Spencer Kornhaber
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Evans Richardson Sufjan Stevens’s Problem With America
The acclaimed singer was once famous for mythologizing the U.S. Now his “bossy and bitchy” new album expresses discomfort with the country.
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Langston Amadi How Pop Music’s Teenage Dream Ended
A decade ago, Katy Perry’s sound was ubiquitous. Today, it’s niche. How did a genre defined by popularity become unpopular?
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(Ryan Pfluger / The New York Times) What Ellen’s Kindness Concealed
The recent scandal at her talk show suggests that the host’s smiling facade covers up something dark—and hints at why that facade had to be created in the first place.
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Shutterstock / Getty / Arsh Raziuddin / The ... Kanye West, Political Pawn
The rapper is pitching his presidential run as a way of disrupting the two-party system. But his bid is caught in the same fights that characterize any election year in America.
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Getty / The Atlantic Ellen’s Celebrity Defenders Aren’t Helping Her
The comedian’s employees say that fame has enabled callousness and abuse on her show. The warm testimonies of her superstar friends highlight their point.
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Beth Garrabrant Taylor Swift Is No Longer Living in the Present
Folklore, the singer’s surprise eighth album, gorgeously and empathetically challenges the public’s voyeurism.
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The Atlantic The Song of the Summer Is in Chaos
America’s biggest hits right now aren’t particularly sunny, but what does popularity even mean during a pandemic?
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Kevin Mazur / Getty Country Music Can No Longer Hide Its Problems
A genre famously resistant to change and controversy has been jolted by the pandemic and protests.
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Lucas Jackson / Reuters Pride Can’t Go Back to What It Was Before
New York’s Queer Liberation March extended its celebration of Stonewall to Black Lives Matter, ditching corporate sponsorships while retaining a sense of joy.
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Bryan R. Smith / AFP / Getty The Inequality of Summer Leisure
This season of social distancing will also be one of social closeness between neighbors—illuminating divides of race, class, and place.
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Michael Ochs Archives / Getty What Bob Dylan Knows About This Moment
Rough and Rowdy Ways, the singer’s first album of original music in years, reminds an anxious nation that all things are eventually doomed.
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The Atlantic It’s Not Callout Culture. It’s Accountability.
As Twitter users expose specific instances of racism in their workplaces and in the media, they help ensure a lasting impact for the protests in the streets.
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courtesy of @theonethatsugly / club quarantine The Coronavirus Is Testing Queer Culture
Queer nightlife has always been about finding ways to be together. So in the age of social distancing, it’s reinventing itself, and not for the first time.
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Ira L. Black / Corbis / Getty Defund the Police Gets Its Anthem
Months ago, Johnniqua Charles sang an impromptu song to protest her detainment. Now hip-hop DJs have turned “Lose Yo Job” into a gleeful rallying cry and warning.
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Kevin Tachman / MG19 / Getty Lady Gaga Is Back and Smaller Than Ever
The sometimes-dazzling dance pop of Chromatica is a return to form, but she’s not overselling it.
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Alon Reininger / Contact Press Larry Kramer Knew That an Honest Debate Was a Rude One
With his debut novel, Faggots, the legendary AIDS activist, who died yesterday, demonstrated the profane morality that would define his career.
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The Atlantic The Atlantic Daily: A Playlist for Partying Alone
At first we were afraid, we were petrified—but this Memorial Day weekend might be the time to shake up quarantine solitude with a playlist of empowering pop.
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Atlantic Records Charli XCX Captures the Weird Intimacy of Quarantine
The pop star’s daring album How I’m Feeling Now tries to make online hedonism match the real thing.
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Ralph Morse / Life / Getty Little Richard Set the Mold by Breaking It
The “Tutti Frutti” singer and rock-and-roll pioneer, dead at age 87, embodied the word irrepressible.
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Republic Records Drake Responds to the Pandemic in a Predictably Drake Way
The rapper is back with Dark Lane Demo Tapes—a batch of songs taking comfort in an antisocial status quo.
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