The Gangs Of New York by Herbert Asbury

Ever since I first saw Martin Scorsese’s heavily fictionalised film version of The Gangs Of New York in the cinema in 2002 I had intended to read the source book by Herbert Asbury, and now I’m happy to say I finally have. Originally published in 1927 it charts nearly a century of life in New...

Some New Kind Of Kick by Kid Congo Powers with Chris Campion

Hot on the heels of finishing Dave Grohl’s memoir of a sort, The Storyteller, I eagerly dived into the new autobiography from guitarist and songwriter Kid Congo Powers, best know for his time with The Cramps, The Gun Club, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and more, Some New Kind Of Kick. While I was...

The Storyteller: Tales Of Life And Music by Dave Grohl

Lockdowns over the last couple of years hit us all hard in different ways and, for those who make their living touring the world playing music to stadiums full of people, it meant a very sudden change of situation, particularly for someone so apparently energetic as Foo Fighters' main man Dave Grohl, so, to while...

Lynch On Lynch, Edited by Chris Rodley

The filmography of David Lynch is, for someone who toys with the mainstream, one for he most obscure and inscrutable you might find as he explores everything from bleak visions of dark Americana (Blue Velvet) to the history of a Victorian sideshow act (The Elephant Man) and even the tale of a man and his...

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, A Novel by Quentin Tarantino

If you’ve read my review of the movie of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood you’ll know that, with a few reservations, I enjoyed it, so I was more than intrigued when I saw Tarantino himself had written a novelisation of the film. Which came first I’m unsure but I think the film...

Desolation Angles by Jack Kerouac

Even though most of Jack Kerouac’s long form novels chart, in semi-fictionalised fashion, his own life and exploits, they come in a range of tones and, as we pick up the story of Kerouac’s fictionalised self Jack Duluoz in Desolation Angels, we find him at a truly pivotal point in his life. Originally published in...

Turn Up The Strobe: The KLF, The JAMs, The Timelords – A History by Ian Shirley

I’ve written about media to do with The KLF a few times in the past, in the form of John Higgs book and the film Who Killed The KLF? - both of these look at the all encompassing mythology (for wont of a better word) that surrounds Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty this book however,...

Twin Peaks: The Secret History by Mark Frost

Over the years I’ve covered David Lynch and Mark Frost’s Twin Peaks TV series and movie fairly extensively, but this is the first time I’ve read Frost’s book looking at the back story of the events of the series, The Secret History. Before embarking on this I was somewhat sceptical as I had heard that,...

There And Black Again by Don Letts with Mal Peachey

A few months ago I attended an evening with legendary filmmaker, DJ and musician Don Letts telling stories from his life and career ranging from sneaking into Bob Marley’s hotel room for an ‘audience’ to his more recent work as a presenter and DJ on BBC 6Music, all in the aid of promoting both the...

Don Letts: There And Black Again, Talk and Q and A – St James Cafe, Guernsey – 19/08/21

Letts at St James There are many people in the world of music of whom it’s been said there impact changed the landscape, from Sam Phillips at Sun Records in the 1950s to Stock Aitken & Waterman’s polished pop of the 1980s to Rick Rubin’s work with heavy metal bands and so on, but one...