The Sigla Blog

Easy on the eye. Great actor. And now we find out Gael Garcia Bernal can sing. In Michel ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind‘ Gondry’s latest film The Science of Sleep, Bernal plays a lovesick young chap who falls for his Parisian neighbour (Charlotte Gainsbourg), but more interestingly, he SINGS on the soundtrack. And […]

Quick reminder that tomorrow (Tuesday) at noon, Phantom 105.2 launches - and they’re still taking nominations for the first song to be broadcast.
Elsewhere on the wireless, recent plays on John Kelly’s JK Ensemble have included Tortoise, Tom Waits, The Redneck Manifesto, Tunng, Aphex Twin, A Hack and A Hacksaw, The Scala Choir, - and […]

This week, expect some digest type posts about music, kicking off with some gig highlights. Tomorrow night, M Ward plays Crawdaddy. He’s a seriously talented songwriter who can flit between influences as diverse as folk and orientalism to alt.country. The new Bright Eyes collection of B-sides and Rarites also includes a cover of Ward’s […]

Back in the Sigla Magazine days, we had a section called ‘Flash Fiction’, that encouraged people to write a short story in 25 words. It was tricky enough to be economical with the words… or so we thought. Taking Hemingway’s famous six-word short story (”For sale: baby shoes, never worn”), Wired Magazine have asked […]

After more High Court shenanigans than anyone likes to remember, Phantom 105.2FM finally launches next Tuesday October 31st. You’ll be able to pick up the station all over Dublin (and probably a bit beyond too) at 105.2FM. Just got the schedule, which for the moment just details what’s on offer Monday to Friday. I know […]

For anyone not running around various city centre venues tonight for Hard Working Class Heroes, there’s a couple of other highly recommended gigs on. I have to agree with Niall about the lack of variety across 80+ acts, but they’ve scored one big coup. Tonight at 11pm, electroclash siren Peaches plays Meeting House Square […]

Just posting this here as it isn’t up on The Irish Times site.
FIONN REGAN
The End of History Heffa
****
By virtue of age, nationality and a deal with Damien Rice’s Heffa label, Fionn Regan has probably steeled himself for the inevitable comparisons, but then he’s also managed to get himself signed to Bella Union (owned by […]

Once again I’ve turned into a typing monkey robot and keep starting posts that I never get a chance to finish. Worse, I’ve taken to writing them in my head and become convinced I have said post stuck somewhere in my drafts folder. Last week after catching the Leonard Cohen tribute show Came So Far […]

And now for something completely different…
and it might just be a first in Irish blogging. Kirstie, who was involved with Ladyfest Dublin, has set up a new blog.
Beaut.ie is a beauty/health blog that provides nuggets of helpful info, reviews and advice on everything from foundations and cleansers, to gadgets and and food & diet. […]

Posh bingo or not, there’s still enough kerfuffle about the Booker Prize to turn most reader’s heads. Odd then, that instead of their usual slightly ostentatious Booker ceremony, the BBC opted instead to announce this year’s winner - Kiran Desai’s The Inheiritance of Loss - on the 10 o’clock news, with some follow-up Newsnight […]

Happy day - I’ve just discovered that Paul Hartnoll (formerly one half of Orbital) is not only back making music, but has his own myspace page. There are only two tracks up there - ‘Haven’t We Met Before?’, a gorgeous classical effort that doesn’t resemble the blips and bleeps days of his former act […]

I haven’t stopped thinking about Prostitution behind the Veil since watching it last night on BBC4. Part of the Storyville series, the film-maker Nahid Persson fled her native Iran after the Revolution. Now resident in Sweden, she has returned many times to the country to record what’s happening in contemporary Iran. In last night’s […]