The Sigla Blog

Last week, after a break of over a year, I took the plunge and joined another book group. As I explained to Ryan Tubridy on Monday, there are lots of good reasons in getting together with a group of people to talk books. Apart from consolidating old friendships, in that you get to meet up […]

When you hear the words “Nazi propaganda films”, most people immediately think of Leni Riefenstahl, The Triumph of the Will and other fervent homages to the Third Reich fatherland. Very few people will be aware of the fact that a sub-genre of propagandist cinema existed in 1940’s Germany: the so-called ‘Irish films’. A documentary called […]

Pitchfork reports that Perry Farrell’s new band Satellite Party are to release their first album Ultra Payloaded in May. Also part of the group is Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme (remember their lighters-in-the-air anthem ‘More than Words’?). The album will feature Flea from The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Thievery Corporation, Peter ‘Hooky’ Hook from New Order […]

One of the best things about NTL (apart from Turner Classic Movies) is being able to listen to the BBC’s various radio stations. BBC 7 has become my firm favourite, not just because you can listen to Garrison Keillor’s show (which has probably pulled in more listeners recently thanks to Robert Altman’s A Prairie Home […]

My next book purchase is Cancer Vixen, which featured in the Guardian magazine two weeks ago (can’t find a link to the feature, but here’s the paper’s review). Dovegreyreader is equally enamoured of Marisa Acocella Marchetto’s graphic novel about the Big C.
Bjork’s new album, due for release in a couple of months, will feature […]

This week, I’ve been listening to the new LCD Soundsystem album Sound of Silver non-stop and have to take my hat off to James Murphy - it’s fantastic. The opening track ‘Get Innocuous’ is one of the insanely catchiest things you’re ever likely to hear. Starting off with the same beat as ‘Losing My Edge’, […]

Damien has announced details of the 2007 Irish Blog Awards complete with DJ and Rick O’Shea as MC, who did a great job last year.
There are plenty of categories (all with fancy sponsors) and tons of people worth nominating, so if you feel like voting for The Sigla Blog in any relevant category, go […]

Leonardo Di Caprio’s new film Blood Diamond tackles a worthy subject - the smuggling of ‘conflict diamonds’, ie diamonds that come from war-afflicted countries who use the money to buy arms and fund violence. It’s a thought-provoking if predictable film; tough but not without its faults. Joe Queenan of The Guardian points to one […]

Listening to this guy’s album all week and really liking it. Not a spectacular video by any yardstick, but a lazy, lovely track. Reminds me of Will Oldham…
His fourth album, Sharp Teeth, is released on January 26th on Fat Cat, a label that’s also home to folk legend Vashti Bunyan, whose much-lauded 2005 Lookaftering […]

Remember all that cloak-and-dagger-not-talking-about Irish albums (here and here) pre-Christmas? Finally, all is revealed - along with John Caddell (Phantom FM), Stuart Clark (Hot Press), Alison Curtis (Today FM), Neil Dunphy (Sunday Tribune), Rick O’Shea (2FM), Nick Kelly (Irish Independent/Billboard), Mike Knightson (Live 95 Limerick), Padraic Killeen (The Irish Examiner), Eamon Sweeney (Foggy Notions), Tanya […]

For Christmas, my older brother bought me Jon Ronson’s book Out of the Ordinary: True Tales of Everyday Craziness. I like Ronson’s column in The Guardian, but figured that a whole book of his narcissistic whining would be a bit too much. Like Woody Allen though, he injects the right amount of humour and isn’t […]

When: This morning
Where: The Savoy cinema
What: A screening of Rocky Balboa, that at first glance looked as though it might be a car crash of a film.
When I mentioned that I was going to see a new Rocky film to some friends, the handful that were interested asked if it was a) a remake […]