A memory of a school RE trip to the Isle of Iona. Drinking in the sleeper booth, shouting the words to The Smiths 'London' out of the window, high on anarchy. Fey anarchy at that. Years late… Read More

Gosh, hisashiburi. Writing is of the essence. I feel that words are tired and jaded recently. They need re-inventing. Dylan Thomas summed it up, succintly as always:"Somebody's boring me. I… Read More

Who stole January? Is it laying slumped in a sack, all wrung out? Or is it half-finished, languishing on a bookshelf somewhere? It seems fitting that my January was lost in bedsit London. Lo… Read More

The immense fun of making lists. I have notebooks full of them. End of year lists, though, I find quite difficult. It is hard to sum up a whole year, and I often forget things. Films of 2006… Read More

"I am in the midst of a society that is very capitalist, and whose values I completely reject. But I, too, become a capitalist. The problem is that by even dealing with the devil, you become… Read More

It still amazes me that Japan only recorded five studio albums together. Their discography winks at us from over 25 years ago. It is a stunning collection of songs; songs which become more u… Read More

I was stopped at the traffic lights the other day, when the coolest couple crossed the road. They must have been in their 50s, and they were all dressed in black, with matching sunglasses an… Read More

Without question, my favourite soundtracks of all time 'ever ever',(making like Kanye West), are Performance and Blow-Up. I mean Herbie Hancock? Ry Cooder? Jagger? And I know this is probabl… Read More

It sold, it became prize-winning genius, but the women kept on dying. The term 'madness' undermines, yet confessional poetry written by women was anything but submissive or unhinged. A read… Read More

Literary lyrics, we've had a few. Some better than others. Dylan, Morrison, Reed, Lennon have their own poetry books. Pete Doherty, it seems, thinks Emily Dickinson rather rad; and Mozza's l… Read More

O O O O that Shakespeherian Rag -It's so elegantSo intelligent'What shall I do now? What shall I do?I shall rush out as I am, and walk the streetWith my hair down, so. What shall we do tomor… Read More

For me Brixton was always the place to go for gigs in the early 90s. Two personal highlights were seeing Iggy play (supported by That Petrol Emotion), and The Sugarcubes. Anyway, whilst bein… Read More

The first book I read by the novelist and playwright Yukio Mishima, was The Temple of the Golden Pavilion. I can assuredly say, that I have never read anything like it. The utter evil of the… Read More

Andre Breton et al invented the surrealist movement, a circle of writers and artists fond of disassociation and the disruption of rationality. Surrealism presented the unexpected in abundanc… Read More

Stephen Fry once said, in an article on preparing to play Oscar Wilde on film, that he could not remember a time when Wilde had not been in his consciousness. I cannot remember a time when t… Read More

The above quote was stated by Iggy Pop in reference to his album 'The Idiot'. I say hisalbum, as it was produced and co-written with David Bowie. It is an amusing quote, and shows how far th… Read More

Listening to The Dresden Dolls conjurs up images of old theatre billboards, stages, crumbling walls and identities and artifice. The inlay to their latest album 'Yes, Virginia' showcases won… Read More

Recently I've been having the best dreams; lucid, surreal, and challenging. On waking, I just want to get back into my dream and resolve it. This reminds me of the central theme in Until the… Read More

Angela Carter is one of my favourite writers. She is famous for re-working fairy stories like 'The Bloody Chamber', but her early novels are astounding. Shadow Dance was her debut novel, wri… Read More

Dorothy, so annoying and yet so beguiling. Her ruby slippers protected her from all evil and took her anywhere she wanted to go. Recently, shoes have undergone a huge cultural shift. I blame… Read More

The thrill of the masochistic identification with a Hitchcock heroine. I cannot get enough of them, ever. My all-time favourite would have to be Tippie Hedron in The Birds, in her fantastic… Read More

Yes, this song applies to me on this most humid of days. Sometimes I just long for home. Never fear, I can always delve into my bookcase - the evidence of where I've come from. Toffee likes… Read More

"We love our audience"An old theatrical and echoey Bauhaus lyric, conjuring up shadowy walls, beer on floors and obsessed princes of darkness in the audience mirroring the band on stage.What… Read More

An obsession that just keeps getting stronger and more beautiful.........Wow! Devotchka! The Denver based divinities 'Devotchka' have got my heart. They are a self-confessed indie rock band… Read More

Looking at the top 25 list on my ipod on the way home today, I realised that 3 tracks were by The La's. It got me thinking about the days of The Stone Roses, The Charlatans, The Inspirals, H… Read More