Categories
James Poole reflection

New Order – bridging NYC and MCR

Walk down any street in Williamsburg, and your odds of passing somebody wearing a Joy Division T-shirt are pretty high. Admittedly, I’ve done my time in helping this cause – but it does sometimes feel that Joy Division are the unofficial mascots for Williamsburg. I frequently make the point that New York and Manchester have […]

Categories
James Poole reflection

2012: The Second Summer of Madchester

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 […]

Categories
James Poole recommendations reflection

‘To Each…’, a Factory classic

My daily commute takes me from Manhattan out to deepest, darkest New Jersey, taking in the industrial wasteland bordering Newark airport, before finally landing in the greenery of ‘The Garden State’. The journey takes me through East Orange. And so, as I sat in my car last week, surrounded by SUVs, pick-up trucks, and knackered […]

Categories
James Poole reflection

Fac 501: Tony Wilson

A post from earlier in the week, about DJing in Berlin, was ostensibly about the enduring love that people of a certain age, and born in a certain geographic location, have for the music of Manchester. Anyone who has been a semi-regular visitor to this site, or who has ever set foot near to one […]

Categories
James Poole recommendations

They still matter

My love of BBC 6 Music is no secret. I practically punched the sky when news of the stay of execution broke earlier in the year. It’s a radio station which I feel is almost designed for me. A breakfast show which will play A Certain Ratio, Stevie Wonder, The Who and Led Zeppelin? Yes, […]

Categories
James Poole

Beyond eleven

Loud concerts can sometimes be bloody wonderful. Case #1: the Happy Mondays during their ‘we reformed for tax purposes’ gigs at the Brixton Academy. Bloody marvellous. They were a complete shambles on stage. Never ones to be known for their musical prowess – it didn’t matter. They made up for it – as they did […]

Categories
James Poole recommendations

The best band you’ve never heard of

You’ve probably missed this. My guess is that the music press is barely going to take notice. The NME won’t be screaming a headline, celebrating the tenth studio album of one of the most outstanding contributors to British music over the last 30 years. It’ll go without note – just as the majority of their […]

Categories
James Poole recommendations

Civic pride

Manchester. I’m not from there, but I still feel a tremendous sense of pride towards the city. Yes, it’s a great place to live, it’s got more decent pubs than an alcoholic could get around in a week, and it’s cheap. But it’s the music that counts. Last night I DJ’d at an event in […]