Plus: Can you identify the lost 80s hit baffling the internet?
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Picks of the week
Inside the crisis in Britain’s live music scene
‘The whole ecosystem is collapsing’  
Inside the crisis in Britain’s live music scene
While giant promoters rake in billions, smaller venues are struggling to make ends meet – even when gigs are selling out. We go on tour to find a glimmer of hope
Black artistry is woven into the fabric of country music. It belongs to everyone
‘My first death was the weirdest …’  
Ministry’s Al Jourgensen, metal’s great survivor
Laurie Anderson on making an AI chatbot of Lou Reed  
I’m totally, 100%, sadly addicted
Reviews
Alexis Petridis's album of the week  
Sheer Mag: Playing Favorites – euphoric expansion by one of today’s great American bands
Sheer Mag: Playing Favorites – euphoric expansion by one of today’s great American bands
Ben Frost  
Scope Neglect – grim grandeur with gnarly tongue-out riffs
Contemporary album of the month  
Ruth Goller: Skyllumina – jazz bassist enters beatific and slightly terrifying new sonic world
Eurovision  
Olly Alexander: Dizzy review – it’s a sinful ripoff from the UK’s Eurovision entry
Spotlight
Your weekly guide to the ever-expanding Taylor Swift multiverse
Welcome to Swift Notes  
Your weekly guide to the ever-expanding Taylor Swift multiverse
Join me in teasing apart Swift’s record-breaking, norm-shifting, joyously deranging and sometimes infuriating cultural influence in this new weekly newsletter
Classical
Wagner  
Parsifal – Elīna Garanča is extraordinary in a very fine account of Wagner’s fascinating score
Parsifal – Elīna Garanča is extraordinary in a very fine account of Wagner’s fascinating score
The Magic Flute  
ENO’s revival is a peach of wit, wisdom and laughs
ENO’s revival is a peach of wit, wisdom and laughs
Add to playlist
Gwen Stefani  
Gwen Stefani and No Doubt’s greatest songs – ranked!
Gwen Stefani and No Doubt’s greatest songs – ranked!
You may have missed
Can you identify the lost 80s hit baffling the internet?
Everyone Knows That  
Can you identify the lost 80s hit baffling the internet?
Entire online communities have developed around naming this 17-second snippet of catchy pop – and three years after it was uploaded no one has solved the mystery
‘It has become a sort of silver bullet'  
Why are rap lyrics being put on trial?
In compelling documentary As We Speak, a controversial legal practice that uses rap lyrics to secure convictions is explored
Belfast rappers Kneecap on stunts, drugs and Kemi Badenoch  
We don’t discriminate who we piss off
Their riotous music is uniting young people in Northern Ireland and reviving the Irish language. The punk-rap trio talk about raving, working with Toddla T – and enraging politicians
Don’t sit at home mourning the loss of Britain’s nightclubs – go out and rave
Our nightlife isn’t universally suffering. What it needs is participation, not elegies, says freelance journalist Dan Hancox
Live music this week
Fred Again at Sydney Opera House  
A record-breaking, turbocharged night
A record-breaking, turbocharged night
Simple Things festival  
Trance, slow jams and toilet-rattling rock
PinkPantheress  
Deft mashups from TikTok star who stepped seamlessly into real life
Get in touch
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