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Essays, investigation and opinion on today’s cultural landscape
At the end of the 1960s, Bond was old hat as the hippies wafted their locks over culture. John Higgs, author of a new book on 007, the Beatles and British identity, explores the culture war that raged over follicular extravagance
Twenty-five years ago, Ian MacMillan was an arts writer and TV producer witnessing the madness of the YBA's Sensation exhibition first hand. Looking back, he argues it was representative of a shallow yet maximalist moment in British culture
Revolting teenagerhood continues as we reach 14 years of bringing you the best new music – here's how you can become a subscriber, support what we do and get instant(ish) access to exclusive releases by Hey Colossus and Vanishing Twin
The Carling Weekend was a rite of passage for many youngsters, but JR Moores got more than he bargained for when he attended Leeds Festival in 2002. He recalls police helicopters, burning portaloos and petulant headliners; and asks "What was that all about?"
There is more extraordinary music writing by women than ever before, yet female writers are still facing a host of barriers that their male counterparts are not. From online abuse to tokenism from editors, Jude Rogers recounts the realities of her life in journalism, and her hopes for the future of the industry
Recently an anonymous online pressure group accused western media of having a blindspot when it comes to culture from former Eastern Bloc countries, as well as other forms of systemic bias. Miloš Hroch investigates to what extent they have a point
Riffing on the themes he explores in his new book The Babel Message: A Love Letter to Language, Keith Kahn-Harris shares his love of diacritics and explains how the heavy metal umlaut might be less teutonic than it first appears
Aliya Chaudhry grew up being told that rock music wasn't for her. Yet in recent years, the emo and pop punk scenes she loves have started to become far more diverse, as she explores here with contributions from artists such as Pinkshift (pictured)
"30 years of hurt" has often felt like it applied to the bombastic jingoism related to England, but all that is changing with Gareth Southgate's diverse, intelligent team and their rise to the finals of the Euros, argues Tim Burrows. Image: Catherine Ivill/Getty
Fiona Mozley’s Hot Stew has been praised for its exploration of a changing Soho , but Victoria Holt argues that the novel erases the reality of sex worker life, becoming a form of the gentrification it seeks to condemn. Photos thanks to Juno Mac
For years Anita Lane was overshadowed by her collaborator and ex-boyfriend Nick Cave. Eleanor Philpot argues that we instead need to see the singer as an artist whose exploration of female sexuality was way ahead of its time
It was only when Jeffrey Boakye moved out of London that he realised his sense of Black British identity was overly-rooted on the capital. Here, he explores two very different stories of Black life in Hull to argue that we need to look less to America while looking toward a deeper understanding of Black life at home
When Aug Stone explored a rumour he’d heard about “Nick Cave’s Bar”, he found a joint where Blixa Bargeld bartended, bizarre performance art took place, and the drugs meant everyone kept drinking long into the morning
As a teenager, Denzil Bell felt that his religious beliefs and his love of grime were incompatible – until he heard the lyrics of Ghetts and Stormzy. As Ghetts releases a new LP, Bell explores the relationship between Christianity and grime