Oliver Arditi

Blog archive

  • Root access

    Root access

    When I was young, reggae was a central part of pop-music—everyone had heard it, and although it wasn’t the most mainstream of musical interests, it was in the charts, and occasionally it produced a number one single in the UK. Then popular tastes changed, and reggae itself underwent some radical stylistic changes, morphing into dancehall… Read more

  • In black and white

    In black and white

    Having dipped into Kim Stanley Robinson’s work at intervals during his career (whether retrospectively as here, or contemporaneously), I’m starting to get a handle on his M.O. The fact that he tends to do the same sort of thing doesn’t indicate that his books are repetitive however, although they are very recognisably the same writer… Read more

  • Periodic themes

    Periodic themes

    My two main topics of research for my soon-to-be commenced fantasy novel are baking and medicine, since they’re the activities on which my narrator spends her time. In both areas I’m very fortunate to be related to someone (Parent) who is a bona fide expert on the field, so I’ve obtained a useful reading list… Read more

  • The not done

    The not done

    The Beastie Boys landed in the public consciousness with Licensed to Ill, an album of spoof hip-hop over cartoon metal beats that established them clearly as some kind of humorous novelty act—however, nobody thought to tell the Beastie Boys that’s what they were. Their sophomore long-player, Paul’s Boutique, was a landmark album in hip-hop, largely… Read more

  • Babylon to Chorleywood in thirty-two pages

    Babylon to Chorleywood in thirty-two pages

    Oxford University Press’s Very Short Introduction series has staked out a territory for concise introductions to a bewildering variety of topics, but for brevity they are no match for a series which will be familiar to many (if they are the right age) from museum shops across the British Isles—the Shire Albums. First published in… Read more

  • A parabolic parable

    A parabolic parable

    I will freely admit my ignorance on all matters bandes dessinées. My first comics were Asterix and Tintin in French (inherited from my Francophone father), so of course I’ve always been aware of Franco-Belgian comics, but my developing obsession with the medium was nourished in its early days by British and American comics (largely British),… Read more