Black Sky Thinking

Against Coalition Cuts, We Find Joy In Glee Club, NW1

Cripes & Jivens! on Saturday, Luke Turner wound up in the audience at a Glee musical. This was no West End schmaltzathon, mind, but the fruit of an invaluable community project of the kind currently facing the axe due to government cuts

Black Sky Thinking

Do It Like A Dude: Gender Transgressions In Pop, R&B & Hip Hop

On the day that Jessie J unleashes her debut album, Petra Davis looks at how the Brit-tipped artist is joining the likes of Beyonce and Ke$ha in subverting established gender and genre rules

Black Sky Thinking

A Step In The Right Direction? We Discuss The Rise Of Mainstream Dubstep

Joe Muggs and Rory Gibb load up their muskets and engage in a dubstep-duel to discuss the future of the genre

Black Sky Thinking

My (Half) Life Of Grime By Ben Myers

Country Squire Ben Myers casts his mind back to his Peckham days ten years ago and remembers how grime collided with his life. Photograph by Simon Wheatly

Black Sky Thinking

John Moore Recalls Thirsty Misadventure With Zodiac Mindwarp

John Moore tells us that he's cheerful this January 2011. His diary takes a break as he recalls time spent with the terrifying and unpleasant Zodiac Mindwarp

Black Sky Thinking

Guitar Music Is Dead. Long Live Guitar Music

Yesterday, guitar music was pronounced dead for the umpteenth time. Luke Turner argues that it's a tired old argument - and one that, when we're looking outside the mainstream - is patently untrue

Black Sky Thinking

Why “Hotly Tipped” Brother Exemplify Perennial Tipster Idiocy

Agnes Ball calls for a violent and immediate end to the media's rekindled bromance with laddy Britpop, incarnated in the execrable Brother

Black Sky Thinking

Wreath Lectures 2010: We All Play Synth – 2010 In Analogue From Hipsters To System Engineers

Frances Morgan looks back at the numerous ways in which old synthesizers and attendant technology have played an essential role in creating new music

Black Sky Thinking

“What Are You Doing In There?” The Rise and Fall of Bedroom Music

"I'm gonna start a revolution from my bed," once sang Noel Gallagher. Tim Burrows, on the other hand, argues that those bedroom-dwelling music makers who were hyped to change the face of music in 2010 aren't as ground-breaking as many first thought...

Black Sky Thinking

Jay-Z Vs Big L: Both Deserve Better Than Weak Reissues & Posthumous LPs

Ringo P. Stacey looks at the releases of Jay-Z's The Hits Collection Vol 1 and the late Big L's Return Of The Devil’s Son and finds them to be sadly lacking

Black Sky Thinking

Reformation Culture In 2010: Why We Should Welcome Returning Heroes

Think reunions are inescapable, undignified and generally a bad thing? Noel Gardner disagrees, as long as you welcome them with the right spirit

Black Sky Thinking

From Robyn To Janelle Monae: 2010 & The Rise Of The Fembots

In the first of our Wreath Lectures, Sian Rowe looks at the female artists who've used robot aesthetics to transcend feminine norms in pop

Black Sky Thinking

Dr Johnson Defines & Scrivens ‘Pon Christmas Music Divers

Twitter's @drsamueljohnson writes for The Quietus on the Vexatious & Timely topick of Christmas music

Black Sky Thinking

Sam Herlihy Of The Northwestern Defends Jamie Oliver

In this month's column, Sam Herlihy explains why the much derided TV chef should be clutched to our bosom. Photograph by Barney Britton www.photoinsensitive.com

Black Sky Thinking

Silence! Why John Cage’s 4’33” Is No Laughing Matter

The Quietus is always happy to see the excellent charities CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably), the British Tinnitus Foundation and the Nordoff Robbins Trust given publicity. But, says David Stubbs, stop treating John Cage's 4'33" like a joke...

Black Sky Thinking

Does Noise Rock Still Shock? Melt-Banana & The Decline of Noise-Power

With his favourite live band Melt-Banana recently returning to play in the UK, Daniel Ross ponders whether noise rock is now comfortable rather than confrontational

Black Sky Thinking

Let The Red Rag Fly: In Defence Of Simply Red’s Picture Book

The Quietus battens down the hatches and prepares for a storm as Wyndham Wallace risks all to defend Simply Red’s debut album, _Picture Book_, on its 25th anniversary…

Black Sky Thinking

Anika On Why Bristol’s Stokes Croft Offers A Vision Of A Better Future

Invada Records artist Anika is also a political journalist who divides her time between Berlin and Bristol. Here she writes about how community action in Bristol gives the lie to ideas of an apathetic Britain

Black Sky Thinking

End Of Play 2010: A Hip-Hop State Of The Art Report

Neil Kulkarni rages about mainstream hip-hop and cowardly criticism in his end-of-year report, as well as telling you what you should be listening to

Black Sky Thinking

My Favourite Miles Davis Album By Lydon, Nick Cave, Wayne Coyne, Iggy & More

As Bitches Brew turns 50 John Doran asked Iggy Pop, Jim Sclavunos, Jason Pierce, Mike Patton, Paul Weller and many other musicians to tell us about their favourite albums by Miles Davis

Black Sky Thinking

At The End Of The Grosse Freiheit: The Beatles In Hamburg

Fifty years ago last month The Beatles first arrived in Hamburg, hungry, sleepless and unprepared (for what they found there, and what it led to), says Taylor Parkes

Black Sky Thinking

John Moore Prepares His CV & Meets A Famous Record Company

Our man John Moore is worried he's turning into a couch, but finds time to tell us why he isn't rich and doesn't have a very good CV

Black Sky Thinking

An Extract From Dr Johnson’s Dictionary Wherein He Defines Hip Hop

Noted Twitterer @DrSamuelJohnson recently published his first new dictionary in 250 years. To celebrate this remarkable feat, we today present the section where he passes definition upon the genre of hip hop

Black Sky Thinking

Classified X: Race & Kings Of Leon’s ‘Radioactive’ Video

"Woah-ho! This cross is on fire" Kings Of Leon's new video for 'Radioactive' flirts with dangerous aspects of racial stereotyping, argues John Tatlock

Black Sky Thinking

The Curious Case Of Edgar Allan Poe & The Rapper Eminem

They might by separated by craft, years and the grave but Eminem and Edgar Allan Poe have more in common than you might think, argues Lewis G. Parker

Black Sky Thinking

Janelle Monáe: A New Pioneer Of Afrofuturism

Against a pop climate beset by fraudulent marketing plans on two shiny legs, John Calvert argues that Janelle Monáe brandishes the acetylene torch for radical Afrofuturism

Black Sky Thinking

iPad Therefore I Am: Why John Robb’s New Device Is The Apple Of His Eye

John Robb explains why you can be a punk _and_ like Apple's latest shiny gadget - indeed, they actually go hand-in-hand...

Black Sky Thinking

Why President Wyclef Jean Is The Last Thing Haiti Needs

Wyclef Jean's bid to be President of Haiti looks to have fallen at the first hurdle. This is no bad thing for the people of the Island, argues Lewis G Parker

Black Sky Thinking

Bauer Failure: Why Stuart Williams Is Wrong To Blame Music For Mag Decline

Publishing exec Stuart Williams reckons that a dearth of good music is to blame for the decline in magazine sales. Luke Turner counters by arguing its the like of Williams himself who are responsible.

Black Sky Thinking

Sam Herlihy Of The Northwestern: The Age Of Austerity

"I know they look like Skeletor's fingers but give 'em some time and they taste like real chicken, not like breast implants and doom". Sam Herlihy brings you a guide to bargain shopping. Photograph by Barney Britton www.photoinsensitive.com

Black Sky Thinking

Why George Formby Was The First Modern Pop Star, By John Robb

Forget Elvis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard - it's our homegrown legend, the banjolele-wielding George Formby, who was the world's first King Of Pop

Black Sky Thinking

John Moore Is Cheered By Port Eliot & Luke Haines Being Nice

After a spell in the doldrums, our man Moore heads to the West Country for the fruity extravaganza of the Port Eliot Literary Festival, where he plays some songs and Mr Haines does a reading

Against Coalition Cuts, We Find Joy In Glee Club, NW1

Do It Like A Dude: Gender Transgressions In Pop, R&B & Hip Hop

A Step In The Right Direction? We Discuss The Rise Of Mainstream Dubstep

My (Half) Life Of Grime By Ben Myers

John Moore Recalls Thirsty Misadventure With Zodiac Mindwarp

Guitar Music Is Dead. Long Live Guitar Music

Why “Hotly Tipped” Brother Exemplify Perennial Tipster Idiocy

Wreath Lectures 2010: We All Play Synth – 2010 In Analogue From Hipsters To System Engineers

“What Are You Doing In There?” The Rise and Fall of Bedroom Music

Jay-Z Vs Big L: Both Deserve Better Than Weak Reissues & Posthumous LPs

Reformation Culture In 2010: Why We Should Welcome Returning Heroes

From Robyn To Janelle Monae: 2010 & The Rise Of The Fembots

Dr Johnson Defines & Scrivens ‘Pon Christmas Music Divers

Sam Herlihy Of The Northwestern Defends Jamie Oliver

Silence! Why John Cage’s 4’33” Is No Laughing Matter

Does Noise Rock Still Shock? Melt-Banana & The Decline of Noise-Power

Let The Red Rag Fly: In Defence Of Simply Red’s Picture Book

Anika On Why Bristol’s Stokes Croft Offers A Vision Of A Better Future

End Of Play 2010: A Hip-Hop State Of The Art Report

My Favourite Miles Davis Album By Lydon, Nick Cave, Wayne Coyne, Iggy & More

At The End Of The Grosse Freiheit: The Beatles In Hamburg

John Moore Prepares His CV & Meets A Famous Record Company

An Extract From Dr Johnson’s Dictionary Wherein He Defines Hip Hop

Classified X: Race & Kings Of Leon’s ‘Radioactive’ Video

The Curious Case Of Edgar Allan Poe & The Rapper Eminem

Janelle Monáe: A New Pioneer Of Afrofuturism

iPad Therefore I Am: Why John Robb’s New Device Is The Apple Of His Eye

Why President Wyclef Jean Is The Last Thing Haiti Needs

Bauer Failure: Why Stuart Williams Is Wrong To Blame Music For Mag Decline

Sam Herlihy Of The Northwestern: The Age Of Austerity

Why George Formby Was The First Modern Pop Star, By John Robb

John Moore Is Cheered By Port Eliot & Luke Haines Being Nice

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