Album: Integrity Blues Band: Jimmy Eat World Label: RCA records (Sony) Length: 11 songs, 47 minutes Summary: Deep and thoughtful, dark-edged alt-rock from the fan favourites Jimmy Eat World is an American alt-rock band hailing from Arizona. Darlings of the alt-rock and … Continue reading Integrity Blues: Jimmy Eat World (album review)
Just saw Kong: Skull Island. Lots of big monsters, big explosions, soldiers getting eaten by big monsters, crazy-ass leave your brains at the door logic. Awesome. Continue reading ‘Kong’, baby! A movie review.
People love Firefly. I don’t just mean they love it. I mean they LOVE it. Diehard fans are everywhere, and the one thing they have clamoured for all these years, is to bring the show back to TV. Continue reading Firefly is back! Or, might be…
I saw Logan yesterday. And what I saw was a great movie, one that focussed on character, with a good story, great acting, great action set pieces that contributed to the plot, rather than being there for the sake of it, and some deep underlying themes and messages that resonated with me. Continue reading Logan. A movie review.
I’m not big on reading short stories. I’ve always been a long-form novel kind of guy. It wasn’t until I read Nam Le’s “The Boat” that my opinion of short stories changed. Continue reading The Boat. A book review.
The top ten list of my current favourite tabletop RPGs… Continue reading Top Ten Tabletop Role Playing Games
Trainspotting 2 was recently released in cinemas, 20 years after the original. But unlike the spate of sequels to old movies released lately, this Trainspotting 2 is actually good. Continue reading Trainspotting 2 review – the train’s still running on time
13th Age is an interesting fantasy role playing game. It’s meat and potatoes RPG elements are very much in the vein of Dungeons and Dragons, but it differentiates with a number of interesting and innovative mechanics, some of which are transferrable to other D20 systems. Continue reading 13th Age – Storytelling and innovation set this Fantasy RPG apart from other D&D-derivatives
I love shows that are well written, well acted, well produced and well…bloody good. Sherlock fits that bill. It’s a modern day take on the Sherlock Holmes stories of Arthur Conan Doyle, written by Stephen Moffat (current show runner on Dr Who, another brilliant show) and Mark Gatiss Continue reading Sherlocked
American alt-rock band Taking Back Sunday have an alt-rock sound verging on punk. They’ve released their seventh studio album, titled Tidal Wave, in Australia a few months ago. As usual I’m catching up. Continue reading A Tsunami of Taking Back Sunday Goodness – ‘Tidal Wave’ album review
Free-Wrench is a swashbuckling, steampunk fantasy set in a world of islands, where airships are the primary form of travel between them. The island of Caldera is isolated, by choice, from the rest of the world. Nita is a “free-wrench”, one who works the steam power plants in Caldera’s volcano. Continue reading Free-Wrench. A book review.
I watched Man of Steel the other day, the underrated and divisive Zack Snyder film that reintroduced Superman on film and was the start of the celluloid DC Comics movie universe (known as the DCEU). Continue reading Man of Steel – Superman for a pragmatic generation
I have been a serious musician for about 25 years or so. I play guitar, drums, bass, keyboards and sing. I write my own music and have made seven albums. (And, yes, I’m a bit of a control freak when it comes to my music – so, sue me.) I have very broad musical tastes; I like metal, punk, jazz, pop, funk, rap, classical, and opera, to name a few styles. But in all my time as a serious muso, I have never, ever admitted to liking the music of Taylor Swift. Continue reading The Muso Who Said: No More! Or was it no, more…
The first thing that struck me when comparing 57th & 9th with Sting’s previous material is how stripped back it is. His recent reunion tour with The Police has been an obvious influence. I saw Sting playing live on TV the other night and he had a three-piece backing band supporting him as he played bass, rather than the large ensembles he usually tours with. The material on 57th & 9th has a leaner production and drier mix than previously (tighter, less involved arrangements and less reverb, for those not in the know). Continue reading Sting’s “57th & 9th” – a review through the eyes of a jaded muso
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