theartsdesk Q&A: Sally Anne Gross and Dr George Musgrave, authors of 'Can Music Make You Sick?'

Q&A: SALLY ANNE GROSS, DR GEORGE MUSGRAVE The authors of incisive new study 'Can Music Make You Sick?'

On World Mental Health Day we meet the authors of an incisive new study of music and musicians

Today is World Mental Health Day and of course that means an awful lot of hugs and homilies, thoughts and prayers, deep-breathing exercises and it’s-good-to-talk platitudes from people speaking from positions of immense privilege – ranging from the well-meaning to outright grifters.

AIM Awards 2020, SBTV review - a game attempt to rewire awards ceremonies

★★★ AIM AWARDS 2020, SBTV Without tables full of increasingly tipsy industry folk, how do awards work?

Without tables full of increasingly tipsy industry folk, how do awards work?

Music awards shows are a strange beast: part window display, part industry conference and part party. Especially if you don’t have Brit Awards or Mercury Prize budget to create a whizz-bang spectacle, the ceremonies can be an interminable pileup of attempts to earnestly celebrate both musicians and behind-the-scenes figures, in front of a room full of increasingly drunk and impatient people.

On the Record review - #MeToo turns its lens to the music industry, gives the mic to women of colour

★★★ ON THE RECORD #MeToo turns its lens to the music industry, gives the mic to women of colour

An unflinching look at #MeToo, misogyny in hip hop, and the burdens of black women

On the Record, the latest documentary from Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering (acclaimed directors of The Hunting Ground), dives into the sexual misconduct allegations against music mogul Russell Simmons, the so-called ‘Godf

The High Note review - Tracee Ellis Ross shines in so-so music dramedy

★★★ THE HIGH NOTE Tracee Ellis Ross shines in so-so music dramedy

This musical lacks originality but Tracee Ellis Ross and Dakota Johnson save the day

Nisha Ganatra’s musical dramedy, penned by first time screenwriter Flora Greeson, isn’t going to win any prizes for originality and is almost unforgivably corny. But the feel-good vibes and winning combination of Tracee Ellis Ross and Dakota Johnson are still likely to win audiences over.

Album: BTS – Map of the Soul: 7

K-Poppers don’t lift the soul so much as drain it

To anyone out of their teens or without a grasp of the Korean language, BTS are probably an unknown quantity. Yet, they are probably the most successful boyband, if not the most successful band, in the world. In fact, just as Abba had a massive effect on the Swedish economy in the 1970s, BTS are a game-changing economic asset and boost to South Korea.

Classic Albums: Tears for Fears, Songs From The Big Chair, BBC Four review - anatomy of an anthem

★★★ TEARS FOR FEARS, SONGS FROM THE BIG CHAIR, BBC FOUR Classic Albums documentary hits the right notes, mostly

Latest BBC Classic Albums documentary hits the right notes, mostly

Roland Orzabal, co-founder and lead guitarist of Tears for Fears, laughs to himself often during this documentary — the latest in the BBC’s often-excellent, always-forensic Classic Albums series. “I agree, I agree, it sounds great,” says Orzabal. He’s listening to “Shout,” the band’s 1984 Billboard No. 1 hit.

Show Me the Picture: The Story of Jim Marshall review - needles, guns and grass

Alfred George Bailey documents rock photographer Jim Marshall's demons and genius

In photographer Jim Marshall’s heyday in the 60s and 70s, before the music business became corporate and restrictive, and before Marshall unravelled – he was partial to cars, cocaine and guns as well as cameras – musicians asked for him, they trusted him, and he never violated their trust because, he said, “these people have let you into their life”.

Darius Brubeck, Jazz Café review – a touching celebration of 'Time Out' at 60

A homage to a classic album and the launch of a new one

It is a very rare thing, as Darius Brubeck reflected, to “inherit a hit.” This gig by the pianist and his quartet marked the exact day of the 60th anniversary of the launch of Time Out by his father Dave Brubeck. Time Out was the first million-selling album in jazz, reaching No 2 in the US pop charts. “It was the gateway drug into jazz for a whole generation,” he mused.

Get Rich Or Try Dying: Music’s Mega Legacies, BBC Four review – inside the RIP business

★★★ GET RICH OR TRY DYING: MUSIC'S MEGA LEGACIES, BBC FOUR Inside music's RIP business

Brief glimpse into music's unknown industry

Half a billion dollars is what the top five most lucrative estates of deceased musicians earned last year. The figure represents the cunning work of a few people to turn “legacy” into its own immortal industry. To watch a program on this theme is to peek through the keyhole of a locked cabinet. How does the “RIP business” work? How much – so goes another question – are we really allowed to see?

What Girls Are Made Of, Soho Theatre review - euphoric gig-theatre

Cora Bissett recalls the highs and lows of being a teenage Britpop star

It’s now Edinburgh Fringe transfer season in London, but here’s one they made earlier: Cora Bissett’s Fringe First-winning autobiographical play from the 2018 Festival about her time in 1990s indie band Darlingheart. Though the broad shape of this tale is familiar, Bissett’s gig-theatre approach lends it a raw authenticity and engaging confessional quality.