The Vinyl Countdown # 1950
U2, The Unforgettable Fire (1984) It was the first album by U2 that I heard. And that title track had an impact instantly. To this day I think of it as U2’s finest song – their best. I have very little...
View ArticleMavis Staples: One True Vine
Mavis Staples One True Vine ANTI Records Well, it had to happen. But we’re there now – certainly. The reintroduction of Mavis Staples – all that hard work, the touring, the superb Ry Cooder-produced...
View ArticleHarry Browne: The Frontman – Bono
The Frontman: Bono (In the Name of Power) Harry Browne Verso This sometimes dazzling, sometimes daft polemic is very clear from the start – Bono is bad, the annoying peace-sign flicking, flag-waving,...
View ArticleThe Vinyl Countdown # 1267
U2, War (1983) I was a huge U2 fan as a kid, the early stuff – even if Joshua Tree was the first album I owned; that was more because it was right around when I started buying tapes myself. All the...
View ArticlePoem: The Thing About Bono
is he’s too busy now – trying to save the world. Flying around the world (in his private jet) saying “save the planet” and playing concerts through million-watt sound systems but he doesn’t want to...
View ArticleMuscle Shoals: DVD
Muscle Shoals Director: Greg ‘Freddy’ Camalier Dogwoof/Madman The story of Muscle Shoals is a story about how a town with a population of around 13,000 had a hand in creating some of the finest music...
View ArticleNicholas Nigro: The Spirituality of Bono
The Spirituality of Bono Nicholas Nigro (ed) Backbeat Books Part of a series – taking pop-culture names (and forces) – and forcing some version of spirituality to them via the extracting of quotes –...
View ArticleThe Vinyl Countdown # 862
U2, The Joshua Tree (1987) Someone gave me their old copy of this record just recently. Yes, yes, I know – I said I could never listen to it again and that’s (kinda) true. But if you’re ever going to...
View ArticleThe Vinyl Countdown # 1950
U2, The Unforgettable Fire (1984) It was the first album by U2 that I heard. And that title track had an impact instantly. To this day I think of it as U2’s finest song – their best. I have very little...
View ArticleMavis Staples: One True Vine
Mavis Staples One True Vine ANTI Records Well, it had to happen. But we’re there now – certainly. The reintroduction of Mavis Staples – all that hard work, the touring, the superb Ry Cooder-produced...
View ArticleHarry Browne: The Frontman – Bono
The Frontman: Bono (In the Name of Power) Harry Browne Verso This sometimes dazzling, sometimes daft polemic is very clear from the start – Bono is bad, the annoying peace-sign flicking, flag-waving,...
View ArticleThe Vinyl Countdown # 1267
U2, War (1983) I was a huge U2 fan as a kid, the early stuff – even if Joshua Tree was the first album I owned; that was more because it was right around when I started buying tapes myself. All the...
View ArticlePoem: The Thing About Bono
is he’s too busy now – trying to save the world. Flying around the world (in his private jet) saying “save the planet” and playing concerts through million-watt sound systems but he doesn’t want to...
View ArticleMuscle Shoals: DVD
Muscle Shoals Director: Greg ‘Freddy’ Camalier Dogwoof/Madman The story of Muscle Shoals is a story about how a town with a population of around 13,000 had a hand in creating some of the finest music...
View ArticleNicholas Nigro: The Spirituality of Bono
The Spirituality of Bono Nicholas Nigro (ed) Backbeat Books Part of a series – taking pop-culture names (and forces) – and forcing some version of spirituality to them via the extracting of quotes –...
View ArticleThe Vinyl Countdown # 862
U2, The Joshua Tree (1987) Someone gave me their old copy of this record just recently. Yes, yes, I know – I said I could never listen to it again and that’s (kinda) true. But if you’re ever going to...
View ArticleThe Vinyl Countdown # 723
U2, Rattle and Hum (1988) God, I remember reading SHAKE magazine (!) in anticipation of this. I can remember exactly where I was, sitting on the floor in a shop in Hastings, waiting for my mum…some...
View ArticleThe ‘There’s Wally!’ of Rock-Docs: Bono
He’s like Where’s Wally? Except you know exactly where he is; you see him straight away: those glasses, that black leather jacket, the dulcet tones, always telling you that this band changed his life...
View ArticlePoem: So Proud. So Very Proud.
We watched that West of Memphis documentary recently; the one that Peter Jackson financed. Eddie Vedder’s in there, the Bono of grunge. And he’s all this and that about atrocities and injustices and...
View ArticlePoem: Sting Is A Terrible Lyricist
Sting is a terrible lyricist. Which is a strange complaint – since he’s an excellent musician and a terrific singer. One of the best live vocalists I’ve ever seen. But he cannot write. He will not...
View Article
