Words Dept.: category

Turns out Tim Jonze, the NME journalist who interviewed Morrissey, didn’t ask for his byline to be taken off the piece because it was an anti-Morrissey stitch-up by the NME – but because NME wanted to tone it down! Writing on Comment is Free last night, he says: …it’s been something of a PR coup [...]

There’s an interview with Morrissey in this week’s NME that’s credited in a way I’ve never ever seen before. It says: Interview: Tim Jonze Words: NME How? What? HUH?!!! It turns out that Jonze, the writer of the piece, conducted two interviews with Moz but the NME decided to rewrite his copy. Jonze says “virtually [...]

It’s touching the way the Times doesn’t allow swearing within its pages. It harks back to a safer time, before the Lady Chatterley trial and the subsequent decline in moral standards that ruined society. In a way, I can understand why they might balk at the “f-word”, the “c-word” or the “x-word”. But there’s no [...]

The Guardian’s “In praise of…” Leader comments are occasionally a little off-beam. But today’s eulogising of Britney Spears for making a surprisingly-not-that-bad record is surely taking the piss. The new album, as today’s Film & Music section points out, is often brilliant. And what is most brilliant is its musical risk-taking. This is pop, all [...]

Here is an extract from the Guardian‘s January review of the Klaxons’ album Myths of the Near Future, which won the Mercury Prize last night. Nothing like having your finger on the pulse, eh? …The album is a mess of clumsy beats that never settle into a groove, lurching shout-along chants more suited to the [...]

The Sun reports today that “Junkie Pete Doherty has been banned from a PRISON gig – because he is a bad influence”. It’s an “EXCLUSIVE by Danielle Lawler”. Or, at least, it’s an EXCLUSIVE in the sense that the same story was in the Independent’s arts section last week. It was also here, and here [...]

Lots of people round here have been touched by the death of regional TV superstar, Factory Records supremo and all round good egg Tony Wilson last week. I came into contact with him a couple of times. When I was at university I worked one time as a runner for the In The City music [...]

I’ve noticed that almost all TV producers are now frantically admitting to faking bits of reality shows lest one of the tabloids rumbles them first. The latest is one Simon Cowell (never heard of him), who says he staged a bit of the new series of X-Factor. Apparently, a scene where Cowell discusses rehiring Louis [...]

I could be wrong, but I’m sure it was no more than about six weeks ago I saw Mel “Melanie C” Chisholm on that vaguely annoying Sunday morning cookery programme with Tim Lovejoy, saying she would never be part of a Spice Girls “reunion” because she didn’t want to destroy the memories (man). She admitted [...]

There’s a very funny article in the Guardian today by the excellent Charlie Brooker, who dons his emerging “grouch for all seasons” persona (rather than his former “foul-mouthed TV reviewer” persona) and buggers off to Glastonbury. Having listed camping, mud and “loud noises” as three things he hates, he is forced to admit that by [...]