The GuardianJohn Hurt John Cohen obituaryThe Guardian - Tony RussellJohn Cohen, who has died aged 87, was distinguished in at least three fields. As a photographer in the 1950s and 60s he made memorable images of contemporary American writers and painters, and of the Bob
The GuardianPharrell Williams 'I realised we live in a chauvinist culture': Pharrell denounces Blurred LinesThe Guardian - Laura SnapesPharrell Williams has distanced himself from Blurred Lines, his 2013 collaboration with Robin Thicke, which provoked controversy for its depiction of sexual politics. Countless universities banned the
The GuardianMusic (UK) Lisa Stansfield: how we made All Around the WorldThe Guardian - Interviews by Dave SimpsonI met my husband Ian [Devaney] in school when I was 14 and he was 15; we formed a band with Andy Morris, who played trumpet in the school band. We called ourselves Blue Zone and were like three little
The GuardianMusic (UK) Snedronningen (The Snow Queen) review – Abrahamsen's opera fails to melt heartsThe Guardian - Andrew ClementsFor a Danish composer who has written a much admired, glittering ensemble piece called Schnee (Snow), the idea of basing an opera on Hans Christian Andersen’s Snedronningen (The Snow Queen) one of his
The GuardianMusic (UK) Sulli, K-pop star and actor, found dead aged 25The Guardian - Laura SnapesThe K-pop star and actor Sulli has been found dead at the age of 25. Police said that the celebrity, born Choi Jin-ri, was discovered unconscious at her Seongnam residence on 14 October. “Her manager her
The GuardianMusic (UK) No Bounds festival review – from bassline to ambient at Sheffield weekenderThe Guardian - Jemima SkalaThe dance music festival calendar is largely defined by two elements: the summer months and European outfits such as Dekmantel and Dimensions. But No Bounds in Sheffield is putting in the work to maintain
The GuardianMusic (UK) PJ Harvey's 50 greatest songs – ranked!The Guardian - Alexis PetridisA rare moment of levity in the Harvey oeuvre: all the mad-eyed, vengeful, shrieking fury of Rid of Me brought to bear upon a hairdresser who has made the mistake of messing up the singer’s cut and blow
The GuardianLil' Kim Tracks of the week reviewed: Niall Horan, Ed O’Brien, Lil’ KimThe Guardian - Daisy JonesChromatics have always been better at creating an intense atmosphere than saying something specific. It’s not a bad thing, though: on Light As a Feather, off their new surprise album Closer to Grey, the
The GuardianMusic (UK) Tricky: ‘I’ve lost people before and bounced back. This is different’The Guardian - Tim JonzeUntil recently, Tricky had a picture of his mother as the screensaver on his phone. He never got to know her properly – she killed herself when he was just four years old – but he had gone through life
The GuardianMusic (UK) Australian U2 fans find what they’re looking for at conference to mark Joshua Tree tourThe Guardian - Stephanie ConveryFan culture works in mysterious ways, but for a band as popular and influential as U2 have been over four decades, it seems only natural that a whole academic discipline has emerged to study them. The
The GuardianMusic (UK) All-female line-up makes statement at Hear Her festivalThe Guardian - Aimee CliffA rainy caravan park on the south coast of England might seem an unlikely place to make a feminist statement. But this weekend, at Sandford holiday park in Poole, an uprising of women in music took place
The GuardianMusic (UK) Tion Wayne review – enthrallingly glossy anthems and joyful productionsThe Guardian - Aniefiok EkpoudomTion Wayne’s journey is a winding path from cages to stages. Since being released from prison last year, following a conviction for affray outside a Bristol nightclub, the north London rapper has been
The GuardianMusic (UK) Big Thief: Two Hands review – a more earthbound follow-up to UFOFThe Guardian - Phil MongredienSuch is the rich vein of songwriting form that Brooklyn quartet Big Thief have hit upon, Two Hands comes just five months after the release of the excellent UFOF. While that album was recorded in a log
The GuardianMusic (UK) Home listening: a world premiere recording for… PucciniThe Guardian - Fiona Maddocks• Opera Rara, half a century old next year, is a goldmine for anyone on a quest for rarities. You don’t expect Puccini to be among its composers, yet its latest release is the world premiere recording
The GuardianMusic (UK) Maz O’Connor: Chosen Daughter review – fine, female-focused folkThe Guardian - Neil SpencerSince she arrived as a young Cumbrian folkie recycling the canon, Maz O’Connor has transformed into a highly individual singer-songwriter, whose vocals have acquired a swooping freedom reminiscent of Mitchell,
The GuardianMusic (UK) Elbow: Giants of All Sizes review – a grittier, angrier Guy GarveyThe Guardian - Damien MorrisElbow’s eighth album comes wreathed in a ghostly pallor. Recorded over two years in which too many of the band’s friends and family passed away, the easy sentimentality of their biggest songs has been
The GuardianKim Gordon Kim Gordon: No Home Record review – quite a featThe Guardian - Kitty EmpireIn 2016, Kim Gordon released Murdered Out, a track on which she howled over a louche funk bassline as though auditioning for Rage Against the Machine. A collaboration with avant-pop producer Justin Raisen
The GuardianMusic (UK) One to watch: Biig PiigThe Guardian - Tara JoshiCapturing the soft and hazy twilight of an afterparty, Jess Smyth’s music has garnered a lot of attention since her emergence back in 2017. The 21-year-old performs under the moniker Biig Piig, a name
The GuardianMusic (UK) Kano review – the grime star comes of ageThe Guardian - Kitty EmpireHowever varied an artist Kano has become, the energy definitely peaks for the straight-up grime tracks It starts with someone in the stalls waving a crutch in the air. It ends with tiers of velvet-lined
The GuardianMusic (UK) The week in classical: The Silver Lake/The Seraglio; Orpheus in the Underworld; Miss Julie – reviewThe Guardian - Fiona MaddocksWe can be better people. This truth, simply expressed, is key to both works in English Touring Opera’s autumn season. Morals and happy endings can make dull art. To say ETO’s productions hit home because
The GuardianMusic (UK) From Mutya to Beyoncé: who is the best girl band member of all time?The Guardian - Michael CraggTime has not necessarily been kind to late 00s quintet the Saturdays, a sort of Girls Not Quite Loud Enough. But every solid girl band needs a linchpin, someone with the infectious enthusiasm to sell the
The GuardianMusic (UK) 'This is a very good question, Bob Dylan': Elton John, interviewed by famous fansThe Guardian - Alexis PetridisI’ve always tried to be honest. I didn’t hide my sexuality – as soon as I realised I was gay, I told everyone On a Thursday morning in his Toronto hotel room, Elton John is in high spirits. He is 12 months
The GuardianMusic (UK) K-pop group BTS criticised for Saudi Arabia concertThe Guardian - Guardian staffA historic concert by K-pop superstars BTS has caused accusations of “whitewashing” an authoritarian regime. The Korean group were the first non-Arab artists to play a stadium in the country, with a concert
The GuardianDonald Trump Prince's estate rebukes Trump for playing Purple Rain at rallyThe Guardian - Laura SnapesPrince’s estate has rebuked Donald Trump after the US president played Purple Rain at a rally in Minneapolis, the late singer’s home town, despite having pledged to no longer play Prince’s music at his
The GuardianMusic (UK) Harry Styles: Lights Up review – soulful, enigmatic returnThe Guardian - Laura SnapesHarry Styles is a Rorschach test – the antithesis of his pop peers who are very keen to set the terms of their own narrative and furiously reject what they perceive as incorrect interpretations of their
The GuardianFilm (UK) Dies Irae: the Latin funeral poem that’s a movie must-haveThe Guardian - Alex RaynerWho is the biggest player in movie soundtracks? How about some moody 13th-century monks? This at least appears to be the wisdom coming out of the kookier corners of the film soundtrack community. A few
The GuardianMusic (UK) Big Thief: Two Hands reviewThe Guardian - Aimee Cliff‘We found his body / Naked and bare” is the visceral couplet that drags the listener, two-handed, into the new album from Big Thief. Songwriter Adrianne Lenker is known for her tender and brutal images,
The GuardianMusic (UK) James Arthur review – brash pop and emo soul from X Factor comeback kidThe Guardian - Dave SimpsonJames Arthur certainly can’t be accused of following the typical career path of an X Factor star. After winning the show in 2012, and producing a mega-hit in Impossible, his subsequent public meltdown
The GuardianMusic (UK) Babymetal: Metal Galaxy reviewThe Guardian - Dean Van NguyenBefore there was kawaii metal there was just kawaii, a strand of distinctly Japanese popular culture that revels in all things cute and lovable, and is perhaps best exemplified by the eternally popular
