Rav Casley Gera

So it’s mid-January! You remember 2007, right? Right? The one before this one. The one with the missing girl, yes? Yes! That’s right. [Read more →]

The single war is a dangerous business. “Country House” vs “Roll With It” marked the beginning of both Blur and Oasis’ artistic declines; One True Voice’s decimation by Girls Aloud left the nascent boyband (sorry, “vocal harmony group”) stillborn. So it’s slightly scary to see two brand-new and fairly fragile careers entering the arena: former Sugababes Siobhan Donaghy and Mutya Buena. [Read more →]

In our double-speed age, when the most staid, pinstriped executive salivates over the latest iPod, hot trends shoot all the way up from the underground to the mainstream with dazzling speed. YouTube was only founded in early 2005, but by late 2006 it had not only made its founders multimillionaires, but had put a new buzzword - “web 2.o” - onto the front pages of the developed world’s traditional media. By now, you probably know what it means - an internet created, shaped and filled by us, the user. In a genuine stroke of genius, the folks at Time magazine - at its best, the perfect yardstick of the most forward-thinking end of the American mainstream - declared its Man Or Woman of the Year for 2006 to be “you” - or rather, us. [Read more →]

Celebrity culture is dead. It may seem strong and healthy, but inside, it’s rotting. And soon we’ll all be running from the smell. [Read more →]

I have an announcement to make. This is going to shock some of you, but I’ve given it a lot of thought. Before you all rush to judge me, I’d like you to listen carefully to what I have to say.

This Christmas, 2006, I am boycotting “Fairytale of New York.”

I told you you’d be shocked. [Read more →]

Leigh Bowery is chasing me. Not content with haunting my childhood, he’s following me around in my twenties as well.

A couple of days ago I went to see the Michael Clark Company’s mmm…. at the Barbican. Michael Clark is endlessly referred to as a “former enfant terrible of dance,” because his shows in the 1980’s used to have overtones of sex, and frequently nudity. And I was aware that Leigh designed many costumes for Clark in the 80’s, and even appeared on stage in a couple of shows. [Read more →]

I’ve always been disappointed by clubbing. Now, I’m not instinctively a club person - I mostly like music with guitars in, I prefer beer to class A’s, and I start to flag at about three on the usual night out. The club world swam into my consciousness in around 1994, via my brother’s obsession with jungle; but no sooner had I become aware of this strange world, than Britpop broke and carried me along with it. Life became a blur of collarless shirts, sideburns and Sovereigns, middle-class parents suddenly bemused by their violin-playing darlings’ newfound interest in pool and darts. [Read more →]

One of the main reasons why the early 1990’s will be remembered as a fairly rubbish period in clothing is the over-prevalence of the label. Formerly something to be hidden on buckles and washing-tags, manufacturer logos suddenly took centre stage on t-shirts, jumpers and bags. Nike, Adidas, they were all at it, but the worst offender was probably Stussy. [Read more →]

I suppose you could accuse me of jumping on the Mercury bandwagon. Although the ex-Pulp man’s croonings had floated onto my radar before his latest album was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, I did take the opportunity of the nomination to give it a proper listen. For the uninitiated, Coles Corner is a richly orchestrated smoky-lounge bar album of wistful ballads that recalls Pulp’s This is Hardcore more than their more commercially successful material. It’s unashamedly retro, and unashamedly Americana. [Read more →]

Multimedia! Digital Overload! Don DeLillo! Media Studies, Baby!

Yes, we live in an uber-digital age; yes, 3.3 billion text messages were sent in the UK in the last month. Everyone from U2 to the Pope has commented at length on the never-ending sea of media messages that buzz, pop and bleep over us from the moment we wake to the moment we sleep at night – and even in between.

So it takes skill and inspiration to make a comment on on this brave new world that makes an impact. Which makes the work of New York mix artist Christian Marclay even more impressive. His 2003 piece Video Quartet, recently granted a proper room in the rehanging of Tate Modern, makes for a startling evocation of media overload: startling not for its technical skill or apparently sage commentary, as with so many pieces on similar themes, but for its humour and humanity. [Read more →]