Music

Bad Brains in London, 1987.

Black Punk Means Liberation Black Punk Means Liberation

The present and future of Black punk culture.

Mar 13, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Marc Bayard

The Era of Nicki Minaj

The Era of Nicki Minaj The Era of Nicki Minaj

How the queen of rap revolutionized American music.

Feb 21, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Bijan Stephen

Annie Lennox performing at the 2024 Grammy Awards.

And the Winner Is... Annie Lennox and Artists for Cease-Fire And the Winner Is... Annie Lennox and Artists for Cease-Fire

The singer’s call for an end to the killing in Gaza politicized the Grammys, which is fantastic.

Feb 6, 2024 / John Nichols

Singer Taylor Swift attends the 66th Grammy Awards on February 4, 2024, in Los Angeles.

Taylor Swift May Yet Save Joe Biden Taylor Swift May Yet Save Joe Biden

Attacks on the popular singer help highlight the sheer weirdness of Trump’s GOP.

Feb 5, 2024 / 2021 Year in Review / Jeet Heer

Taylor Swift football game

Taylor Swift, Enemy of the People Taylor Swift, Enemy of the People

The MAGA movement—including the big man himself—has gone on the offensive against the megastar pop singer.

Feb 1, 2024 / Chris Lehmann

A ChamberQUEER performance at Branded Saloon in Brooklyn.

The Future of Classical Music Is Queer The Future of Classical Music Is Queer

There’s a new vitality in the classical music scene—and it would simply not exist without the creativity and support of queer people.

Jan 29, 2024 / Max Keller

The Brilliant Discontents of Lou Reed

The Brilliant Discontents of Lou Reed The Brilliant Discontents of Lou Reed

A new biography examines the enigma of the musician.

Jan 23, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Sasha Frere-Jones

James Stewart, as George Bailey, points at Lionel Barrymore in a scene from “It's a Wonderful Life.”

Whose “It’s a Wonderful Life” Is It Anyway? Whose “It’s a Wonderful Life” Is It Anyway?

How everybody’s favorite Christmas movie about the perils of monopoly capitalism became a victim of monopoly capitalism.

Dec 25, 2023 / Ray Nowosielski and David Cassidy

A Measure of Justice at Last for Victor Jara

A Measure of Justice at Last for Victor Jara A Measure of Justice at Last for Victor Jara

World / December 21, 2023 A Measure of Justice at Last for Victor Jara Fifty years after the famed Chilean folksinger was murdered by Pinochet’s military, his alleged execution…

Dec 21, 2023 / Peter Kornbluh

A party at Danceteria in New York City, 1990.

Sasha Frere-Jones, a Life Remixed Sasha Frere-Jones, a Life Remixed

Books & the Arts / December 19, 2023 Sasha Frere-Jones, a Life Remixed His beguiling memoir Earlier moves through the struggles and the sounds that changed his relationship…

Dec 19, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Stephen Piccarella

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