You Can’t Fight Poverty With a Concert You Can’t Fight Poverty With a Concert
Global Citizen’s celebrity-packed festival aims to mobilize millennials against poverty. That’s pointless if it strips politics from the fight.
Sep 24, 2015 / Benjamin Cohen and Elliot Ross
Welcome Back Welcome Back
Altercation catches up on summer events and releases.
Sep 22, 2015 / Eric Alterman
Who Loves You? Who Loves You?
America’s ongoing fascination with Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra.
Sep 10, 2015 / Books & the Arts / David Hajdu
Top Ten Back-to-School Songs Top Ten Back-to-School Songs
An incomplete list of some of the best songs ever written about school.
Sep 8, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Peter Rothberg
White Hands and Black Skulls: From the Panthers to ‘Straight Outta Compton’ White Hands and Black Skulls: From the Panthers to ‘Straight Outta Compton’
Two new films prove the urgency, and inadequacy, of outrage.
Aug 27, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
Next to Nothing: The Economics and Aesthetics of Streaming Music Next to Nothing: The Economics and Aesthetics of Streaming Music
Apps like Spotify and Apple Music haven’t just changed the way we purchase music—they've changed the way we listen.
Aug 24, 2015 / David Hajdu
August 16, 1977: Elvis Presley Dies August 16, 1977: Elvis Presley Dies
The myth of the King “allows us to cling to the notion that art is pure and society is corrupt and corrupting.”
Aug 16, 2015 / Richard Kreitner
U2 and the Art of Digital Compromise U2 and the Art of Digital Compromise
How social media brought its own set of troubles to U2’s latest tour.
Aug 7, 2015 / David Hajdu
Elements of Style Elements of Style
The legendary Balanchine dancer Violette Verdy embodies the alchemy that turns music into meaning.
Jul 30, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Marina Harss
The Fierce Urgency of Nina Simone Now The Fierce Urgency of Nina Simone Now
Perhaps her real audience was not her contemporaries in the civil rights generation, but their grandchildren.
Jul 2, 2015 / Syreeta McFadden