Category: Music
I work with celebrities. After Liam Payne’s death, can’t we treat them as humans and not gods? | Mark Borkowski
As the worldwide tributes continue, the tragic death of Liam Payne at the cruel age of just 31 has shaken the foundations of how we [more…]
Composer Oliver Coates on the cello, chaos and connection: ‘The best music is out there in nature’
When Oliver Coates was 19 or so, he got a job playing cello on a cruise ship. “Quite a bow tie, buttoned-up kind of space,” [more…]
‘We were banging our heads against a wall – the wall won’: the genius pop and tragic demise of Boys Wonder
The song begins with a barrage of power chords, brazenly stolen from the Who’s Won’t Get Fooled Again. The opening lyrics are mewled out in [more…]
‘Every fear you’re supposed to have as a New Yorker’: Lin-Manuel Miranda on rebooting cult movie The Warriors
What is the most cherished movie from your early childhood? Probably not The Warriors, Walter Hill’s fierce thriller about New York gang battles. But as [more…]
‘Bob Dylan was an endearing young scallywag!’ Barbara Dane, the singer who burned a path through folk, blues and activism
As a singer-songwriter who was as devoted to social change as she was to her craft, Barbara Dane, who has died aged 97, is a [more…]
‘Every recording carries the air of a seance’: remembering my father the music archivist
My dad, Michael Brooks, was an archivist, a music salvage expert. He worked deep into old age at Sony’s New York office: curating the company’s [more…]
Alex Van Halen on his brother Eddie: ‘I’m not done dealing with this yet’
For the last few years, Alex Van Halen has been busy writing a book about his beloved brother, Eddie, with the sincere goal of capturing [more…]
‘I was playing with fire’: One True Pairing’s Tom Fleming on Wild Beasts, breakdown – and his brilliant comeback
In 2019, a year after his band Wild Beasts had split, Tom Fleming toured his debut solo album as One True Pairing. It was, by [more…]
In One Ear by Simon Raymonde review – life with the magical, mysterious Cocteau Twins
Of the many bewitching bands to come out of the 1980s, Cocteau Twins were perhaps the most singular. A Scottish-London trio comprising Elizabeth Fraser, Robin [more…]
‘I have plenty of rhythm when I rap, but not so much when I have sex’: Professor Green’s honest playlist
The first song I fell in love withIncredible by M-Beat featuring General Levy. I grew up on a housing estate in Clapton. East London was [more…]
