2022
31/05/22: Did you know The Queen is allowed to eat all the swans? She is! (The Big Issue)
18/05/22: Here’s how to survive the cost of living crisis, for The Big Issue.
10/05/22: It’s been a weird time. I wrote about it for The Big Issue.
04/04/22: At some point I will stop writing about Peaky Blinders. But not today! (NME)
04/04/22: The last ever episode of Peaky Blinders! My last NME recap!
02/04/22: I interviewed Conrad Khan - Duke from Peaky Blinders - for NME.
01/04/22: Here’s some words about the Sex Pistols drama that Danny Boyle is making, that I very much enjoyed. (NME)
27/03/22: Penultimate Peaky Blinders recap ever, y’all! (NME)
25/03/22: Some words about my favourite new TV show, Peacemaker, for NME. That title-sequence doe!
13/03/22: New Peaky Blinders recap! (NME)
10/03/22: I reviewed the new Ghost record, Impera, for NME.
10/03/22: I’ve been speaking to musicians in Ukraine for the last week. A month ago they were picking up guitars, now they’re holding machine guns. (The Telegraph)
09/03/22: Happy 70th birthday NME! You changed my life! Wrote a few words about writing my first ever NME cover story, with a nuddie Beth Ditto, here.
07/03/22: I'm doing the weekly Peaky Blinders recaps for NME this season. Here's my take on episode two.
27/02/22: Some words about the new Vikings spin-off, for NME. AND FOR VALHALLA!
26/02/22: Oooh! Peaky Blinders is back tomorrow. I wrote about the first episode of Season 6. (NME)
22/02/22: I went to see Damon Albarn at the Barbican. Saw him first when I was 15. I’m 41 now. My fandom is only growing. (NME)
16/02/22: I wrote about how we all need to chill the fuck out and enjoy Star Wars and its silly spinning! (The Face)
14/02/22: Some words about the late, great Ivan Reitman, for NME.
10/02/22: An open application for the role of Private Secretary to the Prime Minister, for The London Economic.
25/01/22: I reviewed the new Boy Harsher record, The Runner, for NME.
21/01/22: Broke my heart to write this one; Meat Loaf, RIP, for NME.
21/01/22: I wrote about my favourite new TV show, Yellowjackets, for NME. This is a banger, right?
21/01/22: I interviewed Rupert Grint about his favourite songs, for NME. Nice man. Awful taste in tunes.
20/01/22: I went to a gig last night. An actual gig! And I wrote about it for NME!
14/01/22: I didn’t just interview Ricky - I reviewed the last series of After Life too. (NME)
13/01/22: I interviewed Ricky Gervais for NME.
13/01/22: This one broke my heart to write. Ronnie Spector, RIP. For NME.
12/01/22: Went to see nu-Scream last night. Here’s my review for NME!
10/01/22: I interviewed Harlan Coben for the Observer Magazine - and very nice he was too!
05/01/22: I wrote about what it’s like to come from a crap town (Doncaster) and live in a crap town (Sunderland) and why that’s not funny, for The Big Issue.
2021
27/12/21: Fandom get me to do some wild stuff. Interviewing a real life bounty hunter is the sort of shit I live for.
21/12/21: I love horror movies. I love writing for NME. Here’s my favourite horror movies of 2021 - for NME!
20/12/21: I wrote about Bullseye for The Big Issue, in advance of my Radio 4 documentary, Look At What You Could Have Won - which is airing tonight! Read that here! And you can listen here! Check out the bumper new issue too. It’s great!
16/12/21: I enjoyed Season 2 of The Witcher very much! So I wrote about it for NME! You know fuck all, Dandelion!
14/12/21: On the subject of Spider-Man, do spiders actually have a ‘spidey sense’? (Fandom)
10/12/21: Here’s a thing I wrote about why ‘bad’ people (like Tiger King’s Doc Antle) need to tell their story too, for NME.
10/12/21: I tried to keep Spider-Man out of prison, for Fandom. Not for the first time, hand me my Pulitzer.
8/12/21: I - NME’s unofficial animation correspondent - wrote a bunch of these burbs.
23/11/21: Some very silly shit I wrote about Hawkeye, for Fandom.
17/11/21: I didn’t like Tiger King 2, but I did devour it (NME)
16/11/21: I wrote about the Cowboy Bebop live-action adaptation. I didn’t like it much. (NME)
16/11/21: I interviewed Al Jean - from The Simpsons! - for NME. That was siiiiiiiiick.
11/11/21: The new Ghostbusters is out soon. It’s okay! But what better time to speak to an actual ghostbuster, for Fandom!
07/11/21: Was a pleasure to interview the great Dennis Bovell for the Observer Magazine. I wish I could have included the many, many moments where he burst into song during our conversation.
04/11/21: I went to CrimeCon UK a while back. It was weird. Good - but weeeeeeeeeird. I wrote about it for NME.
03/11/21: I spoke to Andy McGrillen, creator and co-host of the best UFO podcast around - That UFO Podcast - about Eternals, for Fandom.
03/11/21: Some words about the new season of Dexter, for NME!
29/10/21: I wrote thousands and thousands and thousands of words about whether Survivor Series has any future, for the new issue of Inside The Ropes. You can get your pre-order on here!
28/10/21: This was a lot of fun. I interviewed Jason Blum, for NME. Happy Hallowe’en!
25/10/21: I wrote about worms (and Dune) for Fandom. How good are worms!
12/10/21: The new Scream trailer is out. Here’s some words. For NME.
06/10/21: Some words on Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon, for NME.
05/10/21: I’m obsessed with UFO’s. I wrote about why we all are now, for The Face.
01/10/21: Inside The Ropes have announced their new issue. You can pre-order here. I wrote about what a heel can/should do in 2021.
01/10/21: Here’s a thing I wrote about Star Wars: Visions, for NME.
13/09/21: I reviewed Hey What, the new album by Low, for NME.
07/09/21: Wrote some words about the sad passing of Michael K. Williams, for NME.
06/09/21: Here’s my recap of S05E09 of Rick and Morty, for NME. And S05E10! And that’s that!
29/08/21: I will always be grateful to have interviewed Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry. It was an honour to write his obituary, for NME, today.
26/08/21: My old friend Dave Harper died. He was some dude. Here’s some words.
24/08/21: Some words about Turnstile - how great are Turnstile! - for The Guardian Guide.
24/08/21: Man, Charlie Watts died. That sucks. Here’s some words for NME.
11/08/21: I’ve written a big old thing about the relationship between pro-wrestling and the music industry. It’s in the new issue of Inside The Ropes - where else! It’ll be in shops in a few weeks, but why not pre-order now?
10/08/21: Here’s my recap of S05E08 of Rick and Morty, for NME.
07/08/21: I spoke to Martha Wainwright for The Observer Magazine. I’m trying to collect the full set.
04/08/21: Here’s my recap of S05E07 of Rick and Morty, for NME.
30/07/21: I interviewed Mark Ronson for NME. He was really lovely, and turned me on to a tonne of music I didn’t know.
28/07/21: RIP Joey Jordison - some words, for NME.
26/07/21: Here’s my recap of S05E06 of Rick and Morty, for NME.
20/07/21: Here’s my recap of S05E05 of Rick and Morty, for NME.
13/07/21: Here’s my recap of S05E04 of Rick and Morty, for NME.
10/07/21: I wrote about the mental illness trope in pro-wrestling for my favourite, your favourite, everyone’s favourite pro-wrestling mag, Inside The Ropes. It’s in shops now, but if you can’t find an issue, you can order direct here.
07/07/21: I wrote about Godzilla (Singular Point) for NME. Always a pleasure, never a chore.
07/07/21: Richard Donner’s Ten Best Films, for NME.
06/07/21: Richard Donner has died at the age of 91. I wrote about what his films mean to me, for NME.
05/07/21: Here’s my recap of S05E03 of Rick and Morty, for NME.
04/07/21: I interviewed Boris Becker for The Observer Magazine. He was fantastisch.
03/07/21: Wrestling! Music! Me and The Guardian Guide!
02/07/21: I wrote about Grenfell Athletic again. This time for the Evening Standard.
29/06/21: Maybe they’re not the best 13, but here’s 13 slasher movies that I really like, for The Face.
28/06/21: Here’s my recap of S05E02 of Rick and Morty, for NME.
25/06/21: I wrote about my favourite ten episodes of Ricky and Morty, for NME. Don’t make it weird.
24/06/21: I wrote about A24 for The Face. I really like those films.
21/06/21: I’m doing the Season Five recaps of Rick and Morty for NME. Here’s S05E01.
19/06/21: Should zombies be able to run, for The Guardian Guide.
14/06/21: The rise and rise of Grenfell Athletic Football Club, for The Face.
10/06/21: In something of a dream commission, I wrote 4,000 words about paranormal wrestling for the new issue of Inside The Ropes. In shops now, if that's your sort of thing.
29/05/21: It was a hoot to finally interview Nadine Shah, for The Observer Magazine.
28/05/21: Who isn’t over the end of The OA? This guy. I interviewed Patrick Gibson for NME.
20/05/21: Here’s a silly, fun, science-y piece I wrote about A Quiet Place Part II, for Fandom!
12/05/21: There’s no one form that OCD takes, it’s a shit pair of trousers that come in a variety of shitty colours. But The Face asked me to keep a diary of a day with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder for their Mental Health Week coverage. So I did my best.
12/05/21: I watched Zack Snyder’s return to the zombie genre, for NME. Then I wrote about it. Also for NME.
10/05/21: I reviewed Super What?, by MF DOOM & Czarface, for NME.
08/05/21: It was an absolute pleasure to speak to Geoff Dyer, for The Observer Magazine.
07/05/21: Here’s some words about Jupiter’s Legacy, for NME.
30/04/21: The Innocent is one of the most bonkers things I’ve watched in a long time. I wrote about it, for NME.
18/04/21: I can watch CW shows until my brain turns to mush - and often have! Ahead of the debut of Batwoman series two, I spoke to the incoming Javicia Leslie for NME.
17/04/21: Because I don’t like an easy life, I ranked and revisited each season of Game Of Thrones, for NME.
16/04/21: I did the Tracks for The Guardian Guide. Get on that Daine tune, it’s a bop.
16/04/21: Rest in peace Helen McCrory, you were fantastic. (NME)
15/04/21: Here’s a little thing I wrote about the trailer reveal for Zach Snyder’s new joint, Army Of The Dead. (NME)
05/04/21: I’ve wanted to write about Tiger King for a year now. And I did, for NME.
05/04/21: Here’s a thing I wrote for NME about why I don’t like violent videogames - but maybe not for reasons you think. It includes props to the brilliant Undertale - and Dizzy! - two of my very favourite games.
05/04/21: I’ve been playing a lot of The Evil Within lately. (NME)
01/04/21: This was a fun one. The eternal cool of Godzilla, for The Face.
29/03/21: One of my favourite things to do this last twelve months has been to make a fort out of duvets and listen to spoooky stories. I wrote about that, for The Guardian.
25/03/21: Did I tell you I interviewed Junkie XL? I interviewed Junkie XL! (NME)
25/03/21: It was very hard to do this bit of Godzilla vs. Kong copywriting for Fandom without spending a lot of money.
24/03/21: I wrote about how The Walking Dead got shit. Then really shit. Then really really really shit. And is now ace again, for NME.
24/03/21: I had some thoughts on true crime and Netflix, for NME.
22/03/21: Farewell Dan Sartain. I really liked your songs. (NME)
21/03/21: I recently interviewed the legend, Dean Koontz, for The Observer Magazine. Best. Holding. Picture. Ever.
19/03/21: Fancy a bit of ‘Latin Pulp’? I wrote about Sky Rojo, for NME.
17/03/21: I had a little chat with Frank Grillo the other week. Nice dude. (NME)
15/03/21: Go on then, this is what I thought of Zack Snyder’s Justice League (NME)
12/03/21: All I do is write about The Walking Dead now. Not complaining. (NME)
10/03/21: This was fun and a little bit exhausting to do. Every season of The Walking Dead, revisited and ranked. (NME)
04/03/21: I wrote about being old and boring, and being fine with that - for NME.
26/02/21: I wrote about OCD, illness and a videogame I’ve become faintly obsessed with, for NME.
20/02/21: Don’t accuse me of not always looking for answers to the big questions. Why is Blanka from Streetfighter II green? (NME)
20/02/21: Me! Vikings! The Guardian Guide! Today! Or read it online, here!
18/02/21: I interviewed Katheryn Winnick for NME. She’ll always be Lagertha to me.
16/02/21: Here’s a bit of copywriting I did for Fandom - this time about Black Panther.
16/02/21: Any excuse to write about the Silent Hill soundtrack! (NME)
08/02/21: There’s an interesting documentary about the disappearance of Elisa Lamb due to drop on Netflix. I wrote about it, for NME.
05/02/21: I reviewed the new Foo Fighters album, Medicine at Midnight, for NME.
03/02/21: I wrote about Spanish Dracula! For The Guardian! I VANT YOU TO VEEEEEAD IT!
30/01/21: I’ve got a piece in The Guardian Guide today about the representation of OCD in television. If you can’t get to the shops - remember shops! - then you can read it here.
28/01/21: I interviewed Simon Bird - you know him, ‘briefcase wanker!’ - for NME.
28/01/21: I love weird stuff. You know this. I wrote about videogame urban legends. (NME)
22/01/21: Sea shanties in the UK Top 40. Unlikely! You have videogames to thank/blame for that… (NME)
21/01/21: For Vice, this is the strangest true crime story I've written about in years of writing about true crime stories…
17/01/21: Spoke about OCD for the ever excellent Sound Affects podcast. It’s long - and deep. But I had fun.
15/01/21: Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. It was an honour to write about the late, great Sylvain Sylvain, for NME.
15/01/21: Oooh, did you hear the Star Wars news? No, not that news. This news! (NME)
14/01/21: Here’s a bit of copywriting for Fandom - this time about Marvel.
12/01/21: Have you seen Pretend It’s A City, yet? It’s some wonderful television, it really is... (NME)
11/01/21: I went into the forest, and got a bit spoooked out, to write about British Bigfoot, for The Face.
05/01/21: Please keep commissioning me to write about Vikings, I do love it so. (NME)
05/01/21: And some words on Pixar, for Fandom. Still haven’t seen Soul. I don’t think I can handle it right now.
05/01/21: Here’s a bit of copywriting I did for Fandom about my beloved Studio Ghibli - happy birthday Hayao Miyazaki!
03/01/21: Here’s an interview I did with Flea for The Observer Magazine. <slaps bass>.
01/01/21: Not the piece I would have chosen to kick the year off with. Here’s me on the passing of the great MF DOOM, for NME.
2020
31/12/20: Bloody hell. 2020 was a… year. Here’s my videogame resolutions, for 2021, for NME.
29/12/20: Vikings is back tomorrow! Here’s why Ivar The Boneless must die, for NME.
28/12/20: Good list of 2020’s best off the radar videogames here, for The Guardian. I wrote about a few of my favourites.
24/12/20: I miss going to the pub. Here’s a love letter to the next best thing, videogame pubs. (NME)
23/12/20: Twitch’s new anti-harassment policy is not enough, for NME.
12/12/20: Here is an opinion I had about Star Wars, for the Independent.
11/12/20: A bit more copywriting for Fandom. This time, Cyberpunk 2077.
09/12/20: I love videogames. Sometimes videogames make it hard to love them. Welcome to 2020. (NME)
09/12/20: Contributed a few bits to NME’s The 20 best TV shows of 2020 list. (EastEnders should have won, FYI).
08/12/20: A few words on ‘Obsessive Christmas Disorder’.
04/12/20: Can a scary videogame ever be too scary? The answer is yes. I wrote about Visage for NME.
03/12/20: I reviewed Francis Ford Coppola’s new cut of The Godfather Part 3, for NME.
02/12/20: Wondering what my favourite albums, podcasts, telly, movies, videogames… and other stuff were at the end of this Godforsaken year? Well, you’re in luck! There’s a wee Instazine I made over at my Instagram!
26/11/20: I wrote about my favourite TV Thanksgiving episodes, for NME. Man, that Cheers episode is some good shit.
25/11/20: Rest in power, Diego Armando Maradona. Here’s some words, for NME.
23/11/20: I wrote about Architects at the Royal Albert Hall. Something extraordinary happened. (NME)
19/11/20: Wrote about 2020: the summer of virtual music festivals. I miss fields and I miss tents. Never thought I’d say that. (NME)
13/11/20: Oooh, I’m in The Guardian Guide tomorrow, writing about Chubby and the Gang, one of my favourite new bands! [Update from 'the future’ - you can read it here, now!]
13/11/20: A bit of copywriting work on an Xbox tip for the Fandom Shop. Oh, and on a PlayStation one too.
13/11/20: I wrote about videogame robots, for NME. Bloody love me a videogame robot.
12/11/20: I reviewed Train To Busan Presents: Peninsula for NME.
06/11/20: I wrote about Kind Words, my favourite new videogame - but really, it’s much more than that - for NME.
03/11/20: On the eve of the most important U.S. presidential election of our lifetimes, I… um… wrote about The Simpsons! (NME)
02/11/20: Very sad - but an honour - to write about the passing of James Broad, from Silver Sun, for The Guardian. You can read my interview with James for Indie Heaven, here.
31/10/20: Yeeeeeeeeah boi, I interviewed Chuck D for the Observer Magazine.
30/10/20: Here’s my mate Jed Shepherd - co-writer of Host, 2020’s best horror movie - on how to survive Hallowe’en! (NME)
30/10/20: Still haven’t decided what horror movie you’re streaming tonight? Allow me to help… (NME)
30/10/20: I interviewed Troy Sanders from Mastodon for NME.
30/10/20: I don’t know whether you know, but the scariest videogames aren’t always the ones that are supposed to be… (NME)
29/10/20: Man, I loved 2016’s zombie thriller Train To Busan. When the chance came up to speak to Gang Dong-wan, star of the sequel, Train To Busan Presents: Peninsula, I bit my commissioning editor’s hand off. (NME)
28/10/20: Always a pleasure, always an honour, to speak to Puscifer. (NME)
28/10/20: I wrote about the scariest videogame I’ve ever played, Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly, for GamesRadar.
28/10/20: There’s only one thing ghosts love more than freshly washed linen - recording studios! (NME)
23/10/20: Here’s a bit more of my interview with Lauren Cohan - Maggie from The Walking Dead - for NME.
23/10/20: Hey, I’m not going to deny I’m interested in true crime - but surely videogames aren’t an appropriate home for real world tragedy… (NME)
20/10/20: One of my favourite independent record labels is fifteen! Bloody hell! That’s bonkers! Here’s the Hassle story, for NME!
16/10/20: I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty excited about the Monster Hunter movie… (NME)
09/10/20: We should be skeptical of politicians who claim to love music - it never works out well (Independent)
09/10/20: I reviewed Lament, the (amazing) new Touché Amoré album, for NME.
08/10/20: Ooooh, Akira is back in cinemas - in 4K! I wrote about it’s enduring influence, for NME.
08/10/20: Wrote my first piece for the Evening Standard! About my beloved Walthamstow FC! Up the Stow!
08/10/20: I’m finally ready to admit it to the world. I’m a videogames journalist - who is terrible at videogames… (NME)
07/10/20: RIP Eddie Van Halen. I wrote about a legend for the Independent.
05/10/20: I spoke to the very lovely Andrew Gold of the On The Edge podcast about my experience with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. You can find him, here, and you can listen to the episode, here.
04/10/20: I spoke to Lauren Cohan from The Walking Dead recently, for NME.
02/10/20: It’s Hallowe’en! What, you don’t consider all of October to be Hallowe’en? What’s wrong with you! Here’s thirty-one spoooky games to take you right until the big day… (NME)
01/10/20: I’m doing #Inktober this year. Thought I’d do my favourite animals, one a day, until the end of the month. Keep your eye on my Instagram if that’s your kind of thing!
26/09/20: What is happening to the Britpop heroes of my youth? Put on your damn face mask! For the Independent.
24/09/20: Every Deftones album, rated and reappraised, for NME. Yes, it was as difficult as that sounds…
24/09/20: I interviewed Corey Taylor for NME. I haven’t interviewed him - also for NME - in well over ten-years. I hope it’s not so long before I do again. Dude is a lovely, interesting man.
24/09/20: It’s ‘The Last Of Us Day’ on Saturday. But what other videogame franchises should have their own day? (NME).
22/09/20: I reviewed Ohms, the new Deftones album, for NME.
16/09/20: FIFA 21 is imminent. The footballers are moaning about their ratings. It’s the most wonderful time of the year. (NME).
11/09/20: Teraflop. Teraflop. Teraflop. What does it all mean? I investigated, for NME.
10/09/20: I wrote something really doomy about festivals in the age of COVID, for the Independent.
07/09/20: I listened to the Alan Partridge podcast so you don’t have to (you should, it’s great). (NME).
01/09/20: I went to the Freedom Rally in Trafalgar Square. I met a tonne of people who don’t want to wear a face mask, for Vice.
31/08/20: Scroll down a bit. I didn’t do any work in July. I wrote about why, for The Big Issue.
29/08/20: I interviewed Toni Braxton, The Observer Magazine. It was a dream.
27/08/20: I wrote about my new favourite videogame - and being a fat dude - for NME.
26/08/20: This was fun. Every Metallica album, ranked and re-reviewed, for NME. Don’t @ me.
26/08/20: Riley Gale from Power Trip was a helluva dude. Gone too soon, I wrote about him for NME.
24/08/20: That new Batman trailer is something, eh? I decoded it, for NME.
21/08/20: I wrote some words about my late friend, NME legend, Dele Fadele.
20/08/20: I turned 40 a few months back. I poked my head above the existential angst currently engulfing me to ask, ‘what happens when gamers get old?’ (NME).
13/08/20: Next month the Sony PlayStation turns twenty-five years old. Ah, the memories. I wrote about the beautiful grey box of wonder, for NME.
10/08/20: Martin Birch died. I wrote about the best songs he helmed the production desk for. Rainbow, Sabbath, Maiden, the Mac, all the big guns. (NME)
30/07/20: Here’s something I wrote about my favourite scene in my favourite movie, for Little White Lies.
23/06/20: I interviewed At The Drive-In’s Omar Rodríguez-López for NME. I couldn’t handle that at sixteen. I could barely handle it at thirty-nine.
22/06/20: There’s a new Rock Against Racism documentary out, directed by the very talented Rubika Shah. It’s called White Riot and director and journalist had a natter, for NME.
16/666/20: I went to review Download Festival and didn’t even have to leave my living room, for NME.
16/06/20: I wrote about <that> new Resident Evil Village trailer, for NME. I’m very excited y’know. Werewolves!
15/06/20: I reviewed Lamb Of God, the new Lamb Of God album, for NME.
12/06/20: I’m so lucky I get to write about so many things that matter to me. Today The Independent published my deep dive on Italia 90 - my coming of age as a football fan! - and ‘World In Motion’. Express yourself, heh…
10/06/20: I ranked and rated every dinosaur to appear in the Jurassic Park/World franchise. T-Rex FTW, for Fandom.
05/06/20: Have you watched Central Park yet? The new series from the Bob’s Burgers crew? It’s lovely. (NME).
28/05/20: I’ve been obsessed with the videogame Control for months now. I wrote about it, and about Alan Wake, for NME.
26/05/20: I wrote relatively comprehensively about the history of skating games, for NME.
22/05/20: Robert McElhenney makes a TV how called It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Is it any good? Obviously it is. I mostly talked to him about Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet, aka the only good TV show ever made about videogames, etc - for NME.
21/05/20: Remember I was talking about being interviewed by Nadine Shah the other week? Well, if you missed that, you can now watch it on YouTube. In the window to your right in fact!
18/05/20: I asked ‘can videogames get you fit?’ for NME. Features my badass pocket rocket friend Laura!.
18/05/20: When I used to live with my best mate Ricky, he would often play Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater for twenty-fours straight without blinking an eye. I would go to bed and when I’d wake up, he’d still be there, grinding on a rail. He’s very excited about the series reboot, as are My Chemical Romance, Creeper, All Time Low, et al (NME).
14/05/20: I revisited one of my first loves, Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson’s Fighting Fantasy series, for NME. There’s an excellent FMV adaptation of Deathtrap Dungeon out right now, for PC and Android.
13/05/20: I interviewed Floor Jansen from Nightwish for NME. I had an excellent time. If she hated it, she didn’t let on.
08/05/20: NME launched their new videogame channel yesterday. That’s exciting - I’m doing a bunch of stuff for it. Kicked things off with a piece about why I’m enjoying Streets Of Rage 4 so much, and if it’s possible that videogames are getting too complicated…
07/05/20: The queen Nadine Shah has a series where she interviews journalists. It’s called Payback. She’s interviewing me tonight. Gulp. Head to my Instagram at 9pm.
30/04/20: Years ago, I was fascinated by the ‘Corrupted Blood’ ‘virus’ inside World Of Warcraft. Turns out that the learnings taken from that incident are being applied to the present fight against COVID-19. I wrote about that, for NME Australia.
30/04/20: I wrote about the new Enter Shikari album, Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible, for Metro. I presume it was also in the paper at some point, but forgive me, I don’t even know what day it is anymore.
27/04/20: It took me a while, but I wrote about Animal Crossing: New Horizons for NME Australia. Because of course I did.
26/04/20: Hello all you cool cats and kittens! I’ve got a couple of pages about people who own tigers (no, not that guy), for the Sunday Express. It’s in the paper, today!
23/04/20: Everyone rags on videogames. Right now, videogames are keeping society connected. Will COVID-19 change how we view videogames, forever? (NME Australia).
22/04/20: I really like the silly history show Vikings. I wrote about what I want to happen next, for NME. Also includes a shout out to Jorvik Viking Centre in the loose hope they might give me some free tickets.
19/04/20: I interviewed the wise and gentle Rufus Wainwright, for Observer Magazine. Read that, here.
17/04/20: I wrote about the best global adventures you can have, without leaving your sofa, via videogames, for NME Australia. True story. Me and my wife once booked a trip to Kefalonia because we liked how it looked in Assassins Creed Odyssey. It was nice!
17/04/20: Tommy Cash is one of my favourite musicians. Tommy Cash is a genius. And I interviewed him, for Dummy.
16/04/20: Trying to get a magazine out in the era of COVID-19 is some bonkers shit. Solidarity to magazine teams everywhere! Somehow Revolver managed to get their Spring issue out despite New York falling around their ears. I wrote about Loathe in it. Have you heard that band? They’re really great. Go buy an issue now! Or read that piece, here!
16/04/20: Anyone else playing more videogames than usual? I bashed out some words on some of my favourite soundtracks, for NME. I really regret not writing more about Resident Evil 2 and Masami Ueda, Shusaku Uchiyama and Syun Nishigaki here.
16/04/20: Well, I made it over a week! Here’s some words on the announced Resident Evil 4 remake, for NME Australia.
15/04/20: So there’s this new-ish band I really like called Wallflower. I interviewed them for NME.
15/04/20: Another for NME Australia; I wrote about that PlayStation 5 controller. Features a very good Hulk Hogan joke.
09/04/20: I wrote about COVID-19 and what it means for the videogame industry, for NME Australia. I’m not taking The Last Of Us Part II news very well, I’ll be honest.
05/04/20: I find myself feeling quite emotional noting that more and more musicians are talking openly about OCD. I wrote about that - and how important, powerful and helpful I would have found that as a teenager - for the Independent.
03/04/20: I wrote a complete history of Resident Evil for Fandom. Read that here. That’s it now, I’m not writing another word about Resident Evil for at least a week.
02/04/20: In something of a dream commission, here’s an A-Z of Resident Evil, for GAMINGbible.
27/03/20: I reviewed the two new, surprise Nine Inch Nails albums, Ghosts: V-VI, for NME.
24/03/20: What would happen if Animal Crossing was real? I asked some faintly baffled zoologists, for GamesRadar.
23/03/20: If you get a copy of the The Big Issue today, I’ve written a page on what it’s like to have OCD during the Coronavirus crisis. Magazine vendors aren’t on the street until further notice, so may I recommend you getting a subscription? Or you can read it here. The Big Issue is a magazine that we need through this frightening juncture in history - and to still be there when it’s finally over.
20/03/20: I wrote about emo, for the Independent.
Imagine that. https://t.co/PsPbRskBnm
— The Church Of Satan (@ChurchofSatan) March 19, 2020
18/03/20: I spoke to a very nice man from The Church of Satan, about DOOM Eternal - and videogames in general! A very nice man, it must be said! (Fandom).
14/03/20: This one was a buzz. I interviewed Kyle McLachlan for The Observer Magazine. They cut out him talking about what makes a great cup of coffee. Here’s an exclusive: “A great coffee is any coffee made with love…”
11/03/20: I interviewed Nova Twins for The Line Of Best Fit. They’re my favourite new band at the moment.
09/03/20: Here’s The Twenty Greatest Videogame Characters, for the Independent.
09/03/20: I wrote about why Animal Crossing is the most evil videogame ever conceived, for FANDOM.
03/03/20: What a delight to have Cornershop back. I had a little chat with them, for NME.
02/03/20: I wrote about the murder of John Lennon, for the Independent.
01/03/20: Here’s The Twenty Best Games For The PlayStation 4, for the Independent.
27/02/20: Altered Carbon season two review, for NME. Netflix sci-fi asks big less questions than last time around.
22/02/20: I interviewed Don Letts. What an interesting dude. For Observer Magazine.
19/02/20: The Twenty Greatest EastEnders Moments, for NME. This list could have been three figures.
09/02/20: There’s this band called Sabaton. They sing heavy metal songs about war. I love them. (NME).
07/02/20: I went to San Francisco and interviewed Green Day, for The Guardian.
06/02/20: I wrote more about the Claudia Lawrence story, for Crime Monthly - in shops now.
31/01/20: Farewell Bojack Horseman - for NME.
19/01/20: The Claudia Lawrence story is so sad. I interviewed her dad, Peter, for Vice.
19/01/20: Allow me to predict the future of videogames, for GamesRadar.
18/01/20: Stellan Skarsgård explained to me how best to smash up a telephone. For The Observer Magazine.
17/01/20: I interviewed a nice lady from a hedgehog sanctuary about what Sonic The Hedgehog gets right about actual hedgehogs, for FANDOM. I’m ready for my Pulitzer whenever you are.
17/01/20: Going on a Norwegian flight soon? I’ve got a column about Spanish football in their beautifully designed in-flight mag, N.
15/01/20: I wrote about how giving up FPS might be good for your mental health - for Official PlayStation Magazine. In shops now!
06/01/20: Sometimes it feels like the world is falling to pieces. I wrote about a bunch of people trying to put it back together again, for The Big Issue’s annual ‘Changemakers’ issue.
02/01/20: The new Record Collector is out today. I reviewed You Deserve Love by White Reaper for it. Have you heard that band? They are wonderful!
2019
20/12/19: This was also a lot of fun. The Fifty Greatest Videogames Of The Last Decade, for NME.
18/12/19: This was a lot of fun. Behold, The Best Rockstar Dogs Of 2019, for NME.
18/12/19: For Official PlayStation Magazine, I wrote about Death Stranding. That’s what the world needs. More Death Standing chat.
17/12/19: I interviewed Nick Kroll, I’m a big fan of his Netflix show, Big Mouth (NME).
14/12/19: I interviewed Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock for The Observer Magazine. We talked a lot about The Clangers.
05/12/19: In the commission I was perhaps born to do, I reviewed this seasons Christmas sandwiches for The Big Issue.
02/12/19: I went deep on the incoming return of Faith No More, for NME.
27/12/19: This is a piece about the Doncaster band Bang Bang Romeo. But it’s also a piece my hometown being underwater, for NME.
25/12/19: My Chemical Romance - a life in rock shows. (NME).
23/12/19: Ghost, reviewed at Wembley Arena, for NME.
22/12/19: I am so over The Apprentice. This is why, for NME.
19/11/19: Here’s a bit of writing on NME about the new Foals film.
18/11/19: Jesse Leach from Killswitch Engage is a total hero. I spoke to him for NME.
15/11/19: Daniel J. Jones uncovered the CIA’s mass use of torture post 9/11. I spoke to him about this, and biopic, The Report, for NME.
14/11/19: I wrote about the sex life of Mario and Princess Peach, for GamesRadar.
10/11/19: I wrote about Sesame Street turning fifty, for The Big Issue (dream commission).
08/11/19: I had to drink a lot of coffee, but I really enjoyed The Irishman. Here’s the true stories behind the film. (NME).
07/11/19: SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYER, for NME.
07/11/19: The new Record Collector is out today. I reviewed Dreamin by Friendship for it.
01/11/19: Another blog about My Chemical Romance - this time about that reunion, for NME.
01/11/19: I interviewed the man who put Beverley Allitt in prison, for Vice.
31/10/19: What’s that? You’d like someone to re-review and rank every Halloween movie? You’re in luck! (NME).
31/10/19: Early in 2019, NME released a one-off physical issue about Gerard Way’s The Umbrella Academy. I interviewed Gerard for it. Here’s that interview, re-purposed online.
31/10/19: For NME, it’s Gerard Way on comics - does exactly what it says on the tin…
31/10/19: A big old list of horror icons, just in time for Hallowe’en! (NME).
30/10/19: In which I ask, ‘why does British telly hate the working class?’ (NME).
28/10/19: An interview with Wolfmother. For NME. This is a tune.
25/10/19: Farewell Bojack Horseman (almost) - for NME.
24/10/19: Went to EGX. Got sore feet. Wrote about it for NME.
23/10/19: The best indie games I got my mitts on at EGX. (NME).
22/10/19: I like big record shops and I cannot lie… (NME).
21/10/19: Interviewed Rob Halford for NME. Spent ages talking about how he hates his local neighborhood watch.
18/10/19: I’ve spent years wanting to give Team America a shoeing… (NME).
18/10/19: Interviewed Janine Shilstone from Vukovi about her OCD. Bravo to her. (NME).
16/10/19: I reviewed War Music by Refused, for NME.
14/10/19: Twenty-five amazing facts about Dog Man Star, by Suede! (NME).
10/10/19: The new Record Collector is out today. I reviewed Replicr, 2019 by 65daysofstatic for it.
10/10/19: An interview with Lacuna Coil’s Cristina Scabbia, for NME.
10/10/19: Played the new Blair Witch game. Got irritated with it’s representation of mental health. Wrote about it. (GamesRadar).
07/10/19: Big Mouth season three, reviewed, for NME.
06/10/19: Ginger Baker, 1939 - 2019, the NME obituary.
04/10/19: Why Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker is the villain 2019 deserves. (NME).
03/10/19: Kim Shattuck, 1963 - 2019, the NME obituary.
03/10/19: I wrote about clowns, and crime, for Crime Monthly. In shops now.
02/10/19: I interviewed Batushka for Revolver.
28/09/19: Here’s an interview with Jess Phillips for The Observer Magazine.
25/09/19: I wrote about videogames and climate change, for GamesRadar. Uneasy bedfellows.
24/09/19: Robert Crumb doesn’t like doing interviews, so I interviewed Terry Zwigoff instead. (NME).
22/09/19: Here’s a piece I did for the The Observer Magazine about people with extraordinary talents!
19/09/19: Conjurer are the best new metal band in Britain. I interviewed them for NME!
19/09/19: I reviewed In Cauda Venenum, by Opeth, for NME.
19/09/19: Movies are obsessed with Area 51. What do they tell us about the place? (Little White Lies).
18/09/19: I ranked The Cars ten best songs - a difficult task keeping it to ten! (NME).
16/09/19: Ric Ocasek, 1944 - 2019, the NME obituary.
13/09/19: Here is a really weird interview with Jonathan Davis from Korn, for NME.
12/09/19: The Arcade Fire’s Funeral at fifteen - the album that killed indie rock as we knew it. (NME).
12/09/19: Daniel Johnston, 1961 - 2019, the NME obituary.
12/09/19: The new Record Collector is out today. I reviewed Hello Exile by The Menzingers, Easter Is Cancelled by The Darkness and Memory by Vivian Girls for it.
10/09/19: Supergrass - the first band I ever saw fact fans - are back! I reviewed their comeback show, for NME!
10/09/19: I interviewed the ‘mental wealth’ girl from the PlayStation adverts! It remains a career highlight! (GamesRadar).
01/09/19: I wrote about the state of British horror, circa now, for Film Stories. Get your magazine here.
30/08/19: I reviewed Fear Inoculum, by Tool, for NME.
29/08/19: Have you played Reigns? I love Reigns. I wrote about how much I love it, for GamesRadar.
28/08/19: I wrote about OCD - and my mental refuge, videogames. For GamesRadar.
27/08/19: What do actual footballers - in this case Tyrese Campbell of Stoke City - think of FIFA? (Fandom).
24/08/19: For The Observer Magazine, here’s Sookie Sackhouse… sorry, Anna Paquin.
22/08/19: This is the bloody story of Juana Barraza, for MEL.
21/08/19: I wrote the Doncaster Rovers season preview for the new issue of FourFourTwo.
20/08/19: Okay, get this - every Pixar movie ever, re-reviewed and ranked, in order of greatness, for NME.
17/08/19: “Hallelujah, hallelujah / When Shaun William Ryder / Will lie down beside ya, fill you full of junk...” (The Observer Magazine).
16/08/19: I reviewed Thrashing Thru The Passion, by The Hold Steady, for NME.
15/08/19: I put the world to rights with Refused, for NME.
15/08/19: The new Record Collector is out today. I reviewed Powers by The Futureheads, Blood Year by Russian Circles and This Is Not a Safe Place by Ride for it.
15/08/19: I went to Bloodstock. This is what happened! (NME).
12/08/19: I reviewed This Is Not A Safe Place, by Ride, for NME.
11/08/19: If you get the new issue of Metro today, you’ll find my review of Slipknot’s We Are Not Your Kind inside.
11/08/19: For Little White Lies, unpacking the myth of The Wizard Of Oz’s hanging munchkin…
08/08/19: Some words for The Guardian about the late David Berman, one of my favourite songwriters.
05/08/19: I love found-footage horror. Here are twenty of my favourites. (NME).
05/08/19: I used to love The Boys comic - and I really liked the TV adaptation too. (NME).
03/08/19: I interviewed Sat Bains for The Observer Magazine. I am hungry now.
02/08/19: Somehow I got Employed To Serve into The Guardian!
29/07/19: Redd Kross are one of my favourite bands. Interviewing Steven McDonald for NME didn’t disappoint.
26/07/19: Daniel Myrick talked all things Blair Witch Project to me, twenty-years on. (NME).
22/07/19: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, reviewed, for Fandom.
21/07/19: There’s a piece I wrote about the disappearance of Maura Murray - featuring the good men of Missing Maura Murray - in the new issue of Crime Monthly. Out now.
19/07/19: I reviewed The Great War, by Sabaton, for NME.
16/07/19: Why do people find dolls so scary? Not me obviously, oh no. (NME).
13/07/19: I interviewed Nile Rodgers for The Observer Magazine.
13/07/19: I wrote loads and loads about Charles Manson for the Manson Murders one-shot that you can find in shops now.
09/07/19: Turns out that there is a ska punk band I like! Meet The Interrupters! (NME).
07/07/19: I went to see Rammstein live. I wrote about it. I am reborn. (The Guardian).
06/07/19: If you subscribe to Compulsive Reading, OCD-UK’s inhouse magazine, you might notice there’s a reprint of my Pure piece for NME in the new issue.
05/07/19: Midsommar, reviewed for NME.
26/06/19: I reviewed ANIMA, by Thom Yorke, for NME.
26/06/19: I interviewed Ren Aldridge from Petrol Girls for the Punks Against Sweatshops campaign, for The Big Issue.
24/06/19: Turns out that loads of people think Michael Jackson is still alive! I spoke to some of them for Vice.
24/06/19: So about that time Michael Jackson died and I was the only music journalist left in London… (NME).
23/06/19: I reviewed the Buzzcocks’ tribute to Pete Shelley, at The Royal Albert Hall, for NME.
21/06/19: Ghost and Metallica, at Twickenham, reviewed for NME.
20/06/19: Counter-Strike at twenty: What if the real-world adopted Dynamic Weapon Pricing? (Fandom).
17/06/19: I had a nice morning drinking frothy lattes with Steve Diggle from the Buzzcocks, for NME.
13/06/19: Are My Chemical Romance reforming? Joe Jonas thinks so… (NME).
13/06/19: Download Festival, previewed, by me, for NME.
12/06/19: For better or for worse, I made Chernobyl, the mixtape. (NME).
12/06/19: Guess what! It’s another blog about My Chemical Romance! For NME!
11/06/19: I watched Slipknot on the telly and wrote about it for NME.
10/06/19: Confetti banknotes! Drones! The all-seeing eye! I wrote a history of Muse, live, for NME.
07/06/19: Ooooh, Guided By Voices are back in the UK after fifteen-years! I reviewed their Village Underground show for NME.
05/06/19: Roky Erickson, 1947 - 2019, the NME obituary.
03/06/19: My review of Muse at the London Stadium is in Metro today.
03/06/19: What happened to Lee Boxell, now missing since 1988? (Vice).
31/05/19: This is the story of Charlene Downes. Reading it will make you angry. (Vice).
27/05/19: I interviewed Doug Seeger for The Big Issue - what a wild journey he’s been on.
19/05/19: I told Andrew Gosden’s story in the Sunday Express today.
17/05/19: I reviewed Balance, Not Symmetry, by Biffy Clyro, for NME.
17/05/19: I interviewed Full Of Hell for Revolver.
10/05/19: Did Michael Jackson actually write the music for Sonic The Hedghog 3? For the Independent…
08/05/19: I reviewed Eternal Forward Motion, by Employed To Serve, for NME.
04/05/19: What an honour to interview Edwyn Collins, for the The Observer Magazine.
30/04/19: For Vice, I revisited the 1999 London nail bombs, twenty-years-on.
30/04/19: I reviewed End Of Suffering, by Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, for NME.
26/04/19: Twenty-years-on from the murder of Jill Dando, will we ever know what happened? (Vice).
25/04/19: Days Gone, reviewed for Fandom.
23/04/19: His & Hers by Pulp is twenty-five. A tribute, for NME.
22/04/19: The insane story of Zombi 2’s underwater zombie vs. shark scene, for Little White Lies.
16/04/19: I reviewed Badbea by Edwyn Collins. It’s in Metro today.
31/03/19: Let me tell you about William Castle, horror genius, for Little White Lies…
22/03/19: A reworking of Pet Sematary is a terrible idea, right? Sort of… (NME).
14/03/19: I’ve known Beth Jeans Houghton - aka Du Blonde - for years. Nice to catch up. (NME).
13/03/19: A deep dive on MMORPG stalwart, Everquest - for Fandom.
11/03/19: I wrote about the disappearance of Alissa Turney, for MEL. More information on that case can be found here.
08/03/19: I wrote about how women fueled the 1984 UK miners strike - and I’ve craved pie ever since. (Vice).
05/03/19: I interviewed Tim Waterstone for The Big Issue. Dude likes books!
22/02/19: I wrote about the Channel 4 comedy-drama Pure. And about OCD. (NME).
17/02/19: Interviewing John Grant is a bit like doing therapy. (The Observer Magazine).
15/02/19: So NME returned to print for a one off special, celebrating the debut of Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy. I wrote tonnes of it, including the Gerard Way interview. I think that counts as a cover feature? If so it’s my first NME cover in… oooh, ten years?
14/02/19: For Fandom, Crackdown 3, reviewed.
12/02/19: The Save Movement protest against the meat industry by holding vigils outside of abattoirs. I did this a lot this month. (Vice).
04/02/19: Low, reviewed at the Barbican in London, for NME.
02/02/19: I wrote about why I write about true crime, for The Spectator.
30/01/19: Rage 2, previewed, for Fandom.
25/01/19: Meet Puppy, your new favourite rock band. (NME).
19/01/19: I interviewed Suzi Quatro for The Observer Magazine.
16/01/19: I interviewed Dmitry Glukhovsky, for Fandom, about how his Metro novels made it into code.
2018
29/12/18: Jumped on the phone with Alice Cooper, for The Observer Magazine.
28/12/18: A piece about a great record - Pete Shelley’s Homosapien - for The Quietus.
28/12/18: A piece about Salisbury. And Novichok. For Vice.
26/12/18: Five times dystopian TV/film became fact - for Fandom.
24/12/18: My childhood favourite He-Man is thirty-five years old. Here’s some words, for Fandom, about it’s relationship with masculinity.
21/12/18: The untold story of The Nightmare Before Christmas. (Fandom).
21/12/18: The Twelve Games Of Christmas - part two. (Fandom).
19/12/18: The Twelve Games Of Christmas - part one. (Fandom).
19/12/18: I make a fanzine for my mates every Christmas. It’s sort of a year-review-in-words-and-pictures. It’s back from the printers today. I’m really happy with it!
18/12/18: Have I ever told you how much I love west African film posters? (Fandom).
18/12/18: Left 4 Dead at ten - a tribute to a masterpiece! (Fandom).
15/12/18: Who killed Penny Bell? I asked her daughter, Lauren, for Vice.
14/12/18: Archie Andrews is seventy-seven - this is his story, for Fandom.
13/12/18: How do you whittle the Buzzcocks best songs down to ten? I had a go, for NME.
13/12/18: Happy Black Metal Christmas, love from Behemoth. (NME).
07/12/18: Pete Shelley, 1955 - 2018, the NME obituary.
04/12/18: I went hands on with the Resident Evil 2 reboot, for Fandom…
04/12/18: An awful story that never seems to end. I wrote about Charles Horvath-Allan, for MEL.
29/11/18: Have I told you how much I like Big Mouth, on Netflix? (NME).
23/11/18: What went wrong with True Blood? I think ten-years later is enough time to find out. (Fandom).
23/11/18: The U.S. military is using videogames to train soldiers and recruit new ones. I wrote for the Independent about why that’s wrong.
21/11/18: There’s no Doctor Who this Christmas. How will we cope? (Fandom).
20/11/18: I went deep on Grim Fandango - then and now a genius game. (Fandom).
14/11/18: For NME, the songs inspired by Stan Lee’s superheroes.
13/11/18: Here’s a nice chat I had with Daniel Berlin, Battlefield franchise design director, in a draughty warehouse in Stockholm. (PCGamesN).
09/11/18: I reviewed Battlefield V for PCGamesN.
09/11/18: A unsurprisingly heavy conversation with Dan Searle from Architects about the tragic passing of his brother Tom, for NME.
08/11/18: Just say neigh: the problem with videogame horses. (Fandom).
05/11/18: I wrote about Blizzcon 2018, for NME,
31/10/18: The Creepiest Kids In Horror Movies - for Fandom.
31/10/18: I went to Vegas - and Zak Bagan’s took me on a tour of his haunted mansion! (Red Bull).
31/10/18: I interviewed Sergei Polunin for The Big Issue. See your local vendor now.
30/10/18: The Haunting Of Hill House was great - but it was more than that… (Fandom).
29/10/18: LittleBigPlanet at ten - how Sony kickstarted a community-led content revolution - for Fandom.
29/10/18: For The Quietus, I interviewed David Kelling from Culture Abuse.
28/10/18: Look, I’m gonna be honest, I love SpongeBob Squarepants. This is why - for Fandom.
28/10/18: I like comics. I like movies. Sometimes I like comic book movies. For Fandom - on when to adapt and when not to.
27/10/18: The Land Before Time at thirty, for Fandom. I had the greatest time writing this.
27/10/18: Here’s everything I learned at EVE Vegas about the future of EVE, for PCGamesN.
27/10/18: Here’s a deep dive on Project Nova, the new FPS from the EVE universe. (PCGamesN).
25/10/18: Going on a British Airways flight soon? I’ve got a big piece about the Crystal Palace dinosaurs in the new issue of High Life.
24/10/18: Homeless murders are under reported. I went to Southend to find out why, for Vice.
24/10/18: There’s no better place to hear Thom Yorke’s Suspiria soundtrack that a haunted prison. I speak from experience. (NME).
23/10/18: Here’s the Ten Worst Movie Monsters Ever, for Fandom. Heads up. Includes Trolls 2.
20/10/18: I went to the offices of Football Manager for PCGamesN. It was really hard not to steal stuff.
18/10/18: I previewed Battlefield V for Fandom.
18/10/18: I reviewed Evolution, by Disturbed - wakawaka - for NME.
17/10/18: <cough> Can we reboot Dead Space please? (Fandom).
16/10/18: I reviewed Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4, for Fandom.
16/10/18: Fangoria is back! I got new editor-in-chief Phil Nobile Jr to pick his ten favourite covers from the mags history, for Fandom.
15/10/18: Oooh, this is a good one. I interviewed Rami Malek for the cover of The Big Issue. And it’s a lovely cover!
14/10/18: I interviewed John Carpenter. He’s a hero of mine. He was well grumpy! (Fandom).
12/10/18: I interviewed You Me At Six about videogames, for Fandom.
12/10/18: An interview with Palaye Royale, for NME.
11/10/18: The Joker: The Do’s and Don’t Of Bringing The Iconic Batman Villain To The Screen. (Fandom).
10/10/18: Celebrating 10 Years of Fable 2, for Fandom.
09/10/18: I reviewed Assassins’s Creed: Odyssey, for Fandom. It took me agggggggges.
06/10/18: Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, interviewed for the The Observer Magazine.
03/10/18: Twenty Years of Terror: A Love Letter to Resident Evil 2, for Fandom.
26/09/18: There’s a piece I wrote about my beloved Connie Converse in the new issue of Record Collector. Out now!
25/09/18: A car game? That I like? Blimey. I reviewed Forza Horizon 4, for Fandom.
25/09/18: I wrote about Dazed and Confused at twenty-five. Turns out that it’s still great! (Fandom).
19/09/18: I wrote a big piece about the Black Metal Murders in the new issue of Real Crime. In shops right now.
19/09/18: I watched the new Amy Winehouse documentary. Then I wrote about it, for NME.
15/09/18: The Stan Lee Five-Point Plan To Success, for Fandom.
15/09/18: The X-Files is twenty-five years old. I still want to believe. (Fandom).
14/09/18: Meet the Eriksson Twins. What on earth is going on here? (Vice).
14/09/18: I’ve wanted to write this piece for decades. On the eternal genius of The Beta Band. (NME).
12/09/18: There’s a new Robin Hood movie out - what makes a good Hood adaptation? And he was from Doncaster, by the way.
11/09/18: A tribute to the PS2 - for Fandom.
10/09/18: Tell you what, I loved those new Tomb Raider games. I’m sad they’re over - but they went out well. (Fandom).
09/09/18: What do real witches think about Netflix’s The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina? (Fandom).
09/09/18: Awwww. It’s the cutest Doctor Who monsters, ever ever ever - for Fandom.
05/09/18: I lost most of my late-twenties to playing Fallout 3. But at least I got an article out of it! (Fandom).
03/09/18: I’m just a man, reviewing Divinity 2: Original Sin for Fandom.
31/08/18: I reviewed Fixed Ideals, by Muncie Girls, for NME.
30/08/18: Not for the first time, not for the last, I wrote about missing Doncaster teen Andrew Gosden - for Vice.
29/08/18: Is Matt Groening’s new one, Disenchantment any good? (NME).
25/08/18: For Fandom, eight of the best TV shows and films that deal with mental health.
24/08/18: I reviewed Rainier Fog, by Alice In Chains, for NME.
17/08/18: I wrote about Andrew Gosden for the new issue of Real Crime.
16/08/18: I talked to Trivium about Twitch, for Fandom.
15/08/18: What does Pete Doherty know about the death of Mark Blanco? For Vice.
10/08/18: I went to preview Shadow Of The Tomb Raider. I am so excited about getting my hands on the finished thing. (Fandom).
09/09/18: I wrote about ‘terrorism insurance’ - you wot?! - for The Big Issue. Out now.
09/08/18: Strange Brigade, previewed, for Fandom.
09/08/18: Is there a link between depression and a belief in conspiracy? I investigated, for Prospect.
08/08/18: I interviewed Rise Against for NME. It was terrible for my blood-pressure.
03/08/18: I reviewed The American Dream, by Trophy Eyes for NME. Properly good record this.
30/07/18: The Evolution Of Lara Croft, for GQ.
26/07/18: I’ve always wanted to interview Alice In Chains. Voila… (NME).
24/07/18: For Vice, here’s an overview of the UK’s complicated relationship with the death penalty.
23/07/18: Some words about Adventure Time! (Fandom).
21/07/18: Gruff Rhys from the Super Furry Animals, for The Observer Magazine.
18/07/18: The internet myth that almost led to murder - and changed folklore forever, for Prospect.
18/07/18: I went to Belgium to preview Divinity 2: Original Sin. And eat chips. (Fandom).
12/07/18: I reviewed Dilivium, by Obscura, for NME.
10/07/18: I reviewed Ordinary Corrupt Human Love, by Deafhaven, for NME.
07/07/18: Mick Gordon wrote the music for the new DOOM games. I spoke to him for Fandom.
05/07/18: The mystery of the man found dead on Saddleworth Moor. (Vice).
05/07/18: The Weird And Wonderful History Of Videogame Football - for Fandom.
18/07/18: Eight questions you have about Hereditary but are too afraid to ask. (Fandom).
22/06/18: The stuff you need to know about the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con - for NME.
21/06/18: Football clubs are thinking of binning off match-day programmes. Don’t do that!, I say, for The Big Issue.
14/06/18: Here’s a conversation with Maynard James Keenan, in his A Perfect Circle guise, for NME.
09/06/18: I interviewed Charlotte Gainsbourg, not for the first time. (The Observer Magazine).
26/05/18: Always a treat to interview Ozzy Osbourne. (The Observer Magazine).
23/05/18: Here’s an interview with Ghost. Bloody love Ghost. (NME).
09/05/18: I went to a nightclub, in Dalston, for NME, like it was the old days. I got to see Pulled Apart By Horses, though!
04/04/18: I interviewed Pvris about the videogames that they love on tour and off it. (Fandom).
25/04/18: I wrote about Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (and mental health representation in videogames), for The Big Issue.
24/04/18: There’s a bridge in Scotland that dogs keep hurling themselves off to their death. Why? (Vice).
23/04/18: I went to preview Detroit: Become Human. I really enjoyed it! (Fandom).
16/04/18: How getting lost in Skyrim pulled me out from depression. Not a lot of jokes contained within. (Fandom).
06/04/18: For Vice, the mystery of the Manchester ‘serial killer’ police say don’t exist.
29/03/18: Dulwich Hamlet FC vs. Corporate Greed, part something stupid. (Vice).
24/03/18: (The really nice) Paloma Faith, interviewed for The Observer Magazine.
18/03/19: The Beautiful Game is getting very ugly. This piece, for The Independent, might give you hope.
15/03/18: RIP Jim Bowen, I really loved you, for Vice.
10/03/18: Emmylou Harris, interviewed The Observer Magazine.
10/02/18: My new comic is out. It’s about my favourite professional wrestlers! If you’re going to a London-based wrestling show, do pick one up. It’s a fun read, I think you might like it!
2017
04/12/17: Todd Orr got attacked by a bear, twice in one day. I spoke to him, for Vice.
21/12/17: I was penpals with Charles Manson. Not me, but this guy… (Vice).
15/12/17: What’s it like to go on hunger strike? Lateef Johar Baloch told me, for Vice.
18/10/17: I wrote about unintentionally terrifying videogames, for Shortlist. Obviously the moon from Majora’s Mask made it in there.
18/10/17: Doing loads of bits for Mr Hyde at the moment, my favourite being a piece about the best non-league football grounds in London. Walthamstow FC, FTW.
10/10/17: The life and death of football’s first openly gay player, Justin Fashanu. (Vice).
06/10/17: On the hunt for British Bigfoot… (Vice).
06/07/17: This is the last issue of Kerrang! I was editor for. What better excuse than to fill four pages with an ‘Illustrated History Of Punk (Fucking) Rock’. Words: James McMahon. Pictures: my longtime collaborator, Phillip Marsden.
23/07/17: I once interviewed Gene Simmons whilst being sat on a toilet. Not this time! (The Observer Magazine).
2015
11/06/15: I wrote about the immortal Leatherface and the sad passing of Dickie Hammond. (Did I ever tell you that Frankie Stubbs produced one of my bands albums? I didn’t? WELL FRANKIE STUBBS PRODUCED MY BANDS ALBUMS!!!) (The Guardian).
2014
01/09/14: I wrote about why I’d like nothing more to be a football manager, for The Big Issue.