Spencer Kornhaber
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Jonathan Ernst / Reuters The Difficulty—and Importance—of Talking About Young Dead Celebrities
Two recent hip-hop controversies show how hard it can be to discuss substance abuse and other fatal trends without offending.
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Mario Anzuoni / Reuters The Strange Pathos of Ariana Grande’s Breakup
The end of the singer’s relationship with Pete Davidson, coming after the death of her ex Mac Miller, complicates her message of overcoming.
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Warner Bros Lady Gaga Challenges the Sellout Trope in A Star Is Born
In the film, Bradley Cooper’s Jackson believes Lady Gaga’s Ally is betraying her authenticity, a concept long critiqued by the pop star-cum-actress.
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Danny Moloshok / Reuters Raging Against the Rock-and-Roll Suicide
On their new album Trench, the popular rock band Twenty One Pilots questions how society deals with celebrity tragedy.
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Cinereach M.I.A.’s Critique of Wokeness
The pop star’s new documentary shows the difficulty she faced in bringing attention to violence in Sri Lanka, but she hasn’t given up the cause.
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Owen Sweeney / Invision / AP The Messy Soul of Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter V
The rapper’s long-awaited album captures a sense of hard-earned triumph—and dread.
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Joshua Roberts / Reuters / The Atlantic The False Binary of the ‘Choir Boy’ Defense of Brett Kavanaugh
The rhetoric around the Supreme Court nominee pits a “Boy Scout” persona against a “frat guy.” But #MeToo has shown the limits of such labels.
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Suffo Monclao The Rising French Star Creating Subversive Synth-Pop
On her new album, Christine and the Queens makes the gender revolution hummable.
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Jim Bourg / Reuters Brett Kavanaugh, Mark Judge, and the Romanticizing of Teenage Indiscretion
An alleged witness to the rape attempt the Supreme Court nominee stands accused of has opined about rowdy-young-male behavior for years.
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Mario Anzuoni / Reuters The Much-Needed Shock of That Emmys Marriage Proposal
The director of a famously chaotic Oscars injected some surprise into an otherwise dull awards show.
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FX American Horror Story Is at the End of Its Wits
The eighth season, Apocalypse, looks to be a dull feat of recycling.
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Mario Anzuoni / Reuters The Silent Victims of the Media Baron
From the doctor’s office to the pop charts, the CBS chief Les Moonves’s desires and grudges reportedly took a variety of less obvious tolls.
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Gene Ambo / AP The Light and Dark in Mac Miller
The 26-year-old rapper had a relatable voice, adventuresome sound, and an interest in life’s hardest struggles.
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Juliette Larthe The Ecstatic Sound of Midlife Melancholy
Spiritualized’s And Nothing Hurt sees the venerated space-rock act inflate weariness into something gorgeous.
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Stephane Mahe / Reuters Asia Argento’s Confusing Call for #MeToo ‘Phase Two’
The actress has responded to allegations against her by trying to proclaim a new era of the movement to stop sexual misconduct. But a more productive evolution would decenter celebrities like her.
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Mark Makela / Reuters Eminem Makes a Vicious Strike in the War of Generations
The rapper’s surprise new album, Kamikaze, insults those who’ve leached away his buzz—but also reiterates what their appeal is.
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Charles Sykes / Invision / AP Troye Sivan’s Oh-So-Gentle Rebellion
Bloom, the second album from the aspiring pop star, puts a modest, queer twist on familiar formulas.
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Charlotte Rutherford Dr. Luke’s Queasy Two-Front Comeback Effort
As the once-ubiquitous pop producer accused of abuse by Kesha continues his court battle against her, the appealing new voice of Kim Petras sells his songs.
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Universal Pictures Cher’s Glorious Cyborgification of ABBA
When one legend of pop camp covers another, the results are preposterous—and weirdly moving.
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Lucas Jackson / Reuters Ariana Grande’s Weird Take on Love
The singer’s new album Sweetener semi-successfully upends pop’s usual approach to scale and tension.
