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2 weeks ago | 
theguardian.com | Sasha Mistlin |Alex Mistlin
As the longtime editor of Taschen’s All-American Ads book series, cultural historian Jim Heimann has helped chronicle the shifting landscape of commercial artistry through each decade of the 20th century. Now, with a final volume dedicated to the 2000s, Heimann has completed what he calls a “swan song” – not just for the series, but for an entire era of advertising. It presents the last moment before social media and the decline of print media transformed the industry for ever.
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2 months ago | 
theguardian.com | Sasha Mistlin |Alex Mistlin
For many reasons, 1981 stands as a landmark year in Black British history. That January, the New Cross Fire claimed the lives of 13 young Black people. Amid widespread suspicion that the fire had been a targeted attack by violent racists, the police concluded otherwise after a lacklustre investigation. In April came the Brixton uprising, which resulted in 279 injuries to police and £7.5m worth of damage to the area’s buildings and vehicles.
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Aug 23, 2024 | 
ca.news.yahoo.com | Sasha Mistlin
For Jacob Slater, the frontman of Wunderhorse, chaos isn’t just part of the job – it’s the lifeblood of his art. “We like it when things go wrong,” he says with a hint of amusement. “When Jamie’s snare drum breaks or the amps cut out, there’s this moment where you want to disappear.
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Jul 1, 2024 | 
theguardian.com | Sasha Mistlin |Alex Mistlin
In an election of few surprises, a shocking development has been Nigel Farage’s sudden popularity among young people. Recent figures show the Reform leader – an antiquated figure who, with his pinstripes, tweeds and cigars, would be at home in a Thatcher cabinet – outperforms Labour on TikTok (in early June, Farage was beating Labour on a views-per-video basis by 30% – and the Tories by more than double).
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Mar 22, 2024 | 
theguardian.com | Sasha Mistlin |Alex Mistlin
This year’s surprise hit at the box office has been Bob Marley: One Love. The biopic of the reggae icon has grossed over $170m and counting, meaning it’s only behind Kung Fu Panda 4 and Dune: Part Two in 2024 receipts. Next month sees the release of Back to Black, an Amy Winehouse biopic that is expected to perform strongly on the back of a slew of free promo for its questionable likenesses and ghoulish portrayal of the ill-fated singer.
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Dec 26, 2023 | 
theguardian.com | Joe Stone |Laura Snapes |Dave Simpson |Sasha Mistlin |Ammar Kalia |Elle Hunt | +5 more
Slapp Happy – Sort ofSlapp Happy’s 1972 debut album is a curious thing. It was recorded at Faust’s Wümme studios, with the krautrock legends acting as backing band, but it sounds absolutely nothing like krautrock. It was intended as a joke – a sarcastic response to experimental musician Anthony Moore’s record label demanding something more commercial – but carries no audible trace of the smug condescension that implies. Instead, it exists in an unplaceable space of its own creation.
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Dec 26, 2023 | 
germanculturereport.com | Joe Stone |Laura Snapes |Dave Simpson |Sasha Mistlin |Ammar Kalia |Elle Hunt | +5 more
Slapp Happy – Sort ofSlapp Happy’s 1972 debut album is a curious thing. It was recorded at Faust’s Wümme studios, with the krautrock legends acting as backing band, but it sounds absolutely nothing like krautrock. It was intended as a joke – a sarcastic response to experimental musician Anthony Moore’s record label demanding something more commercial – but carries no audible trace of the smug condescension that implies. Instead, it exists in an unplaceable space of its own creation.
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Dec 25, 2023 | 
ca.news.yahoo.com | Tayyab Amin |Ben Beaumont-Thomas |Alexis Petridis |Rosie Esther Solomon |Aneesa Ahmed |Stephanie Phillips | +4 more
Composite: Daniel Cavazos/ Brendon Burton/ Gobinder JhittaSanam – Aykathani Malakon صنم - أيقظني ملاكٌThe formation of Beirut six-piece Sanam is emblematic of Lebanon’s thriving experimental music scene in and of itself: the group were convened at the behest of Irtijal festival for a collaboration with Hans Joachim Irmler of Faust, a juncture which catalysed the musicians into recording together later on.
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Dec 25, 2023 | 
theguardian.com | Tayyab Amin |Ben Beaumont-Thomas |Alexis Petridis |Aneesa Ahmed |Stephanie Phillips |Michael Cragg | +3 more
Sanam – Aykathani Malakon صنم - أيقظني ملاكٌSanam: Bell صنم - بل – videoThe formation of Beirut six-piece Sanam is emblematic of Lebanon’s thriving experimental music scene in and of itself: the group were convened at the behest of Irtijal festival for a collaboration with Hans Joachim Irmler of Faust, a juncture which catalysed the musicians into recording together later on.
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Nov 30, 2023 | 
theguardian.com | Imogen Tilden |Sasha Mistlin |Elle Hunt |Tim Jonze |Ella Creamer |Rebecca Q. Liu | +2 more
Wilco – Ashes of American Flags“I want a good life with a nose for things, the fresh wind and bright sky to enjoy my suffering.” Pretty much every line on Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is a quietly devastating jolt to the heart, but it was this couplet from the whispery middle section of Ashes of American Flags that grabbed me while listening to this album on repeat at the tail-end of this summer.
