@fivegrand1
Sydney-based writer, presenter, DJ, activist. Film, music, parenting & socialism
An as-always untimely list of the best albums of 2025
An as-always untimely list of the best albums of 2025
This is a list of my favorite albums of 2025! It’s my fifth-annual end-of-year list and if you’re a regular reader, you know they’re always late! So let’s get right into it …
Andor season 2 and the problem of prequelitis
Andor season 2 and the problem of prequelitis
This is the second part of my two-part deep dive into Andor season 2. The first part, which I posted last year, covered the cinema and politics of the latest and final season over two sections or &…
Andor season 2 is revolutionary TV
Andor season 2 is revolutionary TV
Star Wars will never be better: A look at the cinematic and political power of Tony Gilroy’s masterpiece So here I am with my third piece about Andor, and a fourth on the way. Having already …
A painfully sincere tribute to the genius of Jenny Nicholson
A painfully sincere tribute to the genius of Jenny Nicholson
I have to preface this by admitting that among Jenny Nicholson fans, demographically speaking I’m an outlier. I’m in my 50s, significantly older than the younger millennials and older z…
30 years of hating Oasis
30 years of hating Oasis
The spectacular rise and depressing demise of Charli XCX’s Brat Summer
The spectacular rise and depressing demise of Charli XCX’s Brat Summer
It was inevitable that I would end up writing about Charli XCX’s Brat — without question not only the album of the year but the pop-culture event of the year. But the crazy thing is how the n…
The 15 best Hey Duggee badges
The 15 best Hey Duggee badges
A reasonably timely list of the best albums of 2024
A reasonably timely list of the best albums of 2024
I won’t spend too many words introducing this list — I’ve already explained my taste and methodology several times on my previous year-end lists, dating back to 2021. The overarching th…
The only 5 Christmas albums I can stand
The only 5 Christmas albums I can stand
On the 30th anniversary of my marginal DJ career
On the 30th anniversary of my marginal DJ career
Quick note about the music in this post: I have several classic rave tracks and mixtapes from the 1992–94 era embedded throughout, and others linked in the text. I also made a Spotify playlist of t…
Joker and the problem of identity
Joker and the problem of identity
I wrote this essay about the politics of Todd Phillips’s Joker almost five years ago, and posted it to my Facebook page. That was a turning point in my decision to start this site. It wasn…
Rewatching Andor as a meditation on Palestine
Rewatching Andor as a meditation on Palestine
Revisiting All Over the Place, the Bangles’ criminally underrated 1984 debut LP
Revisiting All Over the Place, the Bangles’ criminally underrated 1984 debut LP
If there were any justice in the world, All Over the Place would be widely considered one of the greatest debut albums of all time. A bright blast of jangly power pop and psychedelic garage rock ma…
The many delights — and the disappointment — of the epic Bluey episode “The Sign”
The many delights — and the disappointment — of the epic Bluey episode “The Sign”
This is a reader-supported blog. If you like what you read, consider buying me a coffee! This is not how I planned it — I didn’t expect to be publishing something about Bluey so so…
A belated (as usual) list of the best albums of 2023
A belated (as usual) list of the best albums of 2023
A compilation of my short-form film reviews of 2023
A compilation of my short-form film reviews of 2023
I write about film all the time, but not all of it gets published here. When I see a film or a series, whether old or new, and decide I have something to say about it, there are, broadly speaking, …
Elia Suleiman’s Palestine trilogy: The tragic absurdity of occupation
Elia Suleiman’s Palestine trilogy: The tragic absurdity of occupation
Notes on the politics of Barbie
Notes on the politics of Barbie
This is a reader-supported blog. If you like what you read, consider buying me a coffee! I don’t know how to break this to you, but one of the most interesting and cinematically adventurous …
“Remember what I told you”: Sinéad O’Connor’s incomparable life of rebellion
“Remember what I told you”: Sinéad O’Connor’s incomparable life of rebellion
I learned of Sinéad O’Connor’s death at four in the morning here in Sydney, in the midst of a bout of insomnia, a common occurrence for me. It struck me like a blow, knocking the wind o…
The greatness of Everything, the Bangles’ melancholy, masterful breakup album
The greatness of Everything, the Bangles’ melancholy, masterful breakup album
This essay is divided into two sections: an introduction, with a brief overview of the album’s history and a defense of its greatness; followed by a longer (and quite obsessive) track-by-trac…
On the 30th anniversary of my marginal DJ career
On the 30th anniversary of my marginal DJ career
Andor is a refreshing change for Star Wars, and a thrilling and inspiring depiction of revolution
Andor is a refreshing change for Star Wars, and a thrilling and inspiring depiction of revolution
Meg White’s greatness is not up for debate
Meg White’s greatness is not up for debate
Let’s talk about Tina Turner’s pivotal contributions to the Mad Max saga
Let’s talk about Tina Turner’s pivotal contributions to the Mad Max saga
Buy me a coffee
Buy me a coffee
With a new covers LP and a delightful debut novel out at the same time, Susanna Hoffs is thriving
With a new covers LP and a delightful debut novel out at the same time, Susanna Hoffs is thriving
Wednesday’s Rat Saw God: Southern Gothic country shoegaze played with exhilarating intensity
Wednesday’s Rat Saw God: Southern Gothic country shoegaze played with exhilarating intensity
Sydney Film Festival preview: A deliriously good Amitabh Bachchan retro, plus other highlights
Sydney Film Festival preview: A deliriously good Amitabh Bachchan retro, plus other highlights
Boards of Canada’s Music Has the Right to Children: Cinematic psychedelia, dope beats and audio therapy
Boards of Canada’s Music Has the Right to Children: Cinematic psychedelia, dope beats and audio therapy
A tribute to my grandpa on what would have been his 101st birthday
A tribute to my grandpa on what would have been his 101st birthday
Jim Poe - Pathways (new techno mix)
Jim Poe - Pathways (new techno mix)
A (somewhat less) belated list of the best albums of 2022
A (somewhat less) belated list of the best albums of 2022
Wet Leg’s debut LP is a raunchy, joyous treat and an instant rock & roll classic
Wet Leg’s debut LP is a raunchy, joyous treat and an instant rock & roll classic
Peter Jackson’s Return of the King is a supreme classic, but here are some things that bug me about it
Peter Jackson’s Return of the King is a supreme classic, but here are some things that bug me about it
Ride live in Sydney: A transcendent Nowhere retrospective rides a new wave of shoegaze
Ride live in Sydney: A transcendent Nowhere retrospective rides a new wave of shoegaze
Khruangbin live at Sydney Opera House: Sublime space-funk in the grandest of settings
Khruangbin live at Sydney Opera House: Sublime space-funk in the grandest of settings
Prey: Groundbreaking Indigenous action-horror that kicks ass
Prey: Groundbreaking Indigenous action-horror that kicks ass
Tame Impala live in Sydney: Uncompromising, euphoric psych-pop for the masses
Tame Impala live in Sydney: Uncompromising, euphoric psych-pop for the masses
Bore, thud and blunder: The MCU jumps the shark
Bore, thud and blunder: The MCU jumps the shark
Wet Leg’s debut LP is a raunchy, joyous treat and an instant rock & roll classic
Wet Leg’s debut LP is a raunchy, joyous treat and an instant rock & roll classic
New York’s postpunk revival deserves a better documentary than Meet Me in the Bathroom
New York’s postpunk revival deserves a better documentary than Meet Me in the Bathroom
The exquisite films of Satyajit Ray, cinema’s great humanist
The exquisite films of Satyajit Ray, cinema’s great humanist
Atlanta season 3 is meandering, implosive and weird — and we need more TV like it
Atlanta season 3 is meandering, implosive and weird — and we need more TV like it
A Bangles page that's not about their looks
A Bangles page that's not about their looks
LA 92 triggered all my memories of witnessing a historic uprising
LA 92 triggered all my memories of witnessing a historic uprising
The catharsis and redemption of Courtney Barnett live
The catharsis and redemption of Courtney Barnett live
A belated list of the best albums of 2021
A belated list of the best albums of 2021
Firenadoes, koala denialism and hanging loose: Australia’s apocalyptic bushfires prove Don’t Look Up isn’t exaggerating
Firenadoes, koala denialism and hanging loose: Australia’s apocalyptic bushfires prove Don’t Look Up isn’t exaggerating
The power of Don’t Look Up is in the details
The power of Don’t Look Up is in the details
Revolution on the Big Screen (talk on Reds for Denver Communists)
Revolution on the Big Screen (talk on Reds for Denver Communists)
Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir’s Wajib is a charming and politically sharp family drama
Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir’s Wajib is a charming and politically sharp family drama
Tame Impala’s Currents: A contemporary classic of epic, obsessive psychedelic pop
Tame Impala’s Currents: A contemporary classic of epic, obsessive psychedelic pop
Forty Years Later, Reds Is Still One of the Best Films Ever Made About Revolutionary Politics
Forty Years Later, Reds Is Still One of the Best Films Ever Made About Revolutionary Politics
Ken Burns’ new Muhammad Ali docu-series is an immersive look at the Greatest of All Time
Ken Burns’ new Muhammad Ali docu-series is an immersive look at the Greatest of All Time
Bright Lights by Susanna Hoffs: A collection of warm, intimate, impeccably chosen covers
Bright Lights by Susanna Hoffs: A collection of warm, intimate, impeccably chosen covers
Marvel’s What If…?: Disposable by design, intermittently powerful, ultimately frustrating
Marvel’s What If…?: Disposable by design, intermittently powerful, ultimately frustrating
Hats off to the legend that is Emma Watkins, as she leaves the Wiggles
Hats off to the legend that is Emma Watkins, as she leaves the Wiggles
Powerful ‘Incarceration Nation’ puts the justice system on trial
Powerful ‘Incarceration Nation’ puts the justice system on trial
Octonauts: Above & Beyond is teaching young kids about the climate emergency
Octonauts: Above & Beyond is teaching young kids about the climate emergency
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: an unsurpassed masterpiece of romance, swordplay and feminism
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: an unsurpassed masterpiece of romance, swordplay and feminism
On the 30th anniversary of my first rave
On the 30th anniversary of my first rave
Not forgotten: the ongoing fight to solve the Bowraville murders
Not forgotten: the ongoing fight to solve the Bowraville murders
Dry Cleaning’s New Long Leg: Uniquely thrilling surrealist postpunk
Dry Cleaning’s New Long Leg: Uniquely thrilling surrealist postpunk
Please, stop calling Aliens ‘xenomorphs’
Please, stop calling Aliens ‘xenomorphs’
Gillian Welch’s Time (The Revelator) at 20: A timeless masterpiece of apocalyptic country
Gillian Welch’s Time (The Revelator) at 20: A timeless masterpiece of apocalyptic country
Black Widow review: Finally, Natasha Romanoff gets to be a whole person
Black Widow review: Finally, Natasha Romanoff gets to be a whole person
Recreational Therapy Podcast
Recreational Therapy Podcast
The Hunger Games Prequel, Songbirds, Is a Satire on the Ruling Class
The Hunger Games Prequel, Songbirds, Is a Satire on the Ruling Class
Today, We’re All Living in Mad Max’s World
Today, We’re All Living in Mad Max’s World
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