// Category Archive for: Issues

The Rebirth Of The Un-Dead: Q&A With Dacre Stoker

By Lisa Anderson

Dacre Stoker, the great-grandnephew of Dracula author Bram Stoker, has co-written an official sequel, Dracula: The Un-Dead, along with screenwriter Ian Holt. I was fortunate enough to get to meet Dacre at a signing at Sherlock’s Books in Lebanon, TN this past December, and he graciously agreed to follow up with an interview by email.
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Gavin Friday: Thief of My Heart

By Julie Finley

I remember it like it was yesterday. It had to have been the end of 1991 as I was still in tenth grade, and I remember there being snow on the ground. It was probably shortly after Christmas, because I can’t recall having enough money to buy more than one album at a time; even if they were used & in the bargain bin, I still rarely had over $10 on me at any given time. I usually starved myself in high school by not spending at least some of my lunch money just so I could buy whatever music I could, because I had priorities.

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England, Ireland, And Oliver Cromwell’s Lasting Musical Legacy

By Katrina Armstrong

Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell was the tyrant of English history: the great Lord Protector, the rebellious regicidal egoist, and the hero of none. For a murderous, cruel, coup master who died over 350 years ago, he certainly has a stronghold on some of the 20th (and 21st) century’s best-loved musicians.

First, a little background on our man Ollie. A supposed Tudor cousin (think Henry VIII and Elizabeth I), Cromwell became an active and vocal member of the English Parliament, eventually becoming a strong military leader who helped in the overthrow and execution of Charles I. It was during this tumultuous time that Cromwell built the “New Model Army” (a precursor to the modern English Army) which he marched into Ireland to regain control of lands from already warring Catholic anti-monarchists. The toll was huge in terms of Catholic population and land ownership. To these Catholics, Cromwell was a monster; to the English, a pretender. Why has this man carried such weight in the music of artists such as Elvis Costello, Flogging Molly, and even Morrissey?

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Eight Reasons To Love Cillian Murphy

By Less Lee Moore

Batman Begins, 2005

8. He can play creepy.
Let’s get this one out of the way first. If I had a nickel for every time I heard or read the word “creepy” (or worse, “BUT he’s so creepy!”) associated with Cillian Murphy, well, I’d have a hell of a lot of nickels.

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Irish Things We Love: Dracula, By Bram Stoker

Ask people to name some Irish things that they love, and they may come up with a list of things that are obviously Irish, like the band U2 or Guinness beer. I would argue though, that our cultural milieu, especially these days, is heavily inspired by the work of an Irish writer, specifically, Bram Stoker, author of Dracula. Both Dacre Stoker, great-grandnephew of Bram (and co-author of Dracula: the Un-Dead), and Dennis McIntyre, director of the Bram Stoker’s Dracula Organisation, advance this point of view.
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That Would Be An Ecumenical Matter: Father Ted and Ireland

By Hanna

Most of Ireland’s cultural presence in Western countries is undeniably depressing. Even such light-hearted fare as Breakfast on Pluto features repression of sexuality by the church, the IRA, terrorism, and attacks on women for having children out of wedlock.
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From The Daily Cal To The New Yorker: Q&A With Shannon Wheeler of Too Much Coffee Man

Interviewed by Christian Lipski

I first encountered Shannon Wheeler’s work when we were undergraduates at UC Berkeley and he drew a strip called Tooth & Justice in the school paper, The Daily Californian. He’s best known now for the character Too Much Coffee Man, who became Wheeler’s voice for social commentary and satire.

The TMCM comic series earned an Eisner award in 1995. Wheeler’s current home, Portland Oregon, saw the premiere of the Too Much Coffee Man opera in 2006 (and its extended “refill” in 2008). Wheeler also created Postage Stamp Funnies for The Onion’s print edition, and is publishing his cartoons in The New Yorker.
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Rowland S. Howard, Pop Crimes

By Ann Clarke

It’s not often that this happens, but. . . occasionally I find myself waiting for about ten years for an album to come out. Most people would give up hope by then, but if you like an artist enough, you always hold out for whatever they do. This would be the case with Rowland S. Howard. He’s one of those musicians I’ve pretty much had a hard-on on for since I first stumbled upon him.
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The Reality Of Time Travel: Cal Band Alumni Day

By Christian Lipski

General Douglas MacArthur said, “Old soldiers never die; they merely fade away.” Some former Band members can’t even fade away. For them there is Alumni Band Day.
—from The Pride of California: A Cal Band Centennial Celebration

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In Praise Of Robert Wyatt

By John Lane

Aye, the following individual is never, ever to be classified as a “guilty pleasure,” understood? Yes, one could use the expression that he is an “acquired taste,” but goodness knows not all acquired tastes are meant to pass the taste test of everyone.

Robert Wyatt is an English creation, one that could’ve only been born of and thrived in England (albeit in a quiet, genteel way), as he has done professionally for over 40 years.
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