Sasha Frere-Jones, a Life Remixed Sasha Frere-Jones, a Life Remixed
Sasha Frere-Jones is an institution of music criticism in an era when music critics are no longer institutions. Roughly over the course of the 1990s, Frere-Jones made a transformat…
Dec 19, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Stephen Piccarella
Joan Baez Looks Back Joan Baez Looks Back
I Am a Noise, a career-spanning documentary, makes it clear that the folk singer was one of the most important political musicians of her generation.
Dec 14, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Sarah M. Seltzer
Christina Sharpe and the Art of Everyday Black Life Christina Sharpe and the Art of Everyday Black Life
In Ordinary Notes, Sharpe considers Black culture “in all of its shade and depth and glow.”
Dec 13, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Omari Weekes
The “Digital Blackface” Artist Competing for a Grammy The “Digital Blackface” Artist Competing for a Grammy
Ghostwriter’s “heart on my sleeve” became a viral hit thanks to vocals by Drake and The Weeknd. But neither artist contributed to the song.
Nov 9, 2023 / Faith Branch
Louis Armstrong Gets the Last Word on Louis Armstrong Louis Armstrong Gets the Last Word on Louis Armstrong
For decades, Americans have argued over the icon’s legacy. But his archives show that he had his own plans.
Oct 30, 2023 / Feature / Ethan Iverson
Letters From the October 16/23, 2023, Issue Letters From the October 16/23, 2023, Issue
Island records… The West Wing… Corrections… Class grievances (web only)…
Sep 30, 2023 / Our Readers
Jann Wenner’s Blinkered Rock ’n’ Roll Revolution Jann Wenner’s Blinkered Rock ’n’ Roll Revolution
He built an empire on the foundations laid by Black musicians—but fails entirely to recognize that.
Sep 22, 2023 / Joan Walsh
Top 10 Labor Day Songs Top 10 Labor Day Songs
In honor of Labor Day, here’s a stab at the impossible task of naming the best songs ever written about working people.
Sep 4, 2023 / Peter Rothberg
If the Left Doesn’t Channel Populist Resentment, We Know Who Will If the Left Doesn’t Channel Populist Resentment, We Know Who Will
What tone-deaf liberals can’t hear in Rich Men North of Richmond.
Aug 24, 2023 / Erica Etelson
The New Bard of the Right The New Bard of the Right
When a video of his song “Rich Men North of Richmond” went viral, Oliver Anthony claimed he was politically “dead center.” His lyrics say otherwise.
Aug 18, 2023 / Chris Lehmann for The Nation