All posts tagged: Essay

The Jamboree Bag

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Hello 2016. Hello New Year’s resolutions. What do I take on this time?, I asked myself when I toasted the old year goodbye. Well, I don’t know if I’m honest. Of course, there’s these things I always put on my mental list for the last odd years: Work out more. Keep friendships nice and healthy. Phone this old friend of mine. Start a short course at uni. Get more magazine coverage. Learn another language. Safe up some money and visit Japan with the girl. Learn to make the perfect flat white. Shoot more film. Go surfing in the Hebrides. Nothing too hard to achieve and all entirely within my reach. But let’s face it. Come February and half of the good intentions, plans and ideas go out the window somehow. And that shouldn’t be that of a big deal, really. As much as I love setting new goals and future achievements, life all too often has something else planned for us. There’s enough of the moments you pretty much can’t predict. It’s the things that come to you or …

The Show Must Go On

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Like so many, I was extremely moved by the emotional interview with the Eagles of Death Metal that surfaced yesterday. So here’s the short comment I wrote for TMRW over here.   While we’re all still shocked about what happened in Paris two weeks ago and with some emotional wounds only healing slowly, we don’t fail to be amazed by stories of human kindness and positivity in times of pain and tragedy once more. Think of the generous people opening their doors to strangers in need, cities showing solidarity by cladding their famous monuments with the French tricolore or the blindfolded Parisian Muslim man asking for people’s trust with a heartfelt embrace. Yeah, in times like these, it’s no wonder that we’re desperately looking for the good in others and assuring ourselves why it’s worth it to fight for a free society. Another one of these paradigms to not shy away from the terror and stand our ground is the heartbreaking VICE interview with the Eagles of Death Metal, the band that played the Bataclan club until …

Age 33: The End of Music Discovery?

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This might sound strange, but are you tired of browsing new music yet? No? Well maybe you’re still young enough to keep the ball rolling. As this new study suggests, people around 33 kinda lose interest and stop listening to new music. And even though the survey’s based on a rather tight framework – only featuring US-Spotify users in 2014 – it’s still interesting to apply that assumption to your own habits. First off: I’m not 33. But I can’t really see why I shouldn’t go on trying to find new music to keep things fresh and interesting. Sometimes I’m so so fed up with my digital playlists and the small but mighty bunch of records, my ears are simply itching for new stuff to float in. And to be honest, with streaming services popping up here and there, it has never been easier to get your hands on yet undiscovered tunes, given the algorithms deliver it straight to the doormats of us lazy people out there. So what’s the reason for people to stop listening …