Posts in Opinion
Fame and the Price Paid

So many celebrity deaths seem to arise from years of alcohol and drug battles. Some indirectly, some more absolute. For many fame is the flame that lights the fire, for others a safehouse for the dysfunction of addiction.

Read More
OpinionGuest User
Imposter Syndrome as a Musician

The word imposter has some rather duplicitous connotations. On one hand, it conjures images of caricature villains from cheesy pantomimes, TV shows and films, revealed in a hyper exaggerated manner. You know the kind of thing: "I'd have got away with it if it weren't for you meddling kids", et cetera. The other side of the coin is a mental health issue that has only entered the public consciousness in recent memory.

Read More
OpinionGuest User
Truth or Dare: The Many Faces of Madonna

I have been a fan of Madonna for years, since 1985 and Crazy for You hit the charts. I wanted to be Madonna, she was trendy, fearless and beautiful. I would wear lace gloves with tens of bangles, mini skirts and lace leggings, anything that my young teenage hands could grab a hold of. I still love the 80’s now, I think many of us do. It was a fun decade for many of us growing up then.

Read More
OpinionGuest User
Where to Find an Audiophile

An audiophile; an individual that is deeply passionate, exacting, and even obsessed with high fidelity audio. These notoriously pedantic creatures can often be found snuffling for truffles in the darkest corners of record shops the world over, uttering phrases such as "oh that's a first pressing" and "Led Zeppelin 1! Oh, but it's not got the original purple label".

Read More
OpinionGuest User
Music Is My Therapy

I’m sure we’ve all heard someone say “music saved my life” at some point, and whilst it might sound like something of a cliché it is actually true. Music has several positive effects on our mental wellbeing; helping to alleviate stress, enhance memory, stimulate emotion and soothe the soul.

Read More
OpinionGuest User
Does Music Genre Limit An Artist?

The ever expanding world of music genres can be, to the uninitiated, a baffling experience. Over recent years, the trend amongst journalists seems to be to create increasingly ridiculous genres (and sub genres) for new artists, rather than attempt to define them within the existing musical spectrum. Is it simply lazy journalism? Well no, not necessarily.

Read More
OpinionGuest User
Music Critics - Help or Hindrance?

I sometimes find myself at a gig thinking...jeez, who told them they sounded good!? And this is why I wouldn’t make a very good critic. The trouble is, I have too many opinions and not all of them are kind. I think to be a critic it’s good to be neutral to a degree, take an overview and be objective. But I love music so much; so I’m passionate, opinionated and subjective.

Read More
OpinionGuest User
Ohheycicde: Openly Discussing Suicidal Ideation

Trigger Warning - this article openly discusses suicide and suicidial ideation

Suicidal ideation isn’t really openly discussed in any social setting that I’m aware of. I’ve talked about it briefly with my mental health friends, but it rarely gets past the point of acknowledging that we both aren’t that adverse to dying, and then swiftly moving on. Let’s face it, talking about suicide and suicidal ideation is rarely an enjoyable or comfortable conversation, so why bring it up (outside of therapy) at all?

Read More
OpinionGuest User
I Am Cringe But I Am Free

Cringe itself is a clash of two things: self perception and the perception of others. There is more than one type of this clash though. Melissa Dahl talks about this duality in Cringeworthy: A Theory of Awkwardness, where she explores compassionate cringe and contemptuous cringe.

Read More
OpinionGuest User