LINKED UP 129

Petrol Bombs, Drugs and Bradley From S Club 7: Inside the Wild ‘00s Hood Movie That the Police Seized

Breakin’ the Cycle had celeb performers who hoped it would go to Cannes. Until they realised its creators were still running a drug gang while filming – and it all went very wrong. (The Guardian)

Lust for Life: Danny Boyle on the Radical Spirit of Trainspotting, 30 Years On

To ring in 30 years of the kinetic Trainspotting, Danny Boyle tells Ella Kemp about the music, memories and everlasting magic of the Scottish film that changed everything. (Letterboxd)

“A Radical Democracy of Images”: Mike Mills on His Work Outside of Feature Filmmaking (Criterion)

A Novelist’s Dark Portrait of Natalie Portman

Rachel Cusk’s new book mines the actress’s life. (UnHerd)

Reliving 1980s L.A. With Cindy Crawford, Kaia Gerber and Ryan Murphy

Ryan Murphy’s Love Story fuelled a nostalgia for ’90s New York. Will his new prep-school thriller bring back the wayfarer era of Southern California? (NYT)

How the Wrong Kind of Nostalgia Can Endanger a Society

The philosopher Svetlana Boym argues that “nostos” encourages people to reject the world as it is and seek to return to a better time – real or imagined. (Big Think)

The Naff Index, Summer 2026

Our annual survey of seasonal ghastliness. (Gentleman’s Journal)

Same Shoe, Different Factory

Only two major running brands still own their factories. The rest rent from the same pool of contractors. Many do so with no commitment past the current order. (Worse On Purpose)

Artist Uniform: The Anti-Fashion Art Duo Who Accidentally Became Style Icons  

Moschino, JW Anderson, and Supreme’s favourite suited-up British art duo, Gilbert & George, are getting their due with two major 2027 shows in Tokyo and Kyoto. (Highsnobiety)

Oi Story 2 – Proper Interviews Nigel Lawson of Oi Polloi

To get the inside track on what Oi Polloi’s second act will look like, we caught up with one half of its founding duo, Nigel Lawson. (Proper)

It’s Emily Dawn Long’s World After All 

Emily Dawn Long’s Chrystie Street showroom is equal parts studio, clubhouse, fitting room, and idea factory. (Highsnobiety)

Portraits From The Big Apple

Five voices from the city’s ever-evolving style scene. (Easy on the Ivy)

My London: Artist Yinka Ilori

Artist Yinka Ilori chills at Banya, loves the steaks at Straker’s and never cheats on his Camden barber. (The Standard)

Hard Copy: The Zine Rethinking Photography Through Xerox

Featuring artists such as Collier Schorr, Justine Kurland and Jeff Mermelstein, Hard Copy reimagines the work of photographers across fashion, art and documentary through the imperfect textures of Xerox photocopies. (Dazed)

Why Do Celebrities Keep Trying (And Failing) to Become Artists?

Adrien Brody, Ed Sheeran, Jack White, who next? (It’s Nice That)

The Designer Behind the Album Covers for Steve Lacy, Tyla, and Addison Rae

New York’s John Patrikas has become the expert for unforgettable pop visuals. (The FADER)

Capturing the Beautiful Drama That Is Olivia Dean

For Lola Mansell, documenting Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving tour is all about trust and timing. (Highsnobiety)

Summer Songs Supermix 2026

Two and a half hours of eternal joy. (Blackbird Spyplane)

MUNA on Their Upcoming Tour, Song of the Summer and New Ugg Campaign

It’s about to be a MUNA fall, y’all. (NYLON)

Everybody Loves Xaviersobased

How New York’s hottest young rapper is building a life beyond the internet. (SSENSE)

“I Know What It’s Like to Be Vulnerable”: Musician This Is Lorelei AKA Nate Amos on Addiction and Finding Peace

The singer-songwriter and Water from Your Eyes guitarist was unstoppably prolific, despite a growing dependence on substances. Now sober, he reflects on his new album and the songs that helped him turn his life round. (The Guardian)

How Conor Oberst Survived Teenage Rock Stardom

The singer-songwriter opens up about life as a niche icon for more than 30 years, the personal struggles that nearly killed him and trying to write political music under President Trump. (NYT)

UK Drill Pioneer PS Hitsquad on His Solo Debut: “I Feel Like I’ve Spent My Whole Life on License”

The former Zone 2 member’s debut album documents his experiences of incarceration, becoming institutionalised and “learning how to live again”. (NME)

What Is UK Poo? The Controversial New ‘Genre’ Making a Splash Online

A viral X post has drawn attention to low-quality, meme-worthy UK rap videos – but is the trend laughing with, or at, these irrepressibly British artists? (Dazed)

James Cam’ron: Killa Season 20 Years Later

Two decades after its release, POW revisits Cameron Giles’s pivot toward street-level cinema and speaks to his collaborators. (POW)

POW Book Club: Jeff Weiss’s Waiting for Britney Spears

Pranav Trewn speaks to POW founder Jeff Weiss about his debut book on the occasion of one of its European releases. (POW)

Roxy’s Tales – Brian DeGraw: The Downtown Story of Gang Gang Dance 

“In this week’s episode of Roxy’s Tales, I sat down with Brian De Graw, co-founder of Gang Gang Dance, to trace the full arc of his journey. Brian has been an essential force in New York’s scene for over two decades as a musician, DJ, and visual artist.” (Spotify)

Matthew Schnipper Still Lives for the Thrill of New Music

A chat with former FADER editor-in-chief about his memoir Rise Above and how the music of Bill Callahan and Henry Rollins helped him move past tragedy. (The FADER)

Lou Koller, Frontman of New York Hardcore Band Sick of It All, Dies Aged 59

Koller, who co-founded the celebrated band in 1986, had been battling cancer of the esophagus. (The Guardian)

Public Listening: Taco Bell

Risking it all for pre-recorded music. (John’s Music Blog)

The Rise of the Jamaican-Patty, Italian-Doughnut, Zine-Selling Newsstand

Candy, soda and print just don’t sell like they used to. (Curbed)

A Different Kind of Grocery Store Magnate

How the scion Sammy Nussdorf found his calling among the carefully arranged shelves of Meadow Lane, his chic market in Lower Manhattan. (NYT)

The World’s Best Hotel Breakfasts

Alison Roman, Jeremy Lee, Amy Poon, Frederik Bille Brahe, Bobbi Brown and more share their favourite places to start the day. (FT)

23 Things It’s OK to Steal From a Hotel (And a Definitive List of Stuff You Should Leave in the Room)

Nick Jones’ new St. Clement hotel has a WHOLE CUPBOARD FULL of complimentary booty. But what about the bath robe or the hand-held steamer? Here’s a guide to what you can and can’t take home with you. (Male on Sunday)

Moods July 2026 (Moodmail)

VOWELS REFERENCES: CAM HICKS

“Cam Hicks is a Virginia-born, L.A.-based photographer and creative director. In the latest episode of vowels References, Hicks discusses his newest book, PROOF, which was originally created as a one-of-one for Virgil Abloh, documenting his Spring 2019 Louis Vuitton debut. This personal case study was released to the public in May of this year as a record of Abloh’s seismic impact, both personally for Hicks and in the industry as a whole.”

Watch the episode here.

CHAD HUGO – JUMPUPW!NYA

Chad’s first ever solo track!

SAM NICKLIN’S “COLOURS”

A look at Sam Nicklin’s ongoing series of colour-coded still life photography. Check out more of Sam’s work here.

EPICLY LATER’D DOCUMENTARY

Epicly Later’d began in 2004 as a photo blog and evolved into VICE’s longest-running series, leaving an undeniable mark on skateboarding and beyond. This documentary from Ben McQueen serves as a heartfelt tribute to Patrick O’Dell and the impact he has had on skateboarding, filmmaking, and culture over the last two decades. 

LINKED UP 128

Dizzee vs. Titch: A Forensic Breakdown of Grime’s Most Iconic Clash

A heated moment on DejaVu FM captured a scene finding its voice – all tension, ego and bars flying over the airwaves. (TRENCH)

Kenneth Blume Steps Out of Kenny Beats’s Shadow

The hitmaker formerly known as Kenny Beats was behind breakthrough albums for Geese, Vince Staples, Idles and Fcukers. On a new solo project, he turns his focus inward. (NYT)

American Football: The One With the Feelings

The Midwest emo architects transformed a college experiment into a coming-of-age soundtrack. 25 years on, their latest iteration sees them bottle the same magic for the ups and downs of middle life. (Huck)

There Could Never Be Another Return to Cookie Mountain

Twenty years on, TV on the Radio’s landmark release remains singular. (Brooklyn Magazine)

There’s Nothing Like It: Tricky’s Favourite Songs

As he releases new album Different When It’s Silent, Tricky takes Manu Ekanayake through his life in 13 songs, from the galvanising effects of hearing The Specials and Public Enemy to an abiding love of The Breeders and more. (The Quietus)

Skate Muzik: Listen to DJ Shadow

This month’s Skate Muzik is dedicated to the music of DJ Shadow as featured in skate videos over the past three decades. A journey through the work of one of the most influential producers of his generation, whose sample-based productions have become an enduring part of skateboarding’s musical identity. (Worldwide FM)

Keys to the City

The making of Palace’s Detroit 313 with Lev Tanju. (Quartersnacks)

How Justin Bieber Became the Bigfoot of Bridgehampton

Sightings of the singer and his family out East have become one of the summer’s most sought-after flexes. (Town & Country)

Why Is Syracuse, NY, Such a Haven for Legendary Writers?

In the frozen shadows of shuttered factories, icons like Toni Morrison, Raymond Carver and David Foster Wallace created some of their greatest work. (NYT)

Harry Gruyaert’s Vintage, Kaleidoscopic Scenes of New York

For 50 years, the Belgian photographer and has been capturing NYC’s colourful chaos. A new photobook and exhibition showcase his unique, technicolour view of the city. (Huck)

Photographer Diana Mara Henry’s Photos of NYC in the ’70s and ’80s

A bygone city seen through a keen eye. (Gothamist)

A Celebrity Photographer’s Hidden Stash of Polaroids

For two decades, Emily Shur, who shot for glossy magazines in the early two-thousands, has been sitting on a trove of images from a bygone era of fame. (New Yorker)

Kurt Bauer’s Still Life Photographs Reveal More About a Place Than a “Postcard View” Ever Could

The Austrian photographer captures overlooked details and fleeting moments, making you incredibly curious about what’s going on just out of frame. (It’s Nice That)

Photographer Dafydd Jones Captures the Young, Rich, and Hedonistic in Cambridge Balls 

The new book features 40 years of university grads letting loose. (Interview)

And Love Comes in at the Eye: Passionate Portraits From Tom Wood’s Archive

The beloved photographer’s latest photo book brings together photographs of passionate late-night encounters in the nightclubs of Merseyside in the 1980s. (Dazed)

Hard Copy, Soft Touch

An interview with Aaron Stern and David Campany. (to Be)

“We Didn’t Care What the Client Wanted!”: Sheffield’s Designers Republic on Their Art for Aphex Twin, Pulp … and Pringles

Their eye-popping designs burst out of Sheffield in 1986, making them the toast of the music scene. Founder Ian Anderson reveals why some fans think his art is worth remortgaging the house for. (The Guardian)

You Can Love David Hockney and Still Hate His iPad Paintings

No amount of curatorial artspeak counters the sense that the late artist’s massive digital painting lacks the inventive mark-making and use of colour that characterised his life’s work. (Hyperallergic)

Tim & Barry Ridley: 2010–2020 

Ridley: 2010–2020 is the first in a series of presentations across London marking twenty-five years of Tim & Barry’s engagement with underground music and the communities that sustain it. (Harlesden High Street)

Rut Blees Luxemburg Documents London at Night

Capturing the atmosphere of the city at night, this artist’s work is now on display at the newly renovated Our Legacy flagship store in Soho. (AnOther)

Our Legacy’s “Laboratory-Like” London Store: Scandinavian Restraint With a Rebellious Streak

The renovated Soho flagship is a “space for the next chapter” of the cult Swedish brand, which has enjoyed exponential growth in recent years. Creative director Cristopher Nying gives Wallpaper an exclusive first tour. (Wallpaper)

Cigarettes Are Back in Vogue. How Did This Happen?

Celebrities like Dua Lipa and Gracie Abrams have been photographed with cigs, as have social media influencers who like the retro vibes. (WaPo)

Five World Cup-Winning Smokers

Some of football’s greatest World Cup icons shared one unlikely habit: smoking. (Gentleman’s Journal)

The Long Lunch With Carson Griffith

The journalist and Substack star joins us for lobster thermidor soufflé, seared scallops and Sancerre alongside her friend Harsch Kumar Sood. (Arlington)

In an Ever-Changing East Village, Cafe Mogador Is a Constant

With its tasty, affordable fare and forever-young clientele, the decades-old New York restaurant is still one of the liveliest spots in the neighbourhood. (NYT)

Are These the Greatest Crisps on Earth?

First Brets overtook Lay’s – now it’s got its sights on Walkers. (FT)

Toad Bakery Designed to “Avoid the Bottleneck of Choice Paralysis” Between Pastries

Carpenter Nick Tudor has crafted an elongated, curved counter for the second branch of the popular Toad Bakery in southeast London, in response to its regular winding queues. (Dezeen)

Things Worth Spending Money On

There’s nothing wrong with spending money – especially on things that improve your quality of life. Money is a tool at the end of the day. Absolutely destroying your quality of life just to scrimp as much money as possible is a sad way to live. (Warkitchen)

KIRBY ESTATE BY ALEX BINGHAM

The Kirby Estate in Bermondsey, South London, dressed in flags for the World Cup. Photographed by Alex Bingham.

RALPH LAUREN AT LORD'S

Ralph Lauren and the Marylebone Cricket Club link up at the Home of Cricket.

THERÉSÈ MULGREW

“Thérèse Mulgrew is a Chicago-based oil painter whose work explores themes of memory, ritual, and human connection. Drawing inspiration from shared meals and classical still-life paintings, she creates intimate works that examine the emotional significance of everyday objects and spaces.” 

More from Thérèse here.