The Skinny Blog

Gareth Vile: Since my understanding of life is that wisdom is the gradual recognition of how utterly fucked I am, and that a series of traumas have taught me the moments of innocence that doomed to me to heart-break and, eventually, cynicism, it is no surprise that I a...

Four Deaths and a stone circle »

Fri 12 Mar 2010

R. J. Gallagher: “The problem with 6 Music is… It’s not a station that makes much sense from a value for money point of view” said the BBC’s Director General Mark Thompson earlier this week, as he announced live on television the planned clos...

The Death of 6 Music »

Thu 04 Mar 2010

Chris Lindsay: I’m one of those people who tried really hard to hate Skins, (Thursdays, 10pm, E4) the teen drama that arrived in a hail of sex, drugs & vomit in 2007 and which is currently airing its 4th series. My hostility stemmed from the experiences of my t...

TV Blog: The best (and worst) of the week's telly »

Wed 03 Mar 2010

Gareth Vile: I am feeling a little out of step with the world this week. It might just be the absinthe, or the continued evolution of a romantic sensibility I can’t quite name, but I have been worried by my response to plays that have been receiving positive revi...

On theatre blogging »

Wed 03 Mar 2010

Gareth Vile: If, as Luther Blisset suggests in Death of Hermeneutics, performance is merely the mirror in which the reviewer sees themselves, I am not sure that I like the unshaven, dishevelled reflection that is staring back. I woke up with this morning with helium-fi...

Girls Girls Glas(s) »

Tue 23 Feb 2010

Gareth Vile: Back in the early twentieth century, a conflux of anarchic aesthetes and free thinkers challenged the foundations of western high art. Dada, the surrealists, even the early cinematographers challenged realism, while contemporary choreographers threw off th...

Ballet and The National Review of Live Art »

Thu 18 Feb 2010

Gareth Vile: I kicked off the VD blues with The Zeros Keep Going, a timely meditation on the social impact of hardcore pornography. Rather like the public debate, the two sides of the argument - the porn industry and the feminist objectors - never managed to speak on c...

Performing the VD weekend blues »

Thu 18 Feb 2010

Gareth Vile: An evening of speed dating turned out to be an excellent rehearsal for Etiquette. Part of The Arches’ off site programme, Etiquette sits two strangers opposite one another, and instructs them in their conversation, through a pre-recorded script....

Speed dating, absinthe and theatre »

Thu 11 Feb 2010

Chris Lindsay: Duff! Duff! Duff-duff-duff-duff-duff-duff! Is there any other TV theme as instantly recognisable as the EastEnders drum roll? When something plays in your living room several times a week it’s no wonder it sounds inherently wrong when messed with - l...

TV Blog: The best (and worst) of the week's telly »

Wed 10 Feb 2010

Gareth Vile: Given that my idea of an appropriate first date is either some demonic clowning from Al Seed or a quick burst of Sarah Kane’s Crave (sample line: “What ties me to you is guilt”), it is no surprise that I’ll be spending this Valentin...

A performance-themed Valentine's Day »

Mon 08 Feb 2010

R. J. Gallagher: When the legendary CBGB’s club in New York was closed down in 2006 because owner Hilly Kristal could no longer afford to pay its rent, there was a bitter taste left in the mouths of all concerned. A club that nurtured the talents of so many gre...

A Skinny Take: Chasing the zeitgeist »

Fri 05 Feb 2010

R. J. Gallagher: In 1921 Yevgeny Zamyatin wrote a book in which he envisaged a country dominated by buildings and streets made only from glass; the reasons for this of course being pragmatic – if everything is glass, then nothing can be hidden. Similar to Fouca...

A Skinny Take: One nation under CCTV »

Tue 26 Jan 2010

Chris Lindsay: I intentionally held off reviewing the launch of series two of Being Human (Sunday, BBC3) last week. Partly because the world went bonkers for Glee but partly to wait and see how the second episode panned out, given that the first instalment was something ...

TV Blog: The best (and worst) of the week's telly »

Sun 24 Jan 2010

Chris Lindsay: I’ve always been conflicted when it comes to musicals. The I’m-a-cynical-mediatype-don’t-cha-know in me rails against all things sentimental yet my soppy side still believes that all life’s problems would disappear if only we could ...

TV Blog: The best (and worst) of the week's telly »

Mon 18 Jan 2010

R. J. Gallagher: Once in a generation anything up to 20,000 curlers and spectators convene at Scotland’s only Lake – near a tiny Trossachs village called Port of Menteith – armed to the teeth with ice skates, large rocks and warm clothing. Motivated...

A Skinny Take: The danger is everywhere »

Sun 10 Jan 2010

Chris Lindsay: Christmas 2009 has belonged to David Tennant. With appearances in Hamlet, Alan Carr, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, QI, CBeebies, Radio 2, Radio 4, 5 Live, the man has been on our airwaves this yuletide more often than Santa. I’d deem the media blitz to p...

TV Blog: The best (and worst) of the week's telly »

Thu 31 Dec 2009

R. J. Gallagher: Imagine the odds you could have got a few months ago on Rage Against The Machine’s "Killing In The Name" being at the top of the charts this Christmas day. Such a notion would have seemed so far fetched at the time you’d have likely been la...

A Skinny Take: A good day for substance »

Wed 23 Dec 2009

Chris Lindsay: It would be unfair to say that all good British satire in the last fifteen years has been produced by Armando Iannucci. There is at least 3% untouched by him. Such is the quality of output from the producer/writer behind The Day Today, Alan Partridge and T...

TV Blog: The best (and worst) of the week's telly »

Thu 17 Dec 2009

R. J. Gallagher: The mainstream art world is a world that exists so detached from everyday reality it is sometimes beyond comprehension. It is a world of strange rules, extreme pretence and six-figure-sums; a world populated and dominated by a small clique of elites who so...

A Skinny Take: What’s in a name? »

Fri 11 Dec 2009

Chris Lindsay: I had high hopes for Small Island (BBC1, Sunday), the adaptation of Andrea Levy's novel about the relationship between Londoners and Jamaican soldiers during and after World War II. Its broadcast is a timely reminder of the contribution made by non-white p...

TV Blog: The best (and worst) of the week's telly »

Wed 09 Dec 2009

Rupert Thomson: The great thing about the Burnsong songwriting competition is the nature of the prize. There's a chance to gig at Parliament, some exposure too, but most of all, there's the chance to spend a week in a beautifully located house with all the other winners, ...

Burnsong Winners' Concert, Scottish Parliament, 30 November »

Fri 04 Dec 2009

Chris Lindsay: It’s what we Brits do best; take a successful American idea and anglicise it by removing the glamour. E4’s latest naughty young ‘uns drama Misfits (Wednesday, 10pm) takes this trend to new heights; transporting the American-as-apple-pie g...

TV Blog: The best (and worst) of the week's telly »

Tue 01 Dec 2009

R. J. Gallagher: Page Three is forty years old and Sarah Maple is not happy. The 24 year old artist, who gained attention after winning Channel Four’s ‘New Sensations’ competition in 2007, went on a guerrilla style mission ala Banksy last week to pr...

A Skinny Take: Feminism revisited »

Thu 26 Nov 2009

R. J. Gallagher: When home secretary Alan Johnston sacked the government’s chief drugs advisor David Nutt two weeks ago for “crossing the line”, i.e. disseminating findings which contradicted the governments moral position on illegal drugs, you could have...

A Skinny Take: Poison was the cure »

Fri 13 Nov 2009

R. J. Gallagher: The Press complaints commission has now received over 22,000 complaints in response to the (now infamous) column written last week the Daily Mail’s Jan Moir about the untimely death of Boyzone’s Steven Gately. The article – publishe...

A Skinny Take: the Daily Mail vs. homosexuality »

Thu 05 Nov 2009

RJ Thomson: “The BNP are a legitimate political party. The BNP are standing candidates in many constituencies throughout Scotland.” Those were almost exactly the words intoned by a near-chanting BNP campaigner, overheard on Sauchiehall Street, while I was ...

Out-manoeuvring the BNP »

Fri 30 Oct 2009

James Graham: Entry 1 We arrived in Denver Colorado yesterday after a lengthy flight with British Airways who were very kind in supplying Andy and myself with free red wine for the duration of the flight. Watched a few films (which were shite) and episodes of Frasier a...

The Twilight Sad’s US Tour Diary (with Frightened Rabbit and We Were Promised Jetpacks) »

Fri 23 Oct 2009

Gareth Vile: When I noticed the email asking me if I would like to “follow around the bikini sailor girls for a day,” I reminded myself not to subscribe to those sort of websites again and scrolled down the page. However, Scottish Opera were inviting me to ...

Scottish Opera: An Italian Girl in Algiers »

Wed 14 Oct 2009

Chris Lindsay: Every now and then a show comes along that rewrites the rules and changes the way television is made. Such was the first series of BBC1’s Criminal Justice (BBC1, Monday to Friday) which broadcast last year to critical acclaim and a slew of awards. A ...

TV Blog: The best (and worst) of the week's telly »

Mon 12 Oct 2009

R.J. Gallagher: Sounding like something from Orwell, the Obscene Publications Unit have asserted their authority once again. Last week an exhibition set to feature a photo of a naked Brooke Shields, aged 10, was pre-censored by the Metropolitan Police – in an act o...

A Skinny Take: The art of censorship »

Thu 08 Oct 2009

Colin Chaloner: Once regarded as 'the twelfth best club in the world', the Arches' status as a world class music venue is hard to ignore. And music is a dominant force in much of the work that makes up Arches Live. Midland Street takes you into the club while Pullover th...

Arches Live! - Music as a force in theatre »

Wed 07 Oct 2009

Nine: It's 8am and there's hardly anyone around. And those that are seem mostly hungover. En route, I see a squirrel darting across the street. It’s rare for me to be out this early on a Saturday morning, and if it does happen, it’s most likely beca...

Up and Away (25 feet at least) »

Mon 05 Oct 2009

Thomas Meek: Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be, is it? In the earliest years of this millennium, we were loving every decade (Andrew Collins and Stewart Maconie more than most) and forcing children to learn the Victorian way, though with less bruises and colonia...

TV Blog: The best (and worst) of the week's telly »

Mon 05 Oct 2009

Gareth Vile: Playback Theatre, as befits its origins in therapeutic processes, sits at the midpoint between improvisational comedy, drama and psychoanalysis. By inviting the audience to contribute stories, Random Acts leap over the fourth wall and smash the gap between...

Random Acts: Smashing the fourth wall »

Wed 30 Sep 2009

Thomas Meek: 23 million East Africans, across seven countries, are facing a state of severe hunger and destitution due to the area's ongoing drought, and little means to cope. "This is the worst humanitarian crisis Oxfam has seen in east Africa for over ten years," sa...

Edinburgh Artist Helps HungerFREE Campaign »

Tue 29 Sep 2009

Chris Lindsay: No-one does nature documentaries like the BBC. It's a simple equation; David Attenborough's hushed narration + sublime footage = TV gold. The Blue Planet, The Life of Mammals, Planet Earth etc. are all staggering natural history programmes but their statel...

TV Blog: The best (and worst) of the week's telly »

Mon 28 Sep 2009

Gareth Vile: There is a consistency of tone across the Arches Live this year that has given the festival a coherent and intimate atmosphere. Many of the works are autobiographical, filled with youthful idealism and reference popular culture. When this works – as ...

Walking On Eggshells: Arches Live! »

Sat 26 Sep 2009

Kirsty Taylor: When I told friends I was going to watch puppets in France, their eyes had this strange habit of glazing over - focus shifting to the middle distance, unsure of the correct response, as some kind of felt-sock creation for kids danced in their minds. But ev...

Charleville Festival de Marrionettes »

Sat 26 Sep 2009

R. J. Gallagher: When Kurt Cobain felt the cold steel barrel of his shotgun rest against his lips in the fateful moments before he said goodbye to the world, one wonders what his final thoughts were. The pressures of life as a famous rock star were certainly on his mind; ...

A Skinny Take: Smells Like Cheap Cash-ins »

Fri 25 Sep 2009

Gareth Vile: What our theatre editor thought of the Glasgow venue's latest venture Since Jackie Wylie took over at The Arches, it has pushed the boundaries of drama towards Live Art: the rebranding of the Spring festival as Behaviour, an increase in the number of RSAM...

Pushing Boundaries: Arches Live! »

Wed 23 Sep 2009

Colin Chaloner: The Arches Live launch night hit the ground running on Thursday with plenty of dicks, tits and ass from performance poet Drew Taylor. Apparently shipped over from NYC, all glittery in pink tights, blonde wig and shrivelled pig snout sporran, he supplied a ...

Dicks, Tits and Chip: Arches Live »

Tue 22 Sep 2009

Chris Lindsay: You just can't get the staff these days... or so you'd think by watching the shambles that is Live From Studio Five (Channel Five, daily). In attempting to out One Show the Beeb, Channel Five have chosen to front their chirpy magazine programme with Ian Wr...

TV Blog: The best (and worst) of the week's telly »

Mon 21 Sep 2009

Gareth Vile: At this year’s Critics’ Award for Theatre Scotland, Vanishing Point swept the board with the intimate Interiors. For latest production, The Beggar’s Opera, they negotiate a co-production between Tramway – home of radical European pe...

Vanishing Point: The Beggar's Opera »

Wed 16 Sep 2009

Chris Lindsay: Thank goodness BBC3’s ‘wacky’ new sitcom We Are Klang (BBC3, Monday) finished this week. The team behind the show may have received their share of plaudits at the Fringe in the last few years but their charmless, sub Mighty Boosh comedy a...

TV Blog: The best (and worst) of the week's telly »

Mon 14 Sep 2009

R. J. Gallagher: With the second part of Jacques Mesrine's epic tale out in cinemas, R.J. Gallagher ponders the life of the French outlaw. ----- Jacques Mesrine died on November 2nd 1979 aged 43. A relatively short but action packed life brought to an end when 19 police ...

A Skinny Take: The mind of Mesrine »

Fri 11 Sep 2009

Gareth Vile: Somehow during the Fringe, between aborted romances, editing a daily magazine, seeing six shows a day and following the coffee, nervous energy and forgetting to eat weight-loss plan, I managed to hook up with other critics. Aside from sneering at each othe...

Seeing Stars: What's in a review? »

Wed 09 Sep 2009

Agata Maslowska: 2009 saw the Lecoq-trained Half-Wit Theatre's first Fringe performance. And what a debut. In First Class, they bring a wonderful explosion of physical theatre and unsurpassed imagination, as a trip to the post office changes Michael’s life. Bea, an u...

Fringe Theatre Review Round-up »

Mon 07 Sep 2009

Chris Lindsay: It all went a bit Final Destination this week in EastEnders (BBC1, Thursday) with born again nut-job Lucas accidentally impaling his ex-lover on a rake and leaving her to die. In soap all Christians under 60 invariably turn out to be psychopaths but the sh...

TV Blog: The best (and worst) of the week's telly »

Mon 07 Sep 2009

Felice Howden: There's a guy with dreadlocks and drums leaving the cafe, and as he waves goodbye before he heads off to whereever it is these people all come from, it really hits me that the festival has finished. The poster turrets on the Royal Mile, all bloated from th...

A Hug and a Nap »

Mon 31 Aug 2009

Chris Lindsay: My top find of last week was A1: The Road Musical (More4, Tuesday), a pseudo-documentary directed and composed by Benjamin Till and part of First Cut, the channel's showcase for new directors. The film features real people who live and work along the A1 t...

TV Blog: The best (and worst) of the week's telly »

Mon 31 Aug 2009

R. J. Gallagher: As Madonna takes on those who discriminate the Romany population, R.J Gallagher explores the 'gypsy girl' of ABBA. ----- “I work all night, I work all day, to pay the bills I have to pay / Ain't it sadAnd still there never seems to be a single penn...

A Skinny Take: The Gypsy Girl »

Fri 28 Aug 2009

Felice Howden: That look of surprise I've mentioned before? It seems to have matured into the next logical emotions – disgust and hate. Instead of 'I don't want your flier', it's 'Fuck your Festival' t-shirts, and my brother came home from the pub with a face like ...

The Wee Small Hours »

Fri 28 Aug 2009

Felice Howden: Ah, the joys of dance. The sweet smell of social interaction hangs in the air; the sound of a hundred deaf voices singing at which ever pitch and volume they feel appropriate; the lukewarm wonderment of a six pound pint in your hand. This my friends, is wh...

The Sound of Silence »

Tue 25 Aug 2009

Chris Lindsay: Having never studied English history, epic Henry VIII drama The Tudors (Fridays, BBC2, 9pm) never held much appeal, but still very much at the forefront of BBC drama, is was time to give it a chance. Back now for a third series, the show has a reputation f...

TV Blog: The best (and worst) of the week's telly »

Mon 24 Aug 2009

Felice Howden: With all these Fringe happenings, it's easy to forget that the festival season doesn't end at shows run by amateur college theatre groups and people with stupid hair. It took my house-mate to remind me: coming home the other day with complimentary tickets ...

Made in hell? »

Thu 20 Aug 2009

Chris Lindsay: With episode five shown this week, we’re late in the run of kitchen sink drama The Street (BBC1, Mondays, 9pm), but there is still time to get on board with this gem of a series. Made up of loosely interconnected, stand alone stories all set on the s...

TV Blog: The best (and worst) of the week's telly »

Mon 17 Aug 2009

Felice Howden: People I know who have seen more than one Festival are all about hating the fliers. 'You'll get sick of them,' they warned. 'You'll start finding them everywhere'. On day three, I saw a guy wearing a white t-shirt that had I don't want your flier written a...

Leaflet Us Be »

Mon 17 Aug 2009

Agata Maslowska: This year's Fringe might satiate hunger of dance and physical theatre addicts. Apart from the rich Dance Base programme, several Fringe venues like Zoo and C venues feature shows that attempt to answer big questions about the nature of contemporary dance....

The Physical Side of the Fringe »

Sat 15 Aug 2009

Clare Sinclair: If you’ve had your fill of actors prancing the Royal Mile, getting sore feet from walking miles around Edinburgh trying to find that little “out there” venue and just plain fed up of being a magnet to a whole assortment of flyers and bits...

Life is a Cabaret »

Sat 15 Aug 2009

R. J. Gallagher: Ryan returns to take us through the spirit world. ---- The human impulse to explain is a source of great imagination: never content to simply not know, history has seen humankind invent an array of mystical religious narratives, occult rituals and even f...

A Skinny Take: A medium please »

Thu 13 Aug 2009

Felice Howden: Felice guides us through her Festival ---- The first thing most people will find out about me is this: I hate most people. The second thing most people will find out about me is that I work in a cafe on the Royal Mile. The combination is a bit like scram...

Street Performers (or why freaks should stay in the circus) »

Thu 13 Aug 2009

Gareth Vile: After a few days of drunken idiocy, I suddenly remembered that there was meant to be a festival happening in Edinburgh, and I wasn’t on a Club 18-30 holiday. I’d seen the public school boys in women’s clothes on the Royal Mile, and assume...

Fest Theatre: It Begins »

Tue 11 Aug 2009

Gareth Vile: Butoh is for me, as explained by Lindsay John, the highest of the performance arts. Not that I especially care for its stereotype of white-faced Japanese men contorting themselves into painful poses: when John identified as it as an expression of the inter...

Butoh and the Bard »

Wed 05 Aug 2009

Ryan Gallagher: In the first of a new fortnightly feature on the blogs, all dissecting and discussing this wider world around us, Ryan Gallagher has hope in our youth. Someone should. ----- Most people spend their lives hoping. Some for a light at the end of...

A Skinny Take: Youth, Dante, and The Rotten Carrot of Hope »

Thu 30 Jul 2009

Gareth Vile: While Anti-Christ is upsetting cinephiles with its explicit violence and apparent misogyny, this theatre critic doesn’t understand. Anti-Christ is a movie, and protects its cast with the same trickery as TV for Derren Brown and 1930s radio for...

Theatre Laid Bare »

Wed 29 Jul 2009

Gordon Bruce: Not many festivals are four days long. Not many festivals enjoy blistering heat. But then not many festivals are like Benicassim. There's always a danger of festivals turning into an endurance test on the final day. Rising bleary eyed on three hours sleep,...

Benicassim 2009 - Day Four »

Wed 22 Jul 2009

Gareth Vile: Frustratingly, in a period when the theatres have either gone dark or are saving their resources for August in Edinburgh, there is a clash of events on Friday. In Glasgow, the Now Museum is staging The Dead Man’s Waltz, a musical performance by Sky...

Itsy Bitsy Theatre »

Wed 22 Jul 2009

Gordon Bruce: The crowds of the Benicassim camp emerge from ragged tents post-Hurricane 'Beni' to meet a crystal clear sky. At the semi-collapsed showers, what looks like a group of nomadic desert travellers attempt to clear the grime congealed on their faces. Althoug...

Benicassim 2009 - Day Three »

Wed 22 Jul 2009

Gordon Bruce: Let´s recall day one shall we? Just a day before, Benicassim played host to some titanic offerings. Some were expected to fill stadiums, some weren´t. But almost all commanded a monolithic stage built to survive a storm. Or so we thought. Th...

Benicassim 2009 - Day Two(ish) »

Wed 22 Jul 2009

Gordon Bruce: The day begins at 9am with a sudden surge of panic that you may incinerate in your tent if you don´t rip yourself out of it. Down at the beach, every space is filled with people grabbing what sleep they could. We finally find a rare remaining spot on...

Benicassim 2009 - Day One »

Wed 22 Jul 2009

Gordon Bruce: Finally. Touch down. One thousand miles courtesy of the wallet-friendly Ryanair. As we hit the tarmac the speakers let out a fanfare which sounds more like a sigh of relief that we´re still alive than a glorious welcome, but we´re here! Only 30...

Benicassim 2009 - The Warm Up »

Wed 22 Jul 2009

Gareth Vile: Although I was tempted by the Speed Dating- the closest thing I have had to a date lately is a death threat from a burlesque dancer- I hauled myself back into a tent to catch Uninvited Guests and Fuel: Love Letters Straight from Your Heart. Uninvited Guest...

A Love Letter from Latitude »

Mon 20 Jul 2009

Gareth Vile: I am lost in the woods. There are neon signs on the trees, above my head, proclaiming PURITY, TRANQUILITY, PEACE and TRUTH. There are faeries from the Royal Opera House appearing around me. I thread my way past a collection of apparently random road-signs ...

Latitude Festival 2009 - Sunday: Part II »

Mon 20 Jul 2009

Gareth Vile: My campsite neighbor has painted his entire body blue, and has the expression of a man who has lived to regret the decision. Every morning as I walk down to the stages, somebody is telling another Greek myth to a crowd of children. Families are sitting on ...

Latitude Festival 2009 - Sunday: Part I »

Sun 19 Jul 2009

Gareth Vile: That peculiar tension between rock’n’roll and the other arts is still happening. Listening to the Britten Sinfonia beneath an idyllic pastoral bower, closing my eyes to Bach and Reich, I hear harsh beats bleeding into the mix. I wander off into...

Latitude Festival 2009 - Saturday: Part II »

Sun 19 Jul 2009

Gareth Vile: “She’s fit. She’s not attractive, but she’s fit.” “It’s a bit like Britain’s Got Talent gone weird.” “Hello, is this the bingo?” “Nope, this is too weird for me. I can’t do this....

Latitude Festival 2009 - Saturday: Part I »

Sat 18 Jul 2009

Gareth Vile: Taking some time out from the theatre and cabaret, I catch Regina Spector working hard to earn those comparisons to Tori Amos. While it is trite just to compare artists because they are female- I have heard Kate Nash set alongside Kate Bush, a connection t...

Latitude Festival 2009 - Friday: Part II »

Sat 18 Jul 2009

Gareth Vile: I was overwhelmed by Latitude before I had even set up my tent. With a programme weighing in at 250 pages, a bellowing thunderstorm, and a campsite with a bar, day one was the inevitable blur. I stumbled through the woods at the edge of the site, tripping ...

Latitude Festival 2009 - Friday: Part I »

Sat 18 Jul 2009

The T Diaries: Bronto Skylift »

Fri 17 Jul 2009

Niall Strachan & Iain Stewart: When we first got the phone call asking us to play at T in the Park it was like something out of a David Lynch film (before he got shit then good again then shit again). We were in Inverness after just playing RockNess, which was the biggest thing we had e...

Oliver Sabin: I should probably start off by saying that pre T in the Park 09 I had never been to a festival before, let alone played at one, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. My set was on the BBC Introducing stage on Saturday afternoon, but I arrived full of zes...

The T Diaries: Unicorn Kid »

Thu 16 Jul 2009

Gareth Vile: I’ve always been suspicious of 'Variety'. It might be having lived through the 1980s, when it meant the Paul Daniels’ Show or Saturday night’s lazy BBC programming. It might be the veneer of respectability- how radical is any work going t...

Glasgow Cabaret Festival 2009 »

Wed 15 Jul 2009

Paul Carlin: So... It's probably safe to say that most Scottish bands would generally be really chuffed to get the chance to play T in the Park, right? Well we DID. It was RAD. We began the day by meeting at Duncan's palatial lodgings before piling into our...

The T Diaries: Dananananaykroyd »

Tue 14 Jul 2009

James Graham: Sunday, 9am - Get up, have a shower, decide not to pack the catsuit for the gig.10am - It's my mum and dad's first T in the Park experience so they're driving us up. They're a bit excitable and my dad makes a sign to stick to his back with the band name a...

The T Diaries: The Twilight Sad »

Mon 13 Jul 2009

Thomas Meek: Snow Patrol still playing well beyond their allotted time, and Albarn's lot nowhere to be seen, with no explanation offered as to what had happened to the night's headliners? What was going on? From the whispers in a crowd still confused as to why Snow Pa...

T in the Park 2009 - Sunday: Part III »

Mon 13 Jul 2009

Thomas Meek: After sadly missing out on Regina Spektor, it was a choice between vagabond poets The Streets, London hipster (but still really quite good) duo The Big Pink, and the all grown-up with an adult name, Peter Doherty, to make up for it. Peter was the persuade...

T in the Park 2009 - Sunday: Part II »

Sun 12 Jul 2009

Thomas Meek: It was a hard start to the day, as we arrived on site to devastating news. Hip-hop star, and all round gangster bad ass, The Game had dropped out of his afternoon performance on the Radio One/NME stage. It was a blow to the schedule, and we each had to tak...

T in the Park 2009 - Sunday: Part I »

Sun 12 Jul 2009

Thomas Meek: There was plenty of choice for the evening's penultimate performance, with Bronto Skylift, Jane's Addiction and Glasvegas all playing some stage or other. And though the first fifteen minutes of Jane's Addiction's set on the Radio One/NME stage did look s...

T in the Park 2009 - Saturday: Part III »

Sun 12 Jul 2009

Thomas Meek: After a couple of pros of the music business, in the shape of The Hours, it was time to see what the young ones were doing today. Katy Perry was an enticing project on the Radio One/NME stage, if just to see what outfit she would adorn and if it could riva...

T in the Park 2009 - Saturday: Part II »

Sat 11 Jul 2009

Thomas Meek: It was a foreboding atmosphere that began the day, with dark clouds and a cool bite in the air, not to mention bleary eyes and sore head. Some would have thought that the chilling notion of Lady Ga Ga on the main stage would have forced the Gods to conjure...

T in the Park 2009 - Saturday: Part I »

Sat 11 Jul 2009

Thomas Meek: Unfortunately missing out on the sweet and playful Pearl and the Puppets, and forgoing the massive throngs worshipping at the indie altar of Franz Ferdinand on the main stage, it was to see the Yeah Yeah Yeahs I travelled, with New York's coolest trio boas...

T in the Park 2009 - Friday: Part II »

Sat 11 Jul 2009

Thomas Meek: The sounds of Maximo Park are blaring through from the main stage as I sip on a compliment Irn Bru and contemplate the day so far. And beginning with bright sunshine and a hassle-free coach ride (go Green folks) it's been another fine day in T in the Park ...

T in the Park 2009 - Friday: Part I »

Fri 10 Jul 2009

Gareth Vile: Now that the New Works New Worlds Festival has found a home within its caverns, The Arches is establishing itself as Glasgow’s home for performance art. As a veteran of these challenging, enriching and sometimes bewildering short festivals, neither a...

New Works New Worlds at The Arches »

Wed 08 Jul 2009

RJ Thomson: You can use an editorial for all sorts of things, from ranting to enthusing, inspiring to pretending you care about shit you blatantly don’t. This month I’m in practical mood, so will rather serve to preview a couple of brilliant-looking events...

Samuel Beckett, Throbbing Gristle, and a month of fun »

Thu 04 Jun 2009

Nick Mitchell: My ears have almost recovered since My Bloody Valentine rammed a hundred decibels into them last night, so Primavera Day Three is good to go. First on our agenda is Texan band Shearwater, which began as a side project by two members of Okkervil River but h...

Expressway to Yr Skull: Primavera 2009, Day Three »

Sun 31 May 2009

Nick Mitchell: After all that blokey noise rock last night, the sight and sound of Bat For Lashes is a welcome flash of exotic glamour for Primavera. Wearing a snug black and white jump-suit, Natasha Khan is having a lot of fun in the evening sun, dancing all across the ...

Here Comes the Tinnitus: Primavera 2009, Day Two »

Sat 30 May 2009

Nick Mitchell: With heads still fuzzy from the previous night's anarchy, we set off for Primavera in the early evening sunshine. Located a couple of miles along the seafront from the tourist trap of Las Ramblas, past a bland commercial district, the festival site is a fi...

Jarvis, Bird and Aphex: Primavera 2009, Day One »

Fri 29 May 2009

Nick Mitchell: It feels like a revolution. Thousands of flag-bearing revellers roam the night streets. Fireworks blast, bins are overturned, scooters knocked on their sides. Outdoor cafes are destroyed, phone booths shattered. The hordes shout, sing and occasionally figh...

A Prelude to Primavera 2009 »

Thu 28 May 2009

Dylan Reed: Opera isn't the most snooty artform. It often gets that bad press; but, having been for the first time properly recently (twice), I'm pretty certain it's not.Not when you consider the sort of nonsense that can surround 'up-and-coming' artist shows: where t...

Give Opera a Chance (It's Like World Peace, Only With More Wigs) »

Thu 21 May 2009

Finbarr Bermingham: In the cold light of day, the inevitable festival analysis ensues. With Great Escape it’s a little different. Its structure distances it from the likes of T in the Park and Reading / Leeds and in theory, it works a treat. Yesterday I got up, had a sh...

Diary of a Great Escape - Day 3 (v2.0) »

Sun 17 May 2009

Alexis Somerville: Another day of the Great Escape; another day filled with sonic dilemmas. Where to go? Who to see? I set off in the afternoon, enjoying the sunshine after what I’d managed to convince myself were Arctic conditions on the Friday. The M for Montreal ...

Diary of a Great Escape - Day 3 »

Sun 17 May 2009

Finbarr Bermingham: I should have known better than to have made even the slightest reference to the sunshine that beamed down on Brighton as I blogged yesterday. For no sooner had I closed up my laptop, the heavens opened. Cue torrential downpours and driving winds. The sea ...

Diary of a Great Escape - Day 2 »

Sat 16 May 2009

Finbarr Bermingham: UK festival promoters have spent recent years trying to come up with a British counterpart to Austin’s SxSW, but have strangely failed to hit the nail on the head. Camden Crawl, Sauchiehall Crawl, Hinterland, Stag and Dagger et al have all made rippl...

Diary of a Great Escape - Day 1 »

Fri 15 May 2009

Nine: The event of the year will soon be upon us again - what, did you think it was Beltane? The Eurovision Song Contest is on Saturday 16 May, so get your scoresheets ready. Cheesy pop is guaranteed throughout, but keep an eye out for the most eccentric and cre...

Eurovision 2009: The Contenders »

Tue 12 May 2009

RJ Thomson: There is a clear theme of getting away from it all in this month's content. Several of the artists we interview have had their gaiters on, or at least been out of town. Hyper-talented New York psychedelicists Grizzly Bear and thoughtful rocker Jason Lytle ...

Life's a Picnic: The Great Outdoors and Creativity »

Tue 05 May 2009

Gillian Watson: From the outset Hinterland has an air of excess, the product of pre-recession economy multiplied by a post-recession target audience. There are bonuses (bonii?) for the punter: a chance to see some heartstoppingly good bands in venues that aren't even touc...

Sex, Money and Hinterland »

Sat 02 May 2009

Jamie Scott: Three Hinterland related MySpace bulletins from a PR worker came into my inbox this afternoon, the first proclaiming "Half Price Hinterland Tickets", followed later that afternoon by "Free Hinterland Tickets". The final "What is Hinterland?" raised my fear...

A Hazy Shade of Hinter »

Fri 01 May 2009

Chris Duncan: During April, our usual cross-section chatter covered a variety of topics. Sci-fi writers meetings, holidaying in the island of Lesbos, and the cruel mistress that is the press accreditation process for overseas music festivals. What with the sun shining a...

On the Aestival Joys of the Liquid Lunch »

Wed 22 Apr 2009

Paul Mitchell: Yesterday I spoke with the flamboyant and talented Patrick Wolf (for next month’s Music section). Commenting on his intense dedication to his craft (he plays roughly 5,000 instruments) and extravagant performances he stated that his drive to succeed ...

The Challenging World of Dissocia »

Tue 21 Apr 2009

Gareth K Vile: Scottish theatre is more European than England's is. European Prize winner Rodrigo Garcia’s Scatter My Ashes Over Mickey would not surprise The National Review of Live Art. And Krystian Lupa’s eight hour meditation on Warhol could succeed at th...

Scotland: the Continental Fringe »

Tue 21 Apr 2009

RJ Thomson: The touring production of Waiting for Godot, that comes to the King’s Theatre this month and stars Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart and Simon Callow, is going to be shit. I know this may seem a little pre-emptive, for sure I haven’t seen it yet, b...

Waiting for Shitness, and, Rolling with the Shitness »

Mon 30 Mar 2009

Susan Calman: I am writing this at 2 in the morning as I have been struck by insomnia again. It occasionally plagues my life and it has arrived like a mofo today. Instead of lying in bed thinking about all the things I could achieve in my life if I wasn’t s...

Glasgow Comedy Festival Blog: The Last Laugh »

Sun 29 Mar 2009

Susan Calman: The Festival is almost over and we enter the last weekend of shows with some excitement and trepidation. There are still some corkers about and there are also some shows which could be the definition of a car crash. To update you on the last ...

Glasgow Comedy Festival Blog: Almost there »

Wed 25 Mar 2009

Tommy Perman: Saturday - it's our official showcase today - our last gig in the Lone Star State. I'm quite glad actually. It's been great fun here at 'Sooth by' but you do grow a bit tired of hearing the constant mash of pompous, strident guitars and yappy &...

FOUND's SXSW Tour Diary: The Epilogue »

Wed 25 Mar 2009

Tommy Perman: After the gig at the British Music Embassy we were dragged off by Muslim (producer for Vic Galloway and Huw Stephens, BBC Radio 1). He wanted to do a little feature with us called 'Austin Found' . . . the premise was that we had to scour the streets lookin...

FOUND's SXSW Tour Diary: Day Three, Part Two »

Mon 23 Mar 2009

Susan Calman: Monday dawns bright and sunny in Glasgow. The weekend is over and it seems to have been rather more hardcore on the drinking and carousing side. I met many a comic in varying states trying desperately to remember what happened the night before. ...

Glasgow Comedy Festival Blog: Regrets – I may well have a few »

Mon 23 Mar 2009

Tommy Perman: Yesterday is a bit of a blur. It was definitely the craziest day yet. It began well, with a fantastic Mexican breakfast in a local diner – we all had different variations of huevos rancheros and breakfast tacos washed down with large mugs of Oaxacan...

FOUND's SXSW Diary: Day Three, Parte the First »

Sat 21 Mar 2009

Susan Calman: Just a quick one today as I am knackered as it is possible to be. My show last night was excellent – a packed house and hopefully lots of enjoyment. It was the first time I had used much of the material and I was really pleased with the way that it ...

Saturday night is alright for fighting. Or comedy »

Sat 21 Mar 2009

Tommy Perman: The heat’s really intense here so we decided we weren’t going to do too much trekking around with our gear. We rode the bus into town and went straight to Fado’s, the Irish bar we were going to be playing. They have a nice beer garden / y...

FOUND's SXSW Tour Diary: Day Two »

Fri 20 Mar 2009

Susan Calman: It’s Friday midway through the festival and as ever you could watch comedy from dawn to dusk (almost). For me, this week has been quietish. I even had Monday and Tuesday off which I of course spent writing new material. Well nearly – I am re-w...

Glasgow Comedy Festival Blog - Friday Night Will (hopefully) Be Alright »

Fri 20 Mar 2009

Tommy Perman: We’ve now been in Austin for a full day and are beginning to acclimatise. Our 20 hour journey was surprisingly smooth and we made it through immigration and customs in Newark Liberty airport without the grilling that I’d been fearing...except f...

FOUND's SXSW Tour Diary: Day One »

Thu 19 Mar 2009

Susan Calman: Comedy for kids, Trevor Nelson and Triffids I performed at Comedy for Kids on Saturday and survived. I was unsure what to do with the little darlings and the MC kept saying to me “just do what you would normally but without the swear words.&rd...

Glasgow Comedy Festival Blog - Part II »

Tue 17 Mar 2009

Susan Calman: And we’re off. The 2009 comedy festival has started and already I have met exhausted comics who are trying to cram in eight gigs a night. I am taking a more leisurely approach to the festival but will of course relate any tales of exhaustion, despera...

Glasgow Comedy Festival Blog - Part I »

Tue 17 Mar 2009

Tommy Perman: FOUND are packing our bags for the most exciting gigs of our career and I’ve been invited to blog about it for The Skinny. We're off to play at the world renowned music industry festival, South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas. We leave in a matt...

FOUND's SXSW Tour Diary: A Prelude »

Tue 10 Mar 2009

Rosamund West: Charles Avery Charles Avery Charles Avery is mainly what I’ve been saying, art-wise this month. As is probably quite evident from the fevered review we publish this month. Put simply, I loved it in a way that almost never happens in visual art. I am ...

A fuss over cross-over »

Mon 26 Jan 2009

Nine: I may claim to be all indier-than-thou most of the time, but I’ve got a real soft spot for Erasure, especially the Wild! album, which came out when I was eleven or twelve. It’s a really delightful collection of pop songs, and I still pretty muc...

New articles due soon »

Mon 26 Jan 2009

RJ Thomson: This month Alex Salmond flew up to Aberdeen on Remembrance Day to attend the announcement of a £50m endowment from businessman Sir Ian Wood for the development of Aberdeen city centre, even though the details of the endowment were somewhat sketchy, a...

War of a Titian, Part the Second »

Wed 03 Dec 2008

Nine: I'm thirty years old and I've got a really obvious hickey on my neck and I'm hoping my dad doesn't notice when I meet him shortly. I'm behaving like a teenager, except when I was a teenager I never met Latin Americans who were into zines and revolution and...

Why I Got This Tattoo, Dad »

Tue 25 Nov 2008

Rosamund West: As I write, the clock is ticking on the National Galleries’ bid to raise the £100 million needed to keep the two paintings by Venetian old master Titian within their clutches. The paintings, created for King Philip II of Spain, were reputedly a...

War of a Titian »

Mon 24 Nov 2008

Gareth K Vile: The Skinny doesn’t sleep over Christmas. While the sensible world tucks into mince-pies, chortles at faded celebrities and shouts at the baddies in pantomimes, our writers have been out in the cold, seeking the difficult and complex, checking up on t...

A theatrical Christmas »

Fri 21 Nov 2008

Josh Wilson: Occassionally, video games feature a top notch actor or two -- folks willing to lend their gravitas to a pixelated role or vocal performance. Never before though, have so many 'stars' graced a game as the new Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 title hitting...

Movie stars, Hollyoaks babes and fighting champs get in on the game »

Fri 14 Nov 2008

Gareth K Vile: In last month’s editorial, I suggested that while performance might not be damaging to the social structure, it is, at best, morally neutral. This position could be seen to undermine the purpose of art - after all, if it is just pretty shapes and sou...

September theatre »

Wed 24 Sep 2008

Nine: In case you’re not familiar yet with Katy Perry’s I Kissed A Girl, here’s a quick summary of the lyrics: “I kissed a girl and it was nice, but don’t worry, I have a boyfriend, so it’s not like there’s a major lifes...

I kissed plenty of girls but I never thought to capitalise on it »

Mon 22 Sep 2008

Nick Mitchell: Hydro Connect is officially over for another year. The revellers have gone home to warm showers and washing machines, leaving the event staff to clear the discarded tents from the mud-splattered campsite. But instead of grimly contemplating the forthcomin...

Connect 2008 Episode XII: The Epilogue »

Mon 01 Sep 2008

Ally Brown: Despite seeing the very good Camera Obscura and We Were Promised Jetpacks since my last post, I simply have to finish tonight with a shout-out for Kraftwerk man Karl Bartos. There could only have been about a hundred people in the Unknown Pleasures tent wh...

Connect 2008 Episode XI: Karl Bartos »

Sun 31 Aug 2008

Nick Mitchell: Ally's already bemoaned today's conditions, so I'll refrain from any further mentions of 'rain', 'mud' or 'cesspool' - for the duration of this post anyway. The first act I caught today was Young Knives, who bounded out on to the Oyster Stage dressed for ...

Connect 2008 Episode X: Young Knives and Santogold try to warm us up »

Sun 31 Aug 2008

Ally Brown: The Skinny's seen worse than the mud here today, but it's still difficult to keep spirits high when you're soaking wet with no central heating in sight. Those still holding out without wellies are struggling to walk anywhere without falling on their bahook...

Connect 2008 Episode IX: Frightened Rabbit »

Sun 31 Aug 2008

Ally Brown: Everything's been going pretty fast for Glasvegas recently. From a spot by Alan McGee, to a profile in The Skinny (the turning point, of course), to the cover of the NME, the hype's been building towards the release of their debut self-titled album next Mo...

Connect 2008 Episode VIII: Glasvegas win over the doubters »

Sun 31 Aug 2008

Nick Mitchell: It's Sunday lunchtime, it has been raining solidly for much of the night, the campsite has gone from a mudbath to a mudpool, so it's time to reminisce of a (slightly) drier time: last night. With the drizzle gently descending, Glasgow's Errors played a bl...

Connect 2008 Episode VII: Errors make no mistakes »

Sun 31 Aug 2008

Nick Mitchell: One of the most highly anticipated sets of this year's Connect is surely Spiritualized. They've toured their Acoustic Mainlines show to death, and prior to this frontman Jason Pierce very nearly worked himself to death. So it is with some excitement that w...

Connect 2008 Episode VI: The art of destruction »

Sat 30 Aug 2008

Nick Mitchell: After much setting of alarm clocks, brushing of teeth and donning of wellies, we were left with much checking of watches in the field before the Oyster Stage early this afternoon. A steward (or someone articulate enough to do the job) could have told us th...

Connect 2008 Episode V: Late of the Pier live up to their name »

Sat 30 Aug 2008

Ally Brown: I got to Hyrdo Connect this morning, dumped backstage by a coach driver who didn't really know where he was going. Oh, there's Kele Okereke. Was he on the bus? The trip here was absolutely stunning. It's easy to forget, living in the city, why so many thou...

Connect 2008 Episode IV: Broken Records n 'at »

Sat 30 Aug 2008

Nick Mitchell: When it came to Friday's headliners, The Skinny acted like a typical man and failed to commit to anyone, instead attempting to sample a bit of a threesome - and almost succeeding. First up is Kasabian on the Oyster Stage (the big one). The music and the s...

Connect 2008 Episode III: A musical threesome of Kasabian, Mercury Rev and Sparks »

Sat 30 Aug 2008

Nick Mitchell: Yep, you read that right. Tonight, Welsh Britpop survivors Manic Street Preachers played a cover version of Rihanna's number one hit Umbrella. James Dean Bradfield offered no explanation, simply saying the word 'umbrella', before launching straight into a ...

Connect 2008 Episode II: Manics cover Rihanna »

Fri 29 Aug 2008

Nick Mitchell: After Ladytron's first song, Glasgow-born singer Helen Marnie says that this is - incredibly - their first Scottish festival appearance. But then again, when you take a mental tally of what Ladytron amount to, it's perhaps not so surprising. Dressed unifor...

Connect 2008 Episode I: Ladytron's first Scottish festival »

Fri 29 Aug 2008

Gareth K Vile: Watching art does not make us better people. If it did, art historians would be renowned for their compassion and sensitivity, dance critics would not go into ferocious rages and, thanks to its comprehensive programme of drama, Glasgow would have a tiny cr...

The theatre of participation »

Wed 27 Aug 2008

Rosamund West: I can’t say, in all honesty, that I’m devastated to wave goodbye to August... A month of slow-walking crowds and over-excited thespians transforms me into one of those sour, proud-local types who can’t be doing with all this festival mala...

On the new Ingleby Gallery »

Wed 27 Aug 2008

Nine: When I first heard Iris Robinson’s comments on homosexuality, I felt embarrassed to come from the same part of the world as her. I mean, in this day and age, here’s a Northern Irish politician offering to refer homosexuals to a nice Christian p...

Comments on homosexuality (Iris Robinson) »

Tue 26 Aug 2008

Keir Hind: Going into Edinburgh for the first event I’ll see at this Festival, I have set up some goals. These are, obviously, to see a lot of writers talking about their books, and to interview a couple of them too. But a fiend of mine (yes, fiend, not ‘...

A Gonzo Guide to the Edinburgh Book Festival »

Mon 11 Aug 2008

Johnny Langlands: With an unshakable vision of Tim Burgess’ one man undercut resurrection, another peerless dose of math rockin’ beats from Battles and a mesmerising gig by Toronto electro rock combo Holy Fuck all wedged in the memory as some of the most enterta...

T 2008, Epilogue: Stipe Turns RoboCop, Burgess Goes For Bowl »

Wed 16 Jul 2008

Nick Mitchell: The problem with Sunday's impressive T in the Park line-up was always going to be how to condense a normal six month's worth of gig going into the space of eleven hours. Without the benefit of some real-life Sky+ pause and rewind capability (we're only hum...

T 2008, Episode VIII: Doing Justice to The National »

Sun 13 Jul 2008

Finbarr Bermingham: As the biggest roar I've heard all weekend goes up over my shoulder heralding the unexpected arrival of her from the ward, Amy Winehouse, I figure it's as good a time as any to supply some festival feedback. As previously reported, last night inevitably be...

T 2008, Episode VII: BJM Delays The Inevitable »

Sun 13 Jul 2008

Ally Brown: Every festival has at least one - a band that blows up just before the weekend arrives so that their stage draw is underestimated - and T in the Park 2008's was Glasvegas. We arrived at the mid-sized Futures Tent for their early evening Saturday show a ful...

T 2008, Episode VI: Glasvegas have arrived »

Sun 13 Jul 2008

Dave Kerr: Rage Against the Machine rolled back the years and brought down the curtain on day two of T in the Park in typically explosive style tonight (Saturday, 11 July). Earlier in the afternoon, a set from Belgian indie rockers dEUS - who, like tomorrow’s...

T 2008, Episode V: Bringing angry back »

Sun 13 Jul 2008

Finbarr Bermingham: The first full day of T In The Park is underway and The Skinny - rested, fed and watered, has had a chance to reflect on the night that went before. After some initial schizophrenic indecision, Mother Nature finally decided to give the rain a night off. Ou...

T in the Park: the blog o' death episode II »

Sat 12 Jul 2008

RJ Thomson: Damian Lazarus (who, despite appearance, name and sonics, isn't French - the man's a broad Cockney) proved a fitting early booking for the Slam tent. His set, which sat comfortably between minimal techno, deep house and electro, was laid-back enough to ser...

T in the Park: the blog o' death episode IV »

Sat 12 Jul 2008

Nick Mitchell: Reggae. Surely the ideal musical genre to kick-start your summer festival. So as soon as I had been slapped with my wristband and directed through the muddy fields, I found myself facing a faded legend of the genre. Eddy Grant, he of Electric Avenue fame, ...

T in the Park: the blog o' death episode III »

Sat 12 Jul 2008

Ally Brown: It's Friday evening and The Skinny is at T in the Park, along with 70,000 or so Scottish music fans. The bars are just opening, but there's a mile-long queue outside of late arrivals still hoping to set up camp. They'll have to hurry because the bands are ...

T in the Park: the blog o' death »

Fri 11 Jul 2008

Call of Duty trailer »

Tue 24 Jun 2008

Josh Wilson: Fresh out this morning, a trailer for Call of Duty World at War... ...

Gareth K Vile: Possibly due to the approaching Festival and Fringe, the theatres are relatively quiet: there are a few bravura show-stopping musicals, a new version of a classic courtesy of the Scottish Ballet and a stream of Shakespeare in Glasgow’s West End. Into...

Dancing Together »

Sun 25 May 2008

Nine: “When I was growing up, my mother was a dominatrix,” a friend of mine says, “so we were used to having slaves around the house.” I am very good at nodding and agreeing – yes, of course you were! – but oddly enough my own...

I never mentioned the bizarre love triangle »

Fri 23 May 2008

Jonathan Melville: Prepare to have some preconceptions shattered in June as hip-hop and house collide with classical and concert hall for a unique, one-off performance in Glasgow. Concerto for Turntables and Orchestra has been created by Gabriel Prokofiev, one of ...

Turning the tables on classical music »

Wed 14 May 2008

RJ Thomson: When talking about sexual orientation, it has become something of a platitude to refer to everyone as being a 'shade of grey'. It is quite literally a dull way to look at the question, but there is certainly some truth in it. I'll back up that 'certainly' ...

An editor's notes on Deviance »

Mon 28 Apr 2008

RJ Thomson: Hi Everyone, Welcome to the new website for The Skinny magazine, www.theskinny.co.uk. Our site used to be www.skinnymag.co.uk, so we're pleased not least to be into what-we're-actually-called territory. But there's a whole lot of other reasons for us (and...

Welcome to theskinny.co.uk »

Fri 25 Apr 2008

Read this | 4 Comments

Pulling 10p out from behind Lothian Buses' ear »

Fri 18 Apr 2008

the internet: Everyone in Edinburgh is rightfully annoyed about the recent increase of Lothian bus fares to £1.10. Quite rightly. We all know inflation happens, but a bit of common sense would surely have been in order: maybe waiting on £1 a bit longer, then...