Dreaming As a Radical Act: Bebop Demands We Listen Again
Dreams in Double Time explores how bebop created new possibilities for marginalized people in the early 20th century. Bebop demands we listen again.
music history
The Enduring Mystery of the Jaynetts’ “Sally Go ‘Round the Roses”
The Jaynett’s ’60s pop single “Sally Go ‘Round the Roses” is equal parts all surface and inscrutable depth, which is why a range of artists cover it to this day.
This Is Why Cassette Tapes Will Never Die
In his history music history book High Bias, Marc Masters argues that cassette tapes will never die because they never really went away in the first place.
Subversive Strumming: Fear and Loathing of the American Folk Music Revival
For the American political right of the post-war era, folk music more than rock ‘n’ roll was regarded as a national threat – but not because of the songs’ lyrics.
For the Love of the Crappy Cassette Tape
The peculiar technology of the lo-fi, crappy cassette tape exemplifies the inherent contradictions of popular music better than any other medium.
Immersed in America: The Creation of Elvis Presley
We know how Elvis Presley’s story reflects on American history, its music and mythology, but how did America help to create Elvis?
Richard and Linda Thompson’s ‘I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight’
Musically and lyrically, Richard Thompson’s I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight is a provocative album that marks a radical advance in English folk rock.
What Puts the Pop in Pop Music?
As the Beatles learned, good music, even good looks, is seldom enough to break a band into the American mainstream. So what puts the pop in pop music?
Gothic Tribes: The Cure’s Lol Tolhurst Explores Pop Music’s Dark Artists
Tolhurst’s goth music history intimately details the mercurial movement, interweaving personal memories and descriptions of the “architects of darkness”.
Blink-182’s ‘Untitled’ Showed Foresight We Could Only See in Hindsight
It’s easy to see how untitled‘s themes acted as a harbinger of the years to come for Blink-182. There’s longing and yearning; a distance that can’t be crossed.
In the Wake of the Grateful Dead in 1973
Looking back after 50 years at the Grateful Dead’s pivotal year of 1973, including Wake of the Flood and three November nights at Winterland.
The Evolving Archetype of the Crooner
Art critic Alex Coles demonstrates in his convention-challenging Crooner: Singing from the Heart From Sinatra to Nas that crooning is a vocal style and image encompassing theatrical exaggeration and heartfelt reality.