Yes, Journey, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Salon
A central casting too-cool-for-school hipster looks at this year’s nominations for the Rock and Roll hall of fame and asks “Why celebrate Journey and Yes? He concludes that the Hall of Fame has hit “a...
View ArticleThe Ignobles of Rock Lyrics
Classic Rock magazine responds to Bob Dylan’s nobel prize for literature with some suggestions for Rock’s Ignoble Laureates. There is the inevitable Noel Gallagher, who as ever sounds like somebody fed...
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Mostly Autumn – Ten of the Best
Another Ten of the Best for a band which have featured a lot on this blog ever since the beginning. As you should have come to expect by now, this is ten of the best, not the “ten best”, and omits...
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Cult heroes: Mostly Autumn
My “Cult Heroes” piece on Mostly Autumn is now published in The Guardian Music Blog. It’s both a great honour and more than a bit scary to be asked to write about a favourite band for the online...
View ArticleShowtimes?
This is a bit of a rant. Why do so few venues publish the stage times and curfew times of their gigs? London venues are generally good at this, but it’s a very different story out in the sticks. Does...
View ArticleCan you sum up Prog in 50 albums?
Prog Magazine have a listicle that attempts to show the history of prog in 50 albums. It begins with the proto-prog of the mid-60s, continues with the defining albums of the greats of the 70s and ends...
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Judas Priest – 10 of the best
The Guardian Music Blog has another one of mine in their Ten of the Best series, this time for The Black Country’s finest, Judas Priest. I’ve covered much of their career, going from Sad Wings of...
View ArticleWhen album of the year lists go bad
I have wondered out loud whether I should delete this blog because it’s irrelevant and reactionary. Because I write about obscure struggling prog-rock bands rather than about millionaire rappers I’m an...
View ArticleFilling the Hole
As an independent blogger, I was sometimes annoyed that so many prog bands sent their press releases announcing new records, tours or even new lineups exclusively to Prog Magazine, who would frequently...
View ArticleA Depressing Quote
This quote from Radio One’s Clara Anfo, taken from a Guardian feature in which various pundits and tastemakers were asked their predictions for 2017, is profoundly depressing. In pop music, you can...
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