Ruminations – Arts & Culture blog

Perhaps it’s because he’s been based in the US for the best part of 30 years, but Ken Griffin remains one of the Irish rock scenes more under-appreciated songwriters. ‘Under-rated’…

Heartworm – the debut album by Whipping Boy – was released 25 years ago. Steve Cummins sits down with all 4 band remembers to reflect on the making of a classic and what might have been

 1. Broken Social Scene, Remember Me Young Compact mostly-instrumental track from their 2019 EP Let’s Try the After Vol. 1. 2. Denise Chaila, Murli, God Knows, Sorcha Richardson, Out…

Radio is a sound salvation. So sang Elvis Costello back in 1978. Forty-two years on from then, the medium that Costello sung about so reverentially still plays a meaningful role…

Ludwig Gorannsson, Rainy Night In TallinnFrom the thrilling opening sequence to Tenet, a scene that is arguably the highlight of the movie. The Walls, Bone DeepYou can hear the influence…

Gillian Welch sat on 48 fine recordings for nearly 20 years before a near-disaster prompted her to release them.

Back in 2006, The Walls – the band formed by Joe and Steve Wall out of the ashes of The Stunning – were beginning to get some traction on Nic…

Ruminations on bits of culture – inspired by Greil Marcus Real Life Top Ten 1. Christopher Nolan, Tenet, (Warner Bros) When you’re in a room full of people agreeing the…

Damon Albarn was due to come to Dublin next week to perform his new work, The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows. We all know why that is…

As each day passes the reality that gigs and festivals may not resume for some time is becoming an unfortunate reality. It got me thinking of gigs and concerts past,…

Joe Chester releases a new file, The Candle From The Shadow, to accompany his new album, Jupiter’s Wife

If Spotify really cared about artists suffering from lost revenues, it would do much more than offer a tip jar.