Aretha Franklin was the best of us. More than just a national treasure, she seemed like an elemental gift sprung from the building blocks of Continue Reading
rock
Interpol’s Paul Banks on the Music That Made Him
As the leader of Interpol, Paul Banks has been associated with some of the most brooding post-punk anthems of the 21st century. He’s built his Continue Reading
Blood Orange’s Dev Hynes Breaks Down Every Song on His New Album, Negro Swan
Negro Swan opens with the everyday din of a New York City street—honking cars and chatter from passersby—a snippet of his adopted city rendered in Continue Reading
Afropunk 2018: The Best, Worst, and Wokest
Walking into this year’s Afropunk, I was skeptical. As I stood and watched the dashiki-clad crowd react to Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” play from Continue Reading
The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s
Sometimes it feels like the neon thumbprint of the 1980s never went away. It’s arguably the defining throwback aesthetic of American culture today, from the Continue Reading
Dancing on My Own, Together: Capturing That Robyn Feeling
When Robyn returned this summer, she was met by her adoring fans not as a queen nodding to her subjects, but more like the reappearance Continue Reading
How Auto-Tune Revolutionized the Sound of Popular Music
It happened exactly 36 seconds into the song—a glimpse of the shape of pop to come, a feel of the fabric of the future we Continue Reading
Meet Miya Folick, a Reasonable Singer-Songwriter With an Unreasonably Amazing Voice
Miya Folick arrives at Los Angeles’ Silver Lake Reservoir and immediately takes off running. Between the two of us, she’s the only one that can Continue Reading
Reckoning With Pinegrove
On a muggy July night in 2017, Pinegrove guitarist Nick Levine was stabbing a hot needle of indeterminate origin into my flesh. I was getting Continue Reading
The Music That Made Neneh Cherry a Pop Rebel
Even by pop vanguard standards, it’s fair to say Neneh Cherry has done more, seen more, been more than most. Born in Stockholm in 1964, Continue Reading
Meet Chai, the Eclectic Japanese Rock Band Redefining What It Means to Be Cute
The members of Chai can’t stop smiling. On a Wednesday night in early September, the Japanese quartet is making its live New York debut, and Continue Reading
boygenius Are the Egoless Supergroup of Your Indie Rock Dreams
Boygenius offer proof in the theory that feeling respected by your peers will instill some of that respect back in yourself. This revelation can make Continue Reading
Meet Lil Reek, the Teenage Rapper Punching Above His Weight
As he makes his way backstage after his first-ever live show, Lil Reek is confronted by a middle-aged white woman in glasses. Cheeks flushed with Continue Reading
These Are the Best Madonna Books
At 60, Madonna has yet to write an autobiography. Some might say that she doesn’t need to—that the body of work she’s released over the Continue Reading
Young Jesus: The Whole Thing Is Just There
Young Jesus leader John Rossiter writes essays for The Los Angeles Review of Books about viewing the NBA as a socioeconomic metaphor. In interviews, he Continue Reading
David Bowie: Loving the Alien (1983-1988)
Every autumn since 2015, a new David Bowie career retrospective box set arrives. These are comprehensive (just about every remix and single/album edit is compiled, Continue Reading
Talking Heads: Remain in Light
The German playwright Bertolt Brecht is credited with the aphorism “a theater without beer is just a museum.” No one can point to where he Continue Reading
GØGGS: Pre Strike Sweep
Of the innumerable albums, backing-band permutations, and side projects that form the Ty Segall ecosystem, GØGGS are the most singular. Though Segall again teams with Continue Reading
Weakened Friends: Common Blah
If you live long enough, you will eventually hear the same stories—or repeat them yourself. What changes is, hopefully, how they’re told. Portland, Maine’s Weakened Continue Reading
Helena Deland: From the Series of Songs “Altogether Unaccompanied”
Helena Deland’s From the Series of Songs “Altogether Unaccompanied” bears an unusual title: Exactly what kind of thing is this? And its format is unusual, Continue Reading