Songs In The Key Of : 1

Turning alphabetical order into sort-of numerical for this episode of In The Key Of. Once – Laura Marling Once I Was – MG Boulter One And Only – Barenaked Ladies One Angry Dwarf And 200 Solemn Faces -Ben Folds Five One Day At A Time – Blue Rose Code One Good Reason – Lucy Kaplanski […]

The Year of The Mouse

So, 2014? That’ll be a year I’ll not forget in a hurry. It was a year that started with an encounter with a mouse and, despite all of the good things that took place, remains characterised by a sort of skittish anxiousness. In April, The Moon King was published. People came to the launches and were […]

Songs In The Key Of : C

This week’s random meander through my music files throws up a bunch of interesting bands with an apparent fixation on the subjects of charm, chemicals, children and choices. It’s: Songs In The Key Of: C(h) Charm Of The Dangerous Minx – Filthy Boy Charmed Life – The Divine Comedy Chemotherapy – Call To Mind Chemtrails – Beck […]

Songs In The Key Of : B

Continuing the return of the alphabetical trawl through the contents of my phone, one of the things I like is the way the titles stack up to almost tell a story. Anyway, here’s: Songs In The Key Of: B Backyard Skulls – Frightened Rabbit Baddow – Animal Noise Barton Hollow – The Civil Wars Bats In The Attic […]

The Return Of Songs In The Key Of: A

Doing a bit of blog archaeology recently reminded me of an occasional feature that I used to throw out in the hope of sharing a few music suggestions (without putting in the effort of actually writing a review or anything). It’s a snapshot of what happens to be in my musical sphere on any given […]

Book Week Scotland

In case you didn’t know (and how could you not know, don’t you pay attention to anything?) Book Week Scotland takes place next week, running from Monday 24th to Sunday 30th of November. There are literally tons of book-related events happening all over the country, so go on and get out there and celebrate Scottish books. And if […]

November

November has always been a turn-month for me. The step change from October’s sodden leaf-mould underfoot to starry skins of frost, from autumn to winter. A crisp, glittering month. A month of acknowledgement, of reset, of possibility. Over the years, I’ve done much of my best writing work at this time of the year, and this bright (if […]

Little Shop of Speculations

Really enjoyed my slot at The Speculative Bookshop last night. Great format, lovely audience and ace performances from all the speakers. Never much of a comics person, I nevertheless enjoyed John Lees’ introduction to horror comics and Adam Murphy’s career retrospective, and I’m loving Adam’s Corpse Talk, interviews with dug-up famous people. Leo Glaister provided a hugely […]

Gatsby Club, Sinister Wink, Speculative Bookshop

Got a few Glasgow-based gig type things on the immediate horizon for those that are interested in such things. First up, de Saw & Finkle have a couple of cabaret gigs: On Saturday 27th we’re excited to be appearing at the Gatsby Club’s Worlds Of Tomorrow (7.30pm, Glasgow University Union, £14), which this time around turns its theme […]

Douglas Thompson and me : Scottish Writers Centre

One of the jewels in my already pretty sparkly and jam-packed full Worldcon (seriously it was like a Smaug’s hoard of good stuff), was bumping into fellow Glasgow-writer Douglas Thompson just before he launched his new novel, The Rhymer. This meant that I got to hear him read from what is possibly an genuinely unique enterprise […]