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When did ageing rockers become cool?

It was once a trope of rock n roll that ageing pop stars should have called it a day long before they started to go grey, lose their voice and run out of ideas. Pop music, after all, pretty much invented the generation gap in the latter half of the 20th century. From outrage atElvis’sContinue reading “When did ageing rockers become cool?”

Macca, best of the Beatles

Paul McCartney is 80. Really. A man who helped invent youth culture and the generation gap is now an octogenarian. And he’s still making decent albums and touring. Who is the greatest, Lennon or McCartney? It’s almost a debate not worth having. The world was lucky that two such magnificent song writers coincided in theContinue reading “Macca, best of the Beatles”

The transfer window: a party for football’s most tiresome fans

It’s that time of year again. No football at weekends, no World Cup or Euros to distract us. It’s doubly annoying this year because there would be a World Cup but for an inane, financially driven decision to move it to Qatar in the winter – and because we are being subjected to another roundContinue reading “The transfer window: a party for football’s most tiresome fans”

Bowie: just better than everyone else

Everyone has their own taste, their own likes and dislikes. Music is a hugely varied form and what we love or hate or don’t really get is entirely personal. All that said, can we all just agree on one thing: David Bowie is without parallel, an absolute genius who is just a little bit betterContinue reading “Bowie: just better than everyone else”

Why do we need to know what music you hate?

There’s an awful lot of awful things happening. War in Ukraine, emerging environmental catastrophe, democracy itself facing multiple threats in the era of post-truth politics. The horror of the global Covid pandemic has not gone away. We have so much on our plates. But perhaps what we really should be focusing on is why youContinue reading “Why do we need to know what music you hate?”

VAR: the epitome of joyless officialdom

I am deliberately writing this ahead of the biggest Premier League game in a couple of years, with Liverpool going to Manchester City on Sunday in a much-vaunted ‘title decider’. (I don’t think it will decide the title, but it will certainly have an impact.) I might or might not anticipate Anthony Taylor making aContinue reading “VAR: the epitome of joyless officialdom”

Unconscious bias? Watching sport with my Dad

My dad didn’t care who won. “I just want to see a good game.” France were playing Germany in what would turn in to an iconic world cup semi final, a 3-3 draw and the inevitable German victory on penalties. Yes, that game, with the Schumacher assault on Battiston that is still talked about today.Continue reading “Unconscious bias? Watching sport with my Dad”

Maybe I should start a blog?

2005 called and told me I should start a blog. They’re not really a thing anymore, are they? Self-publishing went overnight from being derided to being almost compulsory for anyone who liked writing – and even those who didn’t. In the social media age, everyone’s voice had to be heard, everyone had to be onContinue reading “Maybe I should start a blog?”