Music (Music)

David Bowie's Supposed Blasphemy Is Just Banal, Shameful Branding

David Bowie's Supposed Blasphemy Is Just Banal, Shameful Branding

"The Next Day" video: another example of why pop culture needs to cut it out with the salacious-priests trope.

Morning Coffee: Childish Gambino's 'It May Be Glamour Life'

Morning Coffee: Childish Gambino's 'It May Be Glamour Life'

A Donald Glover track sans Donald Glover, plus Ghostface

The Anticipation for Kanye West's New Album Is Insane—and Totally Justified

The Anticipation for Kanye West's New Album Is Insane—and Totally Justified

Can one of today's greatest musicians top his greatest album yet?

Hip-Hop and the Company Line

Hip-Hop and the Company Line

Mountain Dew drops Lil Wayne; Reebok cuts Rick Ross. Turns out, words have a price.

More on Race, Jazz, and the Relaunch of OKeh Records

More on Race, Jazz, and the Relaunch of OKeh Records

Wulf Müller and Chuck Mitchell respond to questions raised about black musicians' role at the legendary, recently revamped, "race records" label.

Why the Melvins Are Guitar Music's Best and Most Bizarre Unifier

Why the Melvins Are Guitar Music's Best and Most Bizarre Unifier

Even if their new album is a throwaway, over the past four decades no one has fused rock's ironic swagger with metal's sludgy nihilism the way the Melvins have.

George Jones and Tammy Wynette's Wonderful, Heartbreaking, Clumsy Duets

George Jones and Tammy Wynette's Wonderful, Heartbreaking, Clumsy Duets

The late country singer never sounded as good, or as corny, as when with his ex-wife.

Track of the Day: 'Somebody Loves You'
Track of the Day: 'Monomania'

Track of the Day: 'Monomania'

Listen up ...

Kid Rock, Progressive Hero: Why He's Right to Charge $20 Per Ticket

Kid Rock, Progressive Hero: Why He's Right to Charge $20 Per Ticket

The most popular touring musicians can afford a pay cut. Why is a conservative rocker one of the few to lower ticket prices so that fans of lesser means can attend?

Track of the Day: Florence and the Machine's New 'Great Gatsby' Song

Track of the Day: Florence and the Machine's New 'Great Gatsby' Song

Hear the soundtrack cut "Over the Love."

Track of the Day: 'White Noise'
Two Pop Stars Try to Revive Mexico's Good Old Days, in Song at Least

Two Pop Stars Try to Revive Mexico's Good Old Days, in Song at Least

Julieta Venegas and Natalia Lafourcade went retro for their latest releases—in part as a reaction against the grim headlines often seen as defining their country in the present.

How Not to Relaunch the 'Race Records' Label of Ellington and Armstrong

How Not to Relaunch the 'Race Records' Label of Ellington and Armstrong

OKeh Records, the jazz imprint that once made history by releasing works by pioneering African Americans, has returned—but with almost no African-American artists.

Hear the Weird, Lovely A Cappella Suite That Won the Pulitzer Prize for Music

Hear the Weird, Lovely A Cappella Suite That Won the Pulitzer Prize for Music

Caroline Shaw's Partita for 8 Voices sounds like music and then some.

What Willie Nelson Understands About Country: Deep Down, It's Like Jazz

What Willie Nelson Understands About Country: Deep Down, It's Like Jazz

The 80-year-old's latest album, Let's Just Face the Music and Dance, showcases Nelson's prodigious familiarity with the inter-mingled ancestries of country, jazz, swing, and pop.

Why Violent Femmes' Classic Debut Still Seems So Young, 30 Years Later

Why Violent Femmes' Classic Debut Still Seems So Young, 30 Years Later

Songs like "Blister in the Sun" and "Add It Up" don't sound like April, 1983—they sound like eternally sweaty, frustrated, neurotic teenagedom.

'Open Letter': Jay-Z's Mad at Republicans, and It Sounds Great

'Open Letter': Jay-Z's Mad at Republicans, and It Sounds Great

Track of the Day: Hova answers his political critics as only he can.

America's No. 1 Country Album Is an Experiment in How Bad Country Can Be

America's No. 1 Country Album Is an Experiment in How Bad Country Can Be

The Band Perry's 'Pioneer' fuses the worst of country and rock for a new kind of bland.

Reminder: Songs About Racism Can Actually Be Quite Good

Reminder: Songs About Racism Can Actually Be Quite Good

Listen to these 10 tracks instead of Brad Paisley and LL Cool J's "Accidental Racist."

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The Atlantic Monthly

The world may never run out of oil—and the consequences could be dire. Plus: avoiding the worst parts of death, Henry Kissinger's statesmanship, reconsidering hair metal, and more.

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