Ludovic Hunter-Tilney looks at 'It's the Hard Knock Life' from Broadway's musical Annie and its influences on Katy Perry's 'Roar' and Jay-Z's 'Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)'. Credits:Columbia, Roc-A-Fella, Columbia  

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Ludovic Hunter-Tilney reveals the Old Testament legacy in popular music: from Robbie Williams' 'Kiss me' to Perry Como's 'Song of Songs' and Kate Bush's 'The Song of Solomon'. Credits:Chrysalis, Noble And Brite, RCA Victor  

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Ludovic Hunter-Tilney uncovers the back story of Vanilla Ice’s hit Ice Ice Baby. Credits:Ultra, EMI  

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David Cheal tells the tale of the Burt Bacharach penned classic 'I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself', from the 1964 soul of Dusty Springfield to its 2001 raw-rock treatment by The White Stripes. Credits: Philips, Stiff, Elephant  

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David Cheal traces the journey of ‘Guantanamera’, from a 19th-century Cuban national hero to a 21st-century recycling campaign, via Celia Cruz and the peace movement of the 1960s. Credits: RCA Victor, Bravo Hit, Universal Music AB, Columbia  

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David Cheal tells the story of Randy Newman’s ‘Baltimore’, through covers by Nina Simone, The Tamlins and Billy Mackenzie. Credits: CTI, Warner Bros., EMI  

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The anarchist and anthropologist David Graeber discusses both the stupidity and secret joys of bureaucracy with the FT's Martin Sandbu and Lucy Kellaway  

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The Life of a Song: David Cheal follows the fortunes of Neil Diamond’s ‘I’m a Believer’, from The Monkees to Robert Wyatt to the movie 'Shrek'. Credits: Colgems, Virgin, Interscope, Sony Music  

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From recordings by Memphis Minnie and Led Zeppelin to sampling by Dr Dre, Eminem and Massive Attack, David Cheal traces the various incarnations of ‘When the Levee Breaks’. Credits: Columbia, Atlantic, The Chronic Interscope  

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In the first of a new series, David Cheal looks at the song covered by artists from Brenda Lee to Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson to the Pet Shop Boys Credits: Sony Music Entertainment, EMI, Sony BMG  

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Greek culture taught the rest of us how to live ‑ and it’s not time to write off that particular debt yet, says Peter Aspden  

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As two recent biopics come under fire from those depicted, the FT’s arts editor ponders what compels movie-makers to embellish ‘true stories’  

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The Belgian artist has been found guilty of plagiarism. But intellectual property law is a poor fit with contemporary art's mash-ups, multiples and reworkings, says the FT's arts editor  

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Peter Aspden visits the basement treasure-house where recordings of Florence Nightingale, 1940s electronica and other rarities are stored alongside some equally exotic audio technology  

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Politicians love to keep things simple, at least in their public pronouncements. Artists, by contrast, embrace complication, nuance and imagination – so who better to tackle slippery questions of national identity as the UK prepares for a general election?  

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Between 1962 and 1972, the magazine set new standards for its industry – and in doing so created the perfect collectible, says Peter Aspden  

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'Ambition', by the award-winning author Helen Simpson, is read by Christopher Villiers.  

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The London venue’s exhibition of Presley memorabilia is curious mix of the banal and the resplendent – and none the worse for that, says the FT’s arts writer  

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In lending one of its Parthenon sculptures to Russia, the British Museum has provoked Greece and exposed the hollowness of so-called ‘cultural diplomacy’  

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Here today, washed-up tomorrow: that’s supposed to be the career trajectory for musicians in the pop age. But, as two recent projects show, great artists will always find ways to keep their signature work fresh and relevant  

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By focusing on the personal rather than the political, Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski created a quietly subversive masterpiece, Peter Aspden says  

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20 years after the launch of the National Lottery, Jan Dalley celebrates how it has become the most successful form of cultural crowd-funding ever  

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How a legal dispute over the use of a John Lennon song in a sneaker advert paved the way for today’s cultural mash-ups – and put paid to the notion of artists “selling out”  

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As pop star Swift, 24, takes a stand against Spotify and dancer Guillem, 49, announces her retirement, Peter Aspden reflects on two very different divas  

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Galleries display only a fraction of the works in their collections. Art historian Bendor Grosvenor says it’s time they faced down their conservation departments and liberated their hidden masterpieces  

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Art may be essentially egalitarian as it illuminates the human condition – but that hasn't stopped members of the Porsche Travel Club getting special access to the Sistine Chapel. Should we worry if the wealthy corner the finest cultural experiences?  

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The FT’s arts writer enjoys the troupe’s dance extravaganza at the Barbican – and explains why the fusion of hip-hop and martial arts might just conquer the world  

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As London's National Gallery prepares to open a blockbuster exhibition of the artist's late works, art historian Bendor Grosvenor looks at the chaotic world of Rembrandt connoisseurship.  

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The received wisdom is that contemporary art is just what a regenerating city needs, a stimulant for minds and economies alike. But are the wilfully puzzling tropes of the avant-garde really what the public wants?  

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The singer-songwriter is about to turn 80 – a rite of passage not only for him but also for rock music. Peter Aspden celebrates a musician with a rare talent for staying ahead of the times  

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The singer’s New York sculpture show confirms that contemporary art has replaced music as the go-to means of expression for young people with attitude, says the FT’s arts writer  

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With their ever-growing ability to crunch data and analyse patterns, computers are valuable tools for art research – but that doesn’t mean art historians will soon be a thing of the past, argues Bendor Grosvenor  

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On holiday in Greece, the FT’s arts writer travels to some out-of-the-way ancient sites and wonders whether they still hold lessons for 21st-century visitors – or are just another aspect of vacation kitsch  

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Courtauld Institute student and arts writer Aindrea Emelife reflects on the current neglect of Surrealism in the art world – and considers what significance the movement might still hold for today’s young rebels  

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The editor of arthistorynews.com welcomes the decision of the National Gallery in London to let visitors photograph works – and hits back at critics who say it will make people look at art in the ‘wrong’ way  

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Film screenings are becoming ever more inventive, with fine dining, unusual venues and even hot tubs thrown in to lure audiences. But for Antonia Quirke, nothing can match the downbeat charm of a black-box cinema on a weekday afternoon  

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Dolly Parton, Judi Dench, Louise Bourgeois. . . in recent years, women in all branches of the arts have enjoyed major career successes in their 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond. But what’s behind this phenomenon? The FT’s arts editor has some suggestions.  

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The FT’s arts writer meets one of street art’s biggest names and reflects on what is lost when underground culture becomes part of the commercial mainstream  

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Peter Aspden visits the V&A’s ‘Disobedient Objects’ exhibition and reflects on the art of protest in the age of rapid digital dissemination.  

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As the Imperial War Museum unveils a £40 million refurbishment, Ludovic Hunter-Tilney reflects on the ubiquity of violence in popular culture.  

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As Arts Council England announces its latest round of funding, FT arts editor Jan Dalley reflects on what the language of “investment” means for the art of our time.  

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When David Cameron presented Li Keqiang with a ‘Downton Abbey’ shooting script recently, the gesture was fraught with subtext. But what should a post-imperial premier give to his rising-power counterpart? Peter Aspden has some suggestions. . .  

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The UK’s culture secretary is a ‘Star Trek’ fan who wants the arts to be ‘accessible to everyone’ - while the filmmakers of the defiantly highbrow ‘Life May Be’ remind us that there are merits in other ambitions.  

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As Sotheby’s prepares for a selling exhibition of the street artist’s work the FT’s arts writer reflects on shock culture – and the art market’s appetite for it.  

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A developing theme in new music sees artists navigating the fine line between criticism and complicity - and revelling in the contradictions.  

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Though shortlisted for the prestigious photography award, Nigeria’s Abraham Oghobase has been refused a visa by the UK government. That’s a sorry state of affairs for a country that professes to be in the vanguard of cultural openness, says the FT’s arts writer. This week’s column is read by Alexander Gilmour.  

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In a despatch from Hong Kong, the FT’s arts writer reflects on the city’s ‘Tate bricks’ moment, and what it tells us about the fast-changing status of contemporary art in China  

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As St Paul’s Cathedral prepares to unveil a Bill Viola installation, the FT’s arts writer considers the potentially enriching relationship between sacred settings and contemporary art  

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A brush with institutional hauteur in Nice makes the FT’s arts writer long for the determinedly inclusive museums and galleries of the UK  

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In the 1980s and 1990s cinema audiences were in thrall to powerful women in erotic thrillers such as Body Heat and Basic Instinct. But whatever became of the genre and is it ripe for a comeback?  

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