All Latest
Catch up on our latest writing.
Anniversary
A Thousand Leaves: How Sonic Youth Chose The Wilderness
The alternative rock major label gold rush of the mid-90s didn't last long but it burned most of those involved, in one way or another. Stevie Chick examines how the New York mavericks managed to "quietly decouple" themselves from the mainstream and prepare for their final late period genius phase as he looks at A Thousand Leaves, which was released 20 years ago
Black Sky Thinking
Windrush & Anti-Semitism: When Politicians Play With Fire, Minorities Get Burned
As the headlines are dominated by the cruel treatment of the Windrush Generation and Labour's issues with Anti-Semitism, David Bennun argues that politicians of all stripes must be held responsible (photo Wikipedia Commons)
Black Sky Thinking
Junk Shop Classical On Decca & EMI: Music Stories Told £1 LP By £1 LP
In 1958, Decca Records audaciously began to record Wagner’s epic, 15-hour Ring Cycle. As Phil Hebblethwaite explains, there was more at stake than art. Decca was a classical music underdog determined to land a knock-out punch on arch rival EMI
Film
“Why Must Fireflies Die So Young?”: Isao Takahata’s Masterpiece 30 Years On
Studio Ghibli's co-founder Isao Takahata passed away on 5 April. Karl Smith commemorates the legendary director, screenwriter, and producer with a personal reflection on grief through Takahata's first film Grave of the Fireflies, released thirty years ago this year
