The House of Harley is a place where few words are spoken, but we like to make them count…

Comics and art

• The Secret History of Jane – review of a Cartoon Museum talk about The Daily Mirror‘s wartime heroine
• Defining Art, Creating the Canon: Artistic Value in an Era of Doubt by Paul Crowther – the importance of truth, beauty and judgement

Music

• Is modern music rubbish? – my contribution to a panel debate at the Battle of Ideas festival 2024 (video)
• The Fallen by Dave Simpson – a critical take on a journalist’s quest to interview all former members of The Fall
• See also early issues of The Sound Projector magazine, for which I contributed articles on the singer/songwriter Daniel Johnston, Brian Wilson’s Smile, the Blue Oyster Cult, the Monkees, the Church of Euthanasia, the joys of modern chart music, and more.

Television and movies

• The Shield v The Wire – the two best cop shows of the 21st century battle it out
• George W. Mackey? – more on The Shield, and why it’s a mistake to view it through the lens of Bush-era anti-capitalist politics
• Grindhouse – Tarantino and Rodriguez’s underrated tribute to trash cinema
• The Cut Price Comedy Show – the Channel 4 series that history forgot
• Lazytown – public health campaigners get their hands on children’s TV
• Doctor Who in the 21st Century – the travesty of the ‘sad’ Dalek and more
• The Culture Show – the BBC’s misguided attempt to model an arts show on Top Gear

Books

• Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico – mini-review of a short-story
• Consumer Kids: How Big Business is Grooming our Kids for Profit by Ed Mayo & Agnes Nairn – liberal fears magnified through the lens of child protection

Politics

• The story of climate change – reflections on science and the media, from 2008