Only a filmmaker as distinguished and divinely gifted as Errol Morris could deliver a documentary portrait of Robert Mc Namara, one-time dread architect of the Vietnam War, which might rightly be described as oddly romantic.
Massive Attack explain why they are outspoken opponents of the proposed war in Iraq, give high praise to Sinéad O’Connor and reveal how a porn soundtrack left them gasping for airtime.
There is no such thing as a War On Terrorism. It is not possible to wage war on an idea or an activity. War is waged against military forces or against people or even against States
The US-led ‘War on Terror’ has officially extended its scope to east African territory. But will this make the world a safer place or merely stoke the flames of Islamic extremism?
Unintentionally funniest meeja moment of the year came when Eoghan Harris attacked Fintan O’Toole and Robert Fisk in the Sunday Independent directly beneath the logo “War On Terror”
Criminologist and author of The Irish War On Drugs, Paul O'Mahony was one of the few voices of reason in the recent, hugely impressive Prime Time report on the subject.
Banned by the Iraquis and ribbed for “liberating” Kabul, veteran foreign correspondent John Simpson is one of the world’s most recognisable journalists. “I want people to think of me as a little bit like a grenade with the pin out,” he insists
The Coalition blitzkrieg on Iraq is part of a wider “war on terror.” says George Bush. To justify this claim, he and Tony Blair made one feeble attempt at being as hard on the causes of terror as on terror itself, when they collaborated with the UN, the EU and Russia to publish what they called the Middle East ‘road map’.
Robert Fisk is one of the most insightful war correspondents on the planet, his reports from Iraq and elsewhere the scourge of spindoctors, warmongers and tin-pot dictators alike. Craig Fitzsimons finds him on the frontline.
CINEMA ATTRACTS more over-the-top descriptions than most artistic media: we apply the words ‘hard-hitting’ and ‘harrowing’ to practically any film that shows us things we don’t want to see, no matter how trivial the context.
Neutrality, being less demanding than pacifism seems to mean whatever we want it to mean. But, argues, The Whole Hog, if we are totally opposed to war it behoves us to find other ways to help liberate the people of Iraq
Misleadingly pitched as 'Die Hard in a POW camp' thanks to the presence of Bruce Willis, Hart's War is actually a thoughtful if undeniably plodding drama
There may be growing opposition to the impending war in Iraq, but the British and American governments seem unwilling to learn from their predecessors’ mistakes.
Exiled in America when war erupted in his hometown of Sarajevo, author Aleksandar Hemon taught himself to speak and write english – with stunningly powerful results. Portrait Mick Quinn
So what does the arab world really make of Saddam Hussein and the threat of war? En route to Baghdad, Peter Matthews stops off in Amman, Jordan and hears the word on the street.
Righting political wrongs is all very well and fine, but what Mark Thomas enjoys most is
fucking people right off. except Paul Nolan that is who talks to him about his new stand-up show, A Minor Celebrity Discusses War Crimes
As the world gears up for a war in which US president George Bush has said the use of nuclear weapons cannot be ruled out in the event of Iraqi chemical attacks, Aideen Sheehan speaks to a survivor of the world’s first a-bomb attack in Hiroshima.
Just returned from his latest visit to Baghdad, Labour TD Michael D. Higgins reports on an already embattled people braced for more suffering – and argues that there is a moral imperative to oppose the proposed war
An 83-year-old woman says that she suffered shock and extensive bruising as a result of police action at an anti-war protest outside the Dail last week.
It’s been three years since Tipper released a single on his own Fuel label and ‘Tug Of War’ is a great come back record. A mish-mash of amazing sub-bass antics, percussive workouts and even some of the producer’s car stereo fixated test tones, it’s a brilliant return to form.
If there’s a central problem with War Stories, it’s that at times it strays too close to rock orthodoxy and loses the offbeat stylistic flourishes that made Unkle such an exciting proposition to begin with.
A veteran of conflicts in Nicaragua, Somalia, Lebanon, Rwanda, Algeria and the former Yugoslavia, Lara Marlowe is currently best known to readers in Ireland for her compelling and humane reports from Baghdad for the Irish Times. On the eve of what was being billed as a potentially decisive battle for the city, she spoke to Peter Murphy by satellite phone about war and journalism, her personal circumstances and why she believes the invasion of Iraq could still end in catastrophe
Joe Jackson talks to Apres Match’s Risteard Cooper, currently starring in the Abbey’s production of Frank McGuinness’ acclaimed First World War play, Observe The Sons Of Ulster Marching Towards The Somme.
Dublin anarcho-pop five-piece The Camembert Quartet have just released their debut album Music Is War, but with song titles such as 'Boybands Are C**ts' it's unlikely they'll be joining westlife on tour
One by-product of the technological revolution is an increase in state surveillance. Sweeping new EU powers invoked in the 'war against terror' may sound the death-knell for our communications privacy
WITH ITS RESOUNDING ECHOES OF THE TROUBLES, THE WAR BETWEEN THE BASQUE SEPARATIST GROUP ETA AND THE SPANISH STATE REMAINS BLOODY AND SEEMINGLY INTRACTABLE. WITH HIS FIRST BOOK, DIRTY WAR, CLEAN HANDS, IRISH JOURNALIST PADDY WOODWORTH PRESENTS A COMPELLING BUT OFTEN HARROWING ACCOUNT OF HOW VIOLENCE DEFEATS POLITICS AND TERROR BEGETS TERROR. AND, REFLECTING ALSO ON HIS OWN PAST POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT WITH SINN FÉIN, HE TELLS JOE JACKSON HOW HE HAS COME AROUND TO THE VIEW THAT TALKING IS ALWAYS BETTER THAN WAR. AUTHOR PORTRAITS: CATHAL DAWSON.
What a fucking hoopla. Between Tom Cruise aggressively marketing his forthcoming merger with Katie Holmes and the furore surrounding Paramount’s preposterous (and frankly unethical) embargo on the appearance of film reviews prior to War Of The Worlds’ day-and-date planetary release, by now, odds are you’ve heard all about Mr. Spielberg’s latest venture.
Mundy's Vicar St. performance on June 19 has been cancelled to make way for the Anti-War gig, which is being moved from The Point to the more centrally located venue.
Tara Blaise has landed a key role in the stage musical of The War Of The Worlds. The Irish songstress, who released her widely-praised debut album Dancing On Tables Barefoot last year will play the part originally performed on the hugely successful album by Julie Covington.
Prayer as the best remedy for pre-menstrual tension? So says one of Bush’s boys as misogyny stalks the US establishment. Plus: the passing of the great writer and activist Howard Fast.
For those who thought that treading water was no way to dismantle an atomic bomb, and that when added together X and Y amounted to nothing much at all, over the horizon some long-awaited ballast is about to arrive.
Wayne Coyne prefers a white suit to a white hat, but make no mistake; At War With The Mystics is one hell of a heroic and defiant album.
As the war in Afghanistan grinds mercilessly on, it has become increasingly clear: the rules have long been forgotten, as much by the Americans and the British as by their Northern Alliance allies.
Ireland's position in all of this is, frankly, shameful
Coldplay's Viva La Vida is likely to see the end of its current reign at the top of the Irish charts as U2 release re-mastered versions of their classic albums Boy, October and War.
One of the problems of working for a fortnightly publication is that events can so easily overtake you. Right now, on Monday 9th October, the stark reality is that the Middle East is on the brink of all-out war. By the time you read this, Israel may have forced the region over that brink, potentially plunging Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Libya and the Lebanon, as well as Palestine, into a full-scale conflict.
In Scotland, environmentalists are sabotaging genetically modified crops; in Ireland, activists are calling for a major day of action on the same front. As the battle-lines in the genetech war become ever more defined, ADRIENNE MURPHY hears the views of both sides.
In Scotland, environmentalists are sabotaging genetically modified crops; in Ireland, activists are calling for a major day of action on the same front. As the battle-lines in the genetech war become ever more defined, ADRIENNE MURPHY hears the views of both sides.
As George W. Bush’s visit to Ireland looms large on the horizon and ceremonial and security preparations go into the final phase, a different kind of welcome is being prepared elsewhere...
Reporting from the frontline of the Palestine-Israel conflict has convinced RTÉ’s Richard Crowley that the spiral of violence is likely to continue. But it is wrong to believe that the blame is equal.
Madness, madness, war. Spin that globe and wonder. We live in murderous and turbulent times. The most awful century known to history is drawing to a close in much the same way as it dawned.
Joe Jackson talks to Elizabeth Moynihan, star of the Gate’s new production of Lady Windermere’s Fan, the classic Oscar Wilde play, which, in its new 1947 setting, explores the social mores of the upper classes in post-war London.
Unpalatable truths about the 'war against terror' - and Ireland's involvement – will be revealed during the trial of Eoin Dubsky, the young Wexford man who spraypainted a US war plane refuelling in Shannon
Former war correspondent Ed O'Loughlin talks about tackling such epic subjects as Irish male identity and the pernicious influence of egotistical journalists on third world reporting.
Annual article: War, famine, pestilence, plague and death...it’s been a cheerful 2005. Here is the Hot Press summary of the events that shook the world.
When the Dixie Chicks came out against the Iraq war, they were accused of being "un-American”. Colm O’Hare hears how the country rebels survived their own desert storm
UFOs, sunken Civil War forts and songs about Van Gogh’s severed ear are all subjects liable to come up when in conversation with WARREN DEFEVER from Michigan-based eclecticists his naME IS ALIVE. Interview: Nick Kelly.
The bombing of Serbia is not about the fate of Kosovar Albanians. Rather, the colossal NATO military machine has been unleashed to establish the right of the United States, as the sole remaining superpower, to impose its will on the world.
By EAMONN McCANN. Pics Courtesy: The Star
Keiji Nakazawa, the godfather of Japanese ‘anime’ art, was six when the atomic bomb devastated his Hiroshima home. It was a tragedy that would haunt him for life, and inspire his fiercely anti-war comics
Whether it's a four-minute love song about a caress that lasts ten seconds, a journey through the universe in a silver plane or a simple escape form war, Air promise that you'll never have a bad trip with their music. Danielle Brigham talks to Jean-Benoit Dunckel, one half of the enigmatic French duo.
Joe Jackson talks to Arthur Riordan, author of Improbable Frequency, the hit musical comedy which examines Ireland’s neutrality during the Second World War in humorous and insightful fashion.
Joe Jackson talks to Arthur Riordan, author of Improbable Frequency, the hit musical comedy which examines Ireland’s neutrality during the Second World War in humorous and insightful fashion.
It may well be wall to wall war on our tv screens but for all the
spectacular images and crazed punditry, we’re getting very little sense of
the truly brutal reality of violent conflict. Jonathan O’Brien found it
elsewhere
For the indigenous peoples of Central America, peace does not always mean prosperity. Nowhere is this more true than in Guatemala, where even ten years after the end of a brutal civil war, the wounds remain raw.
Dundalk-born director John Moore has produced one of the most gung-ho portrayals of the US military in recent cinema history in behind enemy lines, yet Craig Fitzsimons discovers a film-maker who finds flag-waving unacceptable
One of the few people who might be happier at the end of the year than the beginning is Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf who was the Iraqi regime’s spin-doctor and publicist during the war.
Michael Franti is mad and he wants you to know about it. To demonstrate the fraught condition of the world, he’s even gone to the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones to make a movie.
Recorded in six days and rushed out – first on the ‘net and now as an album release proper – Neil Young’s 32nd album is without a doubt his most controversial. It certainly doesn’t get any more direct than ‘Let’s Impeach The President’ (“for lyin’ and misleading his country to war”), the key track here and the one that’s drawn him the most flak from predictable quarters in the US.
In the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks, a growing number, including respected foreign correspondent Robert Fisk, are starting to ask uncomfortable questions about September 11 and the War on Terror it provoked.
Even if the Peace Agreement is accepted it might not work and will almost certainly result in the alienation of many northern citizens. The politicians, however, will have us believe that a No vote would automatically mean a return to all-out war. Eamonn McCann thinks otherwise. Pics: PETER MATTHEWS
Michael Franti has taken a personal stand against George Bush by leading a peace delegation to the Middle East. Now back in the States where he’s vigorously campaigning against the president, he talks to Danielle Brigham about his experiences in two of the world’s most deadly war zones.
Having survived invasion, war and the repressive taliban regime, Fatana Gailani is continuting her courageous fight for equality for women in Afghanistan. Phil Udell hears her story.
THE WAR between the sexes certainly seems to be dominating Dublin stages these days. In The Mai at the Peacock, the male character is slowly marginalised, and in Refugees at the Eblana, the man exists only as an object of mockery, whose prick has been removed by his wife’s knife.
THE WAR between the sexes certainly seems to be dominating Dublin stages these days. In The Mai at the Peacock, the male character is slowly marginalised, and in Refugees at the Eblana, the man exists only as an object of mockery, whose prick has been removed by his wife’s knife.
Between the unattractive alternatives of the Belfast Agreement and a return to war, there has to be a new way forward for the Republican movement. So says former IRA man and respected Republican TOMMY McKEARNEY. Interview: EAMONN McCANN
PICS: CATHAL DAWSON
From Dublin to Hollywood and from hanging around in Ballykissangel to hanging out with Al, Bruce and Tom, actor Colin Farrell is making the most of life as 'the next big thing'. "I'm a lucky bastard," he tells Craig Fitzsimons
KATHRYN BIGELOW is one of the few women directors to break through the glass ceiling in Hollywood. What’s more, she makes action movies of a kind not normally associated with ‘girls’. The release of her latest meisterwerk, The Hurt Locker, an extraordinary movie about the activities of a US Army bomb disposal unit in the war in Iraq, sees her being tipped as a contender come Oscar season next year.
Following the sudden death of his girlfriend in the early ’90s, traumatised US writer Bill Carter took off for the unlikely destination of war-torn Sarajevo. Whilst there, he established a series of satellite link-ups with U2’s Zooropa tour, which still rank among the most divisive and controversial moments of the band’s career. Despite the subsequent media fallout, an unconsummated affair with an indian supermodel, and several brushes with death, Bill Carter has lived to tell his extraordinary tale.
When The Wind That Shakes The Barley, Ken Loach’s dramatisation of the Irish War of Independence, won the Palme D’Or at Cannes last month, it triggered a vociferously hostile response from right wing British pundits, who branded the director as a terrorist-sympathising Commie. Few of them, however, had actually seen the film.
Bloodied but unbowed by press smears, Scottish socialist firebrand George Galloway is one of the most vocal anti-war politicians in Britian. In a characteristically frank interview he discusses Iraq, Abu Ghraib, Resepect, and why Shannon could be considered a terrorist target.
Fresh from winning the IMPAC literary award for his acclaimed novel My Name Is Red, the Turkish writer talks about censorship and self-censorship, east and west, Christianity and Islam and the U.S. versus them. Photography: Roger Woolman
"To tell you the truth, I don’t see myself as being all that interesting or attractive." that being so, Colin Farrell must be one of a very few who doesn’t. Dublin’s latest superstar, famous for cussing, bedding women and (lest we forget) acting, has been inescapable in the gossip columns in recent months. But how much is truth and how much fiction? In this candid interview with Tara Brady, he talks about drink, drugs, football, fame, hype, luck, romance and – in his latest box office winner The Recruit – working with Al Pacino
With their fifth album Push The Button, the Chemical Brothers have replaced big beats and star names with subtlety and even the odd anti-war protest tune.
With a new novel Eclipse published to universal acclaim, the enigmatic Irish writer emerges from the deep gloomy cavern he inhabits to discuss art, sex, love, hate, humour, death and the battle of the sexes. Interview: JOE JACKSON.
Portraits of the author: CATHAL DAWSON
The former editor of the Sunday Tribune on the tough task of replacing Eamon Dunphy in the hottest seat in radio, The Last Word. plus: the Dunph, hook, O’Reilly, war, politics, sport, media, sex, drugs, rock’n’roll and, of course, that much-missed coiffure. Joe Jackson has the first word.
WELL, IT'S obvious, isn't it? The authorities helping the IRA out with their target practice, that is. Doubtless part funded by bodies with a vested interest in at least partially recreating an olde worlde war-time atmosphere. If the message to the IRA is Coo-ee! Over here!, what, then, I wonder is the message to the British public?
James Dean Bradfield on The Cult of Richey, The Spanish Civil War, Jon Bon Jovi, and the new album This Is My Truth, Tell Me Yours. Truth Serum: Peter Murphy. Light Detector Test: Simon Clemenger.
MORE PEOPLE SMOKE IT IN THE UK THAN GO TO CHURCH, THE AMERICAN LAW JUDGES ADMIT THAT IT'S THE SAFEST THERAPEUTICALLY ACTIVE SUBSTANCE KNOWN TO MAN BUT STILL THE WAR AGAINST CANNABIS RAGES ON. OLAF TYARANSEN EXAMINES THE VESTED INTERESTS WHICH STAND IN THE WAY OF ITS LEGALISATION.
At the last count he’s earned the ire of Republicans, Democrats, equality lobbies and
Ed Sullivan, whilst garnering admiring notices from Woody Allen, Steve Martin and
Nelson Mandela. meet former rabbi and czar of un-pc comedy, Jackie Mason.
Mary Robinson's frustration with the obstacles placed in the path of the struggle for human rights reflects a deeper and wider world problem - the spread of a new inTolerance which places profit before people and is even prepared to go to war to defend its supremacy. here, Michael D. Higgins TD makes an impassioned plea for change
That, according to Shane MacGowan, will be the title of his next, and exceedingly long-awaited album. in the meantime there’s Sean Nós, the war, his dad, drink and Celtic football legend Jimmy Johnstone to be going on with.
With his new book, How To Murder A Man, novelist CARLO GÉBLER has written a compelling account of the hatred and animosity that fuelled Ireland's land war of the 19th century. Here, he discusses the ideas behind his work and the motives that drive him, with ADRIENNE MURPHY. Pics: Colm Henry
A mere six months after taking on the role of Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern has been appointed by Kofi Annan as one of four envoys to assist in the reform of the United Nations and the achievement of Millennium Development Goals. Jackie Hayden spoke to him last week in his Dundalk office about this key appointment, as well as a range of key issues including the war in Iraq, political bribery, Shannon refuelling stops, Gerry Adams and the IRA, our immigration policy, the Health service, his real hopes for the Peace Process and the influence of Dave Fanning on his musical tastes. Photography by Emily Quinn.
Massage parlours? Escort agencies? The sex industry is nothing new in Dublin – once upon a time, in one small part of the city, there were over 1,500 “poor, unfortunate girls” servicing clients (including King Edward and James Joyce) and being terrorised by madams. Until, that is, the Legion Of Mary came along. Billy Scanlan investigates the history of the battle for the soul of the city’s once infamous red-light district
In which Olaf Tyaransen comes face to face with a raging bull, declares war on the neighbourhood dogs and undergoes the Thai rite of passage that is surviving a motorbike accident.
Until recently one of the ultimate indie cult bands, The Flaming Lips have survived the ravages of heroin, acid and a hunting trip with William Burroughs. Now, their new album At War With The Mystics finds them taking their funky psychedelia to strange new places – including the upper reaches of the charts for the first time. Could it be that their moment has finally come? Interviews: Craig Fitzsimons (now) and Peter Murphy (then). additional reporting: Stuart Clark, Ed Power and Jackie Hayden
NIALL STANAGE speaks to PHILIP GOUREVITCH, author of a newly published book on the genocide which consumed the African state of Rwanda. PICS : MICK QUINN
You could hardly describe it as just another day at the office when we sent Joe Jackson to talk to the Deputy Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, peter robinson. In a rancorous interview, they still manage to cover the party’s attitude to Catholics, homosexuals, Albert Reynolds, The Pope, the IRA, loyalist paramilitaries – oh and the small matter of an impending civil war. Pix: Colm Henry.
When Siniad O Connor tore up a picture of the pope on the Saturday Night Live television show in the US recently, she unleashed a storm which has been swirling around her ever since, causing her at one point to announce her premature retirement from the music industry. One month on, bruised and weary she may be but Siniad is neither downhearted nor repentant. Having declared war on the Roman Catholic Church she is determined to keep taking the battle to the real enemy. Interview: Niall Stokes.
With paranoia running rampant among US immigration officials in the wake of September 11, even a seemingly straightforward holiday in the land of the free can turn into a Kafka-esque nightmare.
Our annual HP-7 summit brings together some of the pre-eminent movers and shakers in irish music to reflect on everything from backstage catering to the end of war, pestilence and famine. Your host: Stuart Clark.
John Banville places himself among some of the century’s most celebrated and notorious figures, in a frank interview which sees one of Ireland’s most revered and controversial writers musing on the raging battle between high art and popular culture, not to mention the war between the sexes . . . Tape: Joe Jackson Pix: Cathal Dawson
Fleadh Cowboy Pete Cummins lends his weight to the Irish anti-war movement with the release of ‘Flowers In Baghdad’, a reference to the Iraqi blogger Salam Pax who wrote about the lack of colour in the capital since the American invasion.
From Anthony Swofford’s Gulf War I memoir, director Sam Mendes has purposely fashioned a film that closely replicates the experience of being stuck in an eternal stationary queue. Jarhead is a war movie with no combat whatsoever and no real war to speak of.
Every day another outrage. Every day another act of vengefulness and malice. Intimidation. Violence. Shootings. Then murder. The North has seen some desperate times lots of them even more full of doom than this, for sure. But seldom has there been a week of more intense clandestine viciousness than the one we have just been through.
THREE men are murdered in horrific circumstances in the seaside town of Scheveningen in Holland. The descriptions of the torture inflicted on them, and of the final brutal manner of their murder, are harrowing in the extreme. Putty or plaster of some kind, it is reported, had been rammed into the orifices of at least one of them. All three were dowsed in inflammable material and set alight. The bodies are so badly disfigured that they are unidentifiable. To contemplate it, even in the abstract, is enough to stop you in your tracks, to render you speechless at people s unbelievable capacity for evil.
Ever keen to forget their status as the uber-turncoats of Europe (went to war on Germany's side, 1915; changed sides, 1917; went to war on Germany's side, 1940; changed sides, 1943) it's a not-entirely-mysterious fact that Italian fascism is a subject very rarely tackled by Italian cinema, with the notable exception of Fellini's surreal Amacord (1973).
Actor, writer, musician, director, and husband of Angelina Jolie, BILLY BOB THORNTON is currently a very busy man, with one album on release and no less than three movies queueing up at the box-office. All this and he’s constantly on his guard against germs
A terrific boy’s own adventure shot through with Herzog’s deliciously dark wit and Bale’s unnerving rawness, in a season of mind numbing Iraq movies, this is the war film to beat.
what good was rock’n’roll in 2001? No good at all – and yet we couldn’t have got through without it.
Peter Murphy reflects on a year in which some old codgers stood up to be counted and many of us lived “on songs and hope”
UNBELIEVABLY TOUTED in many quarters as a serious contender for Oscars glory, Ride With The Devil – an elegiac Dixie/Western set during the American Civil War – marks a sharp change of territory for its highly-respected director Ang Lee, a man more commonly associated with fine-lined character dramas such as the impeccable Ice Storm.
A cinematic re-enactment of probably the most pivotal event in 20th-century world history - the Battle of Stalingrad - Enemy at the Gates has its occasional moments of considerable war-flick power, and might have even been worthy of respect had the casting not been so self-evidently insane.
Like other, er, distinctive bands such as Clap Your Hands Say Yeah or Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly., the vocal style dictates that Cold War Kids are best taken in bite-size doses.
THAT BREED of cinemagoer known as the war-movie freak will, in all probability, find The Trench a mammoth disappointment. Not enough explosions; not colourful enough; no rousing martial music – no fun at all, really.
IF THE truth be told I'm not normally much of a lad for war movies. I'm generalising here, but they're too long, their scripts tend to stink, there aren't many women to be seen, and I never did dig the sight of human blood in huge quantities.
You know how the perfect curry (stay with me) is made up of a million spices, none of which you can single out? Iowa’s The Envy Corps are the musical equivalent, adding pinches of Cold War Kids, Doves, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and a few others to form a concoction that you’ll get cravings for. ‘Wires And Wool’, a taster for their major-label debut, is a summery tune that straddles undergroundindiecool and throwaway pop in a way that very, very few bands can. Phenomenal.
The vogue for grainy verite and faux-monochrome in the post-Private Ryan war film has become so ubiquitous that one is constantly surprised watching the old-fashioned grammar of Days Of Glory.
And so the transatlantic battle for musical domination continues like some game of long distance ping-pong. This time last year it was all about the Arctic Monkeys, a couple of years ago it was Britpop. Come 2007 and all the buzz is around The Hold Steady, Decemberists and some bunch called Arcade Fire. Most exciting of all, however, are South California’s Cold War Kids. On the heels of last year’s astounding ‘We Used To Vacation’, ‘Hang Me Up To Dry’ is equally memorable, a collision between tight, clipped rhythms and raw, emotion-drenched vocals. Quite stunning, and you can’t help feeling that this is only the beginning.
A pyrrhic victory? Don’t the Manic Street Preachers own the rights to that phrase? Anyhow, London’s most epic rock band return after an extended hiatus, and it’s like the tenner in the pocket you forgot you had: you were fine without it but it’s a surprise and bonus in equal measures. The Smashing Pumpkins-esque lead track ‘War Of The Worlds’ is not quite as melodic as 2000’s ‘Grounded’, nor as driving as ‘Losing Touch’, but the layers are denser and the musicianship even more refined. Elsewhere they cover Martika’s ‘Toy Soldiers’, and ‘ElectroWar’ is a stunning instrumental that’s a textbook example of how to create atmosphere. Superb.
DON'T LET the trailer put you off - David O.Russell's third feature is by some distance the most deceptively radical "war movie" to emerge from Hollywood in my living memory,
The recently released photos of US soldiers torturing Iraqi prisoners confirm that the American war effort was born out of entirely self-serving and hypocritical motives.
As the dust settles on the war in Iraq, the US government are said to have roped in Recording Industry Association Of aAmerica CEO, Hilary Rosen, to help draft copyright law for the new Iraqi administration.
Andrea Corr as the "local girl" who falls for a fiddle player from Liverpool? Yep, when she reignites her acting career to star in romantic musical-comedy the Great Ceili War
Our resident expert on everything, controversially argues that it is vitally important not to decriminalise dope if we are to make any gains in the war for drugs
AFTER THE IRA ended its war, I watched the Last Night Of The Proms, that great musical celebration of all things British past and present. Well, more past than present, since the Empire is gone.
With the cost of war escalating, and public opinion turning against him, George Bush and his administration are turning to the hated UN for help in subjugating Iraq. But they should be asked to withdraw or left to fend for themselves.
Lessons from history can only be a good thing and Loach’s fine-looking Palme D’Or winner works hard to include every possible perspective on the War Of Independence.
Films about the Yugoslav war have tended to prove less than successful in box-office terms over here, but you would be doing yourself a diservice to overlook Danis Tanovic's tense, disquieting thriller
Almost certainly, the wealth of detail provided on the French film industry of the 1940s will keep hardcore buffs enthralled, but for casual viewers this film may be a bit like listening to two old geezers rattling on about the war
Parallels between military action against civilians on Bloody Sunday and President George Bush’s actions, and inaction on September 11 suggest that we’re still getting nothing but the same old story – so far
30th Anniversary Retrospective: Thirty years ago, the USA was engaged in a bloody and illegal war, and led by a discredited President with no compunction about breaking domestic or international law. Sound familiar?
Our war correspondent assesses the geopolitical ramifications of the proposed gulf war with special regard to its likely impact on sales of the new Foghat album
While lacking both the texture and scope of the Channel Four series which inspired it, Stephen Soderbergh's Traffic is an accomplished and intelligent, if flawed examination of the insidious nature of the contemporary drug-trade and America's escalating war on the same.
With plenty of urban anfums contained in their follow up to Ego War, one could draw a comparison with The Streets, but that wouldn’t take into account the worryingly large spectrum of beats, samples, tempos, layers and kitchen sinks musicmeister Tom Dinsdale uses on Generation.
U2 frontman speaks about "the biggest pandemic since the bubonic plague" and urges middle America to use their nation's huge financial power and get involved. "Our age will be remembered," he says, "for three things: the war against terror, the Internet, and how we let an entire continent burst into flames and stood around with water in cans"
Unable to convince as a purveyor of Norah Jones-like smoky jazz (when it’s obvious that Katie Melua doesn’t smoke) or indeed as a jigging teen idol (when it’s obvious she doesn’t dance), tonight the temptation is to dismiss the weird collision of mood-changes on offer here (from anti-war ballads to skat versions of ‘The Love Cats’ to Georgian folk ballads sung in the mother tongue) as a case of talent being spread way, way too thin.
Earle commands protest chops that go back to Guthrie, but he also has the smarts to examine the allure of war, both as boys’ own glamour and last-ditch career option. Most of the songs study the anatomy of soldiery.
Like most of Smith’s music, the album sounds on occasion like the work of a man carrying out a war in his own mind, yet is also tinged with calm and life-affirming joy.
Many songs reflect his usual mix of hope, frustration and weary resignation to life’s injustices.
Religiously, but ill-advisedly, sticking to the Titanic template – right down to a Celine soundalike’s power-ballad over the credits – Michael Bay’s three-hour military epic is a suitably bombastic treatment of one of World War Two’s most infamous incidents – the Japanese bombing of a US naval base.
Many of these gorgeous songs, which are steeped in mournful pedal steel (especially the thematically representative ‘Sex, War and Robots’) and couched in intricate arrangements, deal directly with broken relationships and war.
There’s nothing quite like the warm sense of self-satisfaction gained from watching a 13-hour German art-house movie. Fortunately, this third installment of Herr Weiss’ soap-operatic examination of post-war Germany is a rewarding piece of film-making.
Misanthropic, mischievous but keenly-observed battle epics based around the war of the sexes are LaBute’s speciality, and his latest outing The Shape of Things fits the bill perfectly.
Call it the shitegeist. In times of war and pestilence, art gets decadent, and all we wanna do is dance. Scissor Sisters are a tight little NY combo who apply rock dynamics to disco’s lust for the transcendent dance.
If we can force the Western armies out of Iraq then we will have put a halt to the gallop of those who are using the might of the US military to impose their brute agenda on the world.
Is it credible that the man who commanded the British Army in Iraq never voiced his misgivings about the war to the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair?
Labia reduction operations, emetophilia, bizarre oedipal frictions, open heart surgery, douching, anal anaesthesia, toy soldiers being inserted where no GI has any business to be (unless of course he’s running an Iraqi Prisoner of War camp) – it seems extremely unlikely that Mr. Moodyson’s fourth feature will make the Daily Mail’s compilation of best films this year, but A Hole In My Heart does confirm his rep as one of the most unpredictable transgressors around.
Down in Sandino s, just back from the High Court in London where named Bloody Sunday Paras were looking for anonymity, I had my routine off to a T within hours of the Nato liberators going into Kosovo. But the Paras were too quick for me.
Directed by Michael Moore. Featuring Michael Moore, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, Britney Spears.
110mins. Cert 12pg. Out now.
ven before they take the stage Cold War Kids and Elvis Perkins have insured the joint will hop and then some. Nothing, however, could adequately prepare one for the maniacal surge when Brooklyn’s finest appear.
Imagine stories whispered as you sink into unconsciousness. Imagine rolling rhythms insinuating themselves into the marrow so deep that they never leave. Imagine a song cycle so cohesive it'd take a Glaswegian tug-o-war team to sunder it.
The relative silence of rock stars in relation to Bush’s war on Iraq has been both morally repugnant and revealing. Even Ireland’s officially designated “humanitarians” Geldof and Bono choose to focus more on the issue of Third World Debt...
It is difficult to imagine that anyone on the planet was salivating at the prospect of Liberty Heights - it is, after all, the director's fourth celluloid meditation on Jewish life in post-war Baltimore
The war is over. There are many messages that can be read into the overwhelming endorsement of the Good Friday Agreement on both sides of the Irish border - but that is the most conclusive, and the most welcome.
The link between sacked airport workers in Belfast and Israeli intelligence; and the controversy surrounding Alex Maskey's wreath-laying at the war memorial
A fascinating and affecting time capsule, Vera Drake recalls something of Terence Davis’ work with its nostalgic portrayal of a post-war Britain wherein everyone swaps sad tales of the Blitz, Normandy and National Service.
On the back of five years’ worth of movies that either overtly or covertly address Iraq and the War On Terror, Rendition feels a little late coming out of the starting gates.
IT would be churlish not to begin the new year in a spirit of hope. 1994 saw the most remarkable changes take place in Northern Ireland and after 25 years of war, bloodshed and strife, the paramilitary guns were silenced on both sides of the sectarian divide.
why unionists and nationalists helplessly wring their hands at job losses but go on the offensive over a city's name; the origin of the "axis of evil"; and a hail of abuse to the chief
"An end to the war, which means of course the forswearing of armed struggle on all sides, would be most welcome, wether or not it is accompanied by an immediate alleviation in the economic conditions of the working class."
In which our resident theological correspondent is moved to contemplate matters temporal and spiritual in response to the recent, unsavoury outbreak of inter-church handbags.
Gillo Pontecorvo’s 1965 docudrama The Battle Of Algiers, which depicted events from the Algerian rebellion against the French between 1954 and 1960, is a masterpiece of cinema and a crucial text on terrorism. The DVD release introduces this classic to the War On Terror generation.
The equine casualties of the IRA’s Hyde Park bomb of 1982 (pictured) have never been forgotten – but none of the names of the human dead have achieved iconic status. plus: computer war games.
When 28 people died in an Israeli massacre at Qana, Lebanon, the Derry Anti-War Coalition occupied Derry's Raytheon Plant. Eamon McCann reports on their visit to Qana.
I’m sorry to hear of an old acquaintance, John Eddie McNicholl, taking a hit from the Bush regime, and even sorrier to note the reaction of an influential element of Irish-America.
The Netherlands has long been a byword for liberalism in relation to cannabis. But the Calvinist attitudes of the current administration there look set to change that.
From his early punkish, defiantly anti-establishment indie flicks like The Doom Generation and Nowhere to his latest effort, the child sex-abuse drama Mysterious Skin, Gregg Araki has remained the most uncompromising alumnus of the early ‘90s new wave of queer cinema.
The Von Bondies were finally vindicated when Jack White pleaded guilty to assaulting their lead singer last month. Oh, and they’ve just released one of the albums of the year.
When the IRA ceasefire began in the early minutes of September 1st last, nationalists in Belfast and Derry rejoiced in the streets. In the South Armagh village of Crossmaglen, however, there was barely a murmur. Over the past 25 years, the sniper’s bullet and the mortar bomb have claimed the lives of more soldiers and RUC personnel in this small area than anywhere else in Northern Ireland. Anne Connolly visits what has become the most militarised zone in western Europe and takes the post-ceasefire pulse of a stubbornly resilient little town. Pics: Jason Clarke.
Why the recent record drugs haul off the Irish coast will do little to stem to cocaine tide- and my pose a very real public health risk as dealers move to fill the gap in the market.
They're unheralded heroes of Canadian rock, purveyors of slinky indie-pop and swooning torchsongs about gay football hooligans. Say hello to Stars, the other great band from Montreal.
They suffered a backlash following their late '90s hit 'Popular', but Nada Surf have rebounded in style. Singer Matthew Caws talks about the thin line between success and failure.
A glorious Olympic opening ceremony suggests a world at peace. But burning villages in Georgia and South Ossetia reminds us that human conflict is never far away.
'Sectarian conflict, bigotry and racism, coming soon to a city near you'
In a column published two days before the unspeakable massacres at New York and Washington, THE HOG mourns the dawning of the most 'violent and polarised' era for the Middle East since WWII, and suggests, with tragic prescience, that the greater world would soon feel the reverberations
Forget Beirut as a byword for urban warfare, the Lebanese director of Caramel, Nadine Labaki, is looking towards the future through the lens of a beauty salon.
After what seemed like an eternity of enduring processed boy/girl band hell, 2003 was the year that pop became exciting again. Finally, we got a long hot summer soundtracked by Beyoncé (song of the year – hands down), 50 Cent’s awesome ‘In Da Club’ and even a band from my own ‘hood whose debut album was the feelgood hit of the season.
Tobias Wolff’s new novel returns him to his schooldays and memories of classmate Oliver Stone and the towering influence of Ernest Hemingway. Interview by Peter Murphy.
Bomb materials made in Northern Ireland are killing people in the Middle East while the PSNI arrest protesters against the manufacturers, including this HotPress columnist.
The Israeli army has deliberately targeted civilians in Lebanon and behaved like a terrorist gang. Their excuses will only convince the terminally gullible.
"When did Ireland ever take a stand on anything?" Niall O'Dowd, leading Irish-American and author of a new book on September 11, attacks Ireland's "moral superiority"
Quite what the establishment will make of mark begley s photographic work remains to be seen, but it s sure to raise a few eyebrows. paul o mahony talks to a man intent on kicking down the walls.
Raised in India and hailed as an heir to Tori Amos, singer-songwriter Nerina Pallot is set to break big in 2007. Just don’t ask her about her appearance on kids’ television.
The plight of Ireland’s migrant community is explored in the new heist flick The Front Line. The movie’s stars Eriq Ebouaney and Fatou N’diaye explain why the Irish need to be more open to newcomers.
He might be quite the cove but Leslie Phillips is also an enduring presence in British cinema. Here he talks about co-staring with Peter O'Toole in Venus and explains why he had to leave his working class background behind to get a foothold in acting.
Western spin depicts it as a blow for democracy, but for Raied Al-Wazzan, an Iraqi doctor based here for 15 years, the occupation of his country is illegal and must be resisted.
The hostage crisis in Beslan, which ended last week in terrible carnage, has brought the conflict in the former soviet union into sharper focus than ever before. the emerging picture is a chastening one, as the prospect of a descent into chaos looms ever larger.
East Timor is a small island close to Indonesia. Invaded in 1975 by its much larger neighbour, in the intervening years almost one third of its population has been wiped out in an ongoing campaign of international terrorism and genocide. The arms being used to terrorise this small island are being supplied by Britain. Report: LIAM FAY
Comic book genius Alan Moore, who was also the original author of the big screen Jack the Ripper yarn, From Hell, has now turned his attention to fellow visionary/madman, William Blake. Peter Murphy reports
Pre-Christmas unrest in the Balkans brought unpleasant memories of late '90s ethnic cleansing back to the soldier turned singer-songwriter James Blunt.
And suddenly yet newer horizons opened up. The Arab and the Israeli shook hands. The walls came tumbling down. The lion and the lamb lay down together. The strangest things have come to pass.
He’s one of Ireland's most promising songwriters-for-hire, but now Limerick native Don Mescall hopes to establish himself as a solo artist in his own right.
Having bagged an Oscar for the angst-ridden Brokeback Mountain, director ANG LEE lightens the tone with his new movie, a paean to the Woodstock festival. He explains why he chose to honour the high-point of hippy culture
Will the election of Barack Obama to the White House usher in a new era of peace and global harmony? Or is there a danger we are pinning too much hope on the shoulders of one man?
Songwriter to the stars Gretchen Peters on record company inertia, the need for revolutionary new artists, and what it means to be an American musician in these highly fraught times. words Jackie Hayden
The inhabitants of Mostar in southern Bosnia-Herzgovina have lived together in harmony for more than 700 years. Now, shelled daily by Croatian forces and suffering nightly sniper attacks, this unique city has seen its population decimated and its ancient architecture destroyed. GERRY McGOVERN talks to EMIR STRANJAW.
Tabloid fame came knocking for Audio Fiction when their drummer rescued Drew Barrymore from a New York bar brawl. Their smokey indie-dance is worth making fuss over too.
Having scored huge critical acclaim and won the Mercury Music Prize for his debut album Boy In Da Corner, Dizzee Rascal has pushed urban music another rung up the evolutionary ladder with his stunning new record, Showtime.
What was I thinking of when I wrote my last column about water? What strange movements were in the skies? Damned if I know, but its references to possible wars over water supplies, and the specific instancing of Israel seems uncannily prescient in the light of that country's latest brutish incursion into the south of Lebanon.
Hot Press joins The Walls and The Jimmy Cake on their diplomatic mission to welcome the new EU neighbours of the East [includes photo gallery and live audio tracks]
Journalist STEVEN POOLE has, inspired by Orwell, written a riveting book documenting the insidious abuses of the English language perpetrated by politicians and powermongers.
As Live 8 looms closer, rumours have been circulating that artists are being told that they cannot criticise politicians from the stage. HotPress' guest writer looks at the issues from an artist’s perspective. Bob Geldof responds below.
The fall of the Republican party in the US has been hailed as good news, but perhaps we should not be too optimistic about what the future holds as the Democrats prepare to take over Capitol Hill.
The fall of the Republican party in the US has been hailed as good news, but perhaps we should not be too optimistic about what the future holds as the Democrats prepare to take over Capitol Hill.
Kenny Rogers has been having hits since high school back in his native Houston. Ahead of his appearance at Ballinlough Castle, he looks back at his early inspirations and reflects on a long procession of hit records that have endeared him to rock, pop, soul and country audiences.
The most brilliantly outspoken mind in rock’n’roll, or just a mouthy Sheffielder who says mean things about Johnny Borrell? As the second REVEREND AND THE MAKERS album hits the shelves, Celina Murphy chases down the ever-intriguing Jon McClure.
It’s hardcore heaven this autumn as Dischord records release a 20-year retrospective CD, the story of Hope Promotions is chronicled in a new book and Fugazi return for an Irish tour
As one glance at her CV shows, Barbara Hammer is not your run-of-the-mill avant garde, militantly anti-establishment lesbian film-maker. Tara Brady spoke to the acclaimed documentarist and harvard fellow ahead of her upcoming appearance at the 12th Dublin Lesbian & Gay film festival.
They love Ireland and Ireland loves them. As the Arcade Fire ramp up for world domination, the band talk about love, death, war and making music in churches.
Magic mushrooms were banned in Ireland recently, effectively aiming an exocet at the local ‘head’ shop business. But even before the ban, customs officials had been waging a bizarre war against what most people accept was a legal substance – resulting in considerable losses being sustained by shop owners. No wonder some of them are considering going to court to gain redress.
They may make an unholy racket, but Slipknot are definitely on the side of righteousness when it comes to the Iraq War. Corey Taylor tells Phil Udell why George Bush is vying with Rick Rubin for top spot on their hate-list.
The Great Chat-Show War didn’t quite turn out to be the promised Mother of All Battles. Although in some ways it did: like Saddam’s first war, it was all over in less than a 100 days.
You may think of her as a much-loved veteran of sit-com television, but with a role in Roman Polanski’s powerful new holocaust movie to her credit, Maureen Lipman offers passionate and often controversial views on history, the hounding of Matthew Kelly and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Welsh actor Rhys Ifans is best known for his role as the easy-going slacker Spike in Notting Hill, but in reality he's a driven actor who's more concerned about imminent war than the state of the British film industry. But he still enjoys a pint, and yes, he did sing with the Super Furry Animals
The north did not witness such seismic changes in Y2K as it had in preceding years. But there was still plenty going on, as a society in which war had become the norm stumbled towards peace.
ME AND the boys are heading down to Central America for a couple of weeks. Nothing too taxing overthrow a democratically-elected President and replace him with this right-wing dictator bloke who s bunging us $500,000. If you want to come along for the ride, give us a shout.
While high-profile successes have been scored by the authorities in the so-called war on drugs, the problems associated with heroin addiction in Dublin are worse than ever. Report: Adrienne Murphy.
What promoters and clubbers perceive as Garda heavy-handedness in the -war on drugs- is making life increasingly difficult for dance venues across the country. STUART CLARK reports.
Welsh noiseniks
STEREOPHONICS who've just come up with the song title of the year in the shape of "More Life In A Tramp's Vest" have recently been the subject of a frenzied A&R bidding war. Sarah McQuaid finds out more.
It's hard-hats and flak-jackets all round as the new improved Carter usm launch a full frontal attack against John Major, Third World repression and Pizza Hut. Frontline correspondent: Stuart Clark. War photographer Cathal Dawson
Is football hooliganism really the new rock ’n’ roll and should little boys be wearing Boot’s No.7 blusher? Stuart Clark fears for the moral wellbeing of the nation’s youth as Manic Street Preachers wage holy war against MTV, Take That, Kate Moss and poor old Gerry Ryan.
Pix: Cathal Dawson.
“Crossover” may be a favourite buzz-word at the moment but as rap and the rock mainstream strike an uneasy alliance, it’s clear that a huge gulf still exists between black and white culture.
Cast by certain sections of the media in the role of villain, Ice-T has spent the past decade pounding home the message that unless America is willing to accept a major race war, something has to change.
Here, the Iceman talks to GERRY McGOVERN about censorship and the politics of rap and gives him an exclusive preview of his Return Of The Real album. Pix: CATHAL DAWSON.
Documentarian Morgan Spurlock takes it upon himself to track down America's Public Enemy Number 1 in his new film Where In The World Is Osama Bin Laden?
Having just done her leaving certificate exam, summer came as a great relief to hotpress reader Breda Bourke. and then everyone started to complain! here, she looks back at the season that seems to have pissed everyone off – and takes a somewhat different view.
While U.S. voters went to the polls in key states like California, Arizona, New York and New Jersey on "Super Tuesday" to decide on party nominations for President, expatriate Democrats living in Ireland also got their chance to vote.
Queens Of The Stone Age frontman Josh Homme on the firing of bandmate Nick Oliveri, the London bombings and his plan to disappear once their current tour is over
Ten years after his last solo album, and twenty years after he formed Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Holly Johnson is back with a new album and a new outlook on life. Interview: RICHARD BROPHY.
Having spent Easter Sunday contemplating what complete bastards the British are, we thought you might like to peruse the range of IRA action figures that are available at www.canfodmins.com/gallery.htm
Having resurrected James Bond in print, Sebastian Faulks has moved onto perhaps his most ambitious project yet – a multi-layered exploration of what it means to be modern.
Bosnian ex-pat Aleksander Hemon has found modern resonances in the century-old tale of the murder of Jewish immigrant Lazarus Avenbach by the then Chicago chief of police.
Let's start with a crescendo and build to a climax.
Being Irish, we talked a lot about the weather. Right from the start. Tornadoes in America and cyclones in east Africa. Doomsday. Biblical torrents raged down the Limpopo and Save rivers. The lucky ones clung to the tops of trees - there was even a baby born in one. But thousands perished. Villages too. A million or more were homeless. Family and tribal networks were destroyed. Roads and rails were in ruins. Thousands of landmines were washed away from their known zones to who knows where.
RAYTHEON, the armament-technology firm which manufactured Patriot and Sidewinder missiles, is establishing a plant in Derry and the local politicians couldn t be happier. EAMONN McCANN reports.
There's been too much bullshit about the state of the economy. But pissing on the shoes of our friends or moving closer to the anglosphere isn't the best way out of recession.
With the opposition parties in Ireland now all more or less occupying the centre ground, it's up to the country's youth to become the true voice of dissent.
The recent incredible scenes from the United States, where the Mississippi river and its tributaries ran amok, may have seemed a peculiar but just recompense to a vast area which only a couple of years ago suffered a disastrous drought. Water was all they asked for then. Now they have it, but in quantities so enormous that it all seems like some huge global joke.
JOAN ARMATRADING has been making impassioned, poetic music for two decades. She is also a political activist, having recently attended the 1999 Vienna Peace Summit. Adrienne Murphy met her.
JOAN ARMATRADING has been making impassioned, poetic music for two decades. She is also a political activist, having recently attended the 1999 Vienna Peace Summit. Adrienne Murphy met her.
Having re-invented television drama with Lost and Alias J.J. Abrams now turns his attention to the Mission Impossible franchise. But what’s all about this about him saving Star Trek?
the poet Allen Ginsberg died at his East Village home in New York on Saturday, 5th April, just two months short of his 71st birthday. After more than four decades of constant, and often controversial, conflict with such repressive figures as J. Edgar Hoover, Fidel Castro and Newt Gingrich, liver cancer finally succeeded where they had always failed in silencing the notoriously outspoken writer and self-confessed beat-hip-gnostic-imagist performance poet.
The cause still endures, the hope still lives. Thus spoke Senator Ted Kennedy in what is widely regarded as his finest speech. Now more than ever, we need the same kind of visionary commitment in Ireland.
A new survey has revealed that 50% of Bosnian refugees are finding it difficult to make ends meet, and that 33% of them have been unemployed for over 12 months. STUART CLARK meets one refugee working to change the system from within.
Folk doyen Richard Thompson remains a singular presence in the roots music scene after four decades. Here he talks about “exile” on the US West Coast and his recent return to his electric rock roots.
Civil liberties in Ireland are being gradually eroded. But, then, it’s just part of an international trend. If we’re not careful, we will we soon be living in a Big Brother nation.
A straight-talking Swede renowned her famously candid – and frequently highly controversial – personal web-blog, European Commission Vice President Margot Wallstrom is not your typical Eurocrat. On a recent visit to Dublin, she took time out to talk to Hot Press about Tony Blair, George Bush, the Irish and the Swedes’ mutual love of alcohol, Bertie Ahern, Charlie McCreevey’s accent, Bono and Bob Geldof. And she even taught us a few Swedish swear words. Interview by Jackie Hayden. Photography by Liam Sweeney.
Mothers disowned their kids. The kids fought each other. And the fathers… well, those who weren’t utterly inconsolable with grief did the only thing any grown man could do in such a situation – they phoned Joe Duffy and gave him an earful. For a few feverish, unhinged days in the build-up to World Cup 2002, the fallout from the Roy Keane/Mick McCarthy bust-up in Saipan divided the nation in a manner not seen since, well…
Sinister psychological experimnets and political subterfuge are at the centre of Jonathan Demme’s intriguing new remake of The Manchurian Candidate. Luckily for us however, the film’s star Liev Schreiber happens to be an amiable, erudite ex-New Yorker with a degree in semiotics. Oh, and some nice cheekbones.
Folk legend and son of Woody, ARLO GUTHRIE is feeling a conspiracy of hope take shape as the inauguration approaches and he gears up for his Irish tour.
Imogen Murphy talks to Trinity-educated journalist Hugh Miles, author of Al Jazeera: How Arab TV News Challenged The World, a new book which takes a behind-the-scenes look at the controversial TV station – and arrives at some surprisingly positive conclusions.
Journalist Susan McKay's new book, Bear In Mind These Dead, revisits the families of victims, for many of whom the emotional scars have been slow to heal.
The opportunities to move forward are presenting themselves to all sides in the North. Now all we need is for everyone to do what the Irish do best - Talk!
Once something of a child prodigy, Carlow singer-songwriter Joe Cleere now reckons he has the answer to self-promotion in the download age. He speaks to Celina Murphy about supporting The Script and passing out 10,000 free CDs in a month!
That a week is a long time in politics is a truism. So what does that make of a fortnight? Truly, the landscape has changed utterly. The end of an era has sprung upon us. Ye know not the day nor the hour.
Over the past decade in ‘The Hot Press Political Interview’ the subject of Northern Ireland has, not surprisingly, surfaced time and time again. What follows is but a small selection of these quotes, specifically those that look to the future rather than to the past.
The highlight of the year – and probably the decade – was scamming a trip to Havana to see the Manic Street Preachers do their live thing in front of Fidel Castro
A water polo match between Hungary and the Soviet Union might seem an unlikely springboard for a moving meditation on freedom and oppression, but Children Of Glory director Krisztina Goda has pulled it off.
The Make Poverty History marches in Dublin and Edinburgh were among the biggest political demonstrations in years. Rory Hearne kept a diary of an inspiring week on the barricades.
Manu Chao may not be able to change the world, but he’s certainly conquered it with his unique fusion of musical styles. Fresh from a sell-out show in The Point, he talks to Danielle Brigham about journeying to the North Pole, trashing Argentinian TV studios and “Mr. Bush, the number one terrorist.” Photographs: Cathal Dawson.
He’s collaborated with Bono, Mick Jagger, and Destiny’s Child, hung out with Bill Clinton and co-wrote the biggest selling rap album of all time. but that’s only the beginning. The multi-talented Wyclef Jean here discusses George W. Bush, the death of his father and why Michael Jackson might not be such a strange guy after all
At 81 years of age, folk pioneer PETE SEEGER is still active in the politics of song. SIOBHAN LONG meets a man fully deserving of the title 'living legend'
Back in the '60s the MC5 made it on to the CIA's 'Most Wanted' list. Now, they're a chi-chi fashion accessory beloved of Jennifer Aniston and her Hollywood pals. Guitarist Wayne Kramer explains it all to Stuart Clark.
Having conquered Africa, Youssou N’Dour is now turning his attentions to the rest of the world. With Eno, Peter Gabriel and Wyclef Jean all singing his praises, Sam Healy reckons it’s only a matter of time before he has his evil way with us
The last scintilla of doubt just rode out of town – groundbreaking news spoof The Day Today is back on the agenda courtesy of a brand new DVD, and the show’s gleeful send-up of current affairs broadcasting is now more relevant than ever.
As the dust settles in the wake of the Stormont Settlement, eamonn Mccann assesses the situation and wonders just how much of their ideology Republicans are in the process of jettisoning.
For the most part, the May Day protests – timed to coincide with Europe’s Day of Welcomes – were peaceful. But outside Farmleigh House, where the European Union’s 25 Prime
Ministers were meeting, the shit finally hit the fan.
After examining the strange world of outsider conspiracy theorists in 2001’s acclaimed Them, chronicler of cultural weirditude Jon Ronson has now turned his attention to the murkey milieu of covert US military ops and sinister, Pentagon-sanctioned psychological experiments. Peter Murphy switches on the interrogation lamp and probes the Cardiff-born author for details on Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, the tactical deployment of Barney the Dinosaur, and the men who attempted to kill goats simply by staring at them.
Musicologists often find it neater to trace the roots of soul, blues and rap back to their African origins. In the process, they can often avoid exploring the far untidier influence of the African-American entertainment tradition in which Cab Calloway was a pivotal player.
Irish film-maker BILL HUGHES has just completed a documentary on the past 100 years of homosexual life in Ireland. ANGELA McGOLDRICK met him to talk about the programme, and his own experience as a gay Irish person.
In Dublin recently to lend his support to the AIDS Action Alliance all-star Olympic Ballroom bash, Tom Robinson took time out to reflect on his Spokesman For A Generation past, his nervous breakdowns, his sexual re-orientation and his re-embracement of the Quaker faith
The authorities seem to be going way beyond the law in their campaign against head shops and sex shops. But because a pleasure-focussed sub-culture is involved, no one gives a damn that the rights of the owners of the shops are being trampled on.
He emigrated in '95, sang with jeff at sin-e, acted with denis leary, consoled nyc's firefighters and tripped around the planet with emmylou harris – but for mark geary, the adventure is only beginning
Mexican maestro Alejandro González Iñárritu hasn’t wasted any time capitalising on the critical and commercial success of Amores Perros and 21 Grams. Babel, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, is being hailed as another masterpiece.
The Gardaí have been accused of beligerant and heavy-handed tactics in their closing down of a Galway dance party. STUART CLARK hears both sides of the story.
When Rubyhorse quit their native Cork for the US in 1997, they had no game plan. Now they’re being hailed as one of the rock hopes for 2003, with appearances on Letterman and Conan O’Brian to their credit – as well as an extraordinary collaboration with the late George Harrison.
Recently returned from a visit to Baghdad, MICHAEL D. HIGGINS calls on Ireland to take a lead in demanding an end to sanctions against Iraq, arguing that Saddam Hussein can never justify the deaths of children and the use of long-suffering civilians, as tools of opposition to his regime.
At a time when the British hip-hop scene is again witnessing extreme violence, COLM WALSH meets MC HARVEY of SO SOLID CREW and discovers how the problem is affecting the UK garage scene
Their debut album Hopes And Fears launched a host of hit singles, going on to become one of the most successful British records of the past five years. But, their indie background notwithstanding, Keane have still been dismissed by some self-styled aficionados as just too nice to be considered real rock'n'rollers. "If only people knew," says lead singer Tom Chaplin.
The Whole Hog reflects on twelve months dominated by revelations and repercussions of political, police and church corruption, floods, floods and more floods and, of course, a certain parting of the ways on the pacific island of Saipan
AIDAN KELLY’S latest stage role in blasted, as a psychotic soldier, is a far cry from his last TV role in the RTE sitcom 'TheCassidys'. Interview: JOE JACKSON
Running a marathon, writing the folk-pop equivalent of Dante’s Divine Comedy, buying a house, releasing the finest record of his career. All in a year’s work for Josh Ritter. John Walshe travelled to Boston to meet the young songwriter.
spirit walker - the story of how three Essex boys met two Paddies with attitude and released a five-minute
ballad as their debut single. peter murphy has the details.
Ghost Of Mae Nak is a love story with a difference. For one thing, it’s set largely in the afterlife. It’s also the latest piece of Thai cinema to catch the attention of international audiences, says English-born, Bangkok-based director Mark Duffield.
Rough Magic, one of Ireland’s outstanding theatre ensembles, returns with a production of Shakespeare that examines the battle of the sexes in Ireland.
Like Groucho Marx may or may not have said, timing is (pause) …everything. As such, the two albums that electrified us this year (Interpol’s hugely moving, visceral masterpiece Turn On The Bright Lights; Justin Timberlake’s Neptunes-assisted pop‘n’B triumph Justified) were actually released in ’02.
STEPHEN ROBINSON meets author JAMIE O’NEILL, who’s acclaimed first novel At Swim Two Boys, which concerns a sexual relationship between two Irish boys and an older Englishman set against the background of the 1916 rising
Since taking a break from his day-job as Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr has surprised and charmed with his plaintive indie-pop. Not that he likes to really compare the two experiences.
Bad-ass rockers The Cult have reconvened following half a decade in the wilderness. Frontman Ian Astbury talks about standing-in for Jim Morrison, jamming with UNKLE and explains why it's good to return to his day-job.
Poetry slam takes poetry out of the hands of academics and puts it on stage in front of an audience. But not everyone thinks this is a good idea, as a recent spat in Galway underlines.
The new musical based on Mick McCarthy and Roy Keane’s infamous bust-up in Saipan, I Keano, aims to bring closure to one of the most divisive conflicts in the nation's history. Colm O’Hare talks to the play’s writer Arthur Mathews and lead actor Risteárd Cooper.
Irish peace-keepers in Chad will find themselves on the frontline of a vicious internecine conflict. Can they succeed where countless others have failed and bring calm?
If you’re looking for modesty, you’ve come to the wrong place. Colin Carberry meets Dirty Stevie, the balls to the wall rockers who are determined to become Belfast’s biggest band ever!
Veteran agitprop folk-rocker Steve Earle talks to Peter Murphy about kicking against George Dubya, jamming in Galway and revamping Shakespeare for the 21st century.
Film director Todd Solondz has a well-earned reputation for exploring the controversial issues his rivals studiously ignore. Tara Brady gets the lowdown on his new effort Palindromes.
Until now, that is! DAVID PUTTNAM is one of Britain s most successful film directors of the past 20 years. But, as the turn of the century approaches, he believes that the control exerted by Hollywood over the film, entertainment and information industries globally may yet inspire a violent reaction. Interview: CATHY DILLON
Their placards are invariably visible at bin-charge protests – and, indeed, virtually any other street protest you care to mention. but do the SWP – and other left-wing parties frequently demonised by mainstream politicians really have something meaningful to offer?
IT’S PROBABLY a little too blatant to run a line of comparison between the newer, younger breed of comedians, like Sean Hughes, and comic-actors like Eamon Morrissey. However, one distinct difference is that Sean has a TV series and Eamon hasn’t.
Joe Jackson talks to Susan FitzGerald, star of Landmark Productions’ Irish premiere of Edward Albee’s The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?, the controversial play which explores a range of taboo topics.
Fossil fuels are running out and few countries are so vulnerable to an oil shock as Ireland. With an unprecedented energy crisis on the horizon, a conference in Dublin will explore possible solutions. But is it too late?
With the Dutch having just taken over from Ireland as EU President, paul o mahony looks at their liberal domestic drugs policy and visits Amsterdam s unique hash and marijuana museum.
Philip Watt, director of the National Consultative Committee On Racism and Interculturalism, outlines the urgent and necessary response to racism in ireland
A graduate of art-house cinema and experimental theatre, Cork actor Cillian Murphy is set for the a-list following his chilling turn as Scarecrow in Batman Begins. Interview by Tara Brady.
Following the Green Party’s decision to go into coalition with Fianna Fáil, former MEP Patricia McKenna felt disillusioned and angry. Now those emotions have subsided, she has decided not to run away – but to fight…
“I had travelled with celebrities before, but I had never seen anything like this. Everyone – everyone – stopped in their tracks when they caught sight of Ali . . . each pair of eyes stared at him, each mouth silently formed the word ‘Ali.’“ – Bob Greene, 1983.
Gosh. 2004. We came (almost literally when Quentin T. swaggered back into town), we saw, we felt gooey. An awesome, sweltering, overwhelming time was had by all – well, by movie buffs at any rate. Dead genres arose and appeared to many. Documentaries – long the bridesmaid of cinema history – got their groove back, thanks in part to that Moore fellow’s rants and raves.
With his latest opus Team America upsetting everybody from Sean Penn down to the White House, South Park co-creator Matt Stone sounds off to Tara Brady...
A new book attempts to shed light on the life and violent death of
ROBERT NAIRAC, one of the northern conflict s most mysterious victims. But, as NIALL STANAGE reports, it is unlikely that the whole story will ever emerge.
He said it, we didn't. Henry Rollins may not be the most obvious embodiment of the American Dream but nowadays everything he touches seems to turn to dollars. Dan Oggly discovers the alternative approach to commerce.
Under the direction of Joe Devlin, the Focus Theatre has taken on an impressive range of projects – not least two plays that tackle burning contemporary issues. Devlin tells us how he’s been carrying on the Focus tradition.
There are those who believe that the Downing St. Declaration offers the best hope of peace in Northern Ireland for twenty-five years. But as Sinn Féin’s consideration of the fine print drags on, Bill Graham accuses them of theological nitpicking and argues that their negotiating position makes impossible demands on reality.
From frontman with incendiary collective Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy to his current incarnation as hip-hop zen master, Michael Franti has remained one of the true radical voices of the US underground.
What happens when the lead singer of Soundgarden gets together with three quarters of Rage Against The Machine? Answer: the high-IQ post-grunge of Audioslave.
She’s an acclaimed novelist – but Emar Martin is fast earning a reputation as a visual artist also. As her latest exhibit opens, she talks about moving between the two media
It sounds like a car-crash waiting to happen – a Southern California garage band channelling psychedelic Cambodian pop. In fact, DENGUE FEVER are one of the most beguiling new acts to pop up on the radar recently.
Consistency and continuity. Hmmm. These are things we value. Like when Ireland used to be hard to beat at football. That was good, wasn t it? You ll never beat the Irish. Not at football. Not then, anyway.
It would be different if we were talking about rugby. But that, sadly and predictably, is another story. A very other story. About which nobody can do nothing. As it were.
Martin Sheen has starred in at least two of the greatest films ever made, survived a massive heart attack, found God, and campaigned tirelessly for social justice in the Third World. Now, he’s gone back to school, studying Philosophy and English at (of all places) the NUI in Galway. Jason O’Toole meets him for his only Irish print interview.
The first sci-fi cineplex
blockbuster of 1998
STARSHIP TROOPERS is directed by Paul Verhoeven from a book by noted sci-fi scribe Robert A. Heinlein. And it s either a mindlessly enjoyable special effects white-knuckle ride or dangerously subversive propaganda for right wing militarism. You decide: to Grok, or not to Grok?
Defeat to New Zealand Maori has plunged the Lions into crisis. With the crunch first test against the All Blacks looming, can Brian O'Driscoll and his troops recover in time? Written by Niall Breslin from The Blizzards (and formerly a pro with Leinster).
ANI Di FRANCO has confirmed her position as one of the 90s most compelling performers with her new album Up, Up, Up, Up, Up Up. But there has always been more to Di Franco than her music. Here she talks to SIOBHAN LONG about her hard-won independence, corporate America and the stupidity of conservativism.
Avuncular Belfast-born writer brian moore may continually encounter difficulties in getting people to pronounce his name correctly, but one thing he s never had trouble with is the quality of his literary output. His latest effort, The Magician s Wife, is yet another effortlessly elegant concoction of seamless prose. Interview: liam fay. Pix: Cathal Dawson
Age has not withered them. twenty years after they rose out of the new york underground, Sonic Youth have managed to grow old and stay hardcore. Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon reveal how it’s done
John Walshe talks to Doves Andy Williams about their past life as Sub Sub, their debut album Lost Souls, and what it s like being heralded as the saviours of British rock music.
"The idea that they exist to serve the customer is not part of this lot’s world-view: each and every citizen is a nuisance. The city, they seem to think, would be so much neater and more orderly if they could just get the people out of it"
With Walmart; The High Cost Of Low Price, veteran filmmaker Robert Greenwald has issued a savage critique of the biggest private corporation in the world, one which has strip-mined the blue collar landscape of America and beyond.
Recent violent attacks, such as the horrendous killing of two Polish men, may have involved young people. But that shouldn't lead us to tar an entire generation.
Ahead of his public interview in Dublin with Hot Press, Wire creator David Simon talks about the genesis of the series and about his controversial new Iraq-set show.
Following John Waters’ article on fathers’ rights in the last issue of hotpress, Ivana Bacik responds to his criticisms of herself and feminism in general.
Hard-drinking cinematographer Christopher Doyle's latest film, Gus Van Sant's dark drama Paranoid Park, saw him make a rare excursion Stateside, but he certainly hasn't curbed any of his excesses
Like the Loch Ness Monster and The Abominable Snowman, doubts have long been cast over the existence of a recording of beat master JACK KEROUAC reading from his classic On The Road. Now, not only have the legendary tapes finally materialised, they also show that the man was no mean crooner and songwriter to boot. PETER MURPHY reports.
Like the Loch Ness Monster and The Abominable Snowman, doubts have long been cast over the existence of a recording of beat master JACK KEROUAC reading from his classic On The Road. Now, not only have the legendary tapes finally materialised, they also show that the man was no mean crooner and songwriter to boot. PETER MURPHY reports.
He helped invent disco, funk, r 'n' b and hip-hop. And when he wasn’t changing the face of popular music, Chic leader NILE RODGERS found time to chin-wag with pop’s best, bravest and weirdest. Here he talks about hanging with David Bowie, Slash and Madonna and reveals his oft-overlooked hippy leanings.
In an exclusive interview, LARRY SANGER - widely credited as co-founder of Wikipedia - takes issue with a number of comments made by ex-colleague Jimmy Wales in Hot Press recently, and explains why his new online encyclopedia, Citizendium, will eventually conquer cyberspace.
It took 277 attempts at cloning to create dolly the genetically engineered sheep that took the world by storm during 1997. Here adrienne murphy attempts to explain just what the hell is going on in the bizarre world of biotechnology, with a little help from dr. ian wilmut the man who made Dolly what she is today (out of another sheep s breast).
Grappling with weighty political themes is grist to the mill for Colin Meloy of Oregon art-rockers The Decemberists. He’s even written a song about the Shankill Butchers.
Currently riding the crest of a wave following the unexpected chart success of ‘Danger! High Voltage’, Electric Six frontman Dick Valentine here puts paid to those rumoured Jack White/Bill Clinton collaborations.
Like many of his brethren in the world of comedy, David Baddiel has turned his hand to fiction in recent years. Although his previous efforts met with a lukewarm critical response, his new novel, The Secret Purposes – a skilfully rendered tale which draws heavily on Baddiel's grandparents' experience in wartime England – looks set to reverse that trend. Interview by Peter Murphy. Photography by Liam Sweeney
Paul Weller has a reputation as one of the most truculent men in pop, with a deep-seated dislike of the promotional process. But with the release of his latest solo album Illumination, the man who once led The Jam and the Style Council agreed to put himself in the firing line. Looking back over a career that's studded with success, he's reflective and forthright - but the anger that inspired much of The Jam's finest output still burns
Apathy as much as manipulation has allowed the globalisation myth to flourish. Michael D. Higgins explains the urgent need for economic alternatives and stresses the importance of political activism
Best known as the author of the modern noir classic LA Confidential, JAMES ELLROY is back in the spotlight with his new book The Cold 6000, a factional encounter with late 20th century America.
Here, the straight-talking Ellroy tells why JFK was second-rate and J. Edgar Hoover a fiend, why Bill Clinton is a horrible human being and George W. Bush not as bad as we think, and why Martin Luther King was the greatest American man of the last century
Words: DANNY ILEGEMS
Progress doesn t always follow a straight line. Far from it. Sometimes you take two steps sideways for every one step forwards. There s another image that holds progress to be a kind of tumbleweed effect. We roll forward, but sometimes we re going backwards, and mostly we re just marking time. Frustrating? Yes, but it has the ring of truth.
Nowhere is this more evident than in Northern Ireland.
Avert your gazes, sensitive readers. Jon McClure of Reverend And The Makers offers his thoughts on Johnny Borrell, Thom Yorke and “the most racist television ad of all time”.
Gregory David Robert‘s life reads like the most sensational book, a painfully true but scarcely believable saga of academic success, crime, heroin addiction, incarceration, torture, escape, re-capture, and finally, literary acclaim. Peter Murphy hears the extraordinary tale of australia’s ‘gentleman bandit’ turned author. photography Liam Sweeney
But who started it? Olaf Tyaransen went to the final protest march against Britain’s repressive criminal justice bill and found himself reading helpful hints on how to throw a brick with maximum effect before a full-scale riot broke out. This is his report . . .
