How Underground FM Radio Saved Rock
This is what happened when college-age music enthusiasts raided empty FM radio studios and played whatever turned them on.
music history
Neil Young at World’s End: ‘On the Beach’ at 50
Neil Young’s On the Beach lodges not in the heart or brain but in the spleen. Perfect for depressed, alienated teenagers in the soft-rock days before punk.
Dog-Whistling Dixie and Racial Politics in 1960s Country Music
Trump’s recent co-option of Lee Greenwood and his song “God Bless the U.S.A.” isn’t the first time the far right has used country music for its purposes.
Robert Fripp and Gary Numan’s Journeys into Post-Punk
In the post-punk era, progressive rock figurehead Robert Fripp and synth pop pioneer Gary Numan would shape the future sound of alternative rock and metal.
Patti Smith’s “Piss Factory” and “Hey Joe” Remain Prophetic 50 Years On
Patti Smith’s “Hey Joe” and “Piss Factory” expresses her unremitting fight for freedom: when she went from a factory girl to a poète maudit.
Madonna’s Influence on Brazil’s Brega Pop Scene
International music has always informed brega (of which covers and remixes are a major part). No wonder many brega pop bands sought inspiration from Madonna.
The Many Happy Lives of The Turtles’ Mark Volman
From working with Frank Zappa and T. Rex to singing the soundtrack to kiddie series like Strawberry Shortcake, Mark Volman’s memoir Happy Forever is a joyful read.
If You Love Her, Let Her Know: How Olivia Newton-John Became a Country Star
Olivia Newton-John’s chart-topping 1974 album remains a touchstone for 1970s culture, bringing the best of country music into mainstream pop.
2 Tone: Race, Music, and Pop Culture in Thatcher’s UK
2 Tone found a sweet spot between punk anger and pop sensibility that mirrored the myriad poles they were trying to bridge in their band members and audiences.
Kathleen Hanna, Riot Grrrl, and Punk
Riot Grrrl’s activism and grass-roots activity showed the movement was more concerned with breaking the rules and conventions than breaking through in punk.
When Silence Roars: Rock Widows on When the Music Stops
The interviews of rock widows in I Can’t Remember If I Cried reveal life for these women when their husbands exit the stage, the music stops, and the silence roars
A Freewheeling Questlove Drops a New Hit with ‘Hip-Hop Is History’
With its deft layering of words, its samples, and how it articulates sound, Questlove’s Hip-Hop Is History is like De La Soul’s excellent album 3 Feet High and Rising.