"Accidental Architects for Much of What Would Later Become Known as Indie Pop"

"Goddard rightly draws attention to the way that the likes of Orange Juice and Aztec Camera styled themselves--eschewing punk uniformity for floppy fringes, sailor shirts, suede boots--set up a loose template for the indie look common on campuses and in small towns throughout the 80s. (What Presence!, a 2013 collection of Scotland-born Harry Papadopoulos's atmospheric photos of the Glasgow scene is well worth tracking down.) He is also strong on the pervasive violence--lairy neds, nightclub racketeers and tanked-up locals who assaulted bands for not playing Showaddywaddy tunes--that backdropped the muscular sensitivity and beautiful guitar lines of the dominant Postcard sound."


Sukhdev Sandhu in The Guardian reviews Simon Goddard's Simply Thrilled: The Preposterous Story of Postcard Records.

"A Depressing Curse on the Face of Scotland"

"From the beginning, Celtic was identified with working-class, Irish Catholic immigrants. Rangers soon came to represent a contrasting (and depending on your viewpoint, reactionary) vision of a Scottish identity that was conservative, middle-class, and Protestant. Matches between the two were frequently interrupted by pitch invasions and fighting. In 1909, a Scottish Cup final contested by Rangers and Celtic had the distinction of hosting what historian David Goldblatt calls the first 'full-scale football riot.' (It was a doozy—fans lit the stands on fire, and when the fire brigades showed up, the crowd hurled stones at them.)
"Though the sectarian conflict was partly based on economic anxieties, it was, ironically, enormously beneficial to the clubs, which took in huge gate receipts as supporters flocked to see the team with which they identified. The Old Firm soon dwarfed the rest of Scottish soccer—to date, Rangers and Celtic have won 95 of 114 league championships. If either club hadn't existed, the other would likely have lived out its years quietly—nothing more than a run-of-the-mill, non-politically-signifying soccer club. Because they became symbols for fans who wanted to kill each other, they're the greatest teams in Scotland."

Brian Phillips in Slate discusses the Celtic-Rangers soccer rivalry.