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Clear-sighted and well informed opinion on the culture of our past, present and future
40 years after it stormed to the UK number one, Wrongtom charts the history of ‘I Feel For You’, from an overlooked Prince album track to Chaka Khan’s smash hit, via Stevie Wonder, Patrice Rushen, glitching tape machines, the death of Sugar Hill Records and more
As London's Night Czar Amy Lamé leaves her job this week, Ed Gillett investigates her failures and successes, the increasing politicisation of her role, and whether alternative approaches offer any chance of doing better
On the fortieth anniversary of Welcome To The Pleasuredome, Toby Manning explores how Frankie Goes To Hollywood's debut was the album that owned 1984, thanks to its ability to inhabit the liminal space between the queer margins and the straight mainstream
On the release of new documentary Since Yesterday: The Untold Story of Scotland's Girl Bands, Claire Sawers speaks to Sunset Gun's Lousie Rutkowski and The McKinleys' Jeanette Gallacher to explore how sisterhood – in both a biological and symbolic sense – was both crucial to their creativity, and a cause for their dismissal by the wider music industry
50 years ago, John Cale found himself at Heartbreak Hotel, producing sweet and unhinged music from its rooms. Reassessing Fear, Slow Dazzle and Helen Of Troy, Darran Anderson explores the musician’s remarkable year-long burst of creativity for Island Records, half a century on
Clubs are closing, a new generation is less keen on going out and bashing their bonces with garries – yet raving is discussed more than ever, with endless books and academic articles discussing the dancefloor as a utopia. Chal Ravens asks what this phenomenon tells us about the state of modern raving.
As Sonic Cathedral prepare for a run of birthday gigs and a box set release, founder Nat Cramp reflects on how shoegaze went from being a dirty word to darlings of Gen Z via a new generation of artists like Whitelands, pictured here. Have a listen to a specially-compiled Spotify playlist here.
The word 'ambient' is a misdirection worthy of the greatest illusionist, says John Doran, SAW2 is the work of a modern electronic composer, intent on destroying the boundaries between himself and the material of Cornwall which inspired him
Ahead of a 30th anniversary reissue, Darran Anderson casts a caustic eye over feverish cash-driven nostalgia for the big-hitters of 1994, reserving praise for Suede, who, despite the odds being stacked against them, got it exactly right with their second album
Black Sky Thinking
As Sonic Cathedral prepare for a run of birthday gigs and a box set release, founder Nat Cramp reflects on how shoegaze went from being a dirty word to darlings of Gen Z via a new generation of artists like Whitelands, pictured here. Have a listen to a specially-compiled Spotify playlist here.
Black Sky Thinking
The word 'ambient' is a misdirection worthy of the greatest illusionist, says John Doran, SAW2 is the work of a modern electronic composer, intent on destroying the boundaries between himself and the material of Cornwall which inspired him
Black Sky Thinking
Ahead of a 30th anniversary reissue, Darran Anderson casts a caustic eye over feverish cash-driven nostalgia for the big-hitters of 1994, reserving praise for Suede, who, despite the odds being stacked against them, got it exactly right with their second album
In this month’s essay, Stephanie Phillips reflects on the 1998 lo-fi, art pop album Julie Ruin, in which riot grrrl veteran Kathleen Hanna reaffirms her position in feminist art, while creating the building blocks for a dance punk future
In this month's essay, Skye Butchard remembers their dad's collection of cassettes on which he recorded the 1981 radio version of Tolkien's classic to reflect on memory, archiving, and how familial relationships and loss are intrinsically bound up with the culture we share.
Half a century after the release of one of the all-time great live albums, John Doran argues that the Velvet Underground only really hit their true peak after they lost Nico, Warhol and Cale. This feature was first published on 2 April 2020
In this month's essay, Jim Gibson unpicks the cultural myths of the idyllic British countryside as he reflects on Duane Hopkins' 2008 film Better Things in the context of his own life in a rural working class community
Low Culture Essay
In this month’s essay, Stephanie Phillips reflects on the 1998 lo-fi, art pop album Julie Ruin, in which riot grrrl veteran Kathleen Hanna reaffirms her position in feminist art, while creating the building blocks for a dance punk future
Low Culture Essay
In this month's essay, Skye Butchard remembers their dad's collection of cassettes on which he recorded the 1981 radio version of Tolkien's classic to reflect on memory, archiving, and how familial relationships and loss are intrinsically bound up with the culture we share.
Low Culture Essay
Half a century after the release of one of the all-time great live albums, John Doran argues that the Velvet Underground only really hit their true peak after they lost Nico, Warhol and Cale. This feature was first published on 2 April 2020
Low Culture Essay
In this month's essay, Jim Gibson unpicks the cultural myths of the idyllic British countryside as he reflects on Duane Hopkins' 2008 film Better Things in the context of his own life in a rural working class community
Our journalism is funded by our readers. Become a subscriber today to help champion our writing, plus enjoy bonus essays, podcasts, playlists and music downloads.
Support & Subscribe TodayOn the 50th anniversary of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Mat Colegate pushes back against the common consensus that its director Tobe Hooper spent the rest of his career merely failing to escape its shadow, and argues that he deserves just as much acclaim for the misunderstood filmography that was to follow
At odds with the world, with reality, with Britpop and with each other, Suede were in a terrible place as they wrote and recorded Dog Man Star. But, writes Matthew Lindsay, it's the album that would end up as their masterpiece. This feature was originally published in 2014
Marking 50 years since Millie Jackson's Caught Up, Matthew Lindsay dives into a deep soul masterpiece, and explores the trope of the ‘other woman’ in soul, via Doris Duke, Irma Thomas and more
Forty years on from its release – and with the band’s popularity in question more than ever – Wyndham Wallace returns to The Unforgettable Fire, U2’s incendiary denial of expectations and their first encounter with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. (This feature was originally published in 2014)
Anniversary
On the 50th anniversary of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Mat Colegate pushes back against the common consensus that its director Tobe Hooper spent the rest of his career merely failing to escape its shadow, and argues that he deserves just as much acclaim for the misunderstood filmography that was to follow
Anniversary
At odds with the world, with reality, with Britpop and with each other, Suede were in a terrible place as they wrote and recorded Dog Man Star. But, writes Matthew Lindsay, it's the album that would end up as their masterpiece. This feature was originally published in 2014
Anniversary
Forty years on from its release – and with the band’s popularity in question more than ever – Wyndham Wallace returns to The Unforgettable Fire, U2’s incendiary denial of expectations and their first encounter with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. (This feature was originally published in 2014)
Sade superfan Alex Macpherson celebrates the release of a career-spanning box set by selecting lesser known gems from their back catalogue
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