Author Archives: graemelawrence

Elvis Presley. Elvis. A musician that represents a generation and more. Listening to his debut album, Elvis Presley, one is overwhelmed with images of 1950s America. A demure blonde girl and a rebellious greaser guy driving a Chevrolet to the local diner, sharing a milkshake before doing the twist. Good old fashioned, wholesome rock ‘n’Continue reading “The Sound of 1956.”

The Killing. Career criminal Johnny Clay intends to pull off one final score before settling down and marrying his high school sweetheart; the job: take down a racetrack for $2 million. Having planned the heist and assembled a crack team: a desperate cop in deep with the loan sharks, a teller intent on fulfilling promisesContinue reading “The Cinema of 1956.”

The earliest year yet. Choices are fairly sparce: The Ladykillers. The Killing. Giant. Invasion of the Bodysnatchers. The Burmese Harp. Three Ragas – Ravi Shankar. Pithecanthropus Erectus – Charles Mingus. Elvis Presley – Elvis Presley. Ellington at Newport – Duke Ellington. Songs for Swingin’ Lovers! – Frank Sinatra.

Ace of Spades. There is more to this Motörhead album than the now legendary title track, included on every rock compilation CD your dad used to get and then played countless times in the car as you drive to a distant relative’s wedding. By Lemmy’s own admission “it’s just fucking another song” and was “noContinue reading “The Sound of 1980.”

January: Changes to the Swedish Act of Succession render Princess Victoria first in line to the throne ahead of her younger brother In Saudi Arabia, 63 Islamist insurgents are beheaded for their part in the siege of the Great Mosque in Mecca two months previous Nigel Short, 14, becomes the youngest chess player to beContinue reading “The News of 1980.”

Flash Gordon. A bored, unseen villain plans the destruction of Earth, but not before he’s had his fun “playing”, controlling various natural disasters that decimate the planet (a scene later sampled by The Orb on “Earth (Gaia)”, see 1991). FLASH! A-AH! The opening credits role as Queen’s iconic theme plays. New York Jets quarterback, FlashContinue reading “The Cinema of 1980.”

Stalker. Camera Buff. Kagemusha. The Fog. Flash Gordon. Dirty Mind – Prince. Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) – David Bowie. Tangram – Tangerine Dream. Peter Gabriel – Peter Gabriel. Ace of Spades – Motörhead.

Some Rap Songs. Earl Sweatshirt’s therapy album, Some Rap Songs, serves as his chaise longue and we, the listeners, the ever attentive therapist. Earl’s third album, his first for three years, is a stripped bare record that utilises very few producers, uncommon in the modern hip-hop industry, keeping the sound simple, accentuating the subject matterContinue reading “The Sound of 2018.”

January: Turkey announces the beginning of a military offensive to capture a portion of northern Syria from Kurdish forces The US government enters a federal shutdown as a result of a dispute over Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Scientists in China report the creation of the first monkey clones using somatic cell nuclear transfer, namedContinue reading “The News of 2018.”

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. The Coen Brothers return to the American Frontier eight years on from their last Western, True Grit. The storytelling format has changed this time around, with the filmmaking siblings opting for an anthology of unconnected vignettes. The first of the six tales presents the title character, Buster Scruggs, a singingContinue reading “The Cinema of 2018.”