Spencer Kornhaber
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Andrew Kelly / Reuters Taylor Swift Is Waging Reputational Warfare
By going public with rights disputes with her former label, she leverages her fame as an asset.
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Action Images When the Biggest Rapper in the World Gets Booed Off Stage
Unmet hype created a viral clash between Drake and the audience at Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival, but it might just work in his favor.
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Andrew Lipovsky / NBC FKA Twigs Deconstructs the Private Show
Magdalene, the avant-garde pop star’s triumphant second album, pairs tenderness and noise.
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Republic Records The Nostalgic Punch of Ariana Grande’s Charlie’s Angels Soundtrack
The pop star co-curated a feminist-themed album that, in sound and approach, calls back to a simpler time: the early 2010s.
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PictureLux / The Hollywood Archive / Moviestore Collection ... The Call Me by Your Name Dream Continues
The follow-up to a beloved novel of gay romance continues André Aciman’s exploration of desire that tests convention: “It’s not a subject that has ever interested me, ethics,” the author says.
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Will Heath / NBC SNL Runs an Ad for Elizabeth Warren
Depicting a rally, the cold open landed between comedy and campaigning.
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Amy Harris / AP Kanye West Strains His Voice on Jesus Is King
The rapper’s Christian album is not a departure from his values but an intensification of them: boldness over coherence.
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IMAX / James Turrell Crater Kanye West’s Austere Reform Church
The rapper’s IMAX movie, Jesus Is King, puts a choral Christian concert into an artist’s crater to beautiful—but cold—effect.
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Alex Waespi When Music’s Sad Boys Chase Happiness
Male angst has dominated pop history. But something feels different with artists such as Rex Orange County, Hobo Johnson, and Chris Farren.
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Mario Anzuoni What Frank Ocean’s PrEP+ Party Understood
The musician named an exclusive party after an HIV-prevention drug. Why?
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Graeme Hunter / HBO One More Thought on Succession’s Ridiculous Banter
“I’m saying this, but I don’t believe it.” Kendall Roy, in the Season 2 finale, summed up what makes the show such brilliant satire.
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Celeste Sloman / The New York Times / ... Debbie Harry Stares Back
The Blondie singer’s memoir, Face It, wryly recounts making the most of being ogled.
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Eddy Chen / Netflix Hip-Hop’s Answer to American Idol Is Irresistible
Cardi B anchors Netflix’s fascinating rap competition, Rhythm + Flow.
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HBO The Succession Kids Finally Understand Their Power
Political scandal backed the Roy family against a wall in the ninth episode of the second season—and they responded by showing their mettle.
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NBC The Good Place Wonders How to Reform #MeToo’s Disgraced Men
A sexist boss arrives in heaven. How to get him to realize he made life hell for others?
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Chris Pizzello / Invision / AP DaBaby Has Become Rap’s Reliable Resource
The North Carolina artist’s second album in a year, Kirk, confirms that no one else does what he does, and that he does a lot of it.
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Trevor Brady / Warner Records Tegan and Sara Rewrite the Queer Coming-of-Age Story
By revisiting their teen years, the rock duo’s new memoir, High School, and album, Hey, I’m Just Like You, dismantle cultural clichés about adolescence.
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Nicole Wilder / Amazon Transparent Ends With an Act of Musical Trolling
The Amazon show’s finale uses bombastic songs to convey its once-subtle message of hope.
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Aaron Josefczyk / Reuters Five Songs That Explain the Cars’ Influence
A. C. Newman of the New Pornographers dissects how the late Ric Ocasek shaped his music.
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Stufish Madonna at War
Her 17-date Brooklyn residency forgoes many of the greatest hits and fleshes out her Madame X secret-agent character to spectacular effect.
