Black Sky Thinking
Essays, investigation and opinion on today’s cultural landscape
Black Sky Thinking
PUNK’S NOT DEAD: An Essay & Film By Bill Drummond
Bill Drummond was asked to appear on telly to talk about Joe Corré burning a load of punk junk. Instead he's made a 60 second film and written the text below about why the true spirit of punk is not a nostalgic archive, but an energy that will never die. Photo by Tracey Moberly
Black Sky Thinking
Why Fabric’s Reopening Is A Pyrrhic Victory & The War Is Not Won
fabric will soon reopen under a new set of stringent licensing conditions after a deal was reached between the club, police and local authority. Here, Christian Eede looks at why the club's concessions for reopening might have come at a greater cost than they were worth
Black Sky Thinking
Leonard Cohen Was Right: Songs & Years Of Wisdom Examined
Quietus writers Tom Hawking, Kate Hennessy, Julian Marszalek, Erin Lyndal Martin, Akira The Don, Chris Roberts, Cian Traynor and Luke Turner examine the lyrics of Leonard Cohen, and the truths both universal and personal that they carry. Thanks to Chris Carter for permission to use the image of Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson in his Leonard Cohen jacket. First published in 2014
Black Sky Thinking
From The Ramblers To Punk: Why We Need A New Age Of Trespass
Last week a group of London punks staged a gig on the Thames foreshore in a defiant statement of public rights over our land. Gary Budden argues that they're in a fine tradition stretching back through the ramblers of the Kinder Scout trespass and the 17th century Diggers - and that is a tradition we need to uphold.
Black Sky Thinking
Underground Tehran: Techno & Experimental Electronic Music In Iran
Mollie Zhang speaks to Ash Koosha, Sote, Hadi Bastani and Siavash Amini about the electronic underground in the Iranian capital, how scenes can be nurtured in a difficult environment, brain raves, and the similarities and differences between Tehran and London
Black Sky Thinking
Fabric’s Closure & The Rise Of A New British Puritanism
The news that London nightclub Fabric is to close has stunned the music community. Here, Luke Turner argues that this is another battle lost on Britain's rightwards shift towards a bland, corporate new puritanism of the strange post-Brexit landscape. Photo thanks to the Islington Tribune
Black Sky Thinking
Without A Sail: The Complicated Legacy Of Pastor T. L. Barrett
The music of TL Barrett has been acclaimed by Radiohead, reissued by Light In The Attic, and even sampled by Kanye West earlier this year. But, asks Daniel Hornsby, what are we supposed to make of transcendent religious art when it is made by a thieving conman?
Black Sky Thinking
The Artist Is Absent: Frank Ocean’s Coded Queerness
Underneath the frenzied media hype surrounding the release of his latest album, Frank Ocean remains an enigma. Laurie Chen reads between the lines to find shifting, forever elusive portrayals of queerness from an introverted visionary
Black Sky Thinking
Eric Clapton & Enoch Powell To Morrissey: Race In British Music Since ’76
During an August 1976 gig in Birmingham, Eric Clapton made racist comments and praised Enoch Powell, inadvertently inspiring the Rock Against Racism campaign. Four decades later, with Morrissey making offensive comments about Sadiq Khan and Britain reeling from Brexit, David Stubbs asks if anything has changed
Black Sky Thinking
ICH BIN EIN EUROPEAN: Bill Drummond Stands With A Romanian Gypsy Band
A week after Britain voted to leave the EU and the national mood darkened with racism, Bill Drummond has sent us this communiqué and short film of an action undertaken in Birmingham with a Romanian gypsy band. Text by Bill Drummond, photography by Tracey Moberly
Black Sky Thinking
Will It Even Be Called Music? The Intriguing Future Of Virtual Reality
Virtual Reality has been hailed as the future of entertainment since back in the 1980s. In 2016, however, VR technology is finally coming of age, bringing with it tantalising ideas of how we might consume music in the future thanks to forward-thinking indie artists like Ash Koosha and Bjork
Black Sky Thinking
Quietus Writers’ Top 40 Noise Rock Tracks
It's noise rock week on the Quietus. Here is a primer for those that don't know and a reminder for those that do with contributions from John Calvert, Kate Hennessy, John Doran, Sharon O'Connell, Daniel Dylan Wray, Matt Ridout, Noel Gardner, Kevin McCaighy, Rory Gibb, Dustin Krcatovich, Jeremy Allen, Sean Kitching, Joe Banks, JR Moores, Matt Evans, Kiran Acharya, Nick Hutchings, Julian Marszalek, Tony F Wilson and Dale Sawa Berning
Black Sky Thinking
A Special Relationship? Lancing The Rhetoric On US Visas For UK Artists
As SXSW approaches and British artists look down the back of the sofa for coins to be able to afford to go, artist manager Andy Inglis looks at some of the facts, figures and myths behind the torrid time many of our acts have getting across the Atlantic to sing for Uncle Sam.
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Baker's Dozen
Getting Hypnotised: John Robb Finds The Funk In Unusual Places
How did it take us nearly a decade to ask Brother John Robb for his Baker's Dozen choices? The Membranes frontman sits down with Julian Marszalek to discuss 13 favourite records where over the years he's dug out the most funk
