No Tags

First, news: our new book is almost at the printers ahead of launching it at the No Tags live show in London on 11th December! We’ll be announcing our guests very soon, and you can grab tickets now from the ICA website.This week’s guest is a revered member of the UK blognoscenti: Dan Hancox. Dan has written extensively on grime (including its definitive history, Inner City Pressure), crowds, the politics of public space and his beloved Spain, while interviewing icons from Skepta to Wiley to Barcelona’s socialist mayor. He’s also the co-host of the Cursed Objects podcast, where he and Dr Kasia Tee try to make sense of this mad world through tat such as Jamie Oliver’s mix CD.In September, Dan broke the internet by sharing the transcript of his 2007 interview with Burial on his Substack. With that excitement, plus the paperback publication of his book Multitudes: How Crowds Made the Modern World, we realised it was time to get Dan pon pod.Join us in the smoking area as we discuss: releasing the Burial tapes; Dizzee and Wiley’s on-stage reunion; the power of crowds and why the state is so scared of them; the future of Notting Hill Carnival; what Dan makes of DJ AG’s livestream empire; the return of sodcasting; Van Gogh bucket hats and other cursed objects; and his favourite films. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Lots to cover today, but first off: we’re going live again!We’ll be bringing No Tags live to the ICA in London – yep, that one – on the evening of 11th December. If you are based enough to subscribe to our paid tier, then you now have early access to discounted tickets via the link in this email’s header (and in the paywalled section at the bottom of the email). These early access tickets will be available for seven days before the show goes on general sale on 8th October.If you don’t subscribe to our paid tier but are considering making the leap, then you’re in luck: the discount will also be available to new subscribers who sign up in the next seven days – once you subscribe, you’ll receive an email with the link.More details for both the show and the book are imminent, but for the former: there will be guests! There will be DJs! There will be books on sale! And there may be merch!OK, on to this week’s show. With the second leg of the Oasis reunion cashgrab safely behind us, it felt like the right time to tackle something we’ve noticed building all year long – a massive surge of flag-waving, football shirts and indie tribalism across pop and political culture.Is the “Britcore” trend anything more than warmed-over nostalgia for the ‘90s? When and where is it safe to wave an England flag? How did the Ireland flag become a rallying point for right-on indie tribes and politicised youth? Why do we show support for Palestine through football shirts?And a bonus Blobby mention, as is customary. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

We all know what happened to the sorcerer’s apprentice, right?Mickey Mouse got hold of a spell book before he was smart enough to use it, conjured a broom that just wouldn’t quit, and nearly got sucked into a whirlpool. Yet, tragically, no one can remember what the moral of this story was supposed to be!This week we batten down the hatches in preparation for the #slopwave – at least, that was the plan a couple of months ago when we first started worrying about the volume of mass-produced AI gibberish coming down the pipes. Now it kinda feels too late? Like microplastics in the brain, we’re already compromised.Still, we start by tackling the current wave of AI slop infiltrating country music, the lo-fi beat scene, City Pop and faux-vintage soul before turning to deeper conundrums about AI-generated art. Could an AI music app like Suno ever produce a hit? Is Suno really so much worse than using a loop library like Splice? And will AI ever create anything as meaningful as Mr Blobby? These questions and more on a slopulent edition of No Tags.We’re not pretending to be experts here – just listen to that new No Tags theme song for proof! – so we’d love to hear from people who either work in AI or operate in a field that’s started to feel the slop. If that’s you, drop us an email or a comment. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Who’s on your Mount Rushmore of pop?That’s the question of the week. After welcoming Jeff Weiss back to London for a live show about his tremendous novel-slash-memoir, Waiting For Britney Spears, we got to thinking about our own pop album percies. 2007’s Blackout is certainly up there – ‘a lost weekend of one-more-gram indulgence’ that ‘embodied the hedonistic sleaze of the late Bush years,’ as Jeff sums it up in the book.Waiting For Britney… is a celebrity biography like no other – a gonzo account of Jeff’s time as a rookie in the world of Hollywood gossip rags, back when celebrities still had mystique and Brit still had a full head of hair. There is scandal and there are laughs, but never at the expense of its stricken central character. The words ‘leave Britney alone!’ never sounded more reasonable.At the end of June, Jeff blessed us with his presence at Young Space in East London, where we talked to him about paparazzi, poptimism, fedoras, K-Fed, and the chaotic energy of LA in the early 2000s, the era that feminism forgot. Plus, a working theory: why Britney, Kanye and Trump are the quintessential 21st century Americans. If you like what we’re doing on No Tags, please forward this email to someone else who’d like it, subscribe on your podcast app of choice – or better yet, leave us a nice review. And if you’re really into what we’re doing, please consider subscribing to our paid tier for £5 per month. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

We talk about festivals a lot on No Tags, and usually the negative stuff: monopolisation, bad owners, overpriced cheesy chips. But good can still prevail, and are hopes are pinned on Field Maneuvers: an LED beacon of hope in the darkness, and an event that puts the comfort and enjoyment of ravers first. Perish the thought!In this episode, FM organisers Henry, Ele and Leon explain how they’ve just about stayed afloat for 12 years – or is it 13? They can’t quite remember. We talk about building a rave utopia from scratch, the influence of free party culture on FM, adapting to festival life as new parents, and the momentum behind the current boycott of KKR-owned festivals. There’s also a story about duck poo.Before that, Chal and Tom talk about the lack of muckracking journalists in the music industry, following on from the latest First Floor newsletter, and get into a stack of listener emails on side-of-stage access, babushka hoods, Afrohouse and Keinemusik. We’ve had some golden feedback emails lately – please keep them coming!If you’re a fan of No Tags and want to show us some love, please do drop us a like and follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Substack. And if you really like what we’re doing, please do consider subscribing to our paid tier, which costs £5 per month. Planning, recording, editing and transcribing these regular podcasts is a pleasure but it’s also a lot of work, and your support truly does make a difference. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Rave royalty on No Tags this week as we’re joined by Paul Woolford.We’re both drawn to artists who are driven by a compulsion to put art into the world at all costs – and 25 years into his career, Woolford (AKA Special Request) seems to be more driven than ever. In the last six years he’s released six albums and countless singles and remixes, and he still tours relentlessly – from seasons in Ibiza to grubby late-nighters at the White Hotel.He’s also constantly collaborating – who else can you name who’s worked with Novelist, Diplo, Alison Goldfrapp and MK? And that’s how we introduced him on stage at the British Library earlier this year, where he joined us for a live conversation as part of AVA London.Housekeeping! If you’re into No Tags, you can show your support by liking our posts on Substack. Or why not forward this email to a friend who’d enjoy it? You can also leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or chuck us a like on Spotify. Or if you’re feeling particularly generous (or just flash – we’ll take either), consider subscribing to our paid tier, which costs less than a pint per month and gives us the financial and spiritual fuel to keep planning, recording, editing and transcribing these regular podcasts. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe