Bring it on!
The first Hot Press of 2008 focuses on the many weird and wonderful things that are in prospect, in music, movies, comedy, fashion – oh, and life in bloody general! It promises to be a fascinating year.
Niall Stokes, 17 Jan 2008
It feels good to be back. There’s so much to do on the run-in to Christmas – and so little time to do it in.
It gets manic, so manic that even to pick up the telephone seems like an impossibility at times. You battle through. Then, there’s a lacuna. Time to play the guitar, read a bagful of great books, get some writing organised, and clear away at least some of the debris that’s built up. Especially the Christmas tree (it’s dry as a fucking bone). But when the wheels start to turn again, you feel the sap returning. The world seems to be spinning a little bit faster than ever now – maybe that’s what’s behind global warming. Spring is around the corner. Time to get switched on…
This issue we’re in looking ahead mode. With the US Presidential race already in full swing, 2008 promises to be a defining year. The battle will be vicious. It may even be bloody. It will certainly be entertaining. And that’s just the primaries. But there’s so much more to look forward to. Will Bertie Ahern make it through to the end of the year as Taoiseach – or will he suffer death by a thousand cuts at the hands of the Mahon tribunal? The Olympic Games in China – how mired in controversy will they be? The Euro 2008 finals – can the tournament possibly proceed without any team from the British Isles? Or Ireland?
The Irish manager’s job: is it Venables or bust? How long will the soap opera run for? And then there’s the Premiership: will it be Arsenal or Man U? Can Sunderland avoid the drop? Will Irish rugby ever recover from the humiliation of the World Cup? Whither Padraig Harrington in his battle for another Major title? And – an outside bet this – what about Rory McIlroy for the Ryder Cup?
However badly the deck may be stacked in many ways, music in Ireland is in a relatively good place. It’s hard for musicians to make a half-decent living still, and that’s something which needs to be addressed by the Arts Council (who, it has to be said, have begun to show a willingness to do their bit). But what’s impressive is this: in spite of an air of doom and gloom in the record business internationally, and the fact that budgets are being slashed and no one knows quite what the future holds, Irish bands and artists are continuing to come up the goods.
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