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"Short stories and travel reports from my life adventures around the globe".

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Album Review: MTV Unplugged in New York by Nirvana (1993).

In the fall of 1993 Seattle three-piece Nirvana was arguably the biggest rock band in the world. Their debut album Bleach had planted seeds of vehement potential, while everybody and his dog picked up a copy of its all-conquering follow-up Nevermind. Then came the eclectic rarities compilation Incesticide, before recently released third LP In Utero, […]

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Album Review: Definitely Maybe by Oasis (1994).

It’s easy to forget what an unparalleled tour de force Oasis were when they burst onto the scene in the summer of 1994. Dangerously cool, razor-edge witty and a whole new level of arrogant, they were impossible to ignore, the musical equivalent of Jack Nicholson smashing the door down with his axe in The Shining. […]

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Album Review: Figure 8 by Elliott Smith (2000).

Anyone familiar with my reviews will be far from surprised to hear that I’m a big Elliott Smith fan. Like Nick Drake before him Elliott was a deeply troubled soul who wore his heart on his sleeve, writing immensely cathartic alt-rock throughout a tragically brief solo career. Time and time again I find myself falling for […]

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Album Review: The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths (1986).

I have a somewhat sheepish confession to make. Now bear with me, but the first time I heard The Smiths I was not impressed. The track I’d stumbled across was Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others, a quirky little tune that appeared as simplistically self-explanatory as its title suggested. ‘‘Some girls are bigger than others’’ […]

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Album Review: After the Gold Rush by Neil Young (1970).

‘‘You’re a Neil Young fan?’’ a friend of a friend once asked me. ‘‘Really?” ‘‘LOVE Neil Young’’ I clarified, putting on my best ‘‘don’t fuck with me!’’ look. ‘‘You don’t think his voice is annoyingly whiny?’’ “Nope’’. ‘‘You don’t find a lot of his music to be plodding, uninspiring dad-rock?’’ “Not in any way’’. ‘‘Hmm, ok. […]

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Album Review: Radiator by Super Furry Animals (1997).

I can’t put my finger on when exactly Britpop became such a dirty word. A genre that once channelled such an acute sense of hope and reinvention, today it’s often referred to with an acidic dismissiveness. Cock an ear to any non-believer and you’re likely to hear buzzwords like ‘‘derivative’’, ‘‘pedestrian’’ and ‘‘false dawn’’. Britpop […]

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