Opinion & Essays
Clear-sighted and well informed opinion on the culture of our past, present and future
45 Years Later: Closer & The Last Days Of Joy Division
Because of the death of Ian Curtis and the nature of the band's last recordings, Joy Division's Closer is an album around which a stillness has settled. In truth, says Jonathan Wright as he talks to Peter Hook and Paul Morley, no band evolved so rapidly. This feature was originally published on 13/07/2020
Black Sky Thinking
Confronting & Celebrating the Limits of the Body: Black Sabbath Live at Villa Park
Keith Kahn-Harris argues that the Back To The Beginning show highlighted the pivotal role that the imperfections of the body play in metal. Live photographs courtesy of Ross Halfin. With thanks to Jasmine Hazel Shadrack
Black Sky Thinking
The Jonathan Swift of NYC: an Appreciation of Larry Cohen
Whether working in Blaxploitation, horror or sc-fi, auteur Larry Cohen was often battling against constraints created by money, time and his own skill set, says Mat Colegate, but ultimately he trained a satirical eye on America few could match
Black Sky Thinking
O Superfan: How Rock & Pop’s Elite Screw their Loyal Supporters – and why it won’t Work
The mainstream music biz reckons that devoted fans are the golden geese that'll keep laying, and the streaming services are about to get in on the grift. Eamonn Forde explains why this makes no business sense
Black Sky Thinking
Essays, investigation and opinion on today’s cultural landscape
Black Sky Thinking
Some Might Not Say: What a Glut of New Oasis Books is Leaving Unwritten
Oasis are back, and a publishing supernova of new biographies examines the Manchester band... but for most of their lifespan, they were appalling. Fergal Kinney asks how do writers confront Oasis after their peak
Black Sky Thinking
Why it’s Time to Support Grassroots Venues with a £1 Ticket Levy
A small levy on the price of tickets for large capacity gigs would be revolutionary in protecting grassroots, finds Dan McCarthy. So why is there a delay in the government making this law?
Black Sky Thinking
How Women are Changing Greater Manchester’s Grassroots Music Scene
Perturbed by a study that found young women in the north of England are struggling to feel musical, Lottie Brazier set out to speak to the promoters, artists and managers who are helping shift the dial in the region
Black Sky Thinking
Eternal Cities: How Underworld Embodied the Agony and Ecstasy of Urban Life
As Underworld's discography from 1994 to 2016 receives a 'perfect sound' reissue, Darran Anderson surveys how their frantic, beautiful music both embodied the overwhelm of city life and offered a rapturous escape from it
Black Sky Thinking
Some Might Not Say: What a Glut of New Oasis Books is Leaving Unwritten
Oasis are back, and a publishing supernova of new biographies examines the Manchester band... but for most of their lifespan, they were appalling. Fergal Kinney asks how do writers confront Oasis after their peak
Black Sky Thinking
How Women are Changing Greater Manchester’s Grassroots Music Scene
Perturbed by a study that found young women in the north of England are struggling to feel musical, Lottie Brazier set out to speak to the promoters, artists and managers who are helping shift the dial in the region
Black Sky Thinking
Eternal Cities: How Underworld Embodied the Agony and Ecstasy of Urban Life
As Underworld's discography from 1994 to 2016 receives a 'perfect sound' reissue, Darran Anderson surveys how their frantic, beautiful music both embodied the overwhelm of city life and offered a rapturous escape from it
Low Culture Essay
Illuminating treasured cultural artefacts
Low Culture Essay
Low Culture Essay: A Tale of Two Normans – Wrongtom On Beats International’s ‘Dub Be Good To Me’
In this month's Low Culture Essay, Wrongtom weaves the life of his jazz pianist grandad into his encounter with Norman Cook & co's 1990 hit single, and explores how it changed his own musical trajectory
Low Culture Essay
Low Culture Essay: Jonn Elledge on The Good Life
In April's essay, Jonn Elledge explains why everything you thought you knew about the popular self-sufficiency sitcom, first broadcast 50 years ago this week, is wrong.
Low Culture Essay
The Low Culture Essay: Jeanette Leech on Elastica’s The Menace
In this month's essay, Jeanette Leech seeks to reclaim the legacy of Elastica's vastly underrated second album from prurient mutterings about drug addiction and the collapse of Britpop, celebrating Mark E. Smith collaborations and the birth of M.I.A.
Low Culture Essay
Low Culture Essay: A Tale of Two Normans – Wrongtom On Beats International’s ‘Dub Be Good To Me’
In this month's Low Culture Essay, Wrongtom weaves the life of his jazz pianist grandad into his encounter with Norman Cook & co's 1990 hit single, and explores how it changed his own musical trajectory
Low Culture Essay
The Low Culture Essay: Jeanette Leech on Elastica’s The Menace
In this month's essay, Jeanette Leech seeks to reclaim the legacy of Elastica's vastly underrated second album from prurient mutterings about drug addiction and the collapse of Britpop, celebrating Mark E. Smith collaborations and the birth of M.I.A.
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Subscribe NowAnniversary
Spotlighting the impact of cultural landmarks
Anniversary
Auto-Invention: The Soft Boys’ Underwater Moonlight Revisited
Nobody wanted what The Soft Boys were selling in 1980, but as David Bennun recounts, their superb swan song, Underwater Moonlight, made them a Velvet Underground for new generations of jangle and psych bands. This feature was first published on 29/06/20
Anniversary
The Chameleons’ What Does Anything Mean? Basically, at 40
This relatively obscure, nihilistic and resigned second album by a near forgotten Mancunian post punk group was released decades before the birth of writer Lina Adams in the early 00s; so why does it speak so clearly to her life today?
Anniversary
Auto-Invention: The Soft Boys’ Underwater Moonlight Revisited
Nobody wanted what The Soft Boys were selling in 1980, but as David Bennun recounts, their superb swan song, Underwater Moonlight, made them a Velvet Underground for new generations of jangle and psych bands. This feature was first published on 29/06/20
Anniversary
The Chameleons’ What Does Anything Mean? Basically, at 40
This relatively obscure, nihilistic and resigned second album by a near forgotten Mancunian post punk group was released decades before the birth of writer Lina Adams in the early 00s; so why does it speak so clearly to her life today?
Beyond The Hits
A deeper dive beyond the charts
Beyond The Hits
Stronger Than Pride: Beyond The Hits Of Sade
Sade superfan Alex Macpherson celebrates the release of a career-spanning box set by selecting lesser known gems from their back catalogue
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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
Baker's Dozen
Denial Of The Species: Lee Buford Of The Body’s Favourite Albums
With the UK leg of their European tour drawing to a close with sets in Bristol tonight and on the Quietus' Desertfest stage tomorrow, Lee Buford of the none-bleaker American sludge duo picks out 13 all-time top records and pens us his own Baker's Dozen
A Quietus Interview
Moving Big Mountains: Årabrot’s Karin Park Interviewed
Kjetil Nernes and Karin Park decided recently to take Årabrot forward into a new era. Dannii Leivers met Karin to talk about how her glittering pop career is influencing their new album, Norwegian Gothic, which is streamed here in full. Årabrot portraits by Olle Lundin
