Irvine Welsh was born in 1958 in Leith, an area that had been incorporated into Edinburgh in much the same way that Scotland itself had been colonized by England. So his -- and his characters' -- congenital resentment towards the world in general is not too surprising. After dropping out of school at

Dystopic, Funny, Gritty, Low realism, Postmodern fiction, Profane, Slangy, Urban

The unwavering, demented gaze of a stray dog captures the detached observation that characterizes the raw, unsettling work of photographer Daido Moriyama. The dog is caught in strong shadows against a high-contrast background, highlighting its whitened eyes and its angular, rangy pose. "Stray Dog," M

Documentary photography, Dramatic, Gritty, Moody, Tense

"My characters are not violent or vile. They're everyday people. They have some money, but find themselves discontented with their own loneliness, their own mortality, the sameness of life." Championing a gritty, unencumbered approach to filmmaking, John Cassavetes directed his art toward a new front

Anxiety, Event, Gritty, Intense, Intimate, Open-ended, Psychological, Sincere, Sprawling

Truly the father of Chicago blues, Muddy brought his Mississippi sound up from the Delta, combined it with the electric guitar, and redefined the genre. Waters taught himself how to play the blues by listening to Robert Johnson records. Eventually, he left Mississippi to play and sing in the Silas Gr

Gritty, Primal, Visceral