Should we criticise musicians for entering high luxury fashion?
Frank Ocean’s $27,000 USD sex toy left many fans disappointed and muddled. At what point does a popular musician’s entry into fashion and other high-end avenues become exploitative? Frank Ocean unveiled a $27,000 USD male genital sex toy last year - complete with a nude photography demonstration, obviously -...
Current in Media
KSI’s racial slur shows lack of understanding of South Asian hate
KSI’s recent use of a racial slur against South Asians and many responses shows a lack of education about its history, and many have even been forgotten. In a parody of Countdown, KSI chose to say a derogatory slur aimed at South Asians from his selection of letters. Although he...
Billy McFarland claims Fyre Festival II is ‘finally happening’
The serial fraudster is said to owe $26m for duping more than 100 investors in 2017. Five years on, he claims that a second attempt at Fyre Festival is ‘finally happening.’ Incarceration is supposed to be about rehabilitation, right? In the case of Billy McFarland - a man once compared to...
Re:Sound festival highlights homeless experiences
Re:Sound is a festival that aims to use music to allow audiences to rediscover their city through the eyes of those who have been homeless. The last performance of the opera’s national tour was on Sunday. The festival Re:Sound, run by charity Streetwise Opera, involves professional composers, designers, singers, and...
Opinion – Why BTS leader RM’s thoughts on colonialism are so important
‘In the West, people just don't get it’, Kim Nam-Joon, leader of world's biggest music group, BTS, exclaims when asked if the cult of perfection and over-achievement are Korean cultural traits. Here’s our attempt at an explanation. ‘Korea is a country that has been invaded, razed to the ground, torn in...
Spotify launches AI DJ for personalised playlists with virtual hosts
Everyone wants their go with the aux, and Spotify is no different. The ubiquitous music streamer has created an AI DJ feature capable of curating original playlists while providing intermittent commentary like a radio host. Let’s face it, AI is inevitably coming for all of our livelihoods - commercial or...
Glastonbury festival criticised after announcing all-male headliners
‘We’re trying our best,’ said organiser Emily Eavis as she unveiled the first 54 names on the 2023 line-up and called on the music industry to rectify its ‘pipeline’ problem.
Without a doubt the most iconic festival in the world, Glastonbury’s annual line-up announcement traditionally marks a very exciting date on the calendars of those fortunate enough to acquire a ticket (this year’s sold out at a
Teens pay more attention to Andrew Tate than political leaders
A poll by an advocacy group ‘HOPE not hate’ has found that teenage boys in the UK know more about Andrew Tate than Rishi Sunak, the nation’s prime minister. What does this say about the power of social media? Andrew Tate has become a household name over the last few years. His unfiltered, macho-manic and highly misogynistic views have brought him to the centre of conversation in both the news and...
Opinion – Rihanna’s halftime show radiated women’s empowerment
In the lead-up to the Super Bowl halftime show, fan excitement grew with the possibility of hearing long-awaited new music from Rihanna. I’d argue that what we got was even better. It will come as a surprise to absolutely no one that I thought Rihanna’s Super Bowl halftime performance was flawless. The Barbados-born icon, who has been on a musical hiatus for most of the last decade, finally re-emerged on one...
Opinion – Harry Styles’ win highlights complexities of privilege
After a career-pivoting and rather surprising ‘Album of the Year’ win sent fans into a frenzy for its ‘tone deaf’ claims of adversity. But is there a case for considering who Harry meant by ‘people like me’? Beyonce, Adele, Lizzo. Harry Styles was certainly up against some stiff competition for Album of the Year at the 2023 Grammys. But in a rather surprising twist, his album ‘Harry’s House’, a bubbly album...
