Clear-sighted and well informed opinion on the culture of our past, present and future
As the world was changing irreversibly, from 1999 to 2001 Jimmy Eat World went from DIY band done good, to powerhouse name, to international phenomenon – the story of emo itself in microcosm. For Emma Garland, their encapsulation of the subculture's multi-generational range is emo's definitive three album run
Keith Kahn-Harris argues that the Back To The Beginning show highlighted the pivotal role that the imperfections of the body play in metal. Live photographs courtesy of Ross Halfin. With thanks to Jasmine Hazel Shadrack
Whether working in Blaxploitation, horror or sc-fi, auteur Larry Cohen was often battling against constraints created by money, time and his own skill set, says Mat Colegate, but ultimately he trained a satirical eye on America few could match
The mainstream music biz reckons that devoted fans are the golden geese that'll keep laying, and the streaming services are about to get in on the grift. Eamonn Forde explains why this makes no business sense
Keith Kahn-Harris argues that the Back To The Beginning show highlighted the pivotal role that the imperfections of the body play in metal. Live photographs courtesy of Ross Halfin. With thanks to Jasmine Hazel Shadrack
Whether working in Blaxploitation, horror or sc-fi, auteur Larry Cohen was often battling against constraints created by money, time and his own skill set, says Mat Colegate, but ultimately he trained a satirical eye on America few could match
The mainstream music biz reckons that devoted fans are the golden geese that'll keep laying, and the streaming services are about to get in on the grift. Eamonn Forde explains why this makes no business sense
When Marie Le Conte moved from Nantes to London she rejected her French identity, along with a teenage infatuation with Phoenix' fourth album. Years later, she reflects on how the "youth and hope and enthusiasm bottled inside ten neat and clean little songs" actually allows her to have a conversation with her past self about life, love and becoming.
In this month's subscriber essay, Ian Wade writes on how pioneering British gay drama Queer As Folk, screened by Channel 4 in 1999, reflected a generation's experiences of coming out and discovering their identity
Although David Lynch's 1992 sitcom was a quickly forgotten flop, James Cooray Smith argues that it has enough of the director's mercurial strangeness to be considered alongside his finest work
In this month's Low Culture Essay, Wrongtom weaves the life of his jazz pianist grandad into his encounter with Norman Cook & co's 1990 hit single, and explores how it changed his own musical trajectory
When Marie Le Conte moved from Nantes to London she rejected her French identity, along with a teenage infatuation with Phoenix' fourth album. Years later, she reflects on how the "youth and hope and enthusiasm bottled inside ten neat and clean little songs" actually allows her to have a conversation with her past self about life, love and becoming.
In this month's Low Culture Essay, Wrongtom weaves the life of his jazz pianist grandad into his encounter with Norman Cook & co's 1990 hit single, and explores how it changed his own musical trajectory
Because of the death of Ian Curtis and the nature of the band's last recordings, Joy Division's Closer is an album around which a stillness has settled. In truth, says Jonathan Wright as he talks to Peter Hook and Paul Morley, no band evolved so rapidly. This feature was originally published on 13/07/2020
Because of the death of Ian Curtis and the nature of the band's last recordings, Joy Division's Closer is an album around which a stillness has settled. In truth, says Jonathan Wright as he talks to Peter Hook and Paul Morley, no band evolved so rapidly. This feature was originally published on 13/07/2020
Sade superfan Alex Macpherson celebrates the release of a career-spanning box set by selecting lesser known gems from their back catalogue