This week we kick off the first ever No Tags film season! Based on an original idea by DJ and NTS host Finn, Big Beat Cinema is our attempt to identify and decode a much-loved and entirely made-up micro-genre.We begin by outlining the core canon and basic tropes of BBC, paying particular attention to the ultra-stylish heist movies of the late ‘90s and early ‘00s – think Ocean’s Eleven, Mark Wahlberg’s The Italian Job, Snatch and even The Matrix.We also try to explain why big beat – the sample-flipping, chart-dominating, Hawaiian shirt-wearing sound of the millennium – became so integral to these movies’ portrayal of cool guys pulling off implausible heists.From zany editing to Junkie XL, from Paul Oakenfold to the politics of cool, and from Skint Records to the correct shade of denim, this first episode lays out the core principles of BBC.Let us know what you think in the comments – including on our Letterboxd list, where you can check out the full selection of BBC contenders, from Shallow Grave to Kneecap. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe
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1:26:40
36: God did not intend his creation to go raving in IKEA
Heaving ourselves into 2025 like a rebuilt BILLY with half its dowels missing, No Tags returns to its usual schedule.We kick off with a journey to the North Circular, where London’s biggest club is under investigation following two drug-related deaths and an alleged stabbing. Following the recent revelations about Drumsheds in Jim Waterson’s excellent London Centric newsletter, Tom and Chal ask: why is it so hard to have a realistic conversation about safety in clubs?Next we indulge in one of our favourite anorak pastimes – arguing about arbitrary historical groupings of underground records! We contend that 2013 was the best year for album releases so far this century, with DJ Rashad, Oneohtrix Point Never, Sky Ferreira, Kanye West and Dean Blunt among the strong portfolio of evidence.Finally, an announcement! ‘Tis the season for hibernating in front of the TV and racking up those numbers on Letterboxd, and in that spirit we are proud to present – adapted from an original opinion by DJ and friend-of-the-show Finn McCorry – the first ever No Tags film season! Introducing: Big Beat Cinema. Look out for that next week.In the meantime, if you enjoyed this episode of No Tags, please do rate, review and subscribe on your podcast app of choice, as it does really help. We’d also ask you to consider subscribing to our paid tier, which costs £5 a month and helps us continue planning, recording, editing and transcribing these regular podcasts – or in the case of next week’s episode, will go towards renting some seriously ropey turn-of-the-noughties films. Swordfish, anyone? Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe
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1:01:19
35: The best (and worst?) music of 2024
December comes but once a year, and sneaking in at the very last point we could probably get away with… it’s No Tags’ 2024 round-up!Joined by regular guest Henry Bruce-Jones in what’s becoming a bit of a list-making tradition, we run down our favourite music of the year and tackle some of the year’s big consensus releases – good and bad.Minimal intro required, really, but below is a timestamped run-down of everything discussed – so if Rap Corner’s not your vibe or you simply can’t hear the B-word one more time, we’ve made it easy to skip ahead.This episode also closes the first full year of No Tags! Thanks to all of you for tuning in, especially our paid tier, those of you who came to our recent live show, and those of you who bought our book. The first edition is already sold out (!) but we’ll be printing a second edition in January 2025, and pre-orders for that are up now. It’s been a pleasure, see you in January.Running order:2024 consensus picks (04:15)Dance music corner (26:30)Something is vibing in the state of Denmark (56:54)Underrated Pop (01:02:39)Rap Corner (01:15:03)One instrument in a really big room (01:40:15)Marg.mp3 faves AKA What is this new vocal style? (01:43:32)Assorted percies (1:48:52) Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe
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2:16:31
34: Zombie Nation is the artist, not the song
What do The Simpsons, Dawn of the Dead and the Facebook page for Tom and Chal’s former employer have in common? They’re all overrun by zombies.Prompted by the publication of No Tags’ first physical book, in this episode we return to our long-held worry about disappearing archives. As older platforms fade away, can we be bothered to start again with the latest social media fads? Will gated micro-communities be the saviour of underground scenes, or just a cul-de-sac? And what the hell happened to The Simpsons?We take a detour into the history of the zombie in folklore and popular culture for answers, before a speed run through films, tunes and extracurricular updates, from Predator and Wild Things to Scooter, Pa Salieu and Blumitsu live.You can pre-order No Tags: Conversations on underground music culture now. Come down to the free launch party at in Dalston on 3rd December with Kode9, Flo Dill and music from Jennifer Walton! Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe
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55:18
33: The No Tags book is here!
We trailed ‘big things coming’ on our last episode, and would you look at that – the big thing has come. Or is available for pre-order, at least.That’s right, it’s our first ever book. Titled No Tags: Conversations on underground music culture and designed by All Purpose Studio, this hefty tome (350+ pages) compiles every interview to date on No Tags, edited transcripts of the best of Chal and Tom’s non-guest conversations, and specially commissioned essays from four of our favourite writers and thinkers: Eris Drew, Chris Zaldua, Henry Bruce-Jones and Ray Philp. The book is available to pre-order now. We’ll also be launching the book with our first live show in London on 3rd December, taking over Ridley Road Market Bar. On the night we’ve got Kode9 giving his new talk on Sonic Warfare for the first time in the UK, celebrating a new release of his seismic 2009 book about acoustic force and the ecology of fear.We’ll also be recording a live episode of No Tags with everyone’s favourite breakfast host Flo Dill, morning doyenne of NTS Radio. Plus we’ll have music from Jennifer Walton – not only one of our favourite artists, but the wizard behind the No Tags theme tune. Entry is free, simply hit ‘Interested’ on the event page.There is also a podcast this week. We introduce the book before getting into some of our favourite recent releases (The Cure, mediopicky, Dubbel Dutch and Toma Kami) and dissecting the long-awaited debut album by Two Shell. There's also some film chat (Lords of Dogtown, Kneecap, The Florida Project) and a debate over the key historical entries in the Florida Film canon. We are confident that No Tags is the only podcast where Toma Kami and Wild Things get discussed in the same breath – and if that doesn’t count for something in 2024, what does? Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe
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