Punk musicians have a bit of a stereotype: the slacker, the alcoholic or the drug-addict, the guy who’s more interested in getting laid than in sophisticated pursuits. That’s why it can be a bit of a shock to find out that some of those musicians are actually highly educated and Read more…
Choosing a band name is a big deal, and changing it later on is an even bigger deal. So a lot of bands will choose a name that has a specific meaning to them. Perhaps it’s a reference to another band, like The Beatles, or literally a lyric from another Read more…
This is a pretty simple question with a weirdly complicated answer. And I will say now that the song you probably think is officially the shortest song ever… well, I don’t think it actually is. Shortest ever charting song Before we get on to the actual shortest song, let’s begin Read more…
An Easter Egg is a hidden reference or message in a piece of media. Normally easter eggs are hidden in things like tv and movies, like how Disney hides hidden mickeys in a lot of their shows and films. The original name comes from, maybe unsurprisingly, Easter Eggs! The original Read more…
What is Doom metal and how is it different from Sludge metal? Well, both are heavy metal, both are played generally at a slower tempo, and with distorted and ‘thick’ guitar sounds. So what actually makes them different from each other? In fact, IS there a difference between them? Before Read more…
Every year there are arguments caused by certain Christmas songs. The annual ‘They’ve ruined Fairytale of New York by removing the gay slur’ crowd seem to start up earlier and earlier every year. And since the uproar about ‘Baby it’s Cold Outside’ a few years ago, interest in the song Read more…
Reading Festival 2010 was a big deal for me. For one thing, it was the first time I had camped at a music festival for a full weekend, and for another, I didn’t go to the festival with my usual crowd. I went with some school friends, and none of Read more…
Devil Horns. It is a gesture that is intrinsically linked with heavy metal music. Let’s do a test: try imagining a metalhead at a gig. We’re they a long-haired white guy in a Slayer T-shirt? Probably. Did you automatically imagine them throwing horns? Almost definitely. Done by making a fist Read more…
Recently I made a blog post answering the question ‘Is Slipknot Satanic’. As a fan of the band, I think that it is clear what the band does and doesn’t stand for. However, I totally understand that for someone outside of the scene, Slipknot may indeed seem like the Devil-worshipping Read more…
The idea of music festivals didn’t really exist before the mid 20th century. Outdoor concerts took place but they aren’t exactly the same, usually being either classical or military music. Not much crowd-surfing going at an orchestral performance of Mozart. The Glastonbury Festival in 1970 was not the first music Read more…