco king is well known in the underground, ‘Affair’ gives the mainstream audience their first chance to hear what all the fuss is about. The ubiquitous ‘I Feel Space’ is present, but Lindstrom isn’t just about Italo homages. He impesses with the freeform rock/funk leanings of ‘There’s A Drink In My Bedroom And I Need A Hot Lady’, while the tear-jerkingly beautiful slow-motion groove of ‘Arp She Said’ shines brighter than the aurora borealis.
So here it finally is: the long-awaited return of The Thrills. In their absence, their legendary status has oddly increased. Unfortunately for them, they’ve also returned to a domestic scene where the bigger Irish bands are on the cusp of something amazing, and the smaller acts are creating a real air of excitement. In this context, more of the same just doesn’t cut it. It’s radio-friendly, sunny and memorable, thanks in part to Conor Deasy’s unique singing and Tony Hoffer’s spot-on production, but they certainly didn’t spend their three years working on a new direction. Here’s hoping that Teenager will prove that something – anything – changes around here.
Before us stands the bookish wing of the Britpop revolution return, refined and cultured in contrast to the Monkeys’ gruff Sheffield charm. Bloc Party’s second coming has been fairly underwhelming and although ‘I Still Remember’ works better away from its poor parent album, it still lacks any real spark. Arch swots MP (I mean c’mon, umlauts?) are full of spark, although they don’t appear to have moved on from the jerky synth pop of two years ago. Progression, eh? Damned if you do, damned if you don’t, poor sods.
There are too many singer-songwriters in the world, but we should still make room for Mia Doi Todd. Unlike Sandi Thom and James Blunt, Todd’s music touches on real emotions and does not rely on a internet marketing campaign to gain the listener’s attention: her kooky, scatty vocals sound like Kate Bush on happy pills and Todd’s acoustic-based compositions also resonate to ethereal ambient undercurrents. She even makes The Beatles’ ‘Norwegian Wood’ sound her own, the centrepiece in ‘La Ninja’s’ tour of understated force.
To borrow a line from the great Leonard Nimoy, this account of an alien encounter is true. And by true, we mean false. It’s all lies, but they’re entertaining lies, and in the end, isn’t that the real truth?
Like the fine, if frequently disturbing, representations of wasted youth offered by Bully or The River’s Edge, Alpha Dog is drawn from a real life murder perpetrated by, you know, real live kids.
Something of a minor classic, the debut EP from Kilkenny's Blue Ghost is almost unclassifiable. Equal parts Gorillaz and Republic of Loose, Collapse Or Keep Going floats between jazz, electronica, funk, rock, hip-hop and blues. 'The Altitude' builds with a frantic funky bass line pumping through a punk infused jazz odyssey, 'Float Feet First' is a poignant fusion of summery funk and soul, and the frequently brilliant 'Why Good Guys Die' investigates darker, more Blur-y territory. Only the lack of real vocal power dulls an otherwise fine introduction.
Considering Marilyn Manson changed from being a rag-wearing societal reject to an alt-fashion icon the nanosecond the opportunity presented itself, it should be no surprise that there’s not a trace of goth left in the band anymore. In fact the only thing to separate ‘Heart Shaped Glasses’, the lead track of Eat Me Drink Me, from Franz Ferdinand’s sound is Mr. Manson’s trademark vocals, which are part of his image. The increasing difference between the product and its packaging is only confirmed by the oh-so-shocking Natural Born Killers-inspired video, which features him and his girlfriend, the inspiration for the track, having (possibly real) sex. Oh, please.
With a roster featuring such luminaries as The White Stripes, Electric Six, Dizzee Rascal and The Avalanches, the XL label is right now occupying a position in the British music industry roughly equivalent to that of Real Madrid in the Champions League.
A taster for his forthcoming third album, 'Ol’ Death Whisper' marks Goodtime John’s first batch of new material since signing to Irish indie label, Trust Me I’m A Thief. Fans will be aware; Goodtime John is all about sparse atmospheric folk songs much in the mould of Bonnie Prince Billy. This means the connection between music and lyrical content is all-important. Of these five tracks, he hits the mark twice. ‘Play Funerals’ draws the listener in with its wistful vocal and melancholic imagery. ‘Nothingness’ has a similar impact. The only real let-down is the awful ‘Thought Dictionary’, with high-pitched guitar feedback that torments the ear.
If you're feeling crestfallen at what appears to be an about-face from the boys upon whom you always depended for real selfish miserable laments, hold that thought.
While occasionally the whinging minstrel on his platform in Whelan’s will persuade you that he honestly is fed up, it must be noted in the case of 'Hey Man' that it takes a really miserable bastard to sing a cheerful song about sitting on freshly cut grass and making love with beautiful girls to still make your immortal soul shiver.
This would generally be the season when the new, interesting bands give up and leave it to the big guns to slug it out for the Christmas number one.
Milk Kan, however, sound as if they like a challenge, as well as a good scrap.
Others have made this point, but ‘Bling Bling Baby’ really does sound like The Streets rewriting ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’, before veering off down a punk rock alleyway.
‘Real Fake World’, meanwhile, bounces along like Billy Bragg fronting the Clash and ‘Kill All A&R Men’ sounds exactly like you might suppose it does. It’s ridiculously early to be talking about the next Arctic Monkeys I know, but Milk Kan are already looking like they could provide us with a lot of interesting times in the year ahead.
Hard as it may be to believe now, in the late ‘80s to mid ‘90s Levellers meant an awful lot to a small number of people. Along the way, they helped change a fair few lives, mine included. It’s a shame then that they’ve released a series of such appalling records for the past six or seven years. Last Man Alive is approaching a return to form, displaying some of that old spirit.
Backed with a masterful Simon Friend solo number (their real trump card to be honest), it looks like their role in organising the excellent Beautiful Days festival has re-energised them. This may not mean an awful lot to a large number of people but is pleasant development for a few of us.
Wow. No really. Wow. For all the recent talk of ‘art’ rock, this is the real deal, at least in terms of Antony’s day job as a New York performance artist. Yet far from being some sort of Yoko Ono style embarrassment, 'Hope There’s Someone' is a beautifully simple, proper song. Pared down to just voice and piano, it still manages to pack more of an emotional punch than the rest of the records on this page put together.
Catering For Headphones beats with an experimental heart, backed up by superb musicianship and genuinely moving songs of real artistic and musical merit. Refreshingly inventive, often magical and consistently brilliant.
It's maybe no real shock that 'Freak Like Me' dominates Angels With Dirty Faces. What is more surprising is that the album falls so far short of matching its undoubted highpoint
Whilst the media are content to ignore the moral ambiguities we encounter in the everyday world, in real life objective truth is a good deal more difficult to establish.
Back once again with the real renegade master! Richard D. James AKA Aphex Twin unleashes his first new work since the 1999 classic ‘Windowlicker’ in a low key, limited edition white label stylee.
As you might expect, the sound and mixing quality falls down on a track or two, but for the most part it’s of an extremely high standard, and there are some real gems here.
Swords fly, blood splatters and comely wenches wobble like never before in glorious motion capture animation. You wonder why the filmmaker didn’t, you know, go and make a real film.
Finally, an electronic album with a real concept! Finnish producer Jori Hulkkonen has unofficially divided this new long player into two halves: it represents his ambitions to make ‘serious’ music, unlike most of his peers, who only refer in passing to their desire to be rated as true artists.
Although Ian O’Brien’s second album, Gigantic Days saw the amiable Essex producer make the leap from jazzy techno to ‘real’ jazz, History manages to combine both styles with ease.
HOTPRESS is encouraging the real fans of music and sport to let us know who is ripping you off! Contact us on outatout@hotpress.ie or call (01) 241 1500 to tip us off. The fans must stand up and play their part in the Out A Tout campaign. The time for complaining is over. The time for action is now.
The soundtrack to Louis Leterrier’s movie Danny The Dog (a martial arts thriller starring Bob Hoskins, Morgan Freeman and Jet Li), this is more of an interesting side project than a real album. Think Passengers, only without any lyrics.
Glen Hansard takes on Justin and Lisa Hannigan shows Pink how to Get The Party Started with a touch of class: Irish musos show 'em how it's done on Even Better Than The Real thing
Sometimes it can be a real disappointment when bands ‘grow up’ and embrace a radically different sound. In certain cases this can be seen as progression but sometimes it can be a step too far. To All New Arrivals is a sometimes confusing record, mixing too many styles.
With all the ballyhoo surrounding the recent fortunes of UK guitar bands, there has been a tendency for the continuing rise of British black music to get forgotten, a real shame as the scene is developing a style and character which – if not totally removed from US influences – is certainly developing its own voice. Terri Walker is the latest name to glide effortlessly from the world of specialist media and clubs to the mainstream by virtue of her Mercury nominated debut. All of which has upped the pressure on the follow up not to alienate those who have lately come to appreciate her undoubted talent.
They come unbidden, at any hour of the day or night. And they often involve us doing things that we wouldn’t even contemplate in real life. Then again, if we carefully select the horniest ones to try out with a willing partner, they can really blow your mind.
They may well have danced with the showbizz devil during their Riverdance days, but you can’t deny that few Irish bands are keeping it as real as Anúna. Cynara – their first album in nearly five years – sees them return to their original blueprint in impressive style.
Canada's Juno award-winning Annabelle Chvostek kicks off her tour of Britain and Ireland with a gig in Belfast on Wednesday, November 11 at The Real Music Club at The Errigle Inn.
Given the incestuous nature of the Irish music scene, you’d have thought that a band who’ve been around over ten years, released five albums and received great acclaim across Europe would feature quite prominently on the radar. So how come Dublin’s Primordial aren’t exactly household names? The answer is simple – they play metal. Not the kind of post-ironic metal that abounds in these post-Darkness days but the real, dark deal.
Since Ursula Burns' last album, the quirky According To three years ago, I'm told that she has done a great deal of roadwork in the name of music - and on her return, there isn't a harp in sight. Now that's a real break with the past.
But whereas previous solo albums had real fire and zest, the 12 tracks on Signature are impeccably played, crafted and sung, and it’s more likely to reveal its worth on repeat visits than hit you over the head on first hearing.
It’s a no-brainer, right? Everygirl’s favourite everygirl, Jennifer Aniston, returns to Pasadena with her dishy lawyer fiancé (Ruffalo) for her sister’s wedding. There, she stumbles upon a sordid piece of family history – that her late mom and wearingly irrepressible grandma (Shirley MacLaine) inspired the book and film of The Graduate. Intrigued, Jen sets off to find the ‘Benjamin Braddock’ of the piece and determine her real paternity.
PAUL RODGERS is real special. You can name the duff albums since Free split up, you can say he's old hat, or a hanger on from the days of Deep Purple, Led Zep, and dinosaur rock.
The Deftones sound can be described as heavy. It's a heaviness, however, which is attributable to the bruising weight of emotion and atmosphere in the music, as much as to the effect of guitars and drums. The influence of The Cure and The Smiths is obvious: there is a real and pressing darkness to their music, absent in goth metal peers, such as Korn and Marilyn Manson.
The verse-chorus-verse brigade will find themselves cut adrift but there is a real maverick musical genius at work here, after all this is the man who made an album of sampled football charts with Tackhead and called it The English Disease
Minneapolis trio Semisonic were one of the bands who suffered due to the British chart cock-up a couple of weeks ago when the returns from Virgin Megastores and the Our Price chain weren't logged, with the result that 'Secret Smile' failed to dent the Top 20. A decent enough song, it's one of the few real highlights on an album which rarely rises above College Rock competence.
The credits may read – “produced by PRINCE and arranged, composed and performed by (insert stupid squiggle symbol),” but I think we can treat this album as the real return to the fray by the Purple Poet of Pervdom himself.
Come in and sit down, Billy Bragg, the Bard from Barking, Essex, is putting the kettle on...
With his hand on his heart and his finger on the pulse, Billy Bragg is a real rough diamond and a welcome threat in pop's rich tapestry.
Unlikely as all this may seem, Youth & Young Manhood proves to be very much the real deal, a refreshing blast of a record that might just see the Kings become the cult rock band of the summer.
Ireland has changed utterly since the Saw Doctors first enthralled us with their hick schtick, doing for rural Ireland what rap acts did for Compton, but now they’re back with their sixth studio album and sounding as vibrant and celebratory of all things real and Irish as ever.
When I first started showing a real interest in music, and buying 7'' singles every week in Downpatrick's 'Sounds' for my 99p pocket money, videos weren't as available.
Make no bones about it, Box Heart Man is a cracking American rock album – not rock in the spiky haired punk or earnest grunge sense but the classic school of thinking, imbued with a sense of the nation’s musical history. Listen to the freewheeling scope of numbers such as ‘Build’, ‘Hope’ and ‘Jane’ and you instantly find yourself harking back to the glory days of the Long Ryders, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and Lone Justice, rock with a sense of country and folk and a feeling of real spirit.
Make no bones about it, Box Heart Man is a cracking American rock album – not rock in the spiky haired punk or earnest grunge sense but the classic school of thinking, imbued with a sense of the nation’s musical history. Listen to the freewheeling scope of numbers such as ‘Build’, ‘Hope’ and ‘Jane’ and you instantly find yourself harking back to the glory days of the Long Ryders, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and Lone Justice, rock with a sense of country and folk and a feeling of real spirit.
I HAVE to say that I have always loved Christie Hennessy’s material. Perhaps more than any songwriter working today, his stuff is the real deal, with no attempt at artifice or concealment. But that is not to say that his songs are not insightful, for he deals with a wide range of issues in his material, from loneliness to mental illness, and always with a sensitive hand.
Of course this is not the real Jim Hendrix Experience, nor does it pretend to be, but it's probably as good as we’re likely to get this side of judgement day
Of course this is not the real Jim Hendrix Experience, nor does it pretend to be, but it's probably as good as we’re likely to get this side of judgement day
South London’s Add N To (X), when not making hardcore porn promo cartoons, specialise in a bolstered and reupholstered variation of what used to be known as electro-rock (pre-post-post rock anyone?) constructed from real-time drums, manipulated synth, robot bass and vocoded vocals.
Rise does end up coming across as a hotch potch collection of familiar sounds, leading the listener to play spot the influence as opposed to developing any real understanding of the band themselves.
"All real Niggas step up. Fake niggas step the fuck back. This is not for you". Brooklyn’s hardcore hip-hop outfit Mash Out Posse make no attempt at inclusion with the intro to their Warriorz album and it’s easy to see why you’d love to hate them.
The two producers seem determined to load the kitchen sink onto every track. It's a pity, because Spillane's lovely gentle voice and real songwriting talent would hold up just fine on their own, given half a chance
Its real beauty comes when the effort is made to tunnel further down. The songs you were tempted to skip first become familiar, then recognisable, then at a point only hindsight will reveal, become shining examples of subtle magnificence, however much you’re loath to admit a change of heart.
The cinematography’s hugely impressive, and The Princess and the Warrior’s only real flaw is a pace which occasionally verges on the ponderous. Furmann and Potente carry the movie with two near-volcanic performances
With a deft five-piece band in tow, Geldof, nattily dressed in pinstripe suit and red polka-dot shirt, kicked off with his last real hit, ‘The Great Song of Indifference’ – a good start!
Hartman’s voice carries real emotional depth; equal parts honeyed and husky, it perfectly complements the swoonsome guitar-pop of ’Beauty Queen’ and ’Let Me Out’.
With the notable exception of the House explosion, the vast bulk of 1988’s musical produce had about as much to recommend it as attempting a pub crawl on a rainy Good Friday. As ever, though, there were sufficient instances of real quality to put at least a superficial gloss on events.
"Generally the tracks have a real heart tugging quality to them, with rising melodies and great musical diversions as middle eighths – the band really know how to build a song to an epic climax."
The New Mexico-based Hazeldine are in the vanguard of the American alt (alternative) country movement. In real musical terms, that means they are doing what the country rock bands of the early seventies did, a little louder than Tammy Wynette and a little punkier than The Eagles and that's about all, y'all.
While the provisional IRA might not have a British licence to murder, they might be allowed a certain leeway when it comes to tackling dissident Republicans.
A real humdinger of a noisefest which firmly refutes charges of noodling self-indulgence and stays well wide of any meandering musical cul de sacs, apart from the very best kind
Avril Lavigne has never been the easiest of artists to figure out. Is she a skate-punk princess or a black nail-varnish-wearing Britney? Is she a real songwriter or just a pretender who insists on adding her name to the credits?
At the time of writing, we are in a state of suspended animation. The new, so-called Blueprint for the North which has been hammered together over the past fortnight by the Irish and British governments is finished.
Throughout Workbench Songs you get the sense of being in the hands of real craftsmen, musicians who have an unerring instinct for creating the right mood. But, overall, a little more risk-taking might have been required to make a great record of it.
For those of you with blissful enough lives to be unaware of his existence, The Rock (lest we forget, his real name is Dwayne Johnson) is the biggest phenomenon by far in the lunatic world of American professional wrestling – a standing which should ideally equip him for a career in the movies, given that wrestling itself is entirely a (somewhat heightened) form of behaviourist acting.
From Anthony Swofford’s Gulf War I memoir, director Sam Mendes has purposely fashioned a film that closely replicates the experience of being stuck in an eternal stationary queue. Jarhead is a war movie with no combat whatsoever and no real war to speak of.
Continuing the Coen brothers’ ongoing flirtation with something resembling the ‘mainstream’, this wholly unexpected remake of Alexander Mackendrick’s 1955 screwball comedy The Ladykillers is a real curiosity.
Following the Bank of Ireland National Student Music Awards since the get-go meant a real investment in the outcome of six utterly different bands. Who would triumph?
Sadly, Phoenix is woefully short on incident. In the absence of any real narrative thrust, the film instead concerns itself with interpersonal intricacies.
Hip-hop does not usually mesh well with singer-songwriter earnestness, yet the UK rapper (real name Ben Drew) somehow manages to strike the right balance.
We can’t truly know if Bettie was a total naïf at the time or if her Filth For Jesus campaign was spectacular doublethink, but happily, the real Bettie Page, now 82, has no problems with the duality of Harron’s portrait. She isn’t, however, all that keen on the word ‘notorious’ appearing in the title. Good for her.
If you can ignore the unnecessarily modern intrusions and a lead actress who, though capable, looks like she's just walked off a Maybelline commercial, then Becoming Jane is a real joy.
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS
Directed by Courtney Solomon. Starring Justin Whalan, Marlon Wayans, Thora Birch
The inevitable cinematic spin-off of the phenomenally successful ‘role-playing’ fantasy/adventure game of the same name, the only real surprise about Dungeons & Dragons is how long it took to become a movie, the game having been around since the late Seventies.
Larry Clark's powerful, but problematic rendering of a real-life 1993 murder-case paints a disturbing portrait of bored, disaffected American youth and the moral void that they inhabit
It's been a difficult birth and the infant institution remains weak. But at least the Assembly is alive at last, and fitfully kicking. With a bit of luck we can look forward to real politics.
Maps are hardly promising material for movie adaptations, representing only the surface of things with no attempt to reveal their character or real flavour. You read the lines of a map, not between them.
Is making music a way of life? Or is life a way of making music?
Yes, friends, we're talking Fun Lovin' Criminals here - the Noo Yawk trio who first came to notice with their real-life narrative about a drug-induced bank robbery and subsequent flight from the NYPD.
Winner of last year's Special Jury Prize at Cannes, inspired by the obscure Peruvian surrealist poet Cesar Vallejo, soundtracked by Benny from ABBA (!) and directed by one-time enfant-terrible Andersson, Songs From The Second Floor is a real oddity.
Hard to believe it's been ten years since David Grohl first emerged from the ashes of Nirvana, raised his hand, and asked to be selected as the man to drive forward American rock music.
Even the most optimistic listener couldn’t have predicted the former drummer’s batch of demos would contain such anthems as ‘This Is A Call’, or that he’d be able to follow up Nirvana with another hugely successful outfit.
Yet despite all their accomplishments, the Foo Fighters still have great deal to prove. For all their platinum discs, anthemic singles and sold out tours, they’ve yet to release an album of any real consistence. Grohl could have been speaking about any of the Foo’s previous LPs when he recently said of 2002’s One By One that “Four of the songs were good, and the other seven I never played again in my life.”
Funeral was by no means a fluke. The Arcade Fire are unquestionably the real deal. And to prove it they’ve now thrown in another contender for ‘best record of the decade’.
One of the funniest comedy sketches I ever saw concerned the timelessly naff quality of Queen’s sartorial sensibilities. It was on an Armstrong And Miller show about four years ago, and was set in the year 2040. A guide was taking a group of tourists around a stately home, which was putatively an exact replica of Freddie Mercury’s real life abode. The titular comedians were paid actors playing – for “educational purposes”, understand – Brian May and the late singer, with Ben Miller’s skin-tight leather costume being an especially funny tribute to Mercury’s near-heroically outrageous fashion sense.
There is a grim fascination, watching events unfold at the Flood Tribunal. For a long time it seemed that this official inquiry into corruption in the planning process in Dublin might remain mired in a kind of parochial squabbling and bitterness. Last week, however, the whole circus switched into another gear and, at last, what has been a grindingly long and often tedious process began to take on a real sense of scale.
At long last, a real debate seems to be beginning in Ireland about our treatment of immigrants. It may get nasty and unpleasant at times over the coming months. Already, the foul stench of prejudice and bigotry is in the air, with the attempted launching of the Immigration Control Platform by the Clonakilty schoolteacher (the mind boggles) Aine Nm Chonaill. This pathetic creature s ideology stinks but, in a perverse way, in launching her campaign she may be doing us all an unintended favour. Because what she espouses is little more than an extreme version of what passes for official policy on immigration in this country.
You thought St. Patrick s Day was all about fireworks, celebration and cultural diversity. Wrong!
NICK KELLY experiences the real deal in the company of Ding Dong Denny O Reilly. ON THE Pics: CATHAL DAWSON
POE SENIOR sat back in his chair and watched the sun glint on the airplane wing. The clear blue skies brought a new sense of optimism and enthusiasm to his jaded bones. The flight lasted four hours but to Poe, with his favourite book I Claudius by Robert Graves and a cold cup of coffee, it was real quality time.
I've known Mary Murphy (not her real name) for about two years now. I think by this stage we are good friends. She's 24 and lives with her husband and four children on one of Dublin's biggest housing estates.
Action movie sweetheart and FHM-proclaimed second sexiest woman on the planet Jessica Biel gives us the lowdown on upcoming period rom-com Easy Virtue... and nothing else.
He's got a young family and a demanding day job, but that hasn't prevented Davy Matchett, supremo of Only Gone Records, from fighting the good fight on behalf of the Belfast music scene.
After examining the strange world of outsider conspiracy theorists in 2001’s acclaimed Them, chronicler of cultural weirditude Jon Ronson has now turned his attention to the murkey milieu of covert US military ops and sinister, Pentagon-sanctioned psychological experiments. Peter Murphy switches on the interrogation lamp and probes the Cardiff-born author for details on Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, the tactical deployment of Barney the Dinosaur, and the men who attempted to kill goats simply by staring at them.
Making his first home town foray in months, Kilkenny drumming sensation R.S.A.G is just one of the highlights of this year’s arts festival in the Marble City.
Australian singer SIA's song `Breathe Me', was destined to become a great lost classic, until the folks at Six Feet Under gave it a new lease of life. Next stop, duets with Beck.
Nada Surf frontman Matthew Caws is not your archetypal rock star. Instead of pouring his pennies into a shiny red cock-on-wheels with a black leather interior, this sensibly-minded young buck claims the best way to travel is, in fact, the humble bicycle.
Just in time for Halloween, the government and the media are conspiring to demonise public servants. All the while, the real monsters are being allowed go free.
Killarney-based instrumental foursome HELIOPAUSE say they’re keen to keep rock ‘n’ roll alive in the Kingdom. We caught up with drummer Jamie O’Donoghue to talk mountains, his instrumental icons and supporting fellow sticks man R.S.A.G.Punk, Mark Morrison with Muse and Bob Marley with TLC, they show real production potential.
His witty real-life relationship tales have made him the foremost humourist of the age but David Sedaris is darned if he truly knows what makes his readers laugh.
Bird watching, real ale and having Jim Davidson taken out by a professional assassin are all on the agenda as British Sea Power swap salty tales with Ed Power.
Are they genuine punks or just an amped-up, radio-friendly version of the real thing? Good Charlotte‘s twin frontmen Benji and Joel wouldn’t like to say for certain.
They are senior members of the ‘frat pack’, the insider clique that rules Hollywood comedy. But do Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson ever stop goofing around in real-life?
When Sharon Corr visited the townships in South Africa, she vowed to contribute to the drive, spearheaded by Irishman Niall Mellon, to build real houses for the underpriveleged citizens of Cape Town.
A mere six months after taking on the role of Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern has been appointed by Kofi Annan as one of four envoys to assist in the reform of the United Nations and the achievement of Millennium Development Goals. Jackie Hayden spoke to him last week in his Dundalk office about this key appointment, as well as a range of key issues including the war in Iraq, political bribery, Shannon refuelling stops, Gerry Adams and the IRA, our immigration policy, the Health service, his real hopes for the Peace Process and the influence of Dave Fanning on his musical tastes. Photography by Emily Quinn.
Tara Brady talks to Niels Muller, director of controversial thriller The Assassination Of Richard Nixon, which portrays the social and political factors which caused real-life ‘70s malcontent, Sam Byck, to plan the killing of Tricky Dick himself.
In a presidential nomination field virtually devoid of candidates of real calibre and charisma, the name of ex-Boomtown Rat and Live Aid hero BOB GELDOF has cropped up again and again. Despite his outright denial that he will run for office, the rumour refuses to die away. Here, in an interview with LIAM FAY, he gives his assessment of Mary Robinson s seven years in the job, and his hopes for the future occupants of Aras an Uachtarain.
The second instalment of our
wide-ranging interview with
Sam Smyth sees the reporter extraordinaire come clean about life amid spindoctors, pol. cors., lobby fodder and other strange creatures indigenous to Leinster House. He also talks about his real reasons for leaving the Sunday Independent, his falling-out with Vincent Browne and his mano a mano battle with Noel Pearson. All this plus his favourite Donie Cassidy story.
Tape recorder: liam fay.
Snaps: colm Henry.
When PETER O CONNELL (not his real name) was charged with the molestation of two young boys in Kilkenny and Waterford in 1994, his statement to Gardai revealed for the first time, his own horrific saga of sexual abuse, and resulted in the conviction of a priest who had ostensibly taken him under his care. With full access to court documents, RICHARD BALLS reports on the case of a 33-year-old with a mental age of 12 who, for much of his grim, institutionalised life, had been in the words of the judge who sentenced him to 18 months imprisonment more sinned against than sinning .
It's been a year of momentous upheaval throughout the planet. Wars have flared up, governments have fallen and the hole in the ozone layer has continued to grow. Inside the global y-fronts, however, was where the real cut and thrust of 1994 was going on. A cross-legged Liam Fay reports on twelve months which have seen a huge increase in the rate of worldwide castration and which prove beyond any doubt that the penis is not mightier than the sword.
When a police investigation was launched into Michael Jackson’s alleged activities with Jordan Chandler, the King of Pop’s media image went from Peter Pan into the fire. In his new biography christopher andersen becomes the spokesman for Wacko’s degeneration offering a damning portrait of the real man behind the mask. Report: Bill Graham.
Mike Leigh’s latest project all or nothing continues his fascination with the everyday mundanity of working-class life, but as usual there is warmth and a genuine humour at the film’s core
When Rubyhorse quit their native Cork for the US in 1997, they had no game plan. Now they’re being hailed as one of the rock hopes for 2003, with appearances on Letterman and Conan O’Brian to their credit – as well as an extraordinary collaboration with the late George Harrison.
Being sued for rape didn’t stop Snoop Dogg giving Phil Udell the benefit of his views on NWA, record labels, going solo and how the Bible encourages him to party. Photos by Liam Sweeney.
Why has a festival in the Nevada desert become one of the hippest happenings in the world? Irish director Dearbhla Glynn went “beyond camping” and survived to film the event and tell Olaf Tyaransen the tale
It'll take more than a clapped-out tour bus to stop The Answer emulating their heroes. Ed Power hears how the Downpatrick rockers' burgeoning fan club already includes Jimmy Page and Philomena Lynott.
Despite how the result of the citizenship referendum has been interpreted by some, ireland is not a racist society. but we do need some calm and honest discussion about immigration.
A unique blend of domestic and international talent, Other Voices is the brainchild of Philip King. The new series is, he believes, the most ambitious yet.
2003 was a year of reinvention for the Irish dance scene, as dance recession which had been the talk of UK dance mags in 2002 finally had some effect over here.
Behind the strange stage name, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly’s Sam Duckworth is an old-fashioned dreamer who thinks music should say something and has little truck with blink-and-they’re-gone scenes.
Having survived classical and punk obsessions, not to mention an Adam Ant gig when she was 14, Joan Wasser may have finally found her true self in the role of Joan As Policewoman.
Closer, with its explicit language and nudity is one of the most controversial plays to grace the stage of Dublin's Peacock Theatre. Here one of its stars, ALI WHITE talks about her role
They’re one of the buzziest bands in indie-dom. But beneath the burbly synths and upbeat melodies, Hockey are serious songwriters with a passion for Dylan. And no, they don’t mind if you think they sound a little like LCD Soundystem
After years as son of Charles , ERIC MINGUS is forging his own musical identity. He talks to PETER MURPHY about jazz purists, hip-hop and playing bass with Nick Cave.
Controversial Welsh filmmaker Marc Evans discusses his new project, violent reality-TV parody My Little Eye, and fondly remembers the mayhem his last one caused
IARLA O LIONAIRD has a new star-studded solo album out but the Afro Celt Sound System continue to teach him that music can be enjoyable and not just sublime . Interview: Colm O'Hare
They’re the hottest thing to have come out of Belfast in years. Ahead of the release of their hugely anticipated long-play debut, guitar-abusing noiseniks and so I watched you from afar, give us a track-by-track lowdown on the album.
KIM HOLLAND makes films, Collectors Only films. She is also a former Jehovah s Witness. PAUL O MAHONY reports from The Netherlands on a liberation struggle with a difference.
Traffickers in happy/sad alt.pop, Guillemots are one of the year’s hottest contenders. But don’t believe all that nonsense about them performing with vacuum cleaners.
She's worked with Keane, Razorlight and Bloc Party. But young video-maker Aoife McArdle's true inspiration are the elegantly gloomy movies of '40s Hollywood.
Veteran post-rockers Mogwai have just released arguably their finest record yet. On a suitably overcast day in France, band leader Stuart Braithwaite talks about the influence of Glasgow on their work – and explains the part played by ‘nonsense art’ in their music
Bourne Supremacy director Paul Greengrass on making it big in Hollywood, usurping James Bond and why Hot Press’ Eamonn McCann is one of his heroes. words Tara Brady
Cork act Kooky, aka Tony O Sullivan, has just released his debut album, The Good Old Days, but it s been a long time a comin , as John Walshe found out.
Her dad’s got the keys to St. Andrew’s Observatory, her mum’s texting to say she’s just seen Prince William playing hockey, and her new album Eyes To The Telescope is currently bewitching audiences throughout Britain. Things could hardly be better for Scots singer-songwriter KT Tunstall.
Forget Rod, Emu and gottles of geer david strassman s ventriloquism is the missing link between rock n roll and Bill Hicks. barry glendenning meets the
puppet master. Pix: cathal dawson.
Grappling with weighty political themes is grist to the mill for Colin Meloy of Oregon art-rockers The Decemberists. He’s even written a song about the Shankill Butchers.
This Is My Father is a new Irish film which manages to be commercial but not patronisingly Irish. CRAIG FITZSIMONS spoke to one of the stars, PAT SHORTT.
Rob B of the Stereo MC's is angry. At rock stars who take drugs and at governments who ban marijuana. At media people who support the status quo and at religious leaders who distort the message. His antidote? "You've got to feel the music," he says. "It's got to be an inspiration." Interview: Tara McCarthy.
The Whole Hog reflects on twelve months dominated by revelations and repercussions of political, police and church corruption, floods, floods and more floods and, of course, a certain parting of the ways on the pacific island of Saipan
Emerging Scottish indie band The Emperor’s New Clothes insist they are not the emperor’s new clothes, as some cynical rock journalists have recently claimed. The Glasgow quintet are one of the new wave of Scottish bands currently hogging the rock limelight.
The 12th annual Miss Alternative Ireland competition took place last week at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre. A host of entrants – of all genders! – came to see who would follow in the shoestraps of last year’s winner Miss Heidi Konnt. The judging panel included Anna Nolan, Brendan Courtney and Mick Wilson and they gave the crown to Funtime Gustavo – who here tells how she came, saw and truly conquered. Photos by Cathal Dawson
Former Belle And Sebastian mainstay Isobel Campbell has recorded a country-rock masterpiece worthy of Johnny Cash. But what’s a gravel-throated Mark Lanegan doing on it?
A North Carolinian who speaks Irish and a country performer who only occasionally performs country,
jim lauderdale has a way that makes the seemingly contradictory work well. Interview: siobhan long.
Though not the darling of the critical fraternity, NYC-based singer-songwriter John Mayer has had the last laugh courtesy of a top 20 album and a Grammy nomination.
Ireland's The Answer have pulled off a major coup by bagging the support slot on the American leg of AC/DC's Black Ice tour. Cormac Neeson talks us through their first fortnight on the road.
Ahead of her appearance at a huge charity fashion show in Dublin, the supermodel talks mountain-climbing, modelling, smoking and U2.
By OLAF TYARANSEN.
If we care about the lives of Irish women, then a no vote in the march 6th abortion referendum is a must. Adrienne Murphy poses the questions and offers some answers
Florida's favourite crime writer Carl Hiaasen has turned his attention to the equally murky world of newspapers and rock music for his latest book basket case. Peter Murphy reports
The former NME rock crit, ZTT founder and hyper of Frankie has written a book. But it s not about pop it s about the suicide of his dad. PETER MURPHY reports on how Nothing matters.
Irish football fans had plenty to cheer in 2004 as The Boys In Green marched to the top of their World Cup qualifying group, and Shelbourne went stud to stud with some of Europe’s finest.
The warped indie-rock of PlaytOh has put them at the forefront of the Cork music scene. Now they're poised to take on the world. Interview by Tanya Sweeney.
With their Harmony Hill album establishing them as one of the Trad world’s brightest hopes, Dervish are now busy taking their music to anyone who wants to listen. Colm O’Hare meets the Sligo six-piece who are being favourably compared to and discovers a band determined to breathe new life into old traditions.
Berlin’s Get Physical label is the hottest thing in techno. Now founder DJ T has released a solo record. The album is, he says, a distillation of a 17-year career at the forefront of electronic music.
One of the star attractions of Bud Rising, Badly Drawn Boy – AKA Damon Gough – explains his special connection with audiences in this country and his grudging regard for pop talent shows on the box words Tanya Sweeney
After a year of extraordinary success, Republic Of Loose are looking forward to a Christmas homecoming show and putting the finishing touches to their forthcoming new album.
Sean Hughes, stand-up comedian, television star, playwright and master of the 'startled bunny' impersonation, is now a published poet and author. SEAN'S BOOK is a wry and poignant collection of short stories, poetry, prose, journalism, travelogues and breakfast recipes... is there no stopping him? Sean's interviewer: LORRAINE FREENEY.
When punk-funk art rockers The Rapture emerged a couple of years ago, they failed to translate tragic hipness into big sales. Road psychosis aggravated the problem, but they weathered in-fighting to ditch the DFA production and strike out on their own.
Having battled their way through eight weeks of the Raw Sessions, hip hop collective and noble underdogs THE INFOMATICS were awarded the title of Sony Ericsson Artist Of The Year. We caught up with Bugs, Mr. Dero, Konchus Lingo and BOC (try saying that three times fast!) to hear how appearing on the country’s first ever rockumentary series is going to change them and indeed the face of Irish hip hop.
After a long hiatus in the studio, London-based psychedelists saint etienne are back with an acclaimed new album, Good Humour. adrienne murphy finds out what they've been doing in their spare time.
The new musical based on Mick McCarthy and Roy Keane’s infamous bust-up in Saipan, I Keano, aims to bring closure to one of the most divisive conflicts in the nation's history. Colm O’Hare talks to the play’s writer Arthur Mathews and lead actor Risteárd Cooper.
The master of the historical psychological thriller,
CALEB CARR's own life has not been short of drama.
Here, he talks to OLAF TYARANSEN about growing up with the Beats and the shock of discovering that his father was a convicted murderer. Pics: Mick Quinn
The master of the historical psychological thriller,
CALEB CARR's own life has not been short of drama.
Here, he talks to OLAF TYARANSEN about growing up with the Beats and the shock of discovering that his father was a convicted murderer. Pics: Mick Quinn
The master of the historical psychological thriller,
CALEB CARR's own life has not been short of drama.
Here, he talks to OLAF TYARANSEN about growing up with the Beats and the shock of discovering that his father was a convicted murderer. Pics: Mick Quinn
David bickley, aka Mobius of hyper[borea], tells Olaf Tyaransen about dance music as gaeilge, Bronze Age atmospheres and how he came to throw his Hot Press Award off a cliff.
He's familiar to Northern listeners as a super-smooth middle of the road DJ. But in his misspent youth as a guitarist, Gerry Anderson lived a life of rock and roll abandon.
Klaxons have got glowstick-waving fans, yes, but really, there’s so much more to this band than retro-beats, explains frontman Jamie Reynolds. For instance, have you heard the one about his spiritual healer grandfather.
One minute you're directing the UK National Lottery, the next you're fending off rabid dogs in the Himalayas. Asif Kapadia talks about his remarkable cinematic journey
White-boy soulsters daryl hall and john oates have returned to keep America safe for accomplished, slick R n B and they re still packing in the punters after all these years. Interview: colm o hare.
ED BYRNE can t wait to do The Late Late Show. Hopefully then, Irish people might realise who he is. BARRY GLENDENNING meets a young Dubliner who s being hotly tipped to win this year s Edinburgh Festival Perrier Award.
They’ve sold millions of records but don’t expect to find Beautiful South frontman Paul Heaton breaking out in a grin. Unless England have been stuffed at football.
Philip Cawley is one of the mainstays of Today FM's daytime schedule. Recently he invited Jackie Hayden into his country home for a chat and a drop of Jameson.
Students are renowned for their loud music, substance abuse and copulating in the streets. But eating disorders, anxiety, stress and depression may be more true to life.
THE WHEATFIELD Feile mightn't have generated quite the same hype as its Thurles counterpart but that doesn't mean it wasn't lapped up with any less enthusiasm but it's, er, select audience.
From Shakespearian thesp to sitcom star in Black Books, Nina Conti has proven herself to be one of the most versatile actresses around. But, as she tells Phil Udell, what she’s most interested in is reviving the lost art of ventriloquism
From Shakespearian thesp to sitcom star in Black Books, Nina Conti has proven herself to be one of the most versatile actresses around. But, as she tells Phil Udell, what she’s most interested in is reviving the lost art of ventriloquism
Tom McShane's not sure if he wants you to hear his music, but a recent cover of one of his songs might prove just the thing to coax him out of his bedroom.
16 years after recording one of the definitive hard rock albums, MEAT LOAF takes a return trip to hell and brings STUART CLARK along with him for the ride.
He's the original soul brother number one love machine (with respects to the late James and Issac) and he's got the kind of honeyed voice that could charm the knickers off a nun.
It’s a literary high wire act with a difference. Dubliner Colum McCann talks about his 9/11 meditation Let The Great World Spin and the challenges of mastering the New York idiom.
Like the Loch Ness Monster and The Abominable Snowman, doubts have long been cast over the existence of a recording of beat master JACK KEROUAC reading from his classic On The Road. Now, not only have the legendary tapes finally materialised, they also show that the man was no mean crooner and songwriter to boot. PETER MURPHY reports.
Like the Loch Ness Monster and The Abominable Snowman, doubts have long been cast over the existence of a recording of beat master JACK KEROUAC reading from his classic On The Road. Now, not only have the legendary tapes finally materialised, they also show that the man was no mean crooner and songwriter to boot. PETER MURPHY reports.
MICHAEL STIPE RECKONS THEY'VE PRODUCED THE ALBUM OF THE YEAR, THEIR SINGER HAS BEEN HAILED AS THE ‘NEW BOB DYLAN’ AND THEY HAVE IMPECCABLE TASTE IN COATS. CAN ANYTHING HALT GRANT LEE BUFFALO'S MAD DASH TO STARDOM? LORRAINE FREENEY INVESTIGATES.
John Walshe talks to World Party mainman Karl Wallinger about his quest for independence, his growing profile as a songwriter and his plans for a new online news channel
Though practically unheard of in their home country, Dublin metal band Primordial nonetheless have a huge worldwide following and are expected to sell up to 20,000 copies of their excellent new album, The Gathering Wilderness. Interview by Phil Udell.
When the Government announced plans to set up its own Press Council, it sent a shiver of fear through the publishing industry. Now, with John Horgan in the role of Ombudsman, he aims to protect the freedom of the press.
Anna Nolan first shot to fame as one of the stars of the original Big Brother. A lesbian, guitar-playing ex-nun, she has gone on to make an impact as a TV presenter in the UK. Now, she's about to make her Irish debut
If you are an Influential Business Person or IBP as the banks put it, they will write off your debt rather than incur the wrath of your rich VBF s your very best friends.
on the eve of the arrival of a brand new Smiths release hitting the record shops, Hot Press talks to the band's chief architect Johnny Marr about the music that inspired a generation.
Minimalist practitioner, aficionado of asceticism and producer of note – Germanic groove technician Steve Bug is shaking up the continental dance scene in idiosyncratic and dynamic fashion.
Personally speaking, the death of the wonderful Elliott Smith was a major blow his year. I found out about his suicide through Ollie Cole, who had e-mailed me with a very succinct, “Elliott Smith is dead. He was my king”, on the day of his death.
Ian Pooley s third album, Since Then, is his finest to date. It s also potential crossover material, but that doesn t make any difference to one of house music s most gifted producers. Richard Brophy investigates
Phuture are the creators of 'Acid Trax', and the people who introduced the Roland 303 'acid box' to the music world. They are arguably one of the most influential groups ever. So why are they still doing day jobs? Richard Brophy talks to original member Spanky and new addition Professor Trax, and reports on a travesty of justice in the dance world.
Annual article: The arrival of Channel 6 was a boom – but music programming on television in 2006 was challenged by reality TV game shows and, increasingly, by YouTube.
Rioting in Dublin raises many questions about our society. Not all are easily answered. Of one thing there can be no doubt, however: Glasgow Celtic 'supporters' who participated in the mayhem peddle a uniquely Irish fascism.
The proceeds from a new CD featuring the cream of Ireland’s musical talent including U2, Sinéad O’Connor and Ash will benefit people living with mental illness
Cast as fictional conjoined twins who start their own punk band Harry and Luke Treadaway have delivered one of the year’s funniest and most moving performances in the mocumentary Brothers Of The Head.
Meet hot new Dublin quintet THE HIGH BABIES. They re endorsed by Bret Easton Ellis, produced by Kim Fowley and wanted by Madonna. Could this be the first great Irish rock sensation of the 21st century?
PETER MURPHY reports. Cathal Dawson gets the pics in.
Having spent Easter Sunday contemplating what complete bastards the British are, we thought you might like to peruse the range of IRA action figures that are available at www.canfodmins.com/gallery.htm
Never mind the Champions League, if it’s fierce competition you’re after look no further than the National Student Music Awards. Doing his third level best to pick the winner: Neil Brennan.
By dragging leprechauns into the new millennium, Wexford author EOIN COLFER has enraptured children and adults alike and given Harry Potter a right run for his money. FIONA REID meets the brains behind Artemis Fowl
Despite huge record sales, high-profile support slots and endless MTV rotation,
Good Charlotte are still good boys who choose early nights over conspicuous consumption. Stuart Clark finds out how, and why
THANKS TO HIS INTELLIGENT AND PROVOCATIVE BRAND OF COMEDY, STEWART LEE IS WIDELY ACKNOWLEDGED AS ONE OF THE FINEST STAND-UP COMICS OF HIS GENERATION. HE TALKS TO JOHN DONNELLAN ABOUT HIS CONTROVERSIAL MUSICAL JERRY SPRINGER: THE OPERA, THE POLITICAL DIMENSIONS OF HIS NEW SHOW AND REVEALS WHY IRELAND IS THE BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD FOR STAND-UP.
MIDI are a major force in the distribution of musical instruments in Ireland. Managing director Lesley Kane reflects on the importance of supporting local dealers rather than going overseas.
AHEAD OF THEIR COIS FHARRAIGE APPEARANCE, Born-again indie rockers Doves talk about the changing of the seasons, escaping the country and getting past those fourth album blues
STUART CLARK DISCOVERS HOW IT TAKES 14 YEARS TO BECOME AN OVERNIGHT SENSATION WHEN HE DISCUSSES FAME, FORTUNE AND BELINDA CARLISLE'S SEEDY PUNK PAST WITH REDD KROSS MAINMAN STEVE McDONALD
The twin spectres of recession and emigration may loom large, but that's no reason for the media to make things worse by indulging in gross exaggeration
The legacy of a punk great is scrutinised in a new documentary Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten. Filmmaker Julien Temple explains what motivated him to make a movie about his old friend.
E-drums, synths and home digital pianos – as Gerry Forde explains, Roland have been at the cutting edge of music technology for decades, and show no signs of slackening off.
PROFESSOR POE lay in his bed recovering from the worst flu he had ever experienced. He was sure that the germs that had invaded his body had been working out full-time in some biological gym for the last six months before they decided to hitch a lift to Ireland.
the biggest grossing tour of the year or just the grossest tour of the year? Jackie Hayden encounters tales of everyday madness and sadness in the trail of St Therese
Rising abuse of prescription drugs, often mixed with alcohol, has introduced a deadly new dimension to Northern Ireland's drug problem. Helen Toland reports
Popular culture has seldom been this unremittingly grim. Resurrection Man is based on the blood-curdling activities of
the Shankill Butcher, and it stars
stuart townsend.
Interview: craig Fitzsimons.
"I used to always take clothes off people as well, like little kids after gigs who would go 'You were brilliant' and I’d go, 'Can I have your jacket?'”
Being evicted by Take That and hanging out with notorious Hollywood hellraisers like Matthew McConaughey are all in a day's work for keg-party rockers Iglu & Hartly.
From Dublin to Hollywood and from hanging around in Ballykissangel to hanging out with Al, Bruce and Tom, actor Colin Farrell is making the most of life as 'the next big thing'. "I'm a lucky bastard," he tells Craig Fitzsimons
Early this month Beat 102-103 opened for business as ireland's first regional radio broadcasting station covering Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford and Tipperary. according to the beat manifesto the station is targeting the 15-34 year old age group with “an upbeat and entertaining programme schedule provided by young presenters, with the aim of giving the youth of the region a service to reflect their tastes and attitudes.
The Tarzan’s Ambition Best Of album commemorates the achievements of one of this country’s finest songwriters, Doctor Sean Millar. Here, peers & contemporaries pay tribute to the great man.
Oisín Coghlan, Director of Friends of the Earth (Ireland) insists that the developed countries have to make space for the industrialisation of the developing world.
Six albums to the good and only now has andy white discovered his teenage years. siobhan long catches up with a man catching up with his own adolescence.
The “war on terrorism” and the death of Irish Happy Hour aside, 2003 has been a year of good times and great tunes. For me, it’s also been a year of daring debuts.
To mark the 10th anniversary of the launch of the G. Ryan Show on 2FM, JACKIE HAYDEN talks to the mainman himself while various team members and seasoned observers select the best, worst and weirdest moments of the show that's grabbed the nation by its ears.
Cian Ó Cíobháin has been presenting acclaimed cult radio show An Taobh Tuathail (The Other Side) on Irish nationwide RTE Raidió na Gaeltachta since its inception in May 1999.
With the final countdown to Christmas already well underway, what’s on offer by way of music-related presents is on every rock’n’roll fan’s mind. We took Jerry Fish into HMV in Grafton St. and asked him to pick out the most desirable items on offer – including, of course, his own wonderful new record Live At The Spiegeltent.
With the final countdown to Christmas already well underway, what’s on offer by way of music-related presents is on every rock’n’roll fan’s mind. We took Jerry Fish into HMV in Grafton St. and asked him to pick out the most desirable items on offer – including, of course, his own wonderful new record Live At The Spiegeltent.
Aslan’s Christy Dignam lives not too far from where he grew up in Dublin. He talks to Hot Press about birdwatching, how he stays away from drugs and his disdain for celebrities who complain about fame.
She’s been lumped in with the nu jazz movement, but Amy Winehouse has no interest in keeping up with the Norah Jones’ or Jamie Cullum's. Phil Udell gets music lessons from the 19-year-old Londoner.
The big time looms for Ed Zealous, but they're not fazed by the prospect of playing one of the world's most prestigious rock festivals. In fact, they can't wait to crash the mainstream.
He’s the PT Barnum of Rock, with Irish blood coursing through his veins and a penchant for encasing himself in translucent space bubbles. Ahead of THE FLAMING LIPS’ much-anticipated visit to Portlaoise, true believer Peter Murphy gets the gospel according to Wayne Coyne.
On route to Dublin for a special Music Show gig at The Academy, woman of the moment Speech Debelle talks to Edwin McFee, about winning the Mercury Music Prize.
It may well be wall to wall war on our tv screens but for all the
spectacular images and crazed punditry, we’re getting very little sense of
the truly brutal reality of violent conflict. Jonathan O’Brien found it
elsewhere
When Martin Scorsese made Leaving Las Vegas director Mike Figgis an offer he couldn’t refuse, the result was the British component of an unprecedented film history of the blues.
Although still in their teens, the career of English popsters the Sugababes has been more eventful than most bands twice their age. Co-founder Mutya Buena tells us how they pulled through the dark times and why she’s pleasantly shocked at the NME’s coverage of the band
It was an historic occasion when Bryan Adams bounded on stage in Ho Chi Minh City last week, kick-starting the first rock gig in Vietnam since the fall of Saigon. Report: Kevin Barrington.
Mary Black doesn't write her own material. Instead she has made an art of picking the right songs - and interpreting them to perfection. What's more, she has concentrated her song-finding activites on a range of Irish songwriters, with results that can at times be extraordinarily illuminating. Report: Jackie Hayden
Messiah J and The Expert aim to put Dublin hip-hop on the map. To do so, they must tackle several deep-set prejudices – such as the belief that Irish people can’t rap.
Noko, squadron leader of dance cosmonauts Apollo 440 talks about his new album Millennium Fever and the small matter of what the universe will be like in the year 2,000. Ground control: John Collins
An Irish bouncer at closing time and a plague of frogs in America EAMON SWEENEY hears about the weird and wonderful inspiration for the new album from LOOPER
She’s one of the chief movers in the Cork music scene. But what does Cork Rocks’ founder Francesca Brown get up to when she’s back at base? Photos by David O'Mahony.
TB, malaria, AIDS and infections of every sort flourish in the mud-huts of Kenya and Tanzanis. John Donnellan travelled to witness the appalling conditions.
County Derry-born Henry McCullough was the only Irishman to play Woodstock, joined Paul McCartney in Wings and lived the rock and roll lifestyle to the max.
An estimated 100,000 people showed up in the Phoenix Park for the O2 sponsored gig that featured Samantha Mumba, Ronan Keating, Mundy, Six, David Kitt and Kells' rock outfit Turn. Would one of the local scenes hottest contenders shine brightly enough to win the hearts of the nation’s pop kids?
An overnight sensation after ten years and a theatrical star with no special love of the theatre, Martin McDonagh is a playwright with his eyes set firmly on the big screen.
Interview: Olaf Tyaransen.
They’ve recorded with Broken Social Scene and once shared a flat with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Now Toronto avant-rockers Metric are set to make a splash of their own.
Ahead of the release of his new movie, Irish boxing melodrama Strength And Honour, Michael Madsen reflects on a career that been sometimes troubled but never boring.
Shorn of his beard and pony-tail GERRY RYAN is to join forces
with Barney the dinosaur, Twink and OTT in a poptastic pantomime
in The Point, SLEEPING BEAUTY (SORT OF).
Interview: CHRIS DONOVAN.
SHAMPOO are famous for looking cool, sounding cool and throwing large, heavy objects at interviewers who aren’t up to scratch. Risking his life for his readers: NIALL CRUMLISH.
The highlight of the year – and probably the decade – was scamming a trip to Havana to see the Manic Street Preachers do their live thing in front of Fidel Castro
Mr. Hudson talks about his mentor Kanye West’s Taylor Swift meltdown, the challenges of hanging with the hip-hop elite when you’re a skinny white guy from Birmingham and why the death of Auto-Tune is greatly exaggerated.
Still most famous in this part of the world for ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’, la rapper Coolio has certainly kept himself busy in the eight years since that hit. Movies, charity work and an appearance on Open House are all in a day’s work for the artist formerly known as Artis Leon Ivey Jr.
Queen of catharsis as the leader of Throwing Muses, Kristin Hersh raised a few eyebrows with her debut solo album Hips And Makers, a sublimely private collection which made it all the way to the Top 10. Here she explains her approach to songwriting, the emotional extremes she suffers and what it’s like working with The Sexiest Man Alive to NIALL CRUMLISH.
Irish journalist, novelist and musician JOE AMBROSE has JUST published The Violent World Of Mosh Pit Culture (book), an explosive first-hand account of life inside the mosh pit. STEPHEN ROBINSON spoke to him about the sex, brutality and freedom to be discovered within the ‘pits.
