Black Sky Thinking

Essays, investigation and opinion on today’s cultural landscape

The Problems Of Joint Occupancy: Reporting From The Bank Of Ideas

Over the festive period, our man Sam Spokony spent several days in the UBS 'Bank Of Ideas'. His experiences have coloured his views of the Occupy movement, as he explains here

Black Sky Thinking

Lost Season Eight: The Isle Of Wight Is Dying

"Don't tell me I'm still on that feckin' island!?" Our food guru Sam Herlihy dishes out more culinary wisdom.

Black Sky Thinking

A Year In Digital: The Great Content Wars Of 2011

High Priest Of Smoothness Charles Ubaghs tells us where the battle lines have been drawn in the content wars. It may help to imagine that Barry White is reading this feature to you

Black Sky Thinking

Futuremania: Retro Goes Cold Turkey In 2011

In today's Wreath Lecture Charlie Frame argues that retro is soon to be a thing of the past

Black Sky Thinking

Big Society, Little Hope: False Folk Culture In 2011

From the broom-wielding legions of Clapham to Alex James' cheese and Mumford & Sons, Joe Kennedy examines the current vogue for nu-folk whimsy and its links to Big Society rhetoric

Black Sky Thinking

2011: Celebrating The Continued Shattering Of Our Culture

Kicking off 2011's Wreath Lectures, Luke Turner argues that the continuing fragmentation of our culture and consumption is to be welcomed, and will bring forth new joys

Black Sky Thinking

Wreath Lectures 2011: The Gamification Of Music

From Bjork to Brian Eno and Sting, 2011 has seen a startling new developments in music technology. Robert Barry looks at the increasing "gamification" of our lives, and music

Black Sky Thinking

Wreath Lectures 2011: Club Beats From The Digital Ether

This year, as artists have turned up the heat on the murky, semi-structured stew of post-noise pop, argues Rory Gibb, dancefloor shapes have started to emerge from beneath the clearing vapours

Black Sky Thinking

Road Of The King! Trekking The Annapurna Sanctuary, Part 2

In the second half of his account of trekking Nepal's Annapurna Sanctuary (in one pair of trousers), Daniel Ross heads for Annapurna Base Camp, via cloud forest and treacherous, snow-coated plain

Black Sky Thinking

Graham Massey On 808 State’s Blueprint

Graham Massey returns to write us another fantastic piece, this time an overview of tracks from the new 808 State anthology, Blueprint with photos taken from his own archive

Black Sky Thinking

Road Of The King! Trekking The Annapurna Sanctuary In One Pair Of Trousers

In the first part of Daniel Ross' account of his trek through Nepal's Annapurna Sanctuary, he has several run ins with chillies, chaotic roads and altitude sickness, and ends on a breathless high

Black Sky Thinking

A Boor, A Creep, A Bully And An Oaf – What Happened To Ricky Gervais?

One-time Ricky Gervais fan David Stubbs asks if The Office was simply a fluke piece of brilliance from an otherwise unpleasant man

Black Sky Thinking

Why Grim 2011 Is The Right Time For The Return Of Chic

"Contemporary pop waterboards us with negatives," says Mof Gimmers. This is why the return of the proudly aspirational Chic and Nile Rodgers should be welcomed

Black Sky Thinking

Lesbian Propaganda & Other Myths: Misogyny In Dance Music

Angus Finlayson examines a disturbing trend towards misogyny in dance music circles, and contrasts that current shift with the promises of equality ushered in by the genesis of house music and the early days of rave

Black Sky Thinking

Top Boy: Why The Kids Are Not Alright by Austin Collings

Unflinching documentation not rabid accusation needs to be leveled at the drug dealing industry in this country argues Austin Collings

Black Sky Thinking

#Occupying My Thoughts: A Personal Response To The Global Protest Movement

Their message is apparently incoherent, inarticulate and definitely in another language, but Wyndham Wallace finds Berlin’s #Occupy protests inspiring… All photographs by the author

Black Sky Thinking

These You Have Loved: Part Chimp For Your Stereo

Stevie Chick is working on a massive history of London rock bastards Part Chimp for us. Ahead of this weekend's Supersonic he performs featurus interruptus to advise us on the purchase of their back catalogue with the help of Tim Cedar...

Black Sky Thinking

Basildon Bond: Depeche Mode & The Essex New Town

Three decades on from the release of their debut album, Sophia Deboick argues that it's time that Depeche Mode's home town of Basildon honoured its most famous sons. Basildon photographs thanks to Helen Gray

Black Sky Thinking

Our Food Writer Sam Grapples With Age & Asian Cuisine

Batman, Broken Social Scene, Fight Club & Cliffhanger get involved in a scrap with glistening hunks of goat butter in the latest edition of Sam Herlihy's food column

Black Sky Thinking

Taylor Parkes On The Continuing Brilliance Of Half Man Half Biscuit

Listening to new Half Man Half Biscuit album 90 Bisodol (Crimond) Taylor Parkes explains why they're one of England's darkest, funniest, smartest groups. HMHB live shot thanks to Steve Toner

Black Sky Thinking

A Musician Vs. The Music Industry: A Conversation

The Icarus Line have battled as hard, if not harder, than most to survive. In a follow up to his essay How The Music Industry Is Killing Music & Blaming The Fans, Wyndham Wallace exchanges mails with Joe Cardamone about the difficulties of making a living from music

Black Sky Thinking

Suck & Let Go: In Defence Of Electroclash

Ten years after the release of Fischerspooner's 'Emerge', Luke Turner looks back at a much-maligned form, and picks ten of his favourite electroclash bangers

Black Sky Thinking

Inside The Boiler Room: TOTP For The Ustream Generation

From its central premise of 'clubgoing from the comfort of your bedroom', Angus Finlayson explores the meteoric rise of the Boiler Room and its place in the history of global music broadcasting. Photo by Ashes57

Black Sky Thinking

Everything Louder Than Everything Else – Dynamic Range Mastering In 2011

Nick Southall examines the state of play in the loudness wars in 2011 with regards to Kanye West, PJ Harvey and These New Puritans. Main photo by the author

Black Sky Thinking

Bum Rush The Show: Why Reality TV Has More To Do With Violence Than Rap

Luke Turner refutes the Daily Mirror's assertion that hip hop was to blame for this week's unrest. But there's another popular cultural form that reflects the kind of society that caused it

Black Sky Thinking

Uncivil Disorder: The Quietus’ Personal View Of The Hackney Riots

Last night's rioting took place at the end of and along Luke Turner's street. Here is his view on the trouble

Black Sky Thinking

TV On The Radio As Soundtrack To Bush & Obama’s America

Don't Let The Devil In: John Calvert takes a look at the work of TV On The Radio through the prism of a turbulent decade in American politics

Black Sky Thinking

Our Food Writer Sam Connects Glastonbury, Coldplay & Italian Cuisine

In this months' column, our food writer Sam Herlihy joins the dots between the Glastonbury Festival, Chris Martin as Incredible Hulk, and rural Italian cuisine

Black Sky Thinking

We Are All Norwegians – How Norway’s Bravery Is An Example To Us All

A frequent visitor to Norway, Wyndham Wallace responds to recent events in the nation’s capital, where, even in its grief for its dead, the country has shown the rest of the world how to live…

Black Sky Thinking

Precious Things Aren’t Always Perfect: Why The Queen Is Dead Is No Classic

The Queen Is Dead is 25 years old, and the eulogies have been non-stop. But Ben Hewitt reckons it's not the masterpiece people would have you believe...

Black Sky Thinking

In Search Of Hype Williams: Their Final Communication

While attempting to nail down Hype Williams in interview form, Rory Gibb muses on this most elusive of the new breed of bass

Black Sky Thinking

A Little Too Much Of Fry & Laurie? Celebrity Mediation Hits Overkill

You might expect better of Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, but even these doyennes of the English highbrow are now part of the depressing trend for everything to require celebrity involvement

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The Problems Of Joint Occupancy: Reporting From The Bank Of Ideas

Lost Season Eight: The Isle Of Wight Is Dying

A Year In Digital: The Great Content Wars Of 2011

Futuremania: Retro Goes Cold Turkey In 2011

Big Society, Little Hope: False Folk Culture In 2011

2011: Celebrating The Continued Shattering Of Our Culture

Wreath Lectures 2011: The Gamification Of Music

Wreath Lectures 2011: Club Beats From The Digital Ether

Road Of The King! Trekking The Annapurna Sanctuary, Part 2

Graham Massey On 808 State’s Blueprint

Road Of The King! Trekking The Annapurna Sanctuary In One Pair Of Trousers

A Boor, A Creep, A Bully And An Oaf – What Happened To Ricky Gervais?

Why Grim 2011 Is The Right Time For The Return Of Chic

Lesbian Propaganda & Other Myths: Misogyny In Dance Music

Top Boy: Why The Kids Are Not Alright by Austin Collings

#Occupying My Thoughts: A Personal Response To The Global Protest Movement

These You Have Loved: Part Chimp For Your Stereo

Basildon Bond: Depeche Mode & The Essex New Town

Our Food Writer Sam Grapples With Age & Asian Cuisine

Taylor Parkes On The Continuing Brilliance Of Half Man Half Biscuit

A Musician Vs. The Music Industry: A Conversation

Suck & Let Go: In Defence Of Electroclash

Inside The Boiler Room: TOTP For The Ustream Generation

Everything Louder Than Everything Else – Dynamic Range Mastering In 2011

Bum Rush The Show: Why Reality TV Has More To Do With Violence Than Rap

Uncivil Disorder: The Quietus’ Personal View Of The Hackney Riots

TV On The Radio As Soundtrack To Bush & Obama’s America

Our Food Writer Sam Connects Glastonbury, Coldplay & Italian Cuisine

We Are All Norwegians – How Norway’s Bravery Is An Example To Us All

Precious Things Aren’t Always Perfect: Why The Queen Is Dead Is No Classic

In Search Of Hype Williams: Their Final Communication

A Little Too Much Of Fry & Laurie? Celebrity Mediation Hits Overkill

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