The Second Coming is here

So Robbie’s back. And he’s brought Jesus with him.
I have long wondered about his general worldview; he was always the show-man, always the entertainer, but some of his lyrics were pain-filled and searching. In 2002’s Feel, he cried out:
I sit and talk to God
And he just laughs at my plans…
… I need to feel real [...]

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Addicted

One of the rarest delights I enjoy in life is discovering a new band. This is something I put effort into; I listen to perhaps 100 new bands a year, if at the rate of 2 a week, more if I’ve purchased the latest edition of Hot Press. However it is very seldomly, say once [...]

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Oxegen 2009

Below are the acts I saw at Oxegen.
* denotes having gone to only a partial set.
Friday
Dirty Epics
Priscilla Ahn
The Coronas*
Jape
Lily Allen
Mogwai
Snow Patrol
Blur
Saturday
The Saw Doctors
The Gaslight Anthem
The Saturdays
Regina Spektor
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Elbow
Crystal Castles*
Doves
Kings of Leon
Sunday
Ocean Colour Scene
Phenomenal Handclap Band
Rarely Seen Above Ground*
Fever Ray*
Lady GaGa
White Lies
Katy Perry
Jason Mraz
Glasvegas
Camera Obscura*
Manic Street Preachers
My personal highlights were, chronologically, Jape, Blur, Regina Spektor, [...]

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Down with the Kids

Bass pounding the floor, guitar screaming, 1000 fingers pointed at the rafters, excited voices yelling:
Lost and insecure,
You found me
Lying on the floor,
Surrounded.
Why’d you have to wait?
Where were you?
Only possible at The Fray concert in Dublin.
I\’ll admit that I was surprised at the crowd they drew in. I discovered the Fray months [...]

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Bi-monthly Narcissistic Round-up

So I finally updated my accompanying Films, Books and Music pages, and here is the run-down accordingly:
In Films, I have changed the format to cut down on my comments, and instead give a rating. I’d rather spend my time watching films than writing about them.
In Music, I’ve updated to what’s currently playing on my iPod. [...]

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Wanted: One Irish Upbringing

Tonight I spent a marvellous evening at a charity fundraising concert, The Swell Season & Friends at Vicar Street. I went to hear Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, and I came back with some thoughts to chew on:
One, what exactly it is about the Irish culture that is unique. Now I [...]

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Music & Film Update

I updated my Music page – keeping up to date with what’s playing on my iPod. New artists this month include Death Cab, Arcade Fire, Damien Rice and Josh Ritter.
I also added a Films page; I am wearing my heart on my sleeve by revealing my DVD collection, commonly known as the window to [...]

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Film Me in the Beard

This weekend I ended up watching no less than four films (happily, none by myself), so I thought I would share my opinions, for a change. These aren’t spoilers, read away.

The Darjeeling Limited

The Darjeeling Limited is an odd pseudo-comedy featuring Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman as estranged brothers on a train journey [...]

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Juno

Go see this.

Then go buy this.

Official Juno site
Juno myspace

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Graveyard Shift

So here I am, 04.25, supervising the prayer room, letting people and and out, making sure the place doesn’t burn down, that kind of thing. Been here since 11, leaving at 9. I’m getting kind of hungry actually, maybe some cereal will be in order in a while. It’s also pretty cold, there’s a noisy [...]

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