Author Archives: graemelawrence

Dancer in the Dark. Magnolia. In the Mood for Love. The Insider. Bringing Out the Dead. Figure 8 – Elliott Smith. Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea – PJ Harvey. Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven – Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Deltron 3030 – Deltron 3030. Pop – Gas.

Risqué. Writing partners Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards produce probably one of the most enjoyable albums I’ve listened to over the course of this blog, Chic’s Risqué. Though the lyricism is simple and mostly concerns dancing and having a good time, the infectious rhythm renders the lyrics almost redundant, as they serve only to hypnotiseContinue reading “The Sound of 1979.”

January: The United States and the People’s Republic of China establish full diplomatic relations The People’s Army of Vietnam and Vietnamese-backed Cambodian insurgents announce the fall of Phnom Penh, Cambodia and the collapse of the Pol Pot regime The French tanker Betelgeuse explodes at the Gulf Oil terminal at Bantry, Ireland killing 50 The MusicContinue reading “The News of 1979.”

The Lord of the Rings. During the Second Age of Middle Earth, smiths forged three Rings of Power for the Elven-kings, seven for the Dwarf-lords and nine for Mortal Men. The Dark Lord Sauron, however, crafted the One Ring, a ring more powerful than the others, and intended to use it to conquer all ofContinue reading “The Cinema of 1979.”

Back from holiday. Back to blogging. Shakedown, 1979. The Lord of the Rings. Days of Heaven. The Warriors. The Castle of Cagliostro. Autumn Sonata. Lodger – David Bowie. Risqué – Chic. Tusk – Fleetwood Mac. Prince – Prince. Solid State Survivor – Yellow Magic Orchestra.

January: Estonia adopts the Euro and becomes the 17th Eurozone country A bomb explodes as Coptic Christians in Alexandria, Egypt leave a new year service, killing 23 people Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi dies after setting himself on fire a month earlier, sparking anti-government protests, collectively referred to as the Arab Spring, in Tunisia andContinue reading “The News of 2011.”

Biophilia. As ever with an album by the Icelandic goddess, Björk experiments through innovative instrumentation and musical production, for 2011’s Biophilia, Björk released the unique conceptual piece as a multimedia project accessible via app, breaking ground not only on how music is made, but how it is heard. The process of creating music and natureContinue reading “The Sound of 2011.”

The Artist. 1927. Hollywoodland. Egotistical silent movie star George Valentin basks in a standing ovation from the audience at his newest film’s premiere while his jealous costar watches on in the wings, angrily awaiting her share of the praise. Women clamour to be near George outside the venue; one such woman, Peppy Miller, slips throughContinue reading “The Cinema of 2011.”

Moneyball. Tyrannosaur. Incendies. The Artist. A Separation. Let England Shake – PJ Harvey. The King of Limbs – Radiohead. Bon Iver – Bon Iver. Bad As Me – Tom Waits. Biophilia – Björk.

January: The Internet’s Domain Name System is created Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a new agreement on fishing rights The first mobile phone network in the UK is launched by Vodafone The Sinclair C5, the world’s first bicycle car, is launched Tancredo Neves is elected President of Brazil, endingContinue reading “The News of 1985.”