Clear-sighted and well informed opinion on the culture of our past, present and future
Four decades since its release, Toby Manning revisits how Prince's oft-overlooked seventh album dared to draw on 60s psychedelia at the height of 80s hippyphobia – producing the most countercultural sounding work of his career
Liam Inscoe-Jones explores the psychedelia inherent in the music of Danny Brown, Earl Sweatshirt and others, arguing that it reflects the increasingly surreal reality of working class life far more effectively than rock’s outdated cliches
Lesley Chow dissects the (semi-) serious intent behind Stephen Malkmus' nonsensical rhymes on Pavement's 3rd album which was positioned as the "logical end-point of rock". This feature was originally published in 2020 to mark the album's 25th anniversary
With TV drama Adolescence and Andrew Tate currently in the news, author Craig Johnson asks how the toxic ideology extremist influencers became so widespread and offers practical advice to help young people affected. CW: Reference to sexual assault and violence against women. Contains mild spoilers for Adolescence. Stills courtesy of Netflix
Cian Traynor celebrates the 30th birthday of a unique and brilliant album and re-appraises a hip hop anomaly by speaking to some of those who knew its creator, Ol' Dirty Bastard, the best. This feature was originally published on 30 March 2015
Darran Anderson sifts through all of the glorious rubble of German experimental music, psychedelic rock, avant funk and elektronische of the late 1960s onwards to hail an unbeatable trinity. All photographs by Maria Jefferis
Jennifer Lucy Allan lifts the lid on the complexity of countercultural pronunciation when just having a stab in the dark isn't an option
The scandal of artists paying DJs for radio plays might seem a relic of the past but, says music biz expert Eamonn Forde, news that influencers might demand a percentage of artist royalties in return for exposure gives this corruption a grim contemporary twist
Tech whoppers the world over are obsessed with eternal life. But, argues Professor John Tregoning of Imperial College, scientific research increasingly suggests that the music we love can have a huge boost to our immune system and health
The scandal of artists paying DJs for radio plays might seem a relic of the past but, says music biz expert Eamonn Forde, news that influencers might demand a percentage of artist royalties in return for exposure gives this corruption a grim contemporary twist
Tech whoppers the world over are obsessed with eternal life. But, argues Professor John Tregoning of Imperial College, scientific research increasingly suggests that the music we love can have a huge boost to our immune system and health
In this month's essay, Jeanette Leech seeks to reclaim the legacy of Elastica's vastly underrated second album from prurient mutterings about drug addiction and the collapse of Britpop, celebrating Mark E. Smith collaborations and the birth of M.I.A.
This month, Ian Winwood writes about the process of his seduction into the patchouli smoke, hardcore fanbase and endless riffs n'widdles of the jam band scene
In this month's subscriber essay, Patrick McKemey eulogises the genre-melding soundtracks to the SimCity universe of games, sonic portals between the London suburbs and digital utopias built in his teenage bedroom
In this month's essay, Jeanette Leech seeks to reclaim the legacy of Elastica's vastly underrated second album from prurient mutterings about drug addiction and the collapse of Britpop, celebrating Mark E. Smith collaborations and the birth of M.I.A.
In this month's subscriber essay, Patrick McKemey eulogises the genre-melding soundtracks to the SimCity universe of games, sonic portals between the London suburbs and digital utopias built in his teenage bedroom
Jeremy Allen considers the special plight of the brilliant album which commits the crime of only refining a sound when the previous album originated it
Sade superfan Alex Macpherson celebrates the release of a career-spanning box set by selecting lesser known gems from their back catalogue