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Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll



Miscellaneous - (2016)
Miscellaneous - August 2016

In the first in his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column in a year, Ben Howarth looks at a trio of albums that suggest there is still plenty to listen to for someone feeling out of touch with the modern music scene.


Miscellaneous - (2015)
Miscellaneous - May 2015

A new study claims to prove that the Beatles’ influence was overstated. In his regular 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column, Ben Howarth wonders whether that’s really the whole story.


Miscellaneous - (2015)
Miscellaneous - July 2015

In his latest 'Condemned To Rock and Roll' column, Ben Howarth asks what the imminent transition of the 'NME' to a freesheet tells us about the state of modern pop music


Miscellaneous - (2015)
Miscellaneous - April 2015

Ben Howarth in 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' examines Jay-Z's new streaming service and Spotify rival, Tidal


Miscellaneous - (2015)
Miscellaneous - February 2015

In 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' Ben Howarth reflects on recent UK government legislation towards the growing problem of ticket touts


Miscellaneous - (2014)
Miscellaneous - December 2014

Ben Howarth in 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' looks at the recent rise in vinyl sales and asks how this will effect CD sales


Miscellaneous - (2014)
Miscellaneous - September 2014

With both Peter Frampton and Kate Bush having asked their fans to not use their phones at their shows, Ben Howarth in 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' examines the issue of mobile phone photography and filming at gigs


Miscellaneous - (2014)
Miscellaneous - October 2014

With the UK Top 40 now in complete chaos, Ben Howarth in 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' ask if rock as we traditionally know it is dead


Miscellaneous - (2014)
Miscellaneous - November 2014

Ben Howarth in 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' examines Taylor Swift's decision to withdraw her music from Spotify


Miscellaneous - (2014)
Miscellaneous - August 2014

In 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll', Ben Howarth writes about his increasing hatred of synthesizer music.


Miscellaneous - (2014)
Miscellaneous - July 2014

In 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll', Ben Howarth reflects on the BBC's wall-to-wall coverage of this year's Glastonbury


Miscellaneous - (2014)
Miscellaneous - June 2014

In 'Condemnned to Rock 'n' Roll' Ben Howarth's reflects on YouTube and Spotify's impact on rock music


Miscellaneous - (2014)
Miscellaneous - May 2014

With its twentieth anniversary having just taken place, Ben Howarth in 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' reflects on the now routinely derided Britop movement and asks if it was negative as it is is often portrayed


Miscellaneous - (2014)
Miscellaneous - April 2014

In 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll', Ben Howarth examines the connections between sport and music


Miscellaneous - (2014)
Miscellaneous - March 2014

After David Bowie's outspoken comments at the The Brits in February, Ben Howarth in 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' asks why so few bands or other musicians have failed to engage in the Scottish Independence debate


Miscellaneous - (2014)
Miscellaneous - February 2014

In his regular 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column Ben Howarth questions the worth and value of the much-hyped BBC Sound of 2014 newcomers' poll


Miscellaneous - (2013)
Miscellaneous - November 2013

Ben Howarth in 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' reflects on Shearwater's new album and covers record, 'Fellow Travelers'


Miscellaneous - (2013)
Miscellaneous - October 2013

Ben Howarth in 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' asks the announcement of this year's Mercury Music Prize nominees there are no folk, jazz or classical albums on the list


Miscellaneous - (2013)
Miscellaneous - September 2013

With vinyl sales on the rise, Ben Howarth in 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' reflects on the possible impact of the first 'Cassette Store Day', which took place on September 7th this year


Miscellaneous - (2013)
Miscellaneous - August 2013

With many of his friends starting to lose interest in music, Ben Howarth in 'Condemned to Rock 'n'Roll' finds the opposite problem and too much new music to listen to


Miscellaneous - (2013)
Miscellaneous - July 2013

After listening to the Duckworth Lewis Method's comical but clever new album 'Sticky Wickets', Ben Howarth in 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' asks if too much of an emphasis is being put on misery in pop music at the moment


Miscellaneous - (2013)
Miscellaneous - June 2013

Ben Howarth in 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' questions Daft Punk's strategically marketed new single 'Get Lucky', which is been hyped as one of the musical releases of the year


Miscellaneous - (2013)
Miscellaneous - May 2013

Ben Howarth in 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' relects on the underrated career of Jason Molina from Songs: Ohia and the Magnolia Electric Co. who died at the age of 39 in March


Miscellaneous - (2013)
Miscellaneous - April 2013

Ben Howarth in 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' asks if David Bowie's first album-in-a-decade, 'The Next Day', is against-the-odds a classic


Miscellaneous - (2013)
Miscellaneous - March 2013

With many music journalists pessimistic after the recent Brits, Ben Howarth in 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' asks if the music industry is in as unhealthy a state as they say it is


Miscellaneous - (2013)
Miscellaneous - February 2013

In his 'Condemened to Rock 'n' Roll' column, Ben Howarth assesses the reasons behind HMV's fall into administration and asks whether it has a future


Miscellaneous - (2012)
Miscellaneous - January 2013

Ben Howarth, in his ‘Condemned to Rock ‘n’ Roll’ column, examines our current musical obsession with the past and asks what the future holds for pop and rock music


Miscellaneous - (2012)
Miscellaneous - November 2012

Ben Howarth in his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column is unimpressed by the the Mercury Music Prize


Miscellaneous - (2012)
Miscellaneous - October 2012

Ben Howarth in 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' looks at critical reaction towards Bob Dylan in recent years


Miscellaneous - (2012)
Miscellaneous - September 2012

Ben Howarth, in his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column, questions the value or need for star rankings in music reviews


Miscellaneous - (2012)
Miscellaneous - August 2012

In 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll', Ben Howarth writes about Dinosaur Jr's third album, 'I Bet on Sky', which is due out in September


Miscellaneous - (2012)
Miscellaneous - July 2012

Ben Howarth in 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' writes about Sweet Billy Pilgrim's new album, 'Crown and Treaty', which has proved to be an instant classic


Miscellaneous - (2012)
Miscellaneous - May 2012

In 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll', Ben Howarth looks, amidst the decline of the record industry, at the phenomenal rise of Adele


Miscellaneous - (2012)
Miscellaneous - April 2012

In his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column, Ben Howarth, after a tour of the Abbey Road Studios, examines its lengthy history


Miscellaneous - (2012)
Miscellaneous - February 2012

In 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll', Ben Howarth reflects on PledgeMusic, and the ethics of fan funding


Miscellaneous - (2012)
Miscellaneous - January 2012

In his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column, Ben Howarth reflects upon the continued declining fortunes of HMV, and asks if anything can be done to save it


Miscellaneous - (2011)
Miscellaneous - December 2011

In his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column Ben Howarth examines Darren Hayman's ten inch vinyl EP, 'Christmas in Haworth', and online musical advent calendar


Miscellaneous - (2011)
Miscellaneous - November 2011

In 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' Ben Howarth considers Pete Townshend's recent Radio 6 Music John Peel lecture in which he described Apple's iTunes as a digital vampire


Miscellaneous - (2011)
Miscellaneous - October 2011

In his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column Ben Howarth looks at former Undertones front man Feargal Sharkey's attempts to try to enforce through the Digital Economy Act 2010, after the political decision was made to repeal sections of it relating to filesharing


Miscellaneous - (2011)
Miscellaneous - September 2011

Ben Howarth in ‘Condemned to Rock ‘n’ Roll’ asks whether Laura Marling’s much acclaimed third album, ‘A Creature Don’t Know’, has the potential to become a classic


Miscellaneous - (2011)
Miscellaneous - August 2011

Ben Howarth in his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column argues the case for defence for the much derided ukelele


Miscellaneous - (2011)
Miscellaneous - July 2011

in 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' Ben Howarth provides an alternative list of excellent albums of recent years that have tended to miss out on other ‘best of’ lists.


Miscellaneous - (2011)
Miscellaneous - June 2011

Ben Howarth in ‘Condemned to Rock ‘n’ Roll’ reflects upon the Arctic Monkeys’ return to the fore with their latest album, ‘Suck It and See', after the commercial failure of their 2009 experimental album, ‘Humbug’


Miscellaneous - (2011)
Miscellaneous - May 2011

Ben Howarth in 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' reflects upon the causes for HMV's declining sales, while the fortunes of Amazon in contrast continue to expand


Miscellaneous - (2011)
Miscellaneous - April 2011

In his regular 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column, Ben Howarth pays tribute to durable and underrated acoustic duo, Ezio, who shot briefly to notoriety when then Shadow Prime Minister Tony Blair nominated one of their songs on 'Desert Island Discs'


Miscellaneous - (2011)
Miscellaneous - March 2011

In his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column Ben Howarth writes of some of the excellent acts and bands that he has discovered in support slots at recent gigs that he has attended


Miscellaneous - (2011)
Miscellaneous - February 2011

Ben Howarth in ‘Condemned to Rock ‘n’ Roll’ writes of the surprise addition of Neutral Milk Hotel’s ‘In the Aeroplane Over the Sea’ to Q’s latest Greatest Album Ever poll which compiled together the best albums since 1987


Miscellaneous - (2010)
Miscellaneous - December 2010

Ben Howarth in his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column mourns the loss of one of his favourite venues, the Luminaire in London, and describes his favourite albums of the year


Miscellaneous - (2010)
Miscellaneous - November 2010

Ben Howarth in his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column tells of reacting against Britpop in his teens and moving down the dangerous path of extreme heavy metal


Miscellaneous - (2010)
Miscellaneous - October 2010

Ben Howarth in his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column examines the issue of music career suicide and what can happen to bands when good ideas start to run out


Miscellaneous - (2010)
Miscellaneous - September 2010

With the news that he will be hosting a pop quiz at the Conservative Party's annual conference in Birmingham, Ben Howarth in 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' looks at the political career of former Undertones singer Feargal Sharkey that has developed since he quit his solo career


Miscellaneous - (2010)
Miscellaneous - August 2010

With the London Electronic Dance Festival due to take place at the end of August, Ben Howarth, in his regular 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column, asks what the future holds for dance music


Miscellaneous - (2010)
Miscellaneous - July 2010

In the latest in his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column, Ben Howarth examines the links between music and sport


Miscellaneous - (2010)
Miscellaneous - June 2010

In his regular 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column, Ben Howarth writes of his favourite band the Divine Comedy's first new album in four years, 'Bang Goes the Knighthood'


Miscellaneous - (2010)
Miscellaneous - May 2010

In his ‘Condemned to Rock ‘n’ Roll’ column Ben Howarth analyses the decline of the singles market and looks at how music buying has changed over recent years


Miscellaneous - (2010)
Miscellaneous - April 2010

Ben Howarth in his ‘Condemned to Rock ‘n’ Roll’ column questions whether the plans to cut 6 Music is entirely without merit.


Miscellaneous - (2010)
Miscellaneous - March 2010

In the latest in his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column Ben Howarth writes about the uniqueness of Seattle-based singer-songwriter Laura Veirs


Miscellaneous - (2010)
Miscellaneous - February 2010

In 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll', Ben Howarth examines the issues surrounding the Digital Economy Bill which is currently making its way through British Parliament


Miscellaneous - (2009)
Miscellaneous - December 2009

in 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' Ben Howarth provides an alternative and personal list of Albums of the Decade


Miscellaneous - (2009)
Miscellaneous - November 2009

In his regular 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column, Ben Howarth, back after a month's break, reflects both on the last few years of the column and also his current favourite musicians


Miscellaneous - (2009)
Miscellaneous - September 2009

In the latest in his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll', Ben Howarth explains the targets he sets out for himself when reviewing new music and his pleasure at discovering new Bath-based blues-influenced act Kill It Kid


Miscellaneous - (2009)
Miscellaneous - August 2009

In the latest 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column, Ben Howarth pays tribute to DJ Steve Lamacq whose influential 'Evening Session' has recently been axed by Radio One


Miscellaneous - (2009)
Miscellaneous - July 2009

In his latest 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Rols' column, Ben Howarth asks if Michael Jackson was any good musically


Miscellaneous - (2009)
Miscellaneous - June 2009

In the latest in his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' series, Ben Howarth looks at Spotify, a new downloading site from which albums can be downloaded for free and it has been claimed that it will make CDs redundant, and asks if the phenomenon lives up to the hype


Miscellaneous - (2009)
Miscellaneous - April 2009

In his regular monthly 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column, Ben Howarth writes about searching for the perfect pop song


Miscellaneous - (2009)
Miscellaneous - March 2009

In the latest instalment in his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column, Ben Howarth looks back on the career and music of the late John Martyn


Miscellaneous - (2009)
Miscellaneous - January 2009

In the first in his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column, Benjamin Howarth explains his aggrievement at bands who allow their music to be used in TV adverts


Miscellaneous - (2008)
Miscellaneous - December 2008

In his regular 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column, Ben Howarth writes about his discovery this year of the joy of being able to sit down at rock gigs


Miscellaneous - (2008)
Miscellaneous - November 2008

In the latest instalment in his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll'column, Ben Howarth assesses the merits of Girls Aloud, Leona Lewis and other current top charting acts


Miscellaneous - (2008)
Miscellaneous - October 2008

In his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column, Ben Howarth examines the life and legacy of Rick Wright, the keyboardist with pink Floyd, who died on the 15th September


Miscellaneous - (2008)
Miscellaneous - September 2008

In the latest instalment of his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column, Ben Howarth pays testimony to some of the older and more established artists who constantly continue to release material of a high standard


Miscellaneous - (2008)
Miscellaneous - August 2008

In the latest episode of his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column, Ben Howarth looks at some of the sacred cows of rock including the Rolling Stones, Pink Gloyd, Alanis Morrisette, Sonic Youth and Fleetwood Mac


Miscellaneous - (2008)
Miscellaneous - July 2008

In his regular 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column, Ben Howarth pays tribute to Swedish jazz pianist Esbjorn Svensson who died in a diving accident in June


Miscellaneous - (2008)
Miscellaneous - June 2008

In the latest in his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column Ben Howarth questions the current state of music journalism and if music writers are doing an effective enough job


Miscellaneous - (2008)
Miscellaneous - May 2008

In his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column, Ben Howarth looks at Q's recent poll for the Best 50 Albums of All Time, and asks if these really are people's favourite albums


Miscellaneous - (2008)
Miscellaneous - April 2008

In the latest in his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' album, Ben Howarth asks if it is ever possible to really say what music you like


Miscellaneous - (2008)
Miscellaneous - March 2008

In ther latest in his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column, Ben Howarth looks at the career of Frames' frontman Glen Hansard, who, as well as acting in the film 'Once', also has just the Oscar for it for Best Original Song with 'Falling Slowly'


Miscellaneous - (2008)
Miscellaneous - February 2008

In the latest in his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column, Ben Howarth examines EMI's financial crisis and asks if record labels have been indulging bands' luxury lifestyles for too long


Miscellaneous - (2007)
Miscellaneous - December 2007

In his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column, Ben Howarth looks at records, both past and present, which didn't quite make the cut of his Albums of the Year poll


Miscellaneous - (2007)
Miscellaneous - November 2007

In the latest in his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column, Ben Howarth writes about, faced with having to move, trying to unsuccessfully reduce his record collection


Miscellaneous - (2007)
Miscellaneous - October 2007

In the latest in his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' applauds BBC Radio 4's under rated music programming, which manages to be comfortingly conservative and astoundingly radical and often both at once


Miscellaneous - (2007)
Miscellaneous - Features

In the latest in his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' compilation, Ben Howarth looks at the decision of the Chief Executive of EMI to resign, and the long-term effects this may have on music


Miscellaneous - (2007)
Miscellaneous - August 2007

In thnis month's edition of his Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll column, Ben Howarth questions whether the Mercury Music Prize has any real purpose


Miscellaneous - (2007)
Miscellaneous - July 2007

In the latest in his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll column Ben Howarth asks, if with the collapse of Fopp, and both HMV and EMI admitting to losing money, if the music industry really is in crisis


Miscellaneous - (2007)


With the festival season now having started, Ben Howarth casts his eye over the many different festivals on offer to music fans over the course of the summer


Miscellaneous - (2007)
Miscellaneous - May 2007

In his regular 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll', Ben Howarth looks at the demise of cassettes and CD singles, and finds in the fourteen years that has been a music fan that the more things have changed the more they have in many ways remained the same


Miscellaneous - (2007)
Miscellaneous - April 2007

In the latest in his regular Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll column Ben Howarth questions the thought behind reformed political rockers Rage Against the Machine's recent attempt to shut down the stock exchange by playing an uninvited concert


Miscellaneous - (2007)
Miscellaneous - March 2007

In the latest in his 'Condemned by Rock 'n' Roll' column, Ben Howarth asks why when we need music for rest and relaxation there is so little for it, before finding some respite with the French duo Air, who have just released a new album 'Pocket Symphony'


Miscellaneous - (2007)


In the latest in his 'Condemned by Rock 'n' Roll' column, Ben Howarth looks at the British singles chart, which under new ruling now takes into account downlaods


Miscellaneous - (2006)
Miscellaneous - December 2006

In the latest in his 'Condemned by Rock 'n' Roll' column, Ben Howarth writes of end of the year polls and his own choices for Album of the Year.


Miscellaneous - (2006)
Miscellaneous - November 2006

In the latest instalment in his monthly 'Condemned by Rock 'Roll' column, Benjamin Howarth looks at Christmas and 'Greatest Hits albums


Miscellaneous - (2006)
Miscellaneous - October 2006

In the latest in his 'Condemned By Rock 'n' Roll' column, Ben Howarth looks at the competition between independent, major and internet music retailers


Miscellaneous - (2006)
Miscellaneous - September 2006

Radiohead's Thom Yorke, the Manic Street Preachers' James Dean Bradfield and Idlewild Roddy Woomble have all recently released solo albums. Ben Howarth looks at them in the latest in his 'Condemned by Rock 'n' Roll' column


Miscellaneous - (2006)
Miscellaneous - August 2006

In the latest in his Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll series, Ben Howarth tells how, in the recent barren summer drought for music, he has taken comfort from Paul McCartney's recent album 'Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard'


Miscellaneous - (2006)
Miscellaneous - July 2006

In the latest his Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll column Ben Howarth writes about downloading and the Gnarls Barkley phenonomen







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