To kick off 2026 we’ve been sharing some of our favourite music and culture of the previous twelve months. Yesterday Poppy Bristow and Evan Meikle’s picks included CMAT and Insecure Men – check out their full list here. Today it’s the turn of editorial team member Aitch Nicol.
MUSIC RELATED MOMENT: Bob Vylan (& Kneecap) Glastonbury Controversy
When Front Bob of Bob Vylan yelled “Free, free Palestine” and “Death, death to the IDF,” supported by Drumming Bob’s drums behind him, a furore of some considerable magnitude was unleashed, ending mere days ago with a verdict which gave me some glimmer of faith. The PM claimed “appalling hate speech”; the Police disagreed, declaring that what was said “does not meet the criminal threshold outlined by the CPS for any person to be prosecuted”. The BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) ruling also came good, with their statement in defence of the airing of the Bob Vylan set:
“References to ‘Free Palestine’ and ‘From the river to the sea’, while viewed by some as implying the disappearance of the state of Israel, can also be regarded as no more than expressions of support for aspirations to a Palestinian state and do not of themselves threaten violent action.”
As Front Bob said at the time, “We are not for the death of Jews, Arabs or any other race or group of people. We are for the dismantling of a violent military machine.”
What Bob Vylan did at Glastonbury (along with Kneecap, who were similarly embroiled in the debacle), demonstrated clearly the pervasive and dangerous nature of the often unchallenged misunderstandings around what is, and what isn’t, antisemitic. If dissent against support for our fellow humans is weaponised, as it often is, dissent against violence can too easily be viewed, ironically, as hatred for others. Our ability to stand up against violent acts – in this case, mass genocide – is so reduced, that we become completely helpless, utterly disabled by the fear of being misunderstood, labelled anti-jew, and prosecuted for race-hate.
Bob Vylan, in true punk form, have made a solid stand against violence and genocide. Despite being cancelled and vilified, they stuck hard to their principles. The Bobs say they are hopeful that this police verdict will inspire others to speak out and act in defence of the people of Palestine and are now suing Irish TV broadcaster RTÉ for defamation. Darragh Mackin, one of their solicitors, made a statement so clear and correct that I cheered when I read it: “Our clients are no stranger to utilising their freedom of expression to speak out against the genocide in Gaza. There is, however, a fundamental distinction between speaking critically about the role of the Israeli state forces, and being antisemitic.” Yes Darragh Mackin, exactly! Three cheers for you, Bob Vylan and Kneecap.
Bob Vylan: Website / Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp
NEW MUSICAL DISCOVERY: La Sécurité
Having walked 500 miles to see various fabulous bands at Manchester Psych Fest, I was having a bit of a sit, when I noticed the band in the room I’d plonked myself in were playing some really quite interesting, kraut-wonk, electronic indie-ish type stuff. And they had an almost unfeasibly sexy front-human.
So I went to have a better look, and discovered a 5-piece set of seemingly unconnected humans, looking like they belonged in different bands, and playing with considerable rarrrh-like Riot Grrrl energy.
Turns out they were La Sécurité – an Art-punk collective from Quebec, who are big into body autonomy and have a strong desire to “push the limits of their sonic experimentation”. Their album, Stay Safe, is a cracker, with interchanging English & French lyrics and a vibe as disparate as their on-stage appearance. I was really glad I’m old and needed a sit down, because otherwise I’d have missed them.
They are playing Bearded Theory Festival, followed by a wee tour in May, so go go go and catch em all.
La Sécurité: Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp
ALBUM: No Rocket Required, The Moonlandingz
Moonlandingz are the physical realisation of a made-up band, obsessed over by Maxine Peak’s voice, in one of many fakeloric tales told by Sheffield’s sublimest, The Eccentronic Research Council. Moonlandingz first album, Interplanetary Class Classics, was released waaayyy back in 2017. And now, 8yrs later, they have returned and brought with them the gift of a new, very shiny, album – No Rocket Required.
Like a 4-bird roast, this album is resigned-yet-still-a-bit-fighty honesty, wrapped in wryly delivered social satire, wrapped in fabulously memorable, beautifully constructed music, wrapped in an abundance of absurdism. It begins with Ewen Bremner (the creative genius that brought us Steven Seagull in Our Flag Means Death, and probably best known as Spud in Trainspotting), quite reasonably reflecting that some music can change the way you feel; about everything.
“Some music is like stealing a glimpse, of the upper thigh of a beautiful, young, pendulous chap, who you may, or may not, have just met, and realising it’s beyond reach, forever, always will be. Some music is completely hopeless. This, is such music.”
What follows is a full on, from the gut, vitriolic rage-fest in which he would rather go deaf AND blind than listen to this music. His repeated shouts of TURN THAT SHIT DOWN reminded me how much I want shout the same at that one neighbour, who asserts his male dominance by playing Hits Radio at full whack through his open attic window whenever the weather turns clement.
Whether ‘Some People’s Music’ is a song about the soul-wrenching desperation of creating art for public consumption, or about other people judging your soul in purchasable form, it’s deeply sad and fundamentally relatable. And that’s just the first track. To listen to this album is to experience acoustically-acquired cognitive dissonance, derived from the misalignment of emotion-provoking artistry with dismissive, satirical absurdism. It laughs at how ridiculous you are while sitting with you in that dark, dark place, telling you you’re not alone; that it gets you. Oh, and it has some dead catchy tunes you can really sing along to.
The Moonlandingz: Facebook / Instagram / BlueSky
FESTIVAL: Manchester Psych Fest
Manchester Psych Fest has been on my radar for many years, and this year I finally made it. With a good band buddy at my side, we went forth into the unfathomable vastness of available musical offerings. We did good though, catching “more bands than I see at a 3-dayer” (Lolly Band Buddy), including Dead Stilettos, Moonlandingz, DEADLETTER, the “tight as a gnat’s chuff” (Lolly again) Formal Sppeedwear & my new musical discovery for 2025, La Sécurité.
Joyzine’s very own Breige Cobane was also there, and paid enough attention to write this article which nicely captures the vibe. It’s a festival of friendly camaraderie and collaborative enthusiasm. When Beck Clewlow ‘s A string went ping 30 seconds into Formal Sppeedwear’s first song, I saw what “crestfallen” looks like up-close. But the muso support network, so joyfully evident at this festival, kicked in; basses appeared from all corners, and all was well in the end.
At under £60 for more bands than you can shake a large and very sticky stick at, at some truly iconic venues, it’s most definitely worth checking it out. Manchester Psych Fest is on Sat 5th Sept in 2026. Get your tickets here.
Manchester Psych Fest: Website / Instagram
TV PROGRAMME: Common Side Effects
A brilliantly conceived animated series from Adult Swim, Common Side Effects follows the journey of biologist/ ecologist/ animist Marshal in his search for the elusive Blue Angel mushroom. When he finds it, Marshal discovers that that little blue shroom can heal, anything, and Big Pharma are not happy about it.
Taking the shroom means becoming well, but you also get a tied-in relationship with the little white dudes that live in the mushroom world. Like a cross between Kodama – Japanese tree spirits (see Princess Monoke) & esteemed nasal-voiced psychonaut Terance McKenna’s Ayahuasca-induced machine elves, the little dudes in Common Side Effects are protectors, messengers and guardians of the natural power to heal. They don’t speak; they gesture, they perceive, they judge…
The show’s music is outstanding; a combination of original work by Nicolas Synder and a quite fabulous collection of music from ALL the genres, including a real fave of mine, ‘Gossipo Perpetuo’ by Jean-Jacques Perrey & David Chazam.
Common Side Effects: Website
Fun facts: If you grew up watching Beavis & Butthead then you’ll no doubt get the same auditory flashbacks I did whenever hapless CEO Rick Kuger does his nervous laugh – that’s Mike Judge, who voiced both Beavis and Butthead. And Marshal’s character is loosely based on real life mycologist Paul Stamets, who also wears a similar hat entirely made out of mushroom. His TED talk is really worth a listen if you’re into knowing more about the power of the shroom.
Common Side Effects Season 1 isn’t on C4 anymore – you can buy it from Amazon or AppleTV. But wait – there is happy happy joy joy – Season 2 is officially happening, so you could always wait until Autum 2026, when it’s due to be released, and C4 inevitably make Season 1 available again.
The last episode of Common Side Effects includes a very disturbing depiction of what happens when you fuck with the natural order. In Common Side Effects, that’s because Capitalism. But there are many other forces at play in our world that can skew your view of what is meant to be and what is very very squiffy…like Patriarchy, which leads me nicely on to…
FILM: The Substance
Hands down the best feminist horror since Prevenge, The Substance is a dark and at times, very gooey, tale of a woman desperately clinging to validation from the male gaze. But at 50 “it stops”. A truly brilliant comment on the dismissal of aging women & vilification of the Crone, this film by director Coralie Fargeat out Cronenbergs Cronenburg. It really is a fearless, “tits out & shrieking at the patriarchy” work of genius.
That it stars Demi Moore, a woman who has clung to youth, an erstwhile “queen of the fillers”, is both gorgeously ironic, and a sad statement from an actress who has lived through the film’s narrative – maybe not quite to the extent of her character though. With the end of hagsploitation & the era of the psycho-biddy, Hollywood roles for the over-40s starlets have, like a balding male film executives hair, been a tad thin. A final scene, containing more body horror than one might consider reasonable, finds our protagonist on stage. With her audience screaming in horror at her appearance, she says “But it’s me, I’m still in here”. At which point I burst into tears and realised we are not in a good place when it comes to gender.
PODCAST: Strong Message Here
In which Armando Iannucci and Helen Lewis dissect political language and in doing so, provide an amusing, perceptive and insightful view of what the actual fuck is going on in the world of politics. It’s genuinely funny, as you might imagine, coming from the man who, alongside Chris Morris, brought you The Day Today and more recently, the fantastic The Death of Stalin. Helen Lewis is equally wry and a very very clever human, who often pulls Iannucci down to earth and ties him to the chair, so that she can get a word in. But the serious message is that we need to beware empty rhetoric. Political buzzwords are there for a reason – it’s useful to think about what those reasons might be.
Strong Message Here: Website
Thanks to this podcast, I now have “the tepid bath of managed decline” firmly planted in my political memory. And their episode on the “orange ball-chewing manacled gimp of Brussels”, well, have a listen. And if you like that, you may also like this rhizomic meander around the subject of AI Hallucinations. Considering that AI is now scraping its data from a high percentage of shit it’s written itself, it will eventually regurgitate pure, unadulterated, AI sludge and will therefore, hopefully, disappear up its own logical fallacy pretty damn quick.
Strong Message Here had a wee break in the summer and switched to sharing cultural recommendations for a bit. Strong Message Here: Strong Recommend, had Lewis & Iannucci choosing a favorite book, film or cultural happening, with an episode on each, including The Ballad of Wallis Island, Elden Ring, The Contestant and some excellent book recommendations, like Going Postal by Terry Pratchett, Shamanism, The Timeless Religion by Dr Manvir Singh, The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald and Every Living Thing by Jason Roberts. Which brings me nicely to…
BOOK: The Case Against Reality: How evolution hid the truth from our eyes Donald D. Hoffman.
In which Donald Hoffman explores the idea that there is no objective material reality and that it is “conscious agents” that create the idea of objective reality or conscious realism. It’s a view of reality as intersubjective, and in evoking the gods of intersubjectivity, Hoffman takes his place alongside some giants of the psychodynamic like Donald Winnicott and Jessica Benjamin, as well as philosophers Edmund Husserl and simulation theorist Vittorio Gallese. His “Fitness Beats Truth” concept, whereby our nervous systems don’t give a rats ass if something is real as long as we are safe, is spot on and a really excellent explanation for our tendency to go into fight or flight mode when no actual tigers are trying to kill us.
If you don’t fancy reading the book, watch his TED talk. One for the lovers of philosophy, psychology, neuroscience and evolution. And Science Fiction – the Matrix & simulation theory make an appearance, if fleetingly. It’s a veritable cornucopia of ideas smashed together in one, really thought-provoking book. Here be rabbit holes…
Donald D. Hoffman: Website
Article by Aitch Nicol
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