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Detachment and Re-attachment: The Mind of a Hermit No More
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Detachment and Re-attachment: The Mind of a Hermit No More

By
 / 20 April 2017
Christopher Knight disappeared into the woods at the age of 20 and returned at 47 without a masterpiece, without a testimony of life’s greater purpose, without anything profound to convey.
Authenticity and Unbroken Chains in Rick Massimo’s ‘I Got a Song’
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Authenticity and Unbroken Chains in Rick Massimo’s ‘I Got a Song’

By
 / 17 April 2017
This book is about true believers who kept the torch burning for “authenticity” in folk music at any cost; even if it meant cultural appropriation and commercial compromising.
Old Ideas and New Generations: What Leonard Cohen Means to Us
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Old Ideas and New Generations: What Leonard Cohen Means to Us

By
 / 10 November 2016
Leonard Cohen endures and conquers. But does he mean something different to Millenial audiences than he did to their parents? Can the legend of Cohen escape its own clichés?
The Act You’ve Known for All These Years: Covering ‘Sgt. Pepper’
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The Act You’ve Known for All These Years: Covering ‘Sgt. Pepper’

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 / 13 January 2015
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band may be the most overanalysed, overexposed album in history. In light of the Flaming Lips' affectionate reimagining, can the inescapable masterpiece ever be surpassed?
Reinventing Scotland, Reinventing Ourselves: After the Referendum
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Reinventing Scotland, Reinventing Ourselves: After the Referendum

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 / 30 September 2014
To be in the minority is the natural condition of artists. The referendum gave Scotland's creative community a brief respite from its sense of isolation.
Arguable Merits: Young Adult Fiction and Its Rabid Discontents
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Arguable Merits: Young Adult Fiction and Its Rabid Discontents

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 / 19 August 2014
The YA crowd is full of articulate, well-read, hungry hyenas. They'll rip my lungs out for this. They'll crucify me. They'll leave my corpse in a ditch.
Pronounced Dead: The Art of Cultural Assassination
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Pronounced Dead: The Art of Cultural Assassination

By
 / 10 June 2014
Two critical catfights are claiming to have buried art-forms which have shaped our civilisation for decades and centuries apiece. Are they entitled to do that?
Dissident Imagination: The Relentless Persecution of Terry Gilliam
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Dissident Imagination: The Relentless Persecution of Terry Gilliam

By
 / 24 March 2014
The release of The Zero Theorem provides yet another opportunity to appreciate Terry Gilliam's untrammelled genius. Yet some would prefer his towering talents were cut down to size.
Selling Japan: How Much Is a Nation’s Culture Worth?
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Selling Japan: How Much Is a Nation’s Culture Worth?

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 / 3 February 2014
Via the billion-dollar Cool Japan Fund Inc, Japan is aiming to become one of the world's dominant culture forces. But can a national culture be commodified so easily?
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‘How Do You Think It Feels?’: The Lasting Effects of Prolonged Lou Reed Exposure

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 / 26 November 2013
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Big Books vs Small Minds: The Intellectual & Literal Heft of ‘Night Film’ & ‘A Naked Singularity’

By
 / 5 November 2013
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Internet Saved the Radio Star: The Rise of Podcast Drama

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 / 10 September 2013