Journalism posts

Martin Simpson at Truck 2008

Martin Simpson treats us to an etymology lesson as he's tuning up. He explains that "bucolic" literally means "pertaining to cows" and "crepuscular" comes originally from the Latin for "dark" or "obscure".

But, as he points out, both words sound like nasty complaints. So it's fitting that his first song, murder ballad Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard, is bucolic, crepuscular and thoroughly horrible.

Borderville at Truck 2008

Borderville are high-energy, high-concept and a lot of fun live. Their theatrical-military look is the perfect fit for a flamboyant but deceptively tight set. The charismatic keyboardist is just one of the many reasons why they're more than a guitar band.

Their hard-rocking set hurtles along all too quickly, and the audience are left yelling for an encore.

Anna McNicholl

Anna McNicholl's day job involves studying mediaeval history, but her chirpy retro-pop has its roots in the more recent past. There's a definite Sixties vibe to her sunshiny tunes as well as to her current look. She cites Nick Cave, Tom Waits and Patti Smith as influences, but it's difficult to detect any gothic darkness in her sound. This artist is more about well-crafted power pop tunes, Dylan-style folk and the occasional foray into more aggressive rock.

Monkey Puzzle: Astro Girl and Ashes

Pub debates about bands can get heated, but you can rarely go far wrong if you say "They were better in the early days, before their production got too slick."

Not so for Monkey Puzzle. While the likes of Pixies, Hole or REM might have sounded more interesting with their earlier, rougher production, Monkey Puzzle are an act in serious need of smoother production.

A Noel Coward moment

Oxford drama has been having something of a Noel Coward moment. It began with the MyPetDragon production of Still Life at the Burton Taylor, which ended a five-day run on Saturday November 13.  Still Life is better known in its film incarnation as Brief Encounter, and retreading the material after such a classic adaptation is never easy, but this production made excellent work of it.

Easy summer living

The national news is full of stories about the current shortage of housing, and the problem in Oxfordshire would seem to be worse than in other places.

The way that demand exceeds supply here can be taken as a compliment in many ways – the county is clearly a place where many people are very keen to live and settle down. They may be drawn by Oxford’s reputation as a centre for international learning, or by the vibrancy of surrounding towns. Or they may seek peace, quiet and a chocolate-box cottage in one of the many villages dotted all over the county.

Mother Nature fights back

The visible plundering of the earth for gravel can make some feel uneasy, writes Kate Griffin, but when pits are regenerated as lakes their beauty can be staggering

Gravel pits occupy an uneasy place in the mind of the community. Like mines, they are scars on the body of the earth, evidence of the way we plunder nature for our own gains.

But, unlike mines, these scars are on blatant display. We use machines to extract the plunder from these massive gouges in the ground, instead of sending men to chip away underground, out of sight and out of mind.

Water world

Flooding is as much a part of Oxford life as the dreaming spires, although the torrent of tourists who cram the town centre during the summer would have little idea of this ancient Oxford tradition.

Opinion is divided as to what has caused this longstanding pattern of winter flooding. Certainly, part of the problem is that we have built homes on what was always the floodplain of the Thames and Cherwell.

Dodgy at Truck 2008

We're in the last days of a sleaze-ridden Tory government, university education is free and only total geeks use email. Yes, it's 1996 again; how else do you explain the fact that Dodgy are performing in front of such an adoring crowd?

The Mile High Young Team/ Toupe/ David K Frampton at the Wheatsheaf, Oxford

"If you're drinking Southern Comfort, you're coming with us. If you're on the Red Bull, you're going to be disappointed." Richard Catherall of Gappy Tooth Industries is explaining how this week's Gappy Tooth night is going to become more chilled-out as it progresses.