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Spencer KornhaberThe Atlantic |
Despite his supposed cancellation, the Hitler-praising rapper has his first No. 1 single since 2011. The funny thing about the concept of cancel...
The pop star has turned her relationship drama into music that’s beautiful—and a little poisonous. Divorce is the hot cultural topic of the year,...
Ryan Gosling’s performance of “I'm Just Ken” was the most lovable Oscars music moment in years. Must songs written for movies be serious? Each...
The producer who helped build Taylor Swift’s empire of nostalgia is still finding new ways to explore the past. The song that has most influenced...
Hurray for the Riff Raff sings of wandering the country, and discovering a “war on the people.” The open road is the great American literary...
Behold the fabulous desperation of our celebrities. The latest avalanche of content from Jennifer Lopez has me thinking about Richard Wagner, the...
In performing an instant-classic awards-show set, she proved her timelessness—and her influence on a new generation of artists. To call a person as...
Even a pop star can’t please everyone. The comeback single for the prankish rapper Lil Nas X has flopped in the best way possible: by debuting, on...
Green Day is still attracting controversy, and listeners, with its blend of politics and punk. Were anyone in denial that this would be an election...
Pitchfork challenged a generation of music listeners. Is there still a place for it? The word indie has lost a lot of its credibility over the years....
She’s something different to everyone. Over the decades, as it evolved from a slur into a term of tribal pride, the word queer was converted by...
It was dazzling. Madonna stood in a silvery bodysuit on an arena stage, having just landed back on Earth after flying around in a suspended box while...
A year of great music offers a reminder that more really can be more: more melodies, more breakthroughs, more art. Narrowing the options down to a...
On Pink Friday 2, the rapper faces hip-hop’s big conundrum. When the hip-hop legend André 3000 confused the world by releasing an album of...
His campaign is promising a more repressive and dangerous America. After decades of gains in public acceptance, the LGBTQ community is confronting a...
The Renaissance concert movie is joyful but jumbled—and less about the star than about her audience. Confession: The Beyoncé concert I attended...
The 29-year-old singer-songwriter Amaarae made the most acclaimed album of the year. But she’s not exactly a star—yet. This year, the 29-year-old...
The legendary Outkast emcee isn’t rapping anymore. That doesn’t mean he’s not using his voice. In 2017, I spoke with a music historian to...
One of Gen Z’s most exciting new stars harnesses the sound of intelligent artificiality. One of the great promises of artificial intelligence is...
Her album 1989 charmingly nailed a shared experience of dating as a marketplace. Taylor Swift’s 1989 reminds me of 2014, the year of its release,...
With her new memoir, the pop star tries to close a long and dark chapter of her life. Will we finally let her? One of the most disturbing parts of...
As a lawsuit against Lizzo shows, a generation of stars is being held to new standards. Before she decided to sue Lizzo for sexual harassment,...
Brian Jordan Alvarez’s ode to sitting makes him the latest comedian to wring ineffable joy out of a very viral, very silly song. We’ve just lived...
The indie-rock band the National is at the height of its influence, and still grappling with its concerns about declining. One of the many awful...
The cultural critic dream hampton on the time she used her influence to ease tensions between different factions of ’90s hip-hop One of the...
The singer’s sophomore album makes a strong case for rock’s rebirth as musical theater. Have you ever loved a song without knowing what it means?...
The second LP by Smash Mouth, whose singer Steve Harwell recently died, contained accessible yet weird songs that invited childhood obsession. Smash...