Monthly Archives: December 2010

Don’t Stop the Pop - United State of Pop 2010

  By Will | December 29, 2010 - 10:30 pm | Music
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Looks like while the rest of us were enjoying/enduring the season of goodwill and family, DJ Earworm was very busy mashing together the top 25 billboard hits of 2010 in to his yearly mashup. He is good at this, he has after all written the book about mashups.This year in music was about, well, going forth and enjoying yourself. In his own words, “This year’s music tells us to keep going now that we’re up and having fun. In fact, the fun seems to be in such overdrive that it borders on recklessness. Usher urges us to ‘dance like it’s the last night of your life”, and Katy Perry wants us to “run away and don’t ever look back”. Even the songs that aren’t about parties have parties in their videos”. Personally I think the mashup shows that in 2010, the little tool called “autotune” was overused as an effect. … There’s more →

Now That’s What You Called News 2010 #ntwycn10

  By Peter | December 27, 2010 - 7:22 pm | TV
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Interview with #ntwycn10 Producer Pat O’Mahony Presented by Craig Doyle, Now That’s What You Called News 2010 is a revealing overview of what news we as a nation searched for online throughout 2010 in the privacy of our own homes, on our own laptops, on our own smartphones. The news we search for online is very different from the news we consume on TV and radio and in newspapers and magazines. Not only do we want to know about different things, but we also want to know a whole variety of other stuff about the stories the traditional media deem important. Featuring an entertaining and interesting mix of both the serious and the less so, it explores the big internet stories of the year, be they about celebrity, politics, sport, business, health, natural disasters, entertainment or whatever. These stories vary from a billion-plus viewed YouTube clip to multi-billion Euro bailouts, … There’s more →

Still Not Stirring ? Real Irish Comedy On RTE

  By Peter | December 27, 2010 - 1:12 pm | Comedy
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I was supposed to do this yesterday or the day before but….. the sprouts got in the way. Anyhows….. filmed in the Sugar Club in Dublin, made by irish company Blueprint Pictures and featuring 3 of Irelands finest comedians. Here’s what RTE say…. Up Close and Personal offers an intimate evening’s entertainment with some of Ireland’s most popular and original comic talent. This three-part series was recorded earlier this month in front of a specially invited audience including Peter Donegan in Dublin’s Sugar Club. The series showcases a wide range of Irish comedy styles and attitudes and features the Mistress of Mirth - Deirdre O’Kane, the Master of Mayhem - Jason Byrne and the Don Of Deadpan - Jimeoin. RTE give more details here. And the programmes go live at the following times Deirdre O’Kane: RTÉ Two, Sunday 26 December 2010, 10.00pm Jimeoin: RTÉ Two, Monday 27 December 2010, 9.00pm … There’s more →

Eric Lalor, Willie White & Damien Clarke @ The Blue Bar. Tonight.

  By Peter | December 27, 2010 - 12:46 pm | Comedy, Gigs
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The snow has thawed you just had two days of sprouts and it’s looking like the Mother in law has kept a portion of you favourite giant sized peas just for when you call over tonight….? You need an excuse. The beautiful sea side town of skerries Blue Bar tonight hosts their “Comedy Club Night”. Its in The Blue Room doors open @ 8pm and tickets are €12. Thats pretty good value with 3 comedians on the Bill. How to get to the blue bar skerries Blue Bar is situated on the picturesque harbour in Skerries, County Dublin, Ireland and with the only west facing harbour on the east coast of Ireland enjoys fabulous sunset views from the patio deck. On Saturdays we go late night with a real party atmosphere in the Blue room with live DJ. Opening hours - Bar: (12:30 - Close) Food: (12:30- 9.30pm) A taster of … There’s more →

Culch.ie CallingCards – Gigs – December 27 2010 -2 January 2011

  By Will | December 26, 2010 - 6:14 pm | Gigs, Music, The Culch
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Given that this is a week of family and parties rather than gigs proper, its a quiet week for announcements. Fight Like Apes will be hotwiring the Transit and running the gaunlet of fascist, jobsworth traffic wardens to bring their finest racket and best evening wear to the good people of Ireland on their “Get A Rip On This Yiz Geebags” tour. The band’s second album – ‘The Body Of Christ And The Legs Of Tina Turner’ is out now and banned in some locations. The final date is Sunday 27 December in Mullingar Stables Dublin’s Fox Avenue play a post Christmas gig at The Academy on Monday 27 December. There aren’t many new bands that can match Fox Avenue for impact. After just over a year together, the Dublin three-piece have worked their way from bars to arenas, worked with top producers and built an army of loyal fans. … There’s more →

Culch.ie’s 5 Favourite Irish albums of 2010

  By Éilish Burke | December 21, 2010 - 12:30 pm | The Culch
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It has to be said, this past year was a good one for Irish music, but there were some clear stand out albums. In the spirit of wringing every last bit of value out of a collective piece of writing, here is (in no particular order) the round-up of Culch.ie’s music writers favourite home-grown albums of 2010. Villagers - Becoming a Jackal The debut album for Conor O’Brien’s Villagers was universally praised on its release mid-year and Culch has taken it to its heart too. Bryano calls it “an album which is equally charming and beguiling throughout” and Elaine proclaims it “a stunning album, which captivates from beginning to end”. Here’s the lovely The Meaning of the Ritual Cathy Davey - The Nameless Having scored major success with her breakthrough album Sound of Silversleeve in 2007, Davey came back this year with an album no less inventive. Landing straight at … There’s more →

The Chronicles of Narnia, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

  By Jenny Foxe | December 20, 2010 - 10:20 am | Movies & TV, The Culch
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The third instalment of the Narnia Chronicles sees Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmund (Skandar Keynes) Pevensie evacuated to their aunt’s because of the war. There, they are irritated by their precocious cousin Eustace (Will Poulter) who believes his superior knowledge of facts is far preferable to their fanciful tales of fictional worlds. This argument is to be ended suddenly and dramatically when they get enveloped in a picture of the ocean and end up aboard the Dawn Treader captained by the rather fine Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) who is intent on sailing to the edge of the world to find his father. The voyage takes them through some spectacular 3D landscapes where they make some unusual and wonderful new friends. They are forced to battle with their own dark thoughts and temptations as their quest unfolds. Ego, vanity, pride and greed are all called into question along the way. Spells … There’s more →

Culch.ie CallingCards – Gigs – December 20 -26 2010

  By Will | December 19, 2010 - 11:55 pm | Gigs, Music, The Culch
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The Rubberbandits are playing the Pavilion in Cork on Tuesday 21 December. If they leave a horse outside it will have to be locked in the Hugenot Grounds across from the Pav for safety. Villagers are (is) adding a second date for Vicar St on Wednesday 22 December. This gig is in addition to a 7-date tour of Ireland in December that will take in Waterford, Kilkenny, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Belfast and Dublin. Villagers have already had a meteoric year with the release of their debut album, Becoming A Jackal (Domino), in May, which went straight to Number 1 in Ireland and the nomination for this year’s Mercury Music Prize Album Of The Year, not to mention the heaving tents at both Oxegen and Electric Picnic. The full dates are Tuesday 21 December Dublin, Vicar St (Sold-out) Wednesday 22 December Dublin, Vicar St Dark Room Notes formed in Galway in … There’s more →

Ad Nauseam …and a box of USA Assorted

  By Éilish Burke | December 17, 2010 - 12:30 pm | The Culch
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I’m continuing on the Christmas ad theme, ‘cos it’s pretty unavoidable at this stage. Like the thundering hangover and shame spiral that awaits after the office party, Christmas is just around the corner, waiting to bludgeon your wallet and liver in one fell swoop. There have been a few decent additions to the canon of Christmas ads this year. M&S have continued their winning streak with an all-dancing, Peter Kay-starring, Bee Gees number and this cute addition to their tear jerking Taste of Home campaign from Denny is worth an honourable mention. But my favourite new Christmas ad is for Jacobs biscuits. It’s 22 seconds of pure silliness but it also manages to tap into lots of truths and shared experiences about Christmas; the boredom, the sense of familial claustrophobia, the repetition of jokes and stories you’ve heard so often you know them by heart. Essentially it’s about tradition, and … There’s more →

Competition Closed: A Christmas Pressie from the Carphone Warehouse

  By Sinead Keogh | December 16, 2010 - 12:15 pm | Competitions, Gadgets, The Culch, The Internet, wantsies
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**Competition Closed. Congratulations to Niall** Ho ho ho….Merry Christmas! That’s right folks…it’s nearly time (as if you didn’t know). We hope you’re getting through the shopping, enjoying the socialising and planning a relaxing and happy December 25th. But wait, you say, there’s more! The folk at the Carphone Warehouse invited us along to the launch of their new Carphone Warehouse Connected World in Dundrum Town Centre a few weeks back. It’s full of tablets (the techie kind), ‘droid phones what nerds love and loads of other cool gadgets, in fact it’s a rather snazzy place altogether. We recommend dropping in to check the place out, the amount of tech on display gave us a serious case of the wantsies. They even have Ireland’s first Geek Squad: 3 guys who’ll provide tech support from simple stuff to setting up your phone for you if you’re not that way inclined to the … There’s more →