Cinema is one of those things you can always enjoy. There’s the stale-in-the-mouth popcorn that you wish you’d never bought, the seat with three or four pieces of chewing gum glued to the underside – reluctantly discovered by an overcurious hand, the floors imbibed with sodas spilled through the decades that you can peel your […]
Sam Jennings
A music man in Amman: Souad Massi
Algerian chanteuse Souad Massi is not your average singer-songwriter from the Arab world. For one, her music seems uncommonly palatable to a western ear. This is by no means a result of her conscientiously distancing herself from the Arab music world. Her 2015 album, Al-Mutakallimun (“Masters of the World”), is an intriguing and refreshing examination […]
Sandstorms and the balcony bunch
Here, in Jordan, I’ve discovered a new hobby in the balcony. There is this indescribable feeling, found only when sitting on the grimy plastic of a weak-legged chair and surrounded by your housemates’ damp underwear left to dry under the Jordanian desert-sun. I like staring at the same bit of road below for hours on end. I […]
One Man in Amman – Expats of Jordan
In just a few days, I leave for Jordan. So starts my year abroad. It’s kind of a big deal. I study Arabic here in Exeter. It’s a degree I am forever trying to explain, in a slurry kind of way in a quiet corner of a club over a double mixer with vodka, […]
Working at festivals
Following his neo-Orwellian Latitude trip-hop adventure of last weekend, Sam Jennings assesses the worth of volunteering at a music festival. Posing the question: did he succeed on his quest to see Portishead? [dropcap size=small]E[/dropcap]ver since I was a wee bairn, I listened to trip-hop. Not that I had much choice. Any chance he could, during long […]
Album Review: Courtney Barnett – Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
Sam Jennings checks out the debut studio release from pensive Australian indie rocker Courtney Barnett, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, following a successful day at Glastonbury. “Barnett muses upon the benefits of mowing the lawn.” Courtney Barnett Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit Mom + Pop […]
Album Review: Flo Morrissey – Tomorrow Will Be Beautiful
Having supported The Staves at Exeter Phoenix on the most bittersweet day earlier this year, Flo Morrissey has since released her debut album, Tomorrow Will Be Beautiful, that may whet the piqued interests of Valentine’s Day goers. Sam Jennings reviews. Flo Morrissey Tomorrow Will Be Beautiful Glassnote, 17 June 2015 [dropcap size=small]R[/dropcap]aised in Notting […]