Pennyblackmusic
Having begun writing for Pennyblack at the same time as he collected his GCSE results, Ben Howarth has now been writing for the site almost as long as it has been around. As we approach our 20th birthday, he selects in 'Ten Songs That Made Me love...' some of the songs that sum up his experience.
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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.
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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.
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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
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Ben Howarth in 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' examines Jay-Z's new streaming service and Spotify rival, Tidal
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In 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' Ben Howarth reflects on recent UK government legislation towards the growing problem of ticket touts
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Ben Howarth in 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' looks at the recent rise in vinyl sales and asks how this will effect CD sales
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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
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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
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Ben Howarth in 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' examines Taylor Swift's decision to withdraw her music from Spotify
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In 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll', Ben Howarth writes about his increasing hatred of synthesizer music.
Darren Hayman
In 'Ten Songs that Made Me Love...', Ben Howarth writes of his favourite songs by singer-songwriter and ex-Hefner front man, Darren Hayman
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In 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll', Ben Howarth reflects on the BBC's wall-to-wall coverage of this year's Glastonbury
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In 'Condemnned to Rock 'n' Roll' Ben Howarth's reflects on YouTube and Spotify's impact on rock music
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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
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In 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll', Ben Howarth examines the connections between sport and music
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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
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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
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Ben Howarth in 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' reflects on Shearwater's new album and covers record, 'Fellow Travelers'
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Ben Howarth in his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column is unimpressed by the the Mercury Music Prize
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Ben Howarth in 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' looks at critical reaction towards Bob Dylan in recent years
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Ben Howarth, in his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column, questions the value or need for star rankings in music reviews
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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
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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
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In 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll', Ben Howarth looks, amidst the decline of the record industry, at the phenomenal rise of Adele
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In his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column, Ben Howarth, after a tour of the Abbey Road Studios, examines its lengthy history
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In 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll', Ben Howarth reflects on PledgeMusic, and the ethics of fan funding
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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In an occasional series to promote the more unusual activities of musicians, Ben Howarth writes about Vostok 5, an exhibition on people and animals in space put together by Darren Hayman and four toher London based musicians
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Ben Howarth in his 'Condemned to Rock 'n' Roll' column argues the case for defence for the much derided ukelele
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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.
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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’
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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
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In our 'Soundtrack of Our Lives' column, Ben Howarth writes of ten years of writing of Pennyblackmusic, and an early interview with forgotten emo group, Rydell
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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'
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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