Arts & Entertainment
The latest arts and entertainment highlights, previews, reviews, music and film features and opinion pieces from The Skinny writers.
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MusicDan Bodan – Soft
Before a breathily sighed note’s been uttered, Berlin-based Canadian Dan Bodan has set the tone for his debut full-length by titling it Soft, drawing i... Read more »| 05 Nov 2014 -
Music
Slice of Life – Love and a Lamp-Post
A change of pace from the turbulent mind of Steve Ignorant. 2011 saw him resurrecting Crass material under the moniker The Last Supper, which largely served ... Read more »| 05 Nov 2014 -
BooksThe Land Agent by J. David Simons
The Land Agent is a story of diaspora. In 1919, a young Polish Jew named Lev flees persecution while an idealistic Scottish woman looks to begin again. Like ... Read more »| 05 Nov 2014 -
Clubs
Is That Door Alarmed? Krystal Klear warms up for his Labour of Love party
Manchester-based, Dublin-born producer Krystal Klear talks to us about his upcoming Labour of Love party at Soup Kitchen, and “hitting the bollocks out of it” the night before visiting Nile Rodgers' home studio Read more »| 04 Nov 2014 -
Film
Naked City
Jules Dassin’s absorbing 1948 potboiler The Naked City is sometimes billed as a film noir. It’s actually much more concerned with the nitty-gritt... Read more »| 04 Nov 2014 -
Film
Hide Your Smiling Faces
Death is introduced early in this US indie, with an opening shot that features a snake ingesting its prey. Its presence then lingers through every frame that... Read more »| 04 Nov 2014
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FilmYouth of the Beast
In 1968, Japanese director Seijun Suzuki saw his long-standing contract with the Nikkatsu studio terminated for repeatedly turning routine potboiler scripts ... Read more »| 04 Nov 2014 -
BooksThe American Nightmare: An interview with James Ellroy
The L.A. Confidential author and 'demon dog of American crime fiction' discusses his new book Perfidia, alongside kilts, addictions, Beethoven, and exactly why James Franco will not be adapting his work for the big screen. Read more »| 04 Nov 2014 -
Theatre
The Events
For a seemingly small play – two actors, 90 minutes, no interval – David Greig's The Events has a big reputation. Premiered at the Edinburgh Frin... Read more »| 04 Nov 2014 -
Film
From SNL to Sibling Hell: Craig Johnson on The Skeleton Twins
During their stints on SNL, Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig proved themselves expert comic performers. In The Skeleton Twins they reveal substantial dramatic chops too. The film's writer-director, Craig Johnson, discusses channeling their dark sides Read more »| 04 Nov 2014 -
Art
Not So Tatty: Playtime at Cornerhouse
Playtime marks the end of Cornerhouse and the beginning of HOME. The Skinny caught up with Cornerhouse's curator – and new Professor at Manchester School of Art – Sarah Perks, to find out what's planned for the exhibition and her thoughts on the future... Read more »| 04 Nov 2014 -
MusicWu-Tang Clan unleash 'Ruckus In B Minor' from new album A Better Tomorrow
After a troubled genesis, the Wu-Tang Clan have released the soul-inflected single 'Ruckus in B Minor' from A Better Tomorrow, their first new studio LP... Read more »| 04 Nov 2014 -
Music
Motor City Drum Ensemble Playlist: Guest Selector
Ahead of anticipated dates in both Liverpool and Manchester, Danilo Plessow – aka MCDE – steps up with ten LPs that he considers to be "absolute must-haves" Read more »| 04 Nov 2014 -
Music
Claudio Simonetti's Goblin perform Suspiria @ SWG3, 31 October
Like so many of the best horror films, Suspiria doesn’t just inspire nightmares; it resembles one. As victims helplessly flee from unseen assailants, l... Read more »| 04 Nov 2014 -
Art
First Person: Twisting the System
Liverpool’s Syndrome events programme experiments with the relationship of performance and technology. As they launch the third phase – exploring ‘Post-Humanities and Techno-Genesis’ – director Nathan Jones discusses his own conception of the ‘post-human’ Read more »| 04 Nov 2014