6 h. ago 'We had a choice: end the band or share the spotlight' – Black Country, New Road

When Black Country, New Road’s singer quit, they could have called it a day. Instead, they have reinvented themselves as the most exciting indie pioneers since The Last Dinner Party

Politics

8 d. ago Black maternal health is about more than survival – it’s about thriving | Venice Haynes

Too often, healthcare ignores our pain and fails to value our lives. But communities are banding together to meet our needsMaternal deaths have recently dropped in the US – that is, unless you’re Black.Black women continue to face the highest rates of maternal mortality in our country. To be Black, pregnant and hopeful in the US is to hold on to life with a fierce and unyielding grip against devastating odds.Venice Haynes is a social and behavioral scientist with more than 17 years of public health experience. She is the senior director of research and community engagement for United States of Care Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago Black maternal health means navigating a broken system. But there is hope | Venice Haynes

Too often, healthcare ignores our pain and fails to value our lives. But communities are banding together to meet our needsMaternal deaths have recently dropped in the US – that is, unless you’re Black.Black women continue to face the highest rates of maternal mortality in our country. To be Black, pregnant and hopeful in the US is to hold on to life with a fierce and unyielding grip against devastating odds.Venice Haynes is a social and behavioral scientist with more than 17 years of public health experience. She is the senior director of research and community engagement for United States of Care Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago ‘The Citizen Kane of rock movies’: glam rockers Slade and their bid for cinema greatness

Fifty years ago, the Black Country legends made Slade in Flame, about a band screwed by the music business. It tanked and almost finished them. Now, as it’s re-released, the film is being seen as a prescient gemDaryl Easlea was eight years old when he got the 4A bus with his mate Graham down to the Odeon in Southend-on-Sea to see his favourite rock band make the leap from vinyl to celluloid. After 12 consecutive top 10 singles – including six No 1s – Slade had finally made their first movie, Slade in Flame. It has just turned 50.What young Easlea saw in 1975 was not the fun-packed adventures of a happy-go-lucky glam rock foursome, but a dour, downbeat film about being chewed up and spat out by the music industry. Easlea, who would grow up to be Slade’s biographer, didn’t care. Continue reading...

Culture

3 w. ago Black Country, New Road: Forever Howlong review | Alexis Petridis's album of the week

(Ninja Tune)After losing their frontman, the band’s third studio album shows how resilient and adaptable they are, with luscious melodies, fantastical lyrics and lots of recordersThe last time Black Country, New Road released a studio album, in 2022, it was accompanied by a strange feeling. Their debut the previous year had reached No 4 in the UK charts, and Ants from Up There was an even greater breakthrough, the sound of the UK septet pulling confidently away from the serried ranks of sprechgesang-heavy alt-rock bands who proliferated in the late 2010s. But there was an elegiac feeling around its release: Black Country, New Road’s frontman, Isaac Wood, had announced his departure four days prior. The others had resolved to continue without him, but given how distinctive Wood’s declarative, ruminating vocals were, many thought the band’s future was uncertain at best.That proved to be an underestimation. Instead of touring Ants from Up There, the remaining members stopped playing an...

Politics

4 w. ago Why hasn’t middle America given Paige Bueckers the Caitlin Clark treatment?

The UConn star has embraced Black America rather than being pitted against it. It means she has not been lionized in the same way as a similarly brilliant playerUConn’s Paige Bueckers, the probable No 1 pick in this year’s WNBA draft, is a brilliant talent, although she may not want you to point that out.“Everybody was focused on me and what I did at UConn my freshman year,” she said during last year’s NCAA Tournament. “But I think it’s more important for the game to share the spotlight to grow the game and show all the stars of college basketball and not just focus on one particular player, whether it be me, Caitlin [Clark], JuJu [Watkins], Angel [Reese]. There’s so many names in college basketball now that are huge, that are stars that deserve credit.” Continue reading...

Politics