Arts
Swanky, stale and sullen, the summer music festival has had its day
The summer music festival has had its day, says Norman Lebrecht
One of the more disturbing films I’ve seen: Arena’s The Changin’ Times of Ike White reviewed
Arena: The Changin’ Times of Ike White (Monday) had an extraordinary story to tell — but one that, halfway through…
Drunk singers, Ravel on film and prime Viennese operetta: the addictive joys of classical YouTube
The full addictive potential of classical YouTube needs to be experienced to be understood. And let’s be honest, there are…
Why do they call it a game? It is servitude: Nintendo Switch’s Animal Crossing reviewed
Lynn Barber picks up a Nintendo Switch for the first time
Adapting Wodehouse for the radio is a challenge – but the BBC has succeeded brilliantly
Everyone knows a Lord Emsworth. Mine lives south of the river and wears caterpillars in his hair and wine on…
Dame Mary Gilmore working from home in 1952
She lived in a flat in Kings Cross, was a lifelong socialist, a regularly observant Presbyterian, a Dame of the…
Netflix’s Caliphate is all too frighteningly plausible
Sweden is now properly celebrated as the Land that Called Coronavirus Correctly. But in the distant past, those with long…
The author who made a living measuring the legs of lice
Wilhelm Nero Pilate Barbellion, real name Bruce Frederick Cummings, earned his living measuring the legs of lice in the Natural…
Joyous and very, very funny: Beastie Boys Story reviewed
The music of the Beastie Boys was entirely an expression of their personalities, a chance to delightedly splurge out on…
The best recordings of the greatest symphony
I am daunted. Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony is a work that I regard with love, awe and even anxiety. I always…
The National Theatre’s live-streaming policy is bizarre
The National’s bizarre livestreaming service continues. On 7 May, for one week only, it released a modern-dress version of Antony…
Europe's eye-popping first glimpse of the Americas
The earliest depictions of the Americas were eye-popping, and shaped European art, says Laura Gascoigne
Why does anyone still rate Vertigo and its creepy, wonky plot?
Here’s something that may interest you. Or not. (Could go either way.) I was looking over Sight & Sound’s ‘100…
Queens of print
The Spectator has been celebrating its 10,000th UK issue with justifiable pride; it is an astounding achievement. Australia has long…
Sumptuous and saucy: Compton Verney's virtual tour of their Cranach show
‘Naughty little nudes,’ my history of art teacher used to say of Cranach’s Eves and Venuses. Aren’t they just? Coquettish…
Riveting – and disgusting: BFI's 'Dogs v Cats' and 'Eating In' collections reviewed
This week I’d like to point you in the direction of the British Film Institute and its free online archive…
Not merely funny but somehow also joyous: Sky One's Brassic reviewed
Danny Brocklehurst, the scriptwriter for Sky One’s Brassic, used to work for Shameless in its glory days — although if…
No one understood the ennui of lockdown better than Louis XIV and his courtiers
A few years ago I interviewed an eminent baroque conductor. Prickly and professorial, tired after a day of rehearsals, he…
How Tom Stoppard foretold what we’re living through
A TV play by Tom Stoppard, A Separate Peace, was broadcast live on Zoom last Saturday. I watched as my…
Beautiful voice, pretentious album: Fiona Apple’s Fetch the Bolt Cutters reviewed
Grade: C+ Where did they all come from, the quirky yet meaningful rock chicks who don’t have a decent song…
The unstoppable rise of television-rewatch podcasts
Talking Sopranos — a new weekly podcast which launched this month— is another example of a seemingly unstoppable sub-genre occupying…
William Boyd on the miraculous snaps of boy genius Jacques Henri Lartigue
William Boyd on the miraculous snaps of boy genius Jacques Henri Lartigue
Geraldine Brooks and Darleen Bungey
Major award-winning biographies of Arthur Boyd and John Olsen have preceded the third book by Darleen Bungey. It is less…
Livestream-hopping is just as irritating as being at a real festival
The ghost of Samuel Beckett oversaw the Hip Hop Loves NY livestream last Thursday night. Time and time again its…
Why we love requiems
Alexandra Coghlan on the enduring appeal of requiems
