Gil Scott-Heron’s 1971 timeless debut album, Pieces of a Man, is a staple of powerful genius, a commentary that still proves as relevant almost fifty years on from its release. Scott-Heron’s statement of well-crafted intellect was built on a recipe of jazz, soul, funk and spoken-word that ultimately gave him the alias ‘The Godfather of…
Sport
The Canaries may be down, but they will soon be singing again
After a less than underwhelming season, Norwich City find themselves back in the Championship, finishing with a measly 21 points. There was early season speculation that Norwich would be the ‘surprise package’ team. After all, they were credited for playing an attractive brand of football under German manager Daniel Farke who helped them win the…
Music, Venue
Ennio Morricone: the iconic composer
Nobody has impacted the sound of film more than Ennio Morricone. The legendary composer, who has passed away at the age of 91, came to define the genre of “Spaghetti Westerns”, which made their mark in the 1960s. Films such as: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, A Fist Full of Dollars, and Once…
#BLM, Music, Venue
A strange and bitter crop: The legacy of Strange Fruit
“Southern trees bear a strange fruit, Blood on the leaves and blood at the root”. The opening lyrics to Strange Fruit cast a haunting legacy over America’s not too recent history, a history built on hatred and violence. This was America’s “Progressive era”, the period from around 1880 to 1920, an era of Jim Crow,…
Arts, Venue
Arts favourites of the year so far, from new releases to old loves
My choice of the year is The Lost Future of Pepperharrow, by UEA alumni Natasha Pulley: a delightful sequel to her debut novel The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, which could not have come at a better moment to whisk you away from the strange times we find ourselves in. Gentle, witty, and beautifully crafted as…
Music, Venue
Kraftwerk – the enigmas that cracked the music code
The music world finds itself in mourning again. The death of Florian Schneider, one half of the brains behind Kraftwerk has been met with sadness across all fields of popular music. They’re also saluting a man who helped crack the code of electronic music, and provided the foundations of the next five decades of popular…
Arts, Venue
Arty Instagrams to check out during isolation
With the current lockdown eliminating the tactility of art, the shift to online has changed the way we experience it. Social media outlets, particularly Instagram, have helped fill the void once held by galleries showcasing their exhibitions. Instagram has become the worldwide art gallery, and has been crawling with artistic output in abundance, seeing artists…
Music, Venue
What next for Britain’s venues?
The Culture sector has been hit with the iron fist of Covid-19 the hardest. The death toll of the virus has reached the equivalent capacity of London’s O2 arena – a horrid thought. This has no doubt been difficult for music venues up and down the country, who now face a very uncertain, possibly fatal…
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Biden has no shot against Trump
This year, Americans will go to the polls and determine whether or not Donald Trump will get a second term in office. The presumptive candidate to stop Mr Trump is former vice-president Joe Biden, a choice that proves the Democrats haven’t learned anything from 2016. With Biden, they are doomed to be out of office…
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