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When the heroes of our youth grow old: Pips, Chips & Videoclips
I wish I hadn’t seen that: Ripper got old. Pips, Chips and Videoclips frontman, the Croatian version of Liam Gallagher, the guy us girls had a crush on in the 1990s, now sports wrinkles and a beer belly. And he’s no longer Ripper at all. The official band site now lists him as “Daddy”. Bleugh. … Continue reading
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It was the summer of 2008 when I got to interview Moby. OK, sort-of “interview” because the questions were not put together by me. I was an intern at The Independent in London, and one of the things we, the “workies”, were supposed to do were the so-called 5-Minute Interviews with, well, mainly minor celebrities, … Continue reading
I can see it in your eyes. The pity when you realize I’m 35 and single. The reproach when my aunts and uncles ask me what I am waiting for. And the disappointment when my friends ask me “what’s new?”, and I say “nothing”. See, I’m a failure (and quite possibly contagious too). Regardless of … Continue reading
It was one of those concerts where the audience becomes so thoroughly one with the band that the whole gig turns into a giant singalong, interrupted with cheers and screams. “We’ve had three of the best shows we’ve ever had with the band here,” said a slightly touched Matt Berninger, but then added mischievously: “Not … Continue reading
I found an old ticket for Marah yesterday and it made me smile – it was a great night. It also made me laugh, as on that particular day in 2006 I was only marginally less crazy than the guys from the band, which, if you know anything about the Bielanko brothers, is no small … Continue reading
Sitting in Dublin and watching British televisions talk of the problems with volcano ash was a pretty torturing experience. Gordon Brown was explaining that “money was not an issue”, that he had sent the Royal Navy to help those trapped in Spain, that he had arranged a larger number of trains with the French and … Continue reading
“He’s talking to another Croatian newspaper right now. But, would you be willing to pay him for the interview?” With these two things that no journalist likes to hear, my conversation with this lawyer started. I was looking for a Croatian guy who was awarded more than 53.000 pounds by the court because his bosses … Continue reading
“They actually play the banjo?!,” asks a colleague slightly shocked, after I push my earphones on him to make him listen to this band I’ve been talking about for days. “Apparently that guy is a banjo genius,” I smile, trying to encourage him. But there’s no need to. He already likes them. And soon the … Continue reading
I was translating Slavoj Zizek’s essay for my paper yesterday, struggling with Lacanian terminology in Croatian, but actually enjoying it. I didn’t complain, though some of his sentences drove me crazy. Everything was great until 4 p.m., which is the time when I normally start thinking about going home. And then it struck. My editors … Continue reading
A holocaust survivor from Croatia taught me today that the best medicine for all one’s troubles might be laughter. I got an assignment to find a survivor for our story on the Holocaust Remembrance Day and do a short phone interview. It sounded almost disrespectful – how can you just expect to call them, fire … Continue reading
