The Betty Fjord Clinic

Friday, 25 June 2010

Feature: The Berlin Stories (Slow Travel Berlin)

Christopher Isherwood's 'The Berlin Stories' remains vital reading for anyone looking to get beneath Berlin's skin. Read my piece for Slow Travel Berlin here.

"Those who've spent time in cafes people-watching or working will understand barman Bobby's complaint about customers who 'order a beer and think they've got the right to sit here the whole evening'..."

Wednesday, 16 June 2010

Album Review: Micah P Hinson 'And The Pioneer Saboteurs' (BBC Music)

My first review for the BBC Music site concerns Micah P. Hinson, his "weather-beaten baritone" and "his powerfully ominous reshaping of old-school Americana". Read it here.

Monday, 14 June 2010

Feature: The New Sound Of Southern Rock (Electronic Beats)

And so, as the World Cup rumbles on, here's a look at the emerging indie rock scene within the host nation's borders, including interviews with Dear Reader and BLK JKS.

"Interest in South Africa’s ‘alternative’ musical scene hasn’t just been absent the last few years: it never even existed. Naming bands from Australia to Iceland is little challenge, but coming up with even one from South Africa whose roots lie in what we recognise as ‘alternative’ music was, until now, next to impossible."

Friday, 11 June 2010

Feature: Don't Be Afraid, You Have Just Got Your Eyes Closed Part 2 - Notes From The Aldrei Festival (The Quietus)

Kid rappers, Astrakhan coats, 'Pink Ladies' and Oscar nominated directors: my adventures at Iceland's Aldrei Festival continue on The Quietus here.

Monday, 7 June 2010

Feature: Solid Gold (Slow Travel Berlin)

A short piece on Berlin's Solid Gold store, THE place to buy band t-shirts and assorted oddities:
http://www.slowtravelberlin.com/2010/06/07/solid-gold/

Friday, 4 June 2010

Feature: Don't Be Afraid, You Have Just Got Your Eyes Closed - Notes From The Aldrei Festival Part 1 (The Quietus)

Part One of my epic report from the remote Aldrei Festival in Iceland's West Fjords, home to "Balkan polka, sunshine pop, thunderous electronica, Icelandic blues, death metal, folk, indie rock and, this year, a new form of bling bling hip hop that will be delivered by a chubby cheeked kid who looks like he probably only mastered his ABC a few short years earlier..."

Read it here (but perhaps put the kettle on first!):
http://thequietus.com/articles/04355-mugison-s-aldrei-f-r-g-su-ur-festival-iceland

Thursday, 3 June 2010

Feature: 25 Years On: Remembering The Colourfield's 'Virgins & Philistines' (The Quietus)

Summer arrives, and with it the time to look back at Terry Hall's fantastic debut album with The Colourfield, Virgins & Philistines, whose "overwhelming mood is, true to form, that of imminent regret, the foreshadowing of things going wrong or at the very least not working out as hoped..."

It's all here:
http://thequietus.com/articles/04378-25-years-on-terry-hall-remembering-the-colourfield-s-virgins-philistines

'Virgins & Philistines', whose "overwhelming mood is, true to form, that of imminent regret, the foreshadowing of things going wrong or at the very least not working out as hoped if, indeed, it's not already too late..."

Wednesday, 2 June 2010

Feature: In Praise Of Edgar Reitz's 'Heimat' (Slow Travel Berlin)

An ex-pat's take on the wonderful first season of the evergreen 1980's German TV series, Heimat:
http://www.slowtravelberlin.com/2010/06/02/in-praise-of-edgar-reitzs-heimat/

Friday, 7 May 2010

Feature: Music Video Nasties (More Intelligent Life)

My reaction to the rise and proliferation of (ahem) 'provocative' music videos can be read at More Intelligent Life here: http://moreintelligentlife.com/blog/wyndham-wallace/nasty-music-videos

Album Review: Ólafur Arnalds '...And They Have Escaped The Weight Of Darkness' (The Quietus)

An honest reaction to the Icelander's beautiful new album, which arrived on my desk 12 hours or so after the death of my grandmother. "...And They Have Escaped The Weight Of Darkness" is a record that drips with sentiment... so a personal response is inevitable..."

Read my sentiments here:
http://thequietus.com/articles/04209-olafur-arnalds-and-they-have-escaped-the-weight-of-darkness-album-review

Saturday, 1 May 2010

Album Review: Thomas Fehlmann - Gute Luft (Uncut)

3/5
A musical tour of Berlin, old and new

Given the city’s reputation as a home for cutting edge electronic music, it’s perhaps surprising that veteran producer Fehlmann was chosen to soundtrack a 24 hour TV documentary about Berlin’s everyday life. The lush, twitching familiarity of ‘Cityscape’ could have come from a 1990s R&S compilation, and he deliberately references older work throughout these seventy minutes. But by tingeing this old school pop-ambient electronica with hints of contemporary minimalist house, techno and dub he makes this a nostalgic and evocative exercise that perfectly suits Berlin’s fascinating cultural clash of past and present.

Album Review: Frankie Goes To Hollywood's 'Welcome To The Pleasuredome' (Uncut)

4/5
Situationist pop storms the charts. Remastered with rarities disc.

Frankie’s sprawling but frequently brilliant debut double album was a reaction to Thatcherite consumerism, Trevor Horn’s massive production perfectly reflecting the decade’s ostentatious decadence. A mix of bombastic pop, cold war politics and outrage – their cover of ‘War’ has a Ronald Reagan soundalike quoting Hitler, while ‘Krisco Kisses’ makes explicit reference to fisting – it slips up occasionally, with ill-advised stabs at Springsteen’s ‘Born To Run’ and Bacharach’s ‘San Jose’. But the throbbing, vulgar innuendo of ‘Relax’, ‘Two Tribes’’ relentless belligerence, ‘The Power Of Love’’s unabashed sentiment and the preposterously epic 14 minute title track remain invincible.