It’s back. What can I say? Real life kind of gets in the way, sometimes. But, on Thursday February 23rd, freethinking nyc is back, back, back. It’s hard to imagine that it’s been nearly a year since the last outing… It’s time to get back behind the decks, and to unleash nearly a year’s worth [...]

I’ll be honest, I’m a bit down on Florence. And her Machine. When I was first introduced to her, and her Machine, I was blown away. My initial reaction was to tweet that I’d just seen the offspring of Siouxsie Sioux, Bjork and Kate Bush up on stage. Her voice was primal – it deserved [...]

So 2012 looks like it’s the summer of Madchester Revisited. Bring it on, I say. While I’ve already waxed lyrical about the Resurrection of the Stone Roses, the news that there are other Manchester heavyweights getting back on the road is ‘banging’, as MC Tunes might have had it. It’s not the first reformation for [...]

Where is Matt Deighton? He should be one of the UKs most celebrated singer/song-writers, but instead he’s Missing In Action. His recording career has seen him cover a huge territory, from soulful pop to full-on psychedelic rock through to acid-tinged funk. The common thread is about as English as a pint of bitter – folk, [...]

The perils of writing a ‘best albums of the year’ list are many. First of all, I know that I’ll be missing some albums which probably deserve to make the cut. Last year, for example, while calling out I Am Kloot’s ‘Sky At Night’ as the album of the year (which I still stand resolutely [...]

It’s Christmas. And, have I got a treat for you? Over the last few months, I have – like so many others – become mildly addicted to turntable.fm. For the uninitiated, it’s social networking brought to music. You enter a ‘room’, and five DJs take it in turns to play music. Play the wrong track, [...]

Think of music from Bristol, and I dare you – I double dare you – to not think of Massive Attack. I certainly can’t help it. The reaction is totally involuntary – the place and the band being as deeply connected in my mind as Radiohead to Oxford, The Boss with New Jersey, and, er, [...]

My recent posts have been pretty much Manchester-dominated. I was just about to add to this, by writing about The Fall. But, I don’t think that I’m living true to the freethinking philosophy. It’s about blurring boundaries, and not letting one theme dominate. So, let’s turn to Detroit. Let’s turn to pop music. Let’s talk [...]

Even the most casual reader of these pages will know that I’m a bit of an Elbow fan. I feel that I need to put that out there straight from the off, so you know what you’re dealing with, here. That said, I’ve largely held back on commentary around ‘Build A Rocket Boys!’, save for [...]

My last post was about The Stone Roses: a Manchester band which left a mark so deep on our cultural landscape that you can probably see it from space. At the other end of the scale, a band which made barely a dent, but one from the same time and same place as The Stone [...]

You remember where you were when you heard about Princess Diana’s unfortunate demise. Or, where you were as tragedy unfolded on 9/11. Or, if you’re a certain age, where you were when you heard that JFK had been shot. For me, I add another to the list: I remember where I was when The Stone [...]

Strap yourself in for this. Here’s your new favourite track, by your new favourite band. When a band comes out of nowhere with a tune of this calibre, it makes you realise that there was a void in the musical landscape. I’m talking about perfect, infectious pop – completely nailed with polish and a swagger [...]