Nostalgia Week: We Had A Cold War Too, Y’Know.

In a case of not so much looking back through rose-tinted glasses as looking back through a tose-tinted kaleidoscope, Bloc Party, in their track Hunting For Witches, referenced the transition from 90s to Noughties with the lyric “90s: optimistic as a teen / Now it’s terror…” And while the 90s was indeed a great decade to grow up in, with a slap bracelet on every wrist and a poster of Lee Sharpe on the inside of every locker door, I feel that Bloc Party are glossing over the terrible conflict of the summer of 1995, a scuffle that divided best mate from best mate and brought the spirit of football hooliganism into what was previously a foppish kind of hobby. I refer, of course, to the Blur vs Oasis War, the lowest, nastiest point of which was the release of Blur’s Country House and Oasis‘ Roll With It on the … There’s more

Nostalgia (Hump Of The) Week: Will Smith ALWAYS Gets A Free Pass.

… aaaaand we’re over the hump of the week. Happy Wednesday afternoon, everyone! Half the week is gone! Two and a half days out of your life you’re never getting back. Two and a half days closer to death! But never mind. Yeah, you’re not fourteen anymore, but if you were, you wouldn’t be able to roar your guts out to this beauty, would you? I want you all to do me a favour. Click the link (because we’re not allowed embed this piece of cultural history, boo, hiss). Square your shoulders. Press play. And wherever you are: the office, on the train, at the bus stop, in the hairdresser’s – sing out at the very top of your lungs! For this is the greatest nostalgic tune there ever was or ever will be! This separates the twentythirty-somethings from the boys. This. Is. THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL AIR!

Smash Hits Christmas Dance Party

Smash Hits – like so totally the ultimate 90s band – are playing a special 90s Christmas party in The Button Factory next Saturday evening 5 December in aid of International Volunteer Day. Described as “a 6-pc band performing the cream of 90s dance, pop and RnB chart classics from Technotronic, N-Trance, Culture Beat, Dr. Alban, MC Hammer, Snap, C+C Music Factory, Vanilla Ice and more…” they have piqued my interest… Vanilla Ice? Technotronic? Snap? That line-up is bringing me way back to when tracksuits were cool so long as they were shiny shell suits and runners absolutely had to have the tongues sticking out.

Why So Series? One Season Wonders Part 1

Veering slightly away from the concept of cheap and cheerful TV boxsets, but if you have a multi-region DVD player or download your TV shows (either from iTunes etc.) then you might be interested in these “One Season Wonders”. There are a huge number of TV shows that have gone under the radar because they’ve only survived one season in the US, thus never surviving long enough to be syndicated here. Usually when a TV show gets cancelled it’s justified, but there are quite a number of gems in the rough out there. One of my biggest “secret shame” genres of TV/film is the American teen or college dramas and they don’t come any better than the likes of Freaks & Geeks or My So Called Life. I can remember watching this show as a teenager and completely and utterly swooning over Jared Leto, much in the same way girls … There’s more

Can’t Hardly Wait (for this movie to end)

Post Clueless and Empire Records and pre American Pie and 10 Things I Hate About You, in 1998 the movie Can’t Hardly Wait made a total non-impression upon me. So much so that I had forgotten the entire plot. Yet as I “accidentally” ended up re-watching it late last night, one thing kept me completely glued to the screen – the incredible number of current Hollywood actors and actresses that seemed to be just starting off their careers in this god awful teen comedy. A 19 year old Jennifer Love Hewitt plays Amanda the typical prom queen and love interest. I must admit her acting skills have come quite a long way since this display of what can only be described as “breathing” her emotions on the screen. Who needs facial expressions or laughter when you can sigh your way through an entire movie. It reminded me of the Adam … There’s more