Gary Lightbody doesn’t like bloggers. He wasn’t too impressed with my ‘i’m blogging this’ t-shirt. So he took my camera from my hands and took this photo of himself, Ian Archer and me: Later Stuart Bailie, Terri Hooley, Gary Lightbody and Joe Echo sang Gloria by Van Morrison: This was followed by a set by [...]

I first listened to Bruce Springsteen‘s Nebraska album a few weeks ago. I tried hard to like it, but I just couldn’t. Each track has a story, more often than not quite a sad story, but the style of the album isn’t for me. However, that doesn’t really matter. What is important is that each [...]

Having realised that I’m spending at least £20 topping up my phone each month and getting very little beyond txts for that cost I thought it was time to get a contract. I went for the £25/ month deal with O2 – 200mins, 200 txts. Its not much more than what I was spending and [...]

Show 6 of Imeall Geal – Irish language music and culture show. I didn’t spend any time in the studio during recording so I can’t comment on how it went, or how much crap they talked in the links – all I know is that the two acts who performed are superb. I have been [...]

That time of year once more. Lets ignore it. Thankfully there is plenty going on in Belfast this evening to keep me occupied. The Knights of the Round Table are holding their usual jam packed night of fun with music from Kitty and the Can Openers, Serpentine Smile and Autorun plus plenty of extras including [...]

The shortlists for the blog awards were released yesterday. A lot of fine blogs about. I have been shortlisted for best photoblog. This year there are a few others from Northern Ireland to be shortlisted: Goodonpaper (Best Designed Blog) No Clarity (Best Arts and Culture Blog) Stuart Bailie (Best Music Blog) Alan in Belfast (Best [...]

That mountain over yonder always look appealing. I often stare at it from my work on the 9th floor, I stare at it when I’m walking in the street and on the bus. Its always there, just outside the city, looking all natural, vast and full of nature – yet I never get very close [...]

I wouldn’t normally be one to be too negative about things that try to bring arts, culture and music of Northern Ireland to the forefront of traditional media, such as television, but sometimes it just doesn’t work. Who am I kidding, in N.I. most ideas like this don’t work. Then again it is the BBC [...]

Here is the message I was greeted with via instant message when I arrived home yesterday evening: J – im sitting here reading, and i quote “The fund has already started for my MACbook!” J – DUDE J – wtf? J – wwwwwwwtttttttttffffffffffffff J – tyin u up to a life of apple that. unservicable [...]

I am always in search of gig guides, and to know where my favourite bands are without having to launch their Myspace page. The answer came to me a couple of weeks ago. Sceptical at first, assuming it was just another web 2.0 hopeful, I turned out to be quite wrong once I delved into [...]