Music

Britney Spears posters

#FreeBritney Is Damn Right #FreeBritney Is Damn Right

The law has failed Britney Spears and likely many others—young, old, often female. Now it’s time to change it.

Jun 25, 2021 / Elie Mystal

Aretha Fanklin

The Unwritten History of Black Performance The Unwritten History of Black Performance

Poet and essayist Hanif Abdurraqib’s new book undertakes an ambitious task: contextualizing the scope and scale of a people’s cultural expression.

Jun 10, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Kelton Ellis

Sun Ra

The Story of Sun Ra’s Egyptian Adventure The Story of Sun Ra’s Egyptian Adventure

How a 1971 trip changed the course of the free jazz icon’s career.

Jun 2, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Marcus J. Moore

Richard Wagner.

Richard Wagner’s Pandemonium Richard Wagner’s Pandemonium

The contested life and afterlife of the composer.

May 18, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Mina Tavakoli

Michelle Zauner

The Art of the Memoir With Japanese Breakfast The Art of the Memoir With Japanese Breakfast

A conversation with indie pop artist Michelle Zauner on cooking, grieving, and the role politics plays in music.

Apr 28, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Rosemarie Ho

The rap duo Armand Hammer.

Armand Hammer’s Guide Through History’s Underbelly Armand Hammer’s Guide Through History’s Underbelly

The New York rap duo’s searing songs shed light on outrages around the globe.

Apr 21, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Stephen Kearse

Arlo Parks

Songs of Hope and Isolation Songs of Hope and Isolation

Arlo Parks’s consoling pop music is tailor-made for our fraught and lonely moment. 

Apr 7, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Julyssa Lopez

Pharoah Sanders’s Grand Return

Pharoah Sanders’s Grand Return Pharoah Sanders’s Grand Return

A new collaboration with electronic producer Floating Points has led to a modern-day masterpiece for the jazz master.

Mar 30, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Marcus J. Moore

Daphne Brooks

How Black Women Musicians Defined What We Call Culture How Black Women Musicians Defined What We Call Culture

A conversation with Daphne Brooks about her new book Liner Notes for the Revolution, a “counterhistory of popular music criticism.”

Mar 15, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Nawal Arjini

Glenn Gould

In the Vicinity of Genius In the Vicinity of Genius

How a friendship with Glenn Gould created an unlikely cultural critic.

Mar 12, 2021 / Jeet Heer

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