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Spencer Kornhaber

Spencer Kornhaber

The Atlantic

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The Tortured-Metaphors Department

Taylor Swift’s new album excavates her private life more deeply than ever—but somehow, it’s a story we’ve heard before. This album is okay. I...

19.04.2024 7

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

So You Accidentally Started a Rap Beef

J. Cole dared to insult Kendrick Lamar—and, more surprisingly, he immediately apologized for it. In what is currently the most popular song in the...

10.04.2024 9

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

Beyoncé’s All-American Futurism

The singer’s new album is an exploration of country—not just the musical genre, but the place we all share. Like many of us, Beyoncé is thinking...

02.04.2024 10

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

Beyoncé Stands Her Ground

Beyoncé’s confrontational spin on Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” comes as a warning to outside forces. The power of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” is...

29.03.2024 30

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

How Kanye West Keeps Coming Back

Despite his supposed cancellation, the Hitler-praising rapper has his first No. 1 single since 2011. The funny thing about the concept of cancel...

18.03.2024 3

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

Ariana Grande’s Dishy Divorce Album

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,...

13.03.2024 3

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

It Was Kenough

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...

11.03.2024 9

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

Jack Antonoff’s Music Is Modern Because It’s Retro

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...

08.03.2024 10

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

They Rode the Rails, Made Friends, and Fell Out of Love With America

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...

23.02.2024 20

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

Jennifer Lopez Is a Postmodern Artwork

Behold the fabulous desperation of our celebrities. The latest avalanche of content from Jennifer Lopez has me thinking about Richard Wagner, the...

16.02.2024 7

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

The Grammys Belonged to Joni Mitchell

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...

05.02.2024 60

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

Lil Nas X Faces the Likability Trap

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...

31.01.2024 6

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

The Band That’s Been Charting America’s Burnout for Decades

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...

25.01.2024 10

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

Pitchfork’s Importance Shouldn’t Be Underrated

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....

19.01.2024 4

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

The Queerest Thing About Taylor Swift

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...

10.01.2024 2

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

Madonna Threw Herself a Wake

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...

15.12.2023 6

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

The 10 Best Albums of 2023

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...

13.12.2023 5

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

Nicki Minaj’s Middle-Age Reset

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...

13.12.2023 7

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

Trump’s Plan to Police Gender

His campaign is promising a more repressive and dangerous America. After decades of gains in public acceptance, the LGBTQ community is confronting a...

07.12.2023 5

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

We’ve Never Seen Beyoncé Like This Before

The Renaissance concert movie is joyful but jumbled—and less about the star than about her audience. Confession: The Beyoncé concert I attended...

02.12.2023 6

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

So Your Song Blew Up on TikTok. Now What?

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...

01.12.2023 5

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

André 3000’s Flute Album Is More Than Background Music

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...

22.11.2023 2

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

The Beautiful Numbness of PinkPantheress

One of Gen Z’s most exciting new stars harnesses the sound of intelligent artificiality. One of the great promises of artificial intelligence is...

10.11.2023 2

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

Taylor Swift’s Tinder Masterpiece

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,...

01.11.2023 5

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

Britney Spears’s Story Will Never Make Sense

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...

24.10.2023 5

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

“Diva Behavior” Doesn’t Mean What It Used To

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,...

10.10.2023 3

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

The Weirdos Living Inside Our Phones

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...

27.09.2023 2

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

Some Good News About Your Malaise

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...

21.09.2023 1

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

The False Divide Between ‘Conscious’ and Mainstream Rap

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...

15.09.2023 10

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

Olivia Rodrigo Is Getting Bolder and Funnier

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?...

08.09.2023 10

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

The Album That Made Me a Music Critic

The second LP by Smash Mouth, whose singer Steve Harwell recently died, contained accessible yet weird songs that invited childhood obsession. Smash...

07.09.2023 6

The Atlantic

Spencer Kornhaber

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