THE BOYS SEASON 1 (ANALYSIS)THE BOYS SEASON 1 (ANALYSIS)
Not your typical superhero drama …and it all began with The Boys Season 1!
LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED …LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED …
Love is all you need.
Pop culture in a time of COVID-19 is something difficult to contemplate. At the beginning of 2020, I was planning for a new album and getting back to performing live again after a 5-year hiatus. Well, the best laid plans, as they say. The irony is not lost on me.
(more…)KEVIN MATHEWS: SONGS ABOUT SINGAPOREKEVIN MATHEWS: SONGS ABOUT SINGAPORE
While I have no problem with shamelessly self-promoting my own music – especially my songs about Singapore, I would not discredit any of my ‘Best of’ lists by inserting myself into the picture. Who am I? Kanye??
(more…)THE BEST SINGAPORE ROCK SONGS OF ALL TIMETHE BEST SINGAPORE ROCK SONGS OF ALL TIME
Yes, I know it’s a corny cliché but with this National Day weekend comes an opportunity to share my own thoughts about the best Singapore rock songs of all time! Hopefully, these selections will inspire you, kind reader, to discover more Singapore rock music. If so, then the effort would have been worth it!
(more…)SONG STORIES – MEE POK MAN (1995) & MY MAGIC (2008)SONG STORIES – MEE POK MAN (1995) & MY MAGIC (2008)
Today, 8th August 2020, Netflix begins streaming two more Eric Khoo movies that I contributed music to. Over at the Kevin Mathews Composer Facebook page, I shared these song stories to mark this occasion. Hope you find the reading as much fun as I did the writing.
(more…)CONSTANTINE (2005) REVIEWCONSTANTINE (2005) REVIEW
The character of John Constantine began life as a supporting cast member of DC Comics’ Saga of the Swamp Thing series, in the mid-80s. Created by Alan Moore at the behest of Swamp Thing artists Stephen Bissette, John Totleben and Rick Veitch, the trench-coated, chain-smoking, cynical magician would become popular enough to merit his own solo series – Hellblazer – in 1988.
(more…)SONG ANALYSISSONG ANALYSIS
As mentioned in my article on Story Analysis, besides being a singer-songwriter/composer and a pop culture writer, I am also a teacher of arts and music subjects. So the same approach I applied to Story, I can also apply to Music (Song Analysis) but of course, with different elements. Now, I don’t intend to go into any musicological concepts that require music theory training to decipher but will try my best to keep things simple for non-musicians as well.
(more…)TRUE DETECTIVE SEASON 1TRUE DETECTIVE SEASON 1
After having laid down the foundations for how we might break down the elements of a story via my inaugural PoP Theory piece, I thought that analysing the excellent first season of the HBO series True Detective would provide us with a solid discussion of said elements.
(more…)STORY ANALYSIS (POP CULTURE THEORY)STORY ANALYSIS (POP CULTURE THEORY)
Besides being a singer-songwriter/composer and a pop culture writer, I am also a teacher of arts and music subjects. Which comes in handy as I find myself thinking in terms of carrying out music and story analysis in order to write about an appreciation of music, film, TV and comic books.
(more…)THE BEST SOLO ARTISTS OF ALL TIMETHE BEST SOLO ARTISTS OF ALL TIME
After sharing about the best bands of all time, it’s only natural to talk about the best solo artists of all time. As you will no doubt realise, many of the selected artists have also worked within the group dynamic, although with the branding of a front person. All choices in my own personal experience and in my humble opinion, of course. Let’s go! (In alphabetical order, once more)
(more…)WILL SPOTIFY SAVE THE MUSIC INDUSTRY?WILL SPOTIFY SAVE THE MUSIC INDUSTRY?
WILL SPOTIFY SAVE THE MUSIC INDUSTRY? is an opinion piece. Nothing more, nothing less.
Social media has been abuzz of late over Spotify CEO Daniel Ek’s comments in a recent interview published in Music:)Ally dated 30 July 2020. These remarks followed the release of Spotify’s latest quarterly financial results.
(more…)UMBRELLA ACADEMY SEASON 2 (ANALYSIS)UMBRELLA ACADEMY SEASON 2 (ANALYSIS)
Umbrella Academy Season 2 is the second season of a superhero scifi action-adventure streaming TV drama based on the comic book of the same name. Our analysis of season 2 follows…
(more…)SONG STORIES – ERIC KHOO MOVIES!SONG STORIES – ERIC KHOO MOVIES!
Today, 1st August 2020, Netflix begins streaming three Eric Khoo movies that I contributed music to. Over at the Kevin Mathews Composer Facebook page, I shared these song stories to mark this occasion. Hope you find the reading as much fun as I did the writing.
(more…)THE SINGAPORE GRIP (REVIEW)THE SINGAPORE GRIP (REVIEW)
It is extremely rare even in these globally cultural streaming obsessed times to come across historical dramas set in Singapore. But that’s exactly what The Singapore Grip is.
(more…)THE BEST BANDS OF ALL TIMETHE BEST BANDS OF ALL TIME
I like making lists. Apparently, folks on the internet like reading lists as well.
There you go. First off, I am going to share with you a list of the best bands of all time, in my humble opinion. (In alphabetical order, mind you)
CRAWLING FROM THE WRECKAGECRAWLING FROM THE WRECKAGE
Thank you, kind visitor for reading this post about Crawling From the Wreckage. If you’re observant enough, you would notice that the last time I posted here was in April – around the time Singapore went into a partial lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I had even posted a CLOSED advisory, which reflected my depressed state of mind. It did seem to me that the pandemic signalled the final death knell of Power of Pop.
(more…)BACKWARDS COMPATIBLE BY CHRIS CHURCHBACKWARDS COMPATIBLE BY CHRIS CHURCH
So, Chris Church is a Facebook ‘friend’ and I am only now finding out that he is a Power Pop Rock N Roll singer-songwriter of the highest order? Dayum.
Church’s new album, Backwards Compatible, is exactly what we need to cope with the clusterfuck that Covid—19 has turned the world into.
For music fans out there who still hold the 90s Pop Underground close to their hearts, Backwards Compatible is a literal godsend, evoking the likes of Cheap Trick, Guided By Voices, Splitsville, Fountains of Wayne et al with 12 gorgeous gems that bear repeating.
C’mon, anyone who has ever read my music writing will know what I dig – memorable melodies, heavenly harmonies, pommeling percussions of course guitars that gleam, jangle and crunch!
And Chris Church’s Backwards Compatible ticks every single box. And how!
Not much else I need to say – if like me you swear by Power Pop Rock N Roll, this album is for YOU!
… still there’s more …
STAR TREK PICARD S01E01 (REVIEW)STAR TREK PICARD S01E01 (REVIEW)
Review of Star Trek Picard S01E01 the pilot episode of the 1st season of the scifi space opera TV series based on characters from Star Trek : The Next Generation. Chronologically, Star Trek Picard takes place years after the events of Star Trek : Nemesis, the final movie in the Star Trek : The Next Generation film franchise.
(more…)THE INVISIBLE MAN PREVIEWTHE INVISIBLE MAN PREVIEW
The Invisible Man is based on the classic H.G. Wells novel, is a remake of the 1933 film adaptation and also part of the failed Universal Dark Universe. Here’s our The Invisible Man preview.
(more…)FUR IN SINGAPORE (INTERVIEW + REVIEW)FUR IN SINGAPORE (INTERVIEW + REVIEW)
“… we’re inspired by songwriters themselves – (the sixties) as an era had some of the best songwriters of all time and I don’t think you can ever get close to that ever again. We’re trying.”
(more…)CAUSEWAY YOUTH – “PLACES”CAUSEWAY YOUTH – “PLACES”
After the driving rocking vibe of previous single, “Ride the Waves” – Singapore indie pop duo, Causeway Youth return with “Places”.
(more…)WATCHMEN EPISODE THREE (HBO)WATCHMEN EPISODE THREE (HBO)
I must confess that I currently have a love-hate relationship with HBO’s Watchmen series. I went from largely dislike to grudgingly admire in the first and second episodes but with Watchmen Episode Three, my feelings have gone up to full-blown hate!
(more…)FUR LIVE IN SINGAPORE : THE EMAIL INTERVIEWFUR LIVE IN SINGAPORE : THE EMAIL INTERVIEW
U.K. band FUR is a breath of fresh air for lovers of classic guitar pop-rock and many are looking forward to seeing FUR live in Singapore this coming Wednesday, 6th November 2019 at the Hard Rock Cafe. Ahead of this exciting FUR live show, a couple of questions were posed to the band and the boys replied via email.
(more…)WATCHMEN EPISODE TWO (HBO)WATCHMEN EPISODE TWO (HBO)
As mentioned in the review of the pilot, the problem with HBO’s Watchmen series is that while it is well written and well acted, the connections to the original Watchmen graphic novel are tenuous and tacked on for branding purposes only. Well, at least in the pilot. But what about Watchmen Episode Two?
(more…)WATCHMEN HBO : PILOTWATCHMEN HBO : PILOT
I had mixed feelings watching the pilot of the new Watchmen HBO series – adapting the classic graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Well, in truth, a sequel to the original story.
(more…)