The Bulletin: Arts & Culture News | 14 Nov

SLINT TO REFORM?
Music blogs and the post-rock Twitterati are all abuzz today with the rumour that seminal, nay godlike math-rock noiseniks Slint are to reform in 2013. Reunited to curate All Tomorrow's Parties in 2005, the band subsequently toured, but no new material was forthcoming. Speaking to AU Magazine, Slint's David Pajo suggested that a new album, or perhaps another tour, might well be in the works: "We’ve got some surprises for next year that fans will be excited about." In celebration, here is one of Slint's finest outings, Good Morning Captain, from Spiderland.

EDINBURGH'S HOGMANAY LINEUP ANNOUNCED
Ah, Edinburgh's world-famous Hogmanay... an annual festival of music, fireworks, overcrowding and dubious romantic misadventure. Amid the annual residents' cries of "It's not as good as it used to be!" and "Bloody tourists!" there exists a rip-roaring bill of festive fun, and the programme for 2012's celebration has just been announced. Simple Minds are due to headline, proving that the Hogmanay programme has its sights firmly set on cutting edge music from the early 80s. To be fair, the bill also includes Reverend and the Makers, Bwani Junction and Admiral Fallow, so there is definitely a little something for everyone. There's also the Wheel of Fortune-esque prospect of REW1ND3R, which will transform all of Princes Street into an open-air nightclub, complete with lights, visuals and DJs. Look out for our preview on more Hogmanay events taking place across Scotland in the December issue of The Skinny.

SONICA 2012 CONTINUES
Sonica, a brand new festival of 'sonic art for the visually minded' curated by CRYPTIC, continues to wow and astonish across a multitude of arts venues in Glasgow. Just a few of the highlights this week include a groundbreaking 3D retelling of the Bluebeard story at Tramway, produced by the 33 1/3 Collective; an audiovisual installation featuring work by electronic artists Dam Mantle, Tut Vu Vu, Errors, Konx-Om-Pax and Silk Cut called Enlightened Sound; and Aidan Moffat and FOUND's bewildering and fascinating #UNRAVEL, an installation in which sonic sculpture, choose-your-own-adventure fiction and memory blend together. For details of the full programme, visit the Sonica website, and check out our preview and reviews! Here's the preview for Bluebeard:

BlueBeard v3 trailer 33one3rd from Cryptic on Vimeo.

WU LYF VERSUS TOYOTA
Heavy Pop merchants WU LYF were apparently very surprised to see their music used in a Toyota car commercial, given that they had never agreed to license it to the company, The Guardian reported today. It remains to be seen whether the band will sue over the matter, and the advert has not yet been made public. It is unclear whether Toyota have used the song without permission, or whether it has been licensed under the band's publishing deal with Universal Music, but if it does prove to be a case of illegal usage, we hope the band tear the corporation a great big new one. 

MORGAN SPURLOCK'S NEW DIRECTION
Super Size Me director Morgan Spurlock's career took a turn for the ridiculous today, as he announced his new project – a 3D documentary about asinine, meritless junior pop-pap shills One Direction. Seemingly unconcerned by the fact that this project will forever rob him of any shred of credibility in the eyes of the sane, thinking, rational section of the world's cinema-goers, Spurlock neglected to describe the exact size and tonnage of the truck of money the film's backers no doubt drove up to his house when asking him to helm the project. Rumours that the documentary will include scenes of Spurlock force-feeding Harry Styles with bacon double cheeseburgers in fatal quantities are unlikely to be correct. You can read Spurlock's creepy official statement about the project over at The Independent.

CREATIVE SCOTLAND – THE CONTROVERSY CONTINUES
The turmoil over the role and operation of Creative Scotland continues apace. Following the publication of an open letter to the organisation, signed by over 100 Scottish artists including Scottish Makar Liz Lochhead, crime writer Ian Rankin, actor Tam Dean Burn and a whole host of other high-profile names, a series of very public discussions have been taking place about the organisation's perceived failings. Allegations that someone from within Creative Scotland had described the signees as "a Glasgow cabal who all babysit for each other" were put to the funding body via their Facebook page by writer and critic Neil Cooper, who also demanded answers on some other sore points, such as the absence of female voices on the Creative Scotland awards panel, and a perceived lack of transparency in the allocation of public funds.

Creative Scotland's responses can be read in full on their Facebook page, but perhaps the most significant riposte from the organisation was the official disavowal of the alleged "cabal" commenter: "...if anyone made these remarks, they are unacceptable and they certainly do not reflect the views of all of us at Creative Scotland who are very keen to re-establish positive, constructive and collaborative relationships with the arts and culture sector as soon as possible." It seems the detente between Scotland's artistic community and the funding body is thawing slightly, but the debate will no doubt continue to rage on. The Skinny News Badger will keep you informed!

That's all for today – we will be back tomorrow with more breaking news!