Teenage students, brandishing neo-fascist banners, protested this week outside Rome’s Giulio Cesare high-school. The object of their protest? The latest novel, ‘Sei come Sei‘ (roughly translated as ‘you are what you are’) by one of Italy’s most respected contemporary novelists, Melania G. Mazzucco – winner of the 2003 Premio Strega; more specifically the students were protesting […]
Bruce Springsteen tipped his hat to local girl Lorde, when he played an unaccompanied acoustic folk version of her worldwide hit Royals during his show at Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium (1st of March 2013).
Against Me’s Transgender Dysphoria Blues is a bold (and brave) artistic statement, and from the infectious opening drum shuffle and guitars of the title track it’s quickly clear that it has the musical muscle to back up the gender politics. It’s quite extraordinary, combining what has become a jaded musical genre (US punk-pop) with a […]
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter divides opinion at the Monkeys, but she gets full marks for using her position and profile to contribute a meaningful, simple and eloquent stance on gender equality in the just published Shriver Report. The report, called A Woman’s Nation Pushes Back from the Brink, published in partnership with the Center for American Progress, […]
As part of a series of interviews on the theme of the European Union, we talked (via email) to Paul Murphy, Socialist Party MEP for Dublin. Murphy has served in the European Parliament since 2011. He sits on the International Trade Committee, and has been fiercely critical of what he describes as the big business […]
Alter Bridge, the band that sprang out of the ashes of Creed, have quietly but insistently placed themselves to the forefront of American rock over the course of the last ten years and four albums, culminating in this year’s release Fortress which garnered rave reviews and sold over 300,000 copies in its first week alone […]
It was an iconic moment, when on the 16th of November Nina De Chiffre grasped a young policeman’s head and planted a kiss on his riot helmet during a No Tav protest in the Italian Susa Valley. The protests against the high-speed rail line have been ongoing for years now, and have seen both protesters […]
Iron and Wine, Calexico, Kathleen Edwards, and the indefatigable Glen Hansard perform a truly beautiful festive cover version of The Pogues classic The Fairytale of New York, live on the Jimmy Fallon show. Don’t let the fact that they beeped out ‘Faggot’ from the tune, or Edwards ‘my aawse’ delivery put you off. It’s a […]
Asaf Avidan is no longer just big news in Israel, where he has had a number of top selling albums. With his unique soul-filled voice Avidan, the Israeli born singer-songwriter, has now come to the attention of audiences worldwide – in part thanks to the massive hit single One Day / Reckoning Song (Wanklemut remix), […]
Vandaveer, the American alt-folk band/project fronted by songwriter Mark Charles Heidinger, first captured our hearts here at TMO with Resurrection Mary, a glorious acoustic turn that’s like a masterclass in how to take some staple elements (acoustic guitar, harmonies, a ghost story) and shake them up into something fresh, charged (sexually and emotionally), and truly […]
