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Essays, investigation and opinion on today’s cultural landscape
Reflecting on the death of Daniel Johnston and the spat between Lana Del Rey and the critic Ann Powers, Jazz Monroe explores how fandom can't hinge on the artist’s intention, and that artists don't need to 'earn' profundity - listeners have the power to give it.
We're living in fragmented times in which small communities and the places they meet are increasingly vital, even as they're threatened. Emma Warren argues that documenting these spaces (as she did in the excellent Make Some Space book about Total Refreshment Centre) can be a radical act. Photo by William Autmans
As two major exhibitions in Norwich explore the life and work of WG Sebald, Adam Scovell looks at his writing and photographs and uncovers fears at the circular nature of history that chime with contemporary anxieties. Photographs courtesy of Norwich Castle Museum. Colour portrait of Sebald by Basso Cannarsa.
This week, one day of Stockhausen's week-long opera Licht comes to London's Southbank Centre. Bobby Barry explores the history and significance of one of the greatest and most outlandish musical spectacles the world has ever seen. Photos by Meng Phu
Red Bull have announced the end of their well-loved music platform RBMA, after over 20 years of operation. Ed Gillett looks at how this decision fits into a wider pattern of narrowing, frailty and loss across digital music communities.
The release of a new version of Górecki’s Symphony No. 3 with vocals from Portishead’s Beth Gibbons is cleverly timed, says Phil Hebblethwaite. When the piece was first a hit in the early-90s, it offered respite at a similarly turbulent moment in history
Hundreds of musicians, curators, academics and more, from Brian Eno to Nitin Sawhney, Shirley Collins to Stewart Lee and Roisin Murphy, sign an open letter to the BBC about their disastrous cuts to their scheduling
Last week the BBC announced swingeing cuts to its leftfield programming on Radio 3, with Late Junction, Jazz Now and Music Planet hit. Richard Foster argues this is a short-sighted decision with far-reaching consequences
A quarter of a century after the death of Derek Jarman in February 1994, Adam Scovell looks back at one of the most radical artists of his day, and wonders where we might find his ilk today. All images courtesy of the BFI.
Last year marked the 50th anniversary of Witchfinder General. But in a world still characterised by corruption and violence, did we learn nothing from its warnings? Sean McGeady traces the film’s musical legacy and asks what keeps us coming back to it.
Late last week, veteran noise act Skullflower were dropped from the line up of Raw Power festival - yet for most of their lengthy career they have been considered apolitical. Here Dylan Miller considers the jigsaw of evidence against Matthew Bower and asks, 'What changed?'
Punk, pop and politics: Bananarama did it all, with great songs and a load of pisstaking fun. Their five key albums have just been reissued – on coloured vinyl and with limited-edition coloured cassettes, as is only right and proper – so here we celebrate a little of what made them wonderful
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was the first musician of colour to become a superstar in 20th century Britain, says Phil Hebblethwaite, and then he all but disappeared from view. Who was he and why is it taking so long for us to recognise what he achieved, against impossible odds?
In the second in our series exploring the connections between far right politics and music, Dylan Miller investigates the satanic-fascist Order Of Nine Angles and how, via musician and artist Richard Moult and the experimental folk scene, they have connected with the UK underground. Please note - this article contains imagery that some readers might find disturbing.
With the far right in ascendence across the globe, there's never been a more necessary time to investigate fascist and racist infiltration, current and historical, into the underground culture we love. In an introductory essay to a new Quietus series, Dylan Miller explains why we're doing it
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