Black Sky Thinking
Essays, investigation and opinion on today’s cultural landscape
Black Sky Thinking
No Longer Outsiders? On South Asian Representation In UK Culture
With the debate over #OscarsSoWhite coming to a head, it seems apt to remember that "diversity" isn’t about tokenism for its own sake. Through her experiences as a British South Asian, Tara Joshi considers the importance of representing non-stereotyped ethnic minorities in media, and why UK broadcasting needs to cop on
Black Sky Thinking
Now The Workers Have Struck For Fame – David Bowie As Political Figure
In the wake of David Bowie's death, some have rushed to 'expose' the 'problematic' nature of some of his political views and aesthetics. But, argues Agata Pyzik, the true picture was far more complex and nuanced
Black Sky Thinking
25 Years After Its Imperial Phase: Who Killed Shoegaze?
With the release of MBV's Loveless, 1991 marked the high water mark for shoegaze before the music press turned its back with a nose-high snort of derision. Ben Cardew looks over the history of the genre and asks if its decline was simply because the music just got boring
Black Sky Thinking
The Near-Death Of Raves: The Fate Of Independent Music Venues In 2015
One of the biggest stories of 2015 was the continuing disappearance of music venues under a pincer assault of noise complaints and gentrification. Ed Gillett argues that the pop-up 'experience' guff that comes in their wake is no replacement, and looks at possible solutions to the crisis
Black Sky Thinking
The Rammellzee: From Beat Bop To Cosmic Flush
As the UK's Gamma Proforma label releases The Rammellzee's final album and launches an exhibition of inspired artwork by his peers, Kevin Foakes - aka Strictly Kev - takes us on a rollercoaster ride through 30 years of the maverick's complex recording career
Black Sky Thinking
Social Media Snakepits & Solidarity Versus Corporate Shafting, UK 2015
In the first of this year's Wreath Lectures, Luke Turner looks back over 2015 and argues that the decline of small, unfashionable institutions and professions is opening the door for an increasingly boring, corporate future. What alternative, resisting communities are being formed?
Black Sky Thinking
The Deathly 90s, Corbyn & An Old Post Punk Hails A New Counterculture
Many of the post-punk generation like to sit on Facebook moaning about how the LOL-addled youth of today lack the political gumption of their forebears. David Stubbs, on the other hand, got stuck in making fanzines with a bunch of teenagers and found that a new generation are far from apathetic
Black Sky Thinking
Charlie Sheen Plays Patient Zero: On HIV & Mainstream Culture
Thought we were over the AIDS panic of the 80s? Think again. In the wake of Charlie Sheen's revelation that he is HIV positive, Mike Miksche argues that mainstream heterosexual culture has a lot of catching up to do, and prejudice to overcome
Black Sky Thinking
Overview Of A Vampire: A Closer Look At The Weeknd’s Lyrics
John Calvert is a "guilt-ridden ultra-fan" of "misogynist" Canadian R&B star The Weeknd and here, instead of brushing the themes of his music under the carpet or attempting to explain them away as 'theatre', he takes a forensic look at his lyrical content
Black Sky Thinking
The Great Divide: On Laibach In North Korea
As Laibach return from their controversial visit to Pyongyang, North Korea, Alexei Monroe looks at the frequently unhinged Western media reaction to the trip, and asks where it sits with their long-standing ambigious exploration of totalitarianism. Photo by Jorund F Pedersen
Black Sky Thinking
I’m One Of 1000 UK Artists Boycotting Israel. Here’s Why
As Thurston Moore, Miss Lauryn Hill and Primus become the latest to cancel shows in Tel Aviv, British-Palestinian musician Samir Eskanda makes the case for the boycott, with contributions from Moore and Jean-Hervé Peron of Faust. Photos by Valerio Berdini
Black Sky Thinking
Derelicte: Ricki Hall, Fashion, Homelessness & The Language Of Privilege
In a Sunday Times Magazine interview this weekend model Ricki Hall told a journalist that he takes his fashion cues from children and the homeless. Karl Smith considers why it might actually not be okay to transfer the aesthetics of necessity and marginalisation to a position of extreme privilege
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