The Forgotten Ford
Before Han Solo and Indiana Jones, there was another Harrison Ford – star of silent cinema. Reconstructing his life through archival materials reveals a poignant reminder on the impermanence of fame.
Christian Kriticos
Freelance writer covering music, literature, TV, film and more
Based in London, UK
Get in touch: christian.kriticos (at) gmail (dot) com
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John Mason: My 50 years as a pop lawyer
“I’ve made a career of only representing talent,” Mason explains, emphasising a unique closeness to his celebrity clients. “I don’t go for representing record companies that take advantage of artists.”
Has Chris O’Dell had the music industry’s wildest career?
She managed tours for Bob Dylan, delivered drugs for the Rolling Stones, and was at George Harrison’s house when the Beatles split. Now Chris O'Dell tells all in a new documentary.
A conversation with Counting Crows frontman Adam Duritz
After 30 years, Counting Crows are still going strong. "As long as we can play, we will," Duritz says. "I mean, who gets to spend a whole life playing rock’n’roll? It’s pretty rare.”
Paul Rappaport: my 30 years as a rock promoter
“I want people to understand how nuts it was,” Rappaport says of his motivation for finally writing his memoir. “The business back then was so wild and so wonderful. I didn’t want people to forget it.”
The strange story of William Shatner’s Star Trek comeback
A new short film uses digital face replacement to bring a young Captain Kirk back to life. It's a technology that brings us a bold step closer to making the world of Star Trek a reality.
The Poetic Origins of Middle-earth
In juvenile impatience, most fledgling fans are liable to skip the poems in The Lord of Rings. But the mature Tolkien reader understands that they are the heart of his work.
Inverlair Lodge: the secret refuge for rubbish spies
Inverlair Lodge inspired cult TV series The Prisoner and bestselling novel The Cooler. But the real secret agents who were held there were less James Bond and more Johnny English.
Louis Armstrong: the jazz icon with a controversial legacy
Unreleased songs by Louis Armstrong feature on a new album, capturing the jazz legend at his commercial peak. But they also rekindle old debates on his legacies as an artist and civil rights activist.
Back to Black turns the Amy Winehouse story into a Disney movie
The film is unwilling to descend to the depths of depravity needed to honestly explain Winehouse's death. Instead, it gives her a Disney princess ending, implying she died of a broken heart.
The surprising life of rock’s most famous tambourine man
Having spent some 30 years shaking the cymbals for American psychedelic guitar band The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Joel Gion is one of the longest-serving tambourine men in rock history.
The Star Trek episode that predicted a 2024 crisis
Star Trek's vision of 2024 may have proven untrue in a literal sense. But it carries an allegorical truth that reflects accurately on the US homelessness crisis of today.
New Blue Sun heralds a bold reinvention for André 3000
While most of us doomscroll through life, the eccentric André 3000 – off in a quiet corner playing his meditative flute music – seems increasingly like the sane one in a mad world. Maybe we should listen up.
Expanded collection of Tolkien letters leaves some stories untold
Despite this expanded edition, hundreds of letters remain unpublished. But there is a power in leaving some of Tolkien's story untold: as long as there are unseen materials out there, the mythology can remain alive.
Mythical archive of ‘first Beatles historian’ comes to light
Mal Evans neglected his family for a life with the Beatles, amassing a priceless trove of ephemera and diary entries. Long after his untimely death, a new book has finally uncovered it.
The Beatles’ Final Song is an AI-Assisted Success
'Now and Then' is a worthy closer to the Fab Four's discography – arriving out of nowhere, long after we thought the music had ended, to bring a final smile to Beatles fans across the world.
A Colourless Remake of a Classic Album
Roger Waters positions himself as the single beam of creative light for The Dark Side of the Moon. But his original bandmates were the prism which allowed his creativity to be refracted into its full-colour splendour.
All 26 Rodriguez Songs, Ranked
It’s a small body of work, but Rodriguez's recorded output nonetheless contains greater substance than most artists who have recorded 10 times as much.
Roald Dahl’s Forgotten Novel, 75 Years On
Roald Dahl's debut novel sold poorly and has never been reprinted. But it has a major historical importance as the first novel about nuclear war to be published after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
Dante Ross: "the Forrest Gump of hip-hop"
“The Forrest Gump of hip-hop” sounds like an incongruous nickname. But Ross is thrilled with the title. “Gump is the connector,” he explains. “He’s connected to all these things. But you don’t really know who he is.”
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