Michael Shallcross
@michaelshallcross.bsky.social
Wrote a book about G.K. Chesterton and literary modernism. Now working in uni admin, but still doing research - see pinned thread for info on my current project, 'Inscribing Pandemonium'. Also posting about music, culture, politics, random nonsense.
Pinned
Parakeets Arise!
In which I recruit some talkative birds to introduce the main themes of my project, and the reader first encounters squawker-in-chief, Sir John Collings Squire.
inscribingpandemonium.wordpress.com
I started a blog to post excerpts from my research project on the Devil and parody, while I build a website to host the final version. Here's the first extract, in which a pandemonium of parrots heralds the appearance of J.C. Squire, a writer whose parodic devilry is threaded throughout the project.
Reposted by Michael Shallcross
Terrific work! Lovely to see 😊
(more available at heykidsrocknroll.etsy.com - I've just finished a big run of them!)
(more available at heykidsrocknroll.etsy.com - I've just finished a big run of them!)
November 26, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Terrific work! Lovely to see 😊
(more available at heykidsrocknroll.etsy.com - I've just finished a big run of them!)
(more available at heykidsrocknroll.etsy.com - I've just finished a big run of them!)
November 25, 2025 at 7:04 PM
The gig was great, and the post below didn't really convey how improbable this booking felt. If you'd told c.1995 me, listening to You're Living All Over Me and Bakesale in a suburban York bedroom, that 30 years later Lou Barlow would be playing for 2hrs in a local cafe I'd have been incredulous.
Seeing Lou Barlow in a tiny cafe in a suburb of York, and we're sat literally a foot from the stage.
November 25, 2025 at 5:08 PM
The gig was great, and the post below didn't really convey how improbable this booking felt. If you'd told c.1995 me, listening to You're Living All Over Me and Bakesale in a suburban York bedroom, that 30 years later Lou Barlow would be playing for 2hrs in a local cafe I'd have been incredulous.
The day I lost my gran (the closest person to me in the world) I had to take a 20-minute bike ride across town from her house. I intuitively put The Diamond Sea by Sonic Youth on my headphones, loud. I'll never forget that feeling of being propelled through the streets on a soothing flood of noise.
"From silent retreats to mindfulness apps and Spotify’s insipid Chill Out playlist, culturally we are always being sold that the way to rest, relax, unwind, and switch off is to quieten things down. However, sometimes the most effective way to clear something is to flood it." Superb MBV review:
Always a joy to be blasted by My Bloody Valentine. Last night was also a tribute to Mani and for @thequietus.com I dug into the idea of extreme noise as a vehicle for calm and tranquility. thequietus.com/quietus-revi...
November 25, 2025 at 2:15 PM
The day I lost my gran (the closest person to me in the world) I had to take a 20-minute bike ride across town from her house. I intuitively put The Diamond Sea by Sonic Youth on my headphones, loud. I'll never forget that feeling of being propelled through the streets on a soothing flood of noise.
Seeing Lou Barlow in a tiny cafe in a suburb of York, and we're sat literally a foot from the stage.
November 24, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Seeing Lou Barlow in a tiny cafe in a suburb of York, and we're sat literally a foot from the stage.
Bought this on dvd a while back and still haven't got around to watching it, despite it sounding very much like my cup of tea - maybe reading this will give me the kick up the bum I need
And another! Stories and interviews with the team behind one of the BBC's greatest ever TV dramas – "a revenge thriller, a mystical nuclear-and-environmental-apocalypse fable, a clear-eyed political document of the mid-1980s, a ghost story" – by me for @thequietus.com thequietus.com/opinion-and-...
Why Edge Of Darkness makes so much sense in 2025 | The Quietus
Judge Rogers speaks to several key members of the team who made the ecologically-minded thriller for the BBC
thequietus.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:04 AM
Bought this on dvd a while back and still haven't got around to watching it, despite it sounding very much like my cup of tea - maybe reading this will give me the kick up the bum I need
Reposted by Michael Shallcross
this week's newsletter is titled "aren't you tired of feeling insane all the time?" and I think it speaks for itself
it is also free to read
youngvulgarian.substack.com/p/arent-you-...
it is also free to read
youngvulgarian.substack.com/p/arent-you-...
November 21, 2025 at 10:18 AM
this week's newsletter is titled "aren't you tired of feeling insane all the time?" and I think it speaks for itself
it is also free to read
youngvulgarian.substack.com/p/arent-you-...
it is also free to read
youngvulgarian.substack.com/p/arent-you-...
Reposted by Michael Shallcross
This is a perfect articulation of the moral cowardice and strategic insanity of the government's rhetorical framing of this issue
Labour’s “we have to do it, or racism will get worse” argument is striking. Any other public policy failures British ethnic minorities should be on the hook for? Can we be blamed en bloc for Rachel Reeves’ budget next week too? www.ft.com/content/37b0...
Defence of Labour asylum policy reveals backsliding on racism
Home secretary’s framing of failures is partly low politics, but also a result of ministers’ poor approach to race relations
www.ft.com
November 18, 2025 at 12:31 PM
This is a perfect articulation of the moral cowardice and strategic insanity of the government's rhetorical framing of this issue
Reposted by Michael Shallcross
One to bookmark for when Labour collapse in London next May
November 18, 2025 at 11:36 AM
One to bookmark for when Labour collapse in London next May
Reposted by Michael Shallcross
When doctor starmer (respected pm who fiercely railed against reform on conference) finds out what mr keir (reform candidate for holborn and st pancras) gets up to he will no doubt have one viable path to deal with his shame
Asked if Keir Starmer believes British people want to "see refugee children pulled out of school and deported after 10 years in this country”, his spokesman says that “what the British public wants and what this government was elected on a mandate to deliver was to secure our borders"
November 17, 2025 at 12:30 PM
When doctor starmer (respected pm who fiercely railed against reform on conference) finds out what mr keir (reform candidate for holborn and st pancras) gets up to he will no doubt have one viable path to deal with his shame
Why would the girls turn the colour of an avocado?
November 16, 2025 at 11:37 AM
Why would the girls turn the colour of an avocado?
Tonight!
November 14, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Tonight!
Very exciting to hear a great new song from Lungleg on Radio 6 this morning - one of the finest Scottish bands of the '90s!
Lung Leg feat. Lora Logic - Girls
YouTube video by Errol's Hot Wax
www.youtube.com
October 29, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Very exciting to hear a great new song from Lungleg on Radio 6 this morning - one of the finest Scottish bands of the '90s!
#NowPlaying Been hoping for an affordable vinyl reissue of this wonderful record for years. Adam Green and Binki Shapiro casting themselves as a 21c Lee and Nancy, with an absolutely gorgeous set of chamber pop miniatures.
October 28, 2025 at 10:02 PM
#NowPlaying Been hoping for an affordable vinyl reissue of this wonderful record for years. Adam Green and Binki Shapiro casting themselves as a 21c Lee and Nancy, with an absolutely gorgeous set of chamber pop miniatures.
Another instalment in the occasional series, 'what is the TLS reviewer talking about?'
Obvs few things more aggravating than an author being readily in command of their chosen material.
Obvs few things more aggravating than an author being readily in command of their chosen material.
October 27, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Another instalment in the occasional series, 'what is the TLS reviewer talking about?'
Obvs few things more aggravating than an author being readily in command of their chosen material.
Obvs few things more aggravating than an author being readily in command of their chosen material.
Taking a short break in Liverpool, brought the latest issue of Mojo to read on the train, then ran into a familiar sight in the Beatles Museum.
October 26, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Taking a short break in Liverpool, brought the latest issue of Mojo to read on the train, then ran into a familiar sight in the Beatles Museum.
Not the most elegant dish, granted, but Indian spiced chicken livers = desert island dinner. Comfort food of the very highest order.
October 25, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Not the most elegant dish, granted, but Indian spiced chicken livers = desert island dinner. Comfort food of the very highest order.
All the episodes of this recent 'Ladies of Lynch' series are really interesting, but this is maybe the best, with Jennifer Lynch talking about the process of writing 'The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer'.
MUBI Podcast | Jennifer Lynch Writes “The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer”
Season 9 continues with insights into David Lynch’s collaboration with his daughter, who gave Laura Palmer an inner life.
mubi.com
October 25, 2025 at 4:50 PM
All the episodes of this recent 'Ladies of Lynch' series are really interesting, but this is maybe the best, with Jennifer Lynch talking about the process of writing 'The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer'.
#NowPlaying Finally picked up a vinyl copy of the most recent Parquet Courts album, 4 years after it came out. Wasn't initially sold on the 80s electronica angle, but now think it's ageing well. Probably my favourite US band of the last 15 years, hope their recent silence is just an extended hiatus.
October 25, 2025 at 2:26 PM
#NowPlaying Finally picked up a vinyl copy of the most recent Parquet Courts album, 4 years after it came out. Wasn't initially sold on the 80s electronica angle, but now think it's ageing well. Probably my favourite US band of the last 15 years, hope their recent silence is just an extended hiatus.
Think I might start watching one of these every morning, to get the day off to the right start. There are 950 of them, so that'll give me something to do for the rest of my forties 👍
David Lynch’s Weather Report 10/24/20
YouTube video by DAVID LYNCH THEATER
www.youtube.com
October 24, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Think I might start watching one of these every morning, to get the day off to the right start. There are 950 of them, so that'll give me something to do for the rest of my forties 👍
Jo is great, and this is bound to be very good fun - get down there, London folk
Hosting my first ever salon tonight, at Chats Palace in Hackney. Waaaaaah..!
October 22, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Jo is great, and this is bound to be very good fun - get down there, London folk
Reposted by Michael Shallcross
It’s Dory Previn’s centenary today, here’s a repost of a Quietus feature from 2024 if you‘re curious to find out more. Really enjoyed writing this (and the documentary is excellent too).
thequietus.com/opinion-and-...
thequietus.com/opinion-and-...
No Ordinary Thing: The Momentous Life & Times of Dory Previn
On the release of a new documentary on Dory Previn, Adelle Stripe explores an artist who learned to live with voices in her head
thequietus.com
October 22, 2025 at 1:04 PM
It’s Dory Previn’s centenary today, here’s a repost of a Quietus feature from 2024 if you‘re curious to find out more. Really enjoyed writing this (and the documentary is excellent too).
thequietus.com/opinion-and-...
thequietus.com/opinion-and-...
If I had unlimited funds and a much bigger house I would absolutely buy this
if you haven't been to Steve Albini's Closet for a while, or maybe ever, it's more than worth a look. Latest auction item: Steve's wonderful billiard table which is also incredibly heavy. Would make a reasonable bed hint hint
Auction — Steve Albini's Closet
www.stevealbiniscloset.com
October 20, 2025 at 8:17 AM
If I had unlimited funds and a much bigger house I would absolutely buy this