Category: journalism
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With the band’s future uncertain—a run of “farewell” concerts has been announced, but there is talk afoot that Mew will actually continue without frontman Jonas Bjerre—it seemed like a good time to revisit some of the times I have had the opportunity to interview various members of the band over the years.
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His music is as likely to include the sounds of endangered songbirds as it is woozy waltz rhythms or marching-band brass. His lyrics read like the free-association ramblings of a man well-versed in the work of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear, to say nothing of Syd Barrett. If that makes Cosmo Sheldrake sound like an…
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If you follow me on LinkedIn or know me in real life, you may already be aware that I was recently laid off by my most recent employer after three years. The good news is that this means I’m available—for freelance jobs, a full-time position, or contract work. I’m not as cheap as Chat-GPT, but…
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t’s a hell of a way to start a pop record. “Shanty for the Arethusa”, which kicks off Her Majesty the Decemberists, begins with the creaking and groaning of a mist-shrouded clipper in some forsaken Victorian outport, followed in short order by the sharp sound of a woman’s scream.
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Despite my recent history in marketing and PR, I spent a considerable portion of my career prior to that as an arts journalist. I am happy to report that I’m dipping my toes into those waters again, thanks to Stir. For the curious, here’s everything I have written for Stir to date: Agatha Christie-style mystery…
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Chester Brown must have known what he was getting himself into. In creating Paying for It, the Toronto-based cartoonist was setting himself up for criticism, not just of his work but of himself and his chosen lifestyle.
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Spiegelman notes that the barrier between “high art” and “lowbrow” has eroded significantly over the past 20-odd years. More and more, work like his is being taken seriously, for better or worse.
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Four months ago, I was doing pretty much what I had been doing for the two decades leading up to that point. I was working in the editorial department of the Georgia Straight, editing copy and occasionally writing about music or graphic novels as space allowed. Oh, sure, the paper was under new ownership, but…
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Martin Amis has never been just one sort of writer. He’s arguably most recognized as the masterful novelist behind Money and London Fields, but he’s adept at nonfiction as well.
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His picture is on the cover, but Timothy Showalter insists that he is not, in fact, the person primarily responsible for the existence of the latest Strand of Oaks album, Eraserland.
John Lucas 