Michael Prodger recounts the tale of Hergé’s drawing for the cover of the Tintin instalment: The Blue Lotus

Music has lost its unpredictability, its thrilling fear while sport’s passion shines, says Norman Lebrecht

Country music has a frontline place in the culture wars, says Sarah Ditum

People are terrified of modernity’s great gift: the sudden freedom to make appalling noise, says Robert Thicknesse

Rinder’s documentary is the kind of television at which the BBC excels, says Adam Lebor

Chloé Zhao is the first Asian woman likely to be nominated in the Best Director category for Nomadland, says Christopher Silvester

The Comeback is a gutsy British response to a period of glum hardship

Even the venerable and conservative Louvre is exploring various fundraising novelties, says Michael Prodger

Opera unswervingly believes in the potential for a divine spark in humans, says Robert Thicknesse

London’s orchestral rat-race will have fewer runners when musical life returns, says Norman Lebrecht