Catching a relatively straightfoward performance from Crispin Glover in Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland over the festive season reminded me to dust down this interview I did with the actor for Uncut back in 2005.
Former Kraftwerk percussionist Karl Bartos features in the new issue of Uncut (February 2013, Take 189), out now, discussing the upcoming Kraftwerk retrospective shows in London, and his own new solo album, Off The Record. As a companion piece, here’s Ralf Hütter taking us through the high points of Kraftwerk’s discography in a fascinating ‘album by album’ from Uncut's October 2009 issue (Take 149).
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You’ll hopefully have spotted Uncut’s Films Of The Year in our current issue. High up the Top 10 is the brilliant Berberian Sound Studio, director Peter Strickland’s spin on low-rent 70s Italian horror movies and a tribute to the Heath Robinson-style endeavours of foley artists and sound designers of a certain generation. Ahead of the film's imminent release of the film on DVD – and Broadcast’s score in the New Year – I caught up with Peter Strickland to chat about the film and his influences.
The director of a new film profiling Ginger Baker is interviewed in the new issue of Uncut (dated January 2013, and out now), explaining why the Cream drummer broke his nose during filming… As a companion piece, this week's archive feature finds Baker's former bandmate, Eric Clapton, providing a painfully frank account of his days in Cream – psychedelic drugs, 24-hour confrontations and their love of Pet Sounds included. From Uncut's May 2004 issue (Take 84). Interview: Nigel Williamson
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I’m off to see the second of the Stones’ 50th anniversary shows at the O2 on Thursday, and pretty excited about it. This morning, rummaging through some back issues of Uncut, I came across something I’d written about going to see them at Wembley Stadium in 1982, when they were touring in celebration of their 20th anniversary, amid much speculation that surely this would be their last go-around, retirement their next stop, which is very much what people have thought every time since then that they’ve toured. And yet here they are, 30 years further down the line, and no hint yet that we have seen the last of them.
Anyway, here’s the piece I came across earlier today. Have a good week.
In the current issue of Uncut, I spoke to Bryan Ferry for our An Audience With… feature. Among the reader questions was one from Rob Emery, who asked ‘Why do you think Roxy Music got through so many bass players?’
In celebration of Neil Young’s triple appearance in our review of 2012 (Americana and Psychedelic Pill in our top 50 albums and Waging Heavy Peace in our top 20 books of the year), here’s a look back at an unusually revealing interview with Neil Young (from our September 2007 issue, Take 127) – taking in car graveyards, his mother’s ashes and the truth about Archives and Chrome Dreams… “The Great Spirit has been good to me,” he says. Words: Jaan Uhelszki
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Sufjan Stevens' new Christmas compilation, Silver & Gold: Songs For Christmas, Vols. 6-10, is out now, and reviewed in the new issue of Uncut, dated January 2013.
Graeme Thomson tackles the mammoth album in the reviews section of the new issue, in shops now, and also interviews Stevens about the project – a short excerpt can be found in the issue, but below is the pair's full conversation…______________________________
The reunited Beach Boys' new concert DVD is reviewed in the latest issue of Uncut (dated January 2013, out now) – so it seemed like a good time to revisit this fascinating piece from our October 2006 issue (Take 113). We were talking to Wilson, primarily, to discuss the 40th anniversary of Pet Sounds, reissued in deluxe format that month. But Wilson agreed to revisit five other pivotal Beach Boys albums, too. “If you’re a young guy or girl going out and buying Pet Sounds for the first time, you’re gonna be knocked out when you hear it, right?” Words: Rob Hughes
