Opinion & Essays
Clear-sighted and well informed opinion on the culture of our past, present and future
How Pet Shop Boys Sold City Glamour to Queer Suburban Kids
John Grindrod discovered his sexuality in the streets of Croydon, always looking up the tracks to London, and argues that no other artist articulate this tension between city, suburbia and LGBT+ lives quite so beautifully as did Messrs Tennant and Lowe. This BST comes with a Pet Shop Boys Suburbs vs City playlist exclusive to our Subscriber Plus supporters.
Anniversary
Unbeatable: Drum’s Not Dead by Liars, 20 Years On
Two decades on from the release of Liars third album, Luke Turner argues that its percussive invention shouldn't obscure a rich, emotional core. For our top tier Subscriber Plus supporters, this Anniversary feature comes with a playlist by Liars of the music they were listening to when the album was made.
Anniversary
“It’s About Time We Brought Art In, Innit?” Talk Talk’s The Colour Of Spring at 40
Though eclipsed by what came in its wake, The Colour Of Spring, at the heart of Talk Talk’s catalogue, is no less astonishing. Forty years on, Wyndham Wallace commends the inaugural rebirth of Mark Hollis’ synthpop band. And for top tier subscribers there is a 'Quietus Essentials Playlist' guide to the music of Talk Talk
Anniversary
How men are? The Preposterously Testosterone-fuelled Taxi Driver turns 50
John Quin presents a hormonally loaded take on Martin Scorsese and Paul Schrader’s classic of male alienation. For top tier subscribers to this site, click below for a 'Quietus Essentials Playlist' guide to the cinematic music of Bernard Herrmann
Black Sky Thinking
Edith’s Diary: Drew Daniel on Creating Art under Fascism
Drew Daniel of Matmos has been creating dance music as The Soft Pink Truth for over 20 years, but recently he was forced to ask himself a difficult question: what utility does making music have while the world slides inexorably towards unmitigated disaster?
Black Sky Thinking
Essays, investigation and opinion on today’s cultural landscape
Black Sky Thinking
Why Reports of the Death of UK Nightlife are Greatly Exaggerated
From venue closures to VAT, conversations around the UK’s beleaguered nightlife sector have struck a singularly gloomy tone for more than a decade. But has that pessimism become part of the problem? Ed Gillett asks whether our eulogies for the late-night scene have outlived their usefulness.
Black Sky Thinking
From The Shout to Bait: Listening to the Sound of Movies about Sound
Darran Anderson relishes hearing Rupert Hine's soundtrack to Jerzy Skolimowski's 1978 psychological horror, The Shout and discovers a sonic gateway in the process. Contains mild spoilers for films The Shout, Berberian Sound Studio, Blow Out, and The Conversation
Black Sky Thinking
Why Reports of the Death of UK Nightlife are Greatly Exaggerated
From venue closures to VAT, conversations around the UK’s beleaguered nightlife sector have struck a singularly gloomy tone for more than a decade. But has that pessimism become part of the problem? Ed Gillett asks whether our eulogies for the late-night scene have outlived their usefulness.
Black Sky Thinking
From The Shout to Bait: Listening to the Sound of Movies about Sound
Darran Anderson relishes hearing Rupert Hine's soundtrack to Jerzy Skolimowski's 1978 psychological horror, The Shout and discovers a sonic gateway in the process. Contains mild spoilers for films The Shout, Berberian Sound Studio, Blow Out, and The Conversation
Low Culture Essay
Illuminating treasured cultural artefacts
Low Culture Essay
Low Culture Essay: Jennifer Lucy Allan on Susumu Yokota
In this month’s Low Culture Essay, Jennifer Lucy Allan considers nostalgia and the Japanese idea of kona in the work of electronic pioneer Susumu Yokota. Featuring an exclusive playlist for our Subscriber Plus tier.
Low Culture Essay
Low Culture Essay: Tariq Goddard on Jeremy Brett, the Perfect Sherlock Holmes
Tariq Goddard declares that in Jeremy Brett's portrayal of Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional detective, the actor delivered one of the greatest TV performances of all time – one that was so total, it arguably destroyed him
Low Culture Essay
Low Culture Essay: Duncan Wheeler on Ozzy at the 1989 Moscow Music Peace Festival
Although they went to the same primary school, Duncan Wheeler knew little about Ozzy Osbourne until Jon Bon Jovi led him to a VHS of a gig that counts as one of the strangest live events in rock history
Low Culture Essay
Low Culture Essay: Tariq Goddard on Jeremy Brett, the Perfect Sherlock Holmes
Tariq Goddard declares that in Jeremy Brett's portrayal of Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional detective, the actor delivered one of the greatest TV performances of all time – one that was so total, it arguably destroyed him
Low Culture Essay
Low Culture Essay: Duncan Wheeler on Ozzy at the 1989 Moscow Music Peace Festival
Although they went to the same primary school, Duncan Wheeler knew little about Ozzy Osbourne until Jon Bon Jovi led him to a VHS of a gig that counts as one of the strangest live events in rock history
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Start Free TrialAnniversary
Spotlighting the impact of cultural landmarks
Anniversary
Rhythmic Cinema: Why Battleship Potemkin Remains Relevant, 100 Years On
From Shostakovich, to Pet Shop Boys, to DIY and grassroots collectivism, Luke Richards celebrates the centenary of the first public screening of Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin, on January 18, 1926, and the myriad interpretations of its soundtrack which keep it relevant and radical today
Anniversary
Sunburst Finish by Be-Bop Deluxe, 50 years on
Toby Manning looks beyond woeful sleeve art to find the UK's underrated Be-Bop Deluxe, serving up a unique blend of art rock, pop prog and late period glam in 1976
Anniversary
Been Around The World: The Magical Odyssey Of The Avalanches’ Since I Left You
A concept album that transcended its concept, a stealth mix-CD, global disco, sampledelic exotica, yacht rock by other means: the Australian group’s debut was many things, writes David Bennun - and above all it was, and remains, a joy. This article was first published in 2020
Anniversary
Rhythmic Cinema: Why Battleship Potemkin Remains Relevant, 100 Years On
From Shostakovich, to Pet Shop Boys, to DIY and grassroots collectivism, Luke Richards celebrates the centenary of the first public screening of Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin, on January 18, 1926, and the myriad interpretations of its soundtrack which keep it relevant and radical today
Anniversary
Been Around The World: The Magical Odyssey Of The Avalanches’ Since I Left You
A concept album that transcended its concept, a stealth mix-CD, global disco, sampledelic exotica, yacht rock by other means: the Australian group’s debut was many things, writes David Bennun - and above all it was, and remains, a joy. This article was first published in 2020
Beyond The Hits
A deeper dive beyond the charts
Beyond The Hits
Stronger Than Pride: Beyond The Hits Of Sade
Sade superfan Alex Macpherson celebrates the release of a career-spanning box set by selecting lesser known gems from their back catalogue
