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Independent radical criticism -- class / culture / politics / anarchism / media / music / cinema / art / philosophy / social theory -- class / culture / politics              
Selected Writing
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  1. 'A World Within Ear Shot'
    [film review published in Freedom, Vol. 68, No. 6, March 2007]
    Babel, directed by Alejandro Gonzáles Iñárritu

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  1. 'Lost In La Manchesta'
    [published in Freedom, Vol. 68, No. 8, April 2007 (in press)]
    Shameless, series 4, Channel 4 (January-March 2007)

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  1. 'Bombing Babylon'
    [art review published in Freedom, Vol. 68, No. 3, February 2007]
    The 'G' Word, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, January 2007

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  1. 'Blackboard Whitewash'
    Published in Freedom, Vol. 68, No. 9, May 2007 (in press)
    Freedom Writers, directed by Richard LaGravenese

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  1. 'Pearls Before Swine'
    [book review of The Hive of Liberty:
    The Life and Work of Thomas Spence    , ed. Keith Armstrong].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 68, No. 6, March 2007.

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  1. 'Premature Ejaculations'
    [music review of Hip Hop is Dead, by Nas].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 68, No. 4, February 2007.

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  1. 'Riodemption Songs'
    [film review of Favela Rising, dirs. Jeff Zimbalist & Matt Mochary].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 68, No. 3, February 2007.

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  1. 'Between a Roc and a Hard Place'
    [film review of Pan's Labyrinth, dir. Guillermo del Toro].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 68, No. 2, January 2007.

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  1. 'A Midautumn Night's Dream'
    [film review of Mischief Night, dir. Penny Woolcock].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 68, No. 1, January 2007.

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  1. 'High Street Art-Lite'
    [art review of
    Spank the Monkey, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 67, No. 24, December 2006.

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  1. 'Slouching Towards Bexhillem'
    [film review of Children of Men, dir. Alfonso Cuarón].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 67, No. 22, November 2006.

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  1. 'Zero Sum Game'
    [music reviews of Confidential, by M-1,
    and Can't Sell Dope Forever, by Dead Prez & Outlawz].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 67, No. 22, November 2006.

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  1. 'Women's Troubles'
    [film review of Volver, dir. Pedro Almodóvar].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 67, No. 21, November 2006.

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  1. 'Ghetto Fabulous'
    [art review of
    Küba, by Kutlug Ataman, Waygood Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 67, No. 19, October 2006.

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  1. 'Rose-Coloured Spectacles'
    [essay on political themes in recent mainstream cinema].
    published in Variant, No. 27, September 2006.

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  1. 'Weapons-Grade Funk'
    [music review of Pick A Bigger Weapon, by The Coup].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 67, No. 16, August 2006.

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  1. 'Grace, Favour and Farce'
    [film review of Manderlay, dir. Lars Von Trier].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 67, No. 15, July 2006.

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  1. 'Clarifying the Muddle East'
    [film review of Paradise Now, dir. Hany Abu-Assad].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 67, No. 13, July 2006.

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  1. 'Documents of Dissentiment'
    [DVD review of
    London Counterculture & People Power of the 90s, by Stefan Szczelkun].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 67, No. 12, June 2006.

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  1. 'The Hard Labour of Love'
    [film review of Lower City, dir. Sérgio Machado].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 67, No. 11, June 2006.

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  1. 'Likely Lads in the Global Gulag'
    [film review of The
    Road to Guantanamo    , dirs. Michael Winterbottom & Mat Whitecross].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 67, No. 8, April 2006.

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  1. 'V Signs and Simulations'
    [film review of V for Vendetta, dir. James McTeigue].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 67, No. 7, April 2006.

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  1. 'The Empire's New Clothes'
    [book review of Hollywood's New Radicalism, by Ben Dickenson].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 67, No. 5, March 2006.

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  1. 'The Discreet Karma of the Bourgeoisie'
    [film review of Hidden, dir. Michael Haneke].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 67, No. 5, March 2006.

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  1. 'At The Crossroads'
    [essay on trends in contemporary urban music].
    published in Variant, No. 25, February 2006.

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  1. 'Exchanged and Marked'
    [book review of Class, Self, Culture, by Beverley Skeggs].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 67, No. 3, February 2006.

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  1. 'Can't Knock the Hustle'
    [book review of Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang:
    The Culture & Commerce of Gangsta Rap    , by Eithne Quinn].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 66, No. 24, December 2005.

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  1. 'Random Signage and Secret Acts of Beauty'
    [art/book review of Wall and Piece, by Banksy].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 66, No. 23, November 2005.

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  1. 'MsJudged Blandishments'
    [music review of Judgement Days, by Ms Dynamite].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 66, No. 23, November 2005.

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  1. 'What a Man's Gotta Do'
    [film review of A History of Violence, dir. David Cronenberg].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 66, No. 21, October 2005.

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  1. 'Barmy Liberation Army'
    [film review of
    Guerilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst, dir. Robert Stone].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 66, No. 20, October 2005.

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  1. 'Bad Taste and Good Sense'
    [film review of A Dirty Shame, dir. John Waters].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 66, No. 19, October 2005.

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  1. 'Breaking Cover'
    [essay on documentary representations of European Muslim women].
    published in Variant, No. 24, September 2005.

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  1. 'Gene Genies'
    [review of anti-GM event,
    RISK: Creative Action in Political Culture, CCA, Glasgow].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 66, No. 14, July 2005.

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  1. 'Rodent's Eye View'
    [art review of A Gerbil's Guide
    to the Galaxy    , by Sally Madge, Bookville, Newcastle upon Tyne].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 66, No. 14, July 2005.

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  1. 'Slam Dunk Funk Sunk by Clunky Punk Junk'
    [music review of Saul Williams].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 66, No. 13, July 2005.

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  1. 'Moral Politics at Play School'
    [film review of The Edukators, dir. Hans Weingartner].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 66, No. 11, June 2005.

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  1. 'Hackney(ed) Crossroads'
    [film review of Bullet Boy, dir. Saul Dibb].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 66, No. 10, May 2005.

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  1. 'Same Difference?'
    [essay on film representations of European Muslims].
    published in Variant, No. 23, May 2005.

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  1. 'Going Through the Motions'
    [film review of 9 Songs, dir. Michael Winterbottom].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 66, No. 8, April 2005.

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  1. 'The Gutter Snipes Back'
    [television review of
    Shameless, series 2, by Paul Abbott, Channel 4].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 66, No. 7, April 2005.
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  1. 'The Maybe Men'
    [film review of The Yes Men,
    dirs. Dan Ollman, Sarah Price & Chris Smith].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 66, No. 7, April 2005.
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  1. 'A New Message From Rudy'
    [book review of Sound Clash:
    Jamaican Dancehall Culture at Large    , by Carolyn Cooper].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 66, No. 6, March 2005.
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  1. 'The Art of Brill o' Pads'
    [art review of Help Build the
    Ruins of Democracy    , by Bob & Roberta Smith, Baltic, Gateshead].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 66, No. 5, March 2005.
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  1. 'Beautiful Struggles and Gangsta Blues'
    [urban music review of the year 2004].
    published in Variant, No. 22, February 2005.
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  1. 'AeroSoul'
    [art review of stencil graffiti by Arofish].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 66, No. 4, February 2005.
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  1. 'Dilemmas Of A Bleeding Heart'
    [film review of Vera Drake, dir. Mike Leigh].
    published in Freedom, Vol. 66, No. 3, February 2005.
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  1. 'New Age Paranoia'
    [review of The Manchurian Candidate, dir. Jonathan Demme; published in Freedom, Vol. 65, No. 24, December 2004]
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  1. 'A pair of Right scares'
    [television review of The Power of Nightmares by Adam Curtis, BBC2]
    Freedom magazine, Vol. 65, No. 22, November 2004.
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  1. 'Conscious Heartbeats'
    [music review of The Beautiful Struggle by Talib Kweli, Rawkus]
    published in Freedom, Vol. 65, No. 21, October 2004.
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  1. 'A Rocket From Iraq'
    [news commentary]
    Freedom magazine, Vol. 65, No. 21, October 2004.
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  1. 'On Yer Bike, Che!'
    [film review of The Motorcycle Diaries, dir. Walter Salles]
    published in Freedom, Vol. 65, No. 20, October 2004.
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  1. 'Extracting The Michael'
    [film reviews of Fahrenheit 9/11, dir. Michael Moore]
    (a) 'Slurs and Stereotypes'
    Short review published in Freedom, Vol. 65, No. 15, August 2004.
    (b) 'Extracting The Michael'
    Review essay published in Variant, No. 21 September 2004.   
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  1. 'Flipping The Script'
    [music review of Council Estate of Mind by Skinnyman, Low Life]
    published in Freedom, Vol. 65, No. 16, August 2004.  
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  1. 'Dancehall Dreams'
    [on contemporary urban music, dance culture, gender and class]  
    Variant, No. 20, June 2004.
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  1. 'Revolutionary But Gangsta?'
    [music review of Revolutionary But Gangsta by Dead Prez, Sony]
    Freedom magazine, Vol. 65, No. 10, May 2004.
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  1. 'Dogville Rendezvous'
    [film review of Dogville, dir. Lars Von Trier, 2003]
    Freedom magazine, Vol. 65, No. 7, April 2004.
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  1. 'A Low Down Dirty Lack of Shame'
    [television review of Shameless, written by Paul Abbott, Channel 4]
    Variant, No. 19, February 2004.
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  1. 'Return of the Black Panther'
    [music review of: Sonic Jihad by Paris, Guerilla Funk]
    Freedom magazine, Vol. 65, No. 3, February 2004.
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  1. A Cut Above?
    [film review of In The Cut, dir. Jane Campion]
    Freedom magazine, Vol. 64, No. 22, November 2003.
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  1. 'Blood Curdling'
    [essay review of Resist: Protest Art, Crescent Arts, Scarborough]  
    Variant, No. 18, September 2003
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  1. 'Br(other) Rabbit's Tale'
    [on 8 Mile, Eminem, hip-hop and the media]
    Variant, No. 17, May 2003.
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  1. 'Class-ifying Contemporary Cinema'
    [on David Lynch, cinema and its critical interpretation]
    Variant, No. 10, May 2000.
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  1. 'Warts and All: Limits of Humans'
    [on humanism, postmodernism and politics]
    Here and Now, No. 18, May 1997.
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  1. 'Natural Born Cultures'
    [contemporary popular culture, politics, Oliver Stone films]
    Here and Now, No. 16/17, December 1995.
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  1. ‘Common Sense: Golden Goose or Propaganda?’
    [essay on Chomsky and the politics of rationality]
    Anarchist Studies, Vol 2, No. 3, 1995.
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  1. 'Nature Read in Truth and Straw'
    [essay review of Hot House Cold Storage, Sally Madge,
    Isis Gallery, Melmerby, Cumbria]
    Versus, No. 4, February 1995.
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  1. 'Corrupting Left Intellectual Culture'
    [contemporary radical libertarian politics and philosophy]
    Here and Now, No. 15, October 1994.
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  1. 'The Hidden Injuries of Theory'
    [on Class War, radical critique and social class]
    Here and Now, No. 14, July 1993.
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  1. 'A Hall of Mirrors: Television News and Social Reality'
    [on urban riots and their reportage]
    December 1992, unpublished.
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