Black Sky Thinking
Essays, investigation and opinion on today’s cultural landscape
Black Sky Thinking
Junk Shop Classical On Schubert: Music Stories Told £1 Record By £1 Record
For his second column on a single classical record bought for a quid in a charity shop, Phil Hebblethwaite unpicks a devastating twofer – the Alban Berg Quartett playing a pair of late Schubert pieces in which this most cultish of composers dares to contemplate his sentence of death by sexually transmitted disease
Black Sky Thinking
What Kind Of Party Doesn’t Have A DJ? On Politics & Grime
Grime's enthusiasm for Jeremy Corbyn has been one of the oddest moments of an already strange general election campaign. But, argues Jeffrey Boakye, perhaps the two worlds of politics and the music of London's streets aren't so different after all
Black Sky Thinking
“I Prefer Their Later Work”: 40 Brilliant Albums At The End Of Artists’ Careers
Sod the first few EPs, we say a band's real hidden gems are buried at the end, among the ill-advised career moves and last grasps at fading relevance. Here, tQ writers fight the corner for their favourite unloved and underrated records from the tail-end of their favourite artists' discography.
Black Sky Thinking
Off The Record: How Studios Subliminally Silence Women
Producer, engineer and musician Grace Banks argues that recording studios are all-too-often male dominated and even hostile to women, from outright misogyny to the subtle messages in the buildings themselves. What might be done to change this?
Black Sky Thinking
Junk Shop Classical: Music Stories Told £1 Record By £1 Record
In this new column, Phil Hebblethwaite will be picking one classical record bought in a charity shop per month, beginning with Jean Sibelius, Symphony No. 4 played by the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Herbert von Karajan - a doomy symphony that sounds like how many of us feel today
Black Sky Thinking
Is Poptimism Now As Blinkered As The Rockism It Replaced?
With every pop release hailed like the coming of a prophet have the big names of the mainstream sucked up too much critical oxygen? Michael Hann asks if poptimism has merely ended up becoming as narrow minded as the rockism it usurped. (Pictured - the "pop South Sea Bubble" of PC Music)
Black Sky Thinking
Love Time: Exploring Can Drummer Jaki Liebezeit’s E-T Rhythm Theory
Can drummer and rhythmic innovator Jaki Liebezeit sadly died earlier this year, but the sounds and pulses he created will continue. In this Quietus Essay, John Payne takes an in-depth look at the theory behind the noise
Black Sky Thinking
Learning To Love Stereo: Hearing The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s With New Ears
Pete Paphides goes to Abbey Road to listen to the new anniversary edition of Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band and marvels at the charge of the "psychedelic light brigade" that is hearing the tweaked versions of songs
Black Sky Thinking
#BlackGirlMagic: Reclaiming The Beliefs Of The African Diaspora
On International Women's Day Zahra Dalilah explores the music of women who are re-engaging with the magical traditions of African culture, from Princess Nokia to Azealia Banks. (Images from Princess Nokia's 'Brujas' video)
Black Sky Thinking
A Blast From The Bass Panzer: Feeling Deep Vibrations In Miami
German artist Nik Nowak took a 4000 watt 'sound panzer' to Miami for a noise battle involving Infinite Livez and rare coral. Kristen Gallerneaux connects the rumbles through WWII bombing campaigns, hearing problems, new tech and heavy rhythms
Black Sky Thinking
Stop The Music: How Rocketing Business Rates Will Kill Small Venues
The Government's recent review of business rates will almost certainly put grassroots and independent venues across the country out of business. Patrick Clarke speaks to venue owners to explore the very serious repercussions.
Black Sky Thinking
I Was Struck By Teenage Lightning: On Milo’s Downfall & The Abuse Of Boys
In the wake of Milo Yiannopoulos' career-ending comments on the sexualisation of young boys, Luke Turner writes that this might be an opportunity to bring the little-discussed subject of male sexual abuse out into the open
Black Sky Thinking
When Bono Vox Met Trump’s Number Two Mike Pence: The CIA Tapes
As David Stubbs wheeled his son's pram past the US embassy he chanced upon a brown manilla envelope of the CIA transcripts of surveillance of top rock band U2 in advance of their singer Bono's friendly chat with President Trump's dastardly assistant Mike Pence
Black Sky Thinking
tQ Columnists Recommend Bandcamp Labels You Should Buy From Today
With Bandcamp set to donate 100% of their share from sales made today in response to Donald Trump's Executive Order banning citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the US, tQ's columnists have got together to recommend labels you should be purchasing records from
Black Sky Thinking
The Rise Of Fear & The Strange Death Of The UFO
UFOs were once at the heart of popular culture and science fiction, with even an American president claiming he'd had a strange encounter. Jeremy Allen looks at the strange decline of the little green men, asking if it's a symptom of our troubled age
Black Sky Thinking
Cast Off Thy Smartphone & Be Healed: Debunking The Digital Detox
It's that time of year when all sorts of snake oil salespeople fill our lives with guilt and shame with diet plans, dry January and, most recently, the idea of a digital detox. David Bennun stares gleefully into a glowing screen to tell them what for
Black Sky Thinking
Why The Problems With Philip Anschutz Go Beyond Coachella
Philip Anschutz, an ultra-conservative multi-billionaire, is making a fortune on counterculture via the tours and festivals he promotes. The profits indirectly benefit some grim causes - but what can we do against it, asks Joost Heijthuijsen
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