As in American people tell me how it captures some zeitgeist or other and how brilliant or laconic or whatever, but it just sounds… well, not very good. The whole Grunge/Seattle scene thing tended to have a darkness and sonic richness that appealed to this young Floyd fan, but  I cannot relate to American…

As someone not American myself, the whole world of American half-arsed rock like Pavement is entirely opaque to me. I experienced "Grunge" via Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden and Nirvana at age 14 (when I was obsessed with Depeche Mode and Pink Floyd) or so and it springboarded me briefly into metal, which then led…

As someone not American myself, the whole world of American half-arsed rock like Pavement is entirely opaque to me. I experienced "Grunge" via Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden and Nirvana at age 14 (when I was obsessed with Depeche Mode and Pink Floyd) or so and it springboarded me briefly into metal, which then led…

"Alternative" was a marketing label put onto something that popped up in the 80s post-punk era. The '80s saw this mad explosion and solidification of niche and subculture-affiliated genres, like goth, psychobilly, industrial and so on. Lots of stylistic groundwork was laid in the '70s, but it was the '80s where…

"Alternative" was a marketing label put onto something that popped up in the 80s post-punk era. The '80s saw this mad explosion and solidification of niche and subculture-affiliated genres, like goth, psychobilly, industrial and so on. Lots of stylistic groundwork was laid in the '70s, but it was the '80s where…

Shoegaze came out of punk? Bollocks it did, it sprang out of the tail-end of evolved post-punk like Cocteau Twins and the other "4AD sound" bands.

Shoegaze came out of punk? Bollocks it did, it sprang out of the tail-end of evolved post-punk like Cocteau Twins and the other "4AD sound" bands.

I hate to be the party pooper, but describing something as "fetish" is totally how you make sex movies without showing the bits most useful to masturbators in the audience.

I hate to be the party pooper, but describing something as "fetish" is totally how you make sex movies without showing the bits most useful to masturbators in the audience.

An ex of mine took me to a concert of hers, and my immediate reaction was "oh, I see, you want lots of attention." Most of the concert was her congratulating her fans for their genius in being aware of Amanda Palmer.

An ex of mine took me to a concert of hers, and my immediate reaction was "oh, I see, you want lots of attention." Most of the concert was her congratulating her fans for their genius in being aware of Amanda Palmer.

The cities in Australia are at a comparable latitude to the Mediterranean and further north. Melbourne is not THAT cold in winter (seldom below zero) but it's pretty chilly compared to the rest of Australia.

The cities in Australia are at a comparable latitude to the Mediterranean and further north. Melbourne is not THAT cold in winter (seldom below zero) but it's pretty chilly compared to the rest of Australia.

I am eagerly awaiting more Blu-ray releases of Czech animation, as stop-motion and claymation really benefits from HD. The flickering swirl of surface textures adds an indefinable something it's hard to describe. The Wallace and Gromit BDs are just exquisite.

I am eagerly awaiting more Blu-ray releases of Czech animation, as stop-motion and claymation really benefits from HD. The flickering swirl of surface textures adds an indefinable something it's hard to describe. The Wallace and Gromit BDs are just exquisite.

Surely misogyny is simply a necessary subcategory of well thought out misanthropy? 

Surely misogyny is simply a necessary subcategory of well thought out misanthropy? 

Weird, I saw this in Australia in February or so. 

Weird, I saw this in Australia in February or so. 

Hands up if you fucking hate the "angry birth" thing played for "laughs" in movies and TV shows.