The 1935 Dancehall Act was passed in the atmosphere of racism and media hysteria which surrounded jazz. Originally intended to target this salacious newcomer it had a serious detrimental effect on the practice of traditional music in the countryside. Justin Cans takes a look at how it has had serious repercussions ever since. My first introduction to this bedevilment of the Irish Statue Book came around the year 2008, when … Read More
Under The Influence
Since 1833, legislation on intoxicating liquor and associated socialising has always come at the behest of special interest groups such as the Church, the Vintners, Dev or the supermarkets. Simon Price looks at what we’re up against. The last ten years have seen government legislate NAMA and bank bailouts to the ruination of the country while any moves to alter the status quo surrounding Irish nightlife have met fierce resistance … Read More
LGBT History Month And Walking Tour.
It really is a year of commemorations. While 1913 is dominating most of the discussions we’re party to, there’s a few more historical moments worthy of attention too. 2013 marks the 30th anniversary of Dublin Pride parades, and it’s also the 20th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality here. Yes, that’s right folks 1993…Jaysus. That’s a date that would shock you, were we not all left recently grappling with the … Read More
Pirate Powered.
Before downloads and smartphones, back when club culture looked forward and the Celtic Tiger was roaring drunk after a rugby match in Temple Bar, you had to get your musical fix by tuning into stations like Power Fm. This short profile is taken from Sampler, a short lived (but loved) sort of counter-cultural collage show on Bog 2. It gained some notoriety for broadcasting footage from the RTS riots. And … Read More
#rabbleReels: Creatures Of Their Own Creation.
A quick look at NYC’s gay ballroom dance scene… “My dad said you have three strikes against you in this world. Every black man has two, that you are black and you are male. But you are black, you are male and you are gay – you are going to have a hard fucking time. He said if you are going to do this, you are going to have to … Read More
A Fistful of Bitcoins
Ed zillion takes us to the wild wild west of digital culture. The Libertarian Millennium, if you will. A place where the twin technologies Bitcoin and Tor have led to the emergence of an online community like no other with its own marketplace and its own currency. A place inhabited by a disparate collection of cyber-utopians, digital activists, scammers and their inevitable marks. A place where you can buy LSD … Read More
License To Pill…
The media leapt on the story, falling over themselves with delight at having a “new” chemical nasty to castigate – conflating MDMA and PMA in the same breath as if it was a new party sensation. This ignorant whoring for headlines has the consequence of making recreational users just go ‘meh’ to a media that cries wolf at every stage in the drugs debate. Remember the mephedrone hysteria?
Just Say Know: An Interview With The Irish Needle Exchange Forum
Definitely the media has an important role to play, some of them have been great, others not so much. It is also the individuals who make statements to the media who have a significant responsibility to ensure that their facts are right. The whole issue with the pmma was that people reporting about it didn’t really have a grasp on what it is.
[Street Art] Paint The Town.
Irish originality is an issue. Generally the work that clogs our local walls tends to over-reference past styles and overseas artists. Irish-directed stand-out work, outside of contained spaces such as the Drogheda Bridge Jam, is rarely acknowledged. This is unusual for a small country, or it would be if we had an Irish-managed version of the form to offer.
No Justice, No Piece.
ADW has taken a stanley blade to our post-boom wreckage in more ways than one. carving numerous stencils and hurling well-aimed barrages of humour at the myopic fools that landed us here. We were more than a little peeved to see him getting his knuckles rapped at the Kings of Concrete. Redmonk caught up with him and found out what happened.