While everyone knows of ‘Charles Manson’ few have actually listened to his recordings. Music is the glue that sticks Manson to his friends, his fellow travellers, his ‘Family’, his enemies. In this essay, Mark Goodall reflects on Manson in context of his music. This in anticipation of Quentin Tarantino’s Manson movie and Jordan Peele’s Us.
This will be a new beginning This will be a time for changing This will be never ending This will be a happy ending The Manic Street Preachers have never shied away from the inevitable demise of the band. As early as their 1991 debut record Generation Terrorists they were …
Complaints about Manic Street Preachers’ sixth record Know Your Enemy are rife among fans of the band. Most point to the fact that the record is far too long, far too erratic in its structure. Complaints also take aim at the lyrical minefields, the desolate dirges, the odd genre twists …
In the summer of 1999, Manic Street Preachers headlined the prestigious Glastonbury music festival. More or less the whole performance was broadcast on television. The performance was good, a full bodied hit packed selection, but an energy was lacking in the performance somewhere. This headline slot came off the back …
“Morrissey perhaps was seduced by LA like most people who are not from here, lured by the nostalgia of old Hollywood or perhaps simple sunshine.” So says author Melissa Mora Hidalgo in her new book Mozlandia, a tribute to Morrissey fans and Smiths fans worldwide as well as a highlighting of their …
HEADPRESS: Tell us about Joy Devotion. DR. JENNIFER OTTER BICKERDIKE: ‘Joy Devotion’ is a tag line I created while I was getting my PhD—which focused on fandom, authenticity and image, using Ian Curtis (and Kurt Cobain) as the case studies to examine these phenomena. For me, Joy Division had played …
HEADPRESS: Hi Jennifer. You’re the evil genius behind our new FIGHT YOUR OWN WAR: Power Electronics and Noise Culture title, which is proving quite the cult smash. Tell us about the genesis of the book? JENNIFER WALLIS: I’m not a musician—I have, let’s say, far from outstanding musical and technical abilities—so writing and …
This is a personal selection of influential power electronics tracks, which were pivotal to my introduction, appreciation, and understanding of power electronics overall. I should also note that my own involvement and interest in power electronics occurred from the mid to late 1990s; this selection reflects that, and there are …
Yale University Press’s assemblage of an Anthology of Rap is the latest milestone in literature’s lethargic admittance of hip hop into its fusty purlieus. Absurdly, considering that it is now cruising (and in reasonable fettle) into its fourth decade, one can still credibly pronounce certain obvious facts about this maligned …
We didn’t know this when putting together Mark Goodall’s Gathering of the Tribe, but are pleased to report that Deathpile’s G.R.—also covered in Jennifer Wallis’ book Fight Your Own War—is now available on vinyl. Limited to 500 copies, it can now be found on Discogs, here. (Also available streaming on …