Black Sky Thinking
Essays, investigation and opinion on today’s cultural landscape
Black Sky Thinking
Junk Shop Classical On Clara Schumann: Music Stories Told £1 LP By £1 LP
Clara Schumann had one of the most extraordinary lives in 19th century music, says Phil Hebblethwaite. Against the odds, she made it as a pianist, and she ought to have been recognised as a great composer too
Black Sky Thinking
Why Everything Is Love Is Tidal’s Last Desperate Throw Of The Dice
This weekend, Jay-Z and Beyoncé released joint album Everything Is Love exclusively via their Tidal platform. But with the record already on Spotify, Eamonn Forde argues that this is yet another vain lunge by the 1% and a platform that is failing to take off
Black Sky Thinking
Perfect Sound For A Little Longer: In Defence Of The CD
We're supposedly in the middle of a vinyl revival, streaming services are hoovering up all the coin, and everyone seems to have a cassette column. But, argues James Toth, it's the humble compact disc that we should be celebrating
Black Sky Thinking
What Is New Weird Britain? A Guide To The UK Underground In 2018
As we get ready for this year's Supersonic Festival, Noel Gardner, John Doran and Luke Turner present their takes on what the underground we're calling New Weird Britain constitutes, from anti-corporate defiance, performance art, and a bold new exploration of landscape and place
Black Sky Thinking
Junk Shop Classical On Peter Warlock: Music Stories Told £1 Record By £1 Record
Peter Warlock, occultist and wild man of early-20th century British classical music, took his own life in 1930, aged 36. He died a fringe concern, but his cult and music continue to grow, says Phil Hebblethwaite. We see now how far ahead of his time he was
Black Sky Thinking
Why Psychological Analysis Shows We’re Right To Worry For Musicians’ Mental Health
On Mental Health Awareness Week and following the sad death of Frightened Rabbit's Scott Hutchison, Catherine Loveday & Sally-Anne Gross of the University of Westminster look at recent research into the psychological issues affecting musicians (photo by Joe Puxley)
Black Sky Thinking
My Country Needs Me: on Sons Of Kemet’s Your Queen Is A Reptile
By celebrating great black women across history, by crowning Angela Davis, Harriet Tubman, Albertina Sisulu and Doreen Lawrence, Sons Of Kemet begin a new myth-making and bring afrofuturism down to earth with a beautiful bang. By Teju Adeleye
Black Sky Thinking
Windrush & Anti-Semitism: When Politicians Play With Fire, Minorities Get Burned
As the headlines are dominated by the cruel treatment of the Windrush Generation and Labour's issues with Anti-Semitism, David Bennun argues that politicians of all stripes must be held responsible (photo Wikipedia Commons)
Black Sky Thinking
Junk Shop Classical On Decca & EMI: Music Stories Told £1 LP By £1 LP
In 1958, Decca Records audaciously began to record Wagner’s epic, 15-hour Ring Cycle. As Phil Hebblethwaite explains, there was more at stake than art. Decca was a classical music underdog determined to land a knock-out punch on arch rival EMI
Black Sky Thinking
How The #VinylRevival Is Paradoxically Threatening Record Shop Survival
As Record Store Day hoves into view, you can expect a whole load of waffling about the brilliant news of the #vinylrevival. But, Alex Marshall, discovers, the reality for many shops is not so rosy or clear cut
Black Sky Thinking
Junk Shop Classical On Debussy: Music Stories Told £1 LP By £1 LP
Debussy sparked a punk moment for classical music, says Phil Hebblethwaite. He uncluttered it and ensured, as the 20th century began, that none of the old rules applied. He died 100 years ago, after which his radical sounds weaved their way into almost everything we hear today
Black Sky Thinking
Imma Be The Upgraded New Negro: The Politics of Black Eyed Peas So-Called Party Bangers
Black Eyed Peas have been praised for a supposed return to their "political roots" away from the "party bangers" of now-ten-year-old The E.N.D. But, argues Aida Amoako, the group have always had a politicised Afrofuturism at the heart of what they do.
Black Sky Thinking
Junk Shop Classical On Carlos Kleiber: Stories Told £1 LP By £1 LP
The enigmatic Carlos Kleiber was voted the greatest conductor of all time, although he performed infrequently and released only a few albums. Who was he, asks Phil Hebblethwaite, and how come his immense talent was coupled with such paralysing self-doubt?
Black Sky Thinking
Junk Shop Classical On Stravinsky: Music Stories Told £1 LP By £1 LP
Stravinsky’s merciless Rite Of Spring from 1913 was the last hit piece he had, although he lived and worked prolifically until 1971. So how come we’re still talking about the Russian modernist as one of the greatest composers of the 20th century?
Black Sky Thinking
Get The Lawyers In! Experts On The Del Rey vs Radiohead vs Hollies Case
Music copyright experts Guy Osborn (Professor of Law at the University of Westminster) and Simon Anderson (musician and music publisher) of Lost In Music cast their expert eye over the current plagiarism farrago and ask, are musicians doomed to be forever on repeat?
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