Wilco’s ‘A Ghost Is Born’ Marked an End to Their Greatest Era
A Ghost Is Born was Wilco’s fearless attempt to surpass ‘Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’ and move beyond the narrative that could have defined the band.
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What Wilco’s ‘Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’ Got Right About Music Streaming
Wilco’s net-streaming experiment with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was part of the utopian promise for technology’s future, and it worked.
Wilco Play It Too Safe on ‘Cousin’
Wilco can stand out from the roots-informed indie pack, but Cousin shows they are content to go with the flow even as they get back to experimentalism.
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The 20 Best Album Re-Issues of 2022
The year’s best album re-issues include rock legends, foundational R&B/soul artists, classic pop, new wave, alternative rock, global beats and so much more.
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The 15 Best Americana Albums of 2022
The best Americana albums are a multicultural, polysexual, mixed-gender, cross-genre lineup of music that fits somewhere under the big backyard of Americana.
Expanded ‘Yankee Hotel’ Reconstructs Wilco’s Most Dramatic Creative Shift
Compared to earlier Wilco back-catalog reissues this beefed-up Yankee Hotel Foxtrot suffers somewhat from a case of “more isn’t always more”.
Wilco’s Wisdom in ‘Sky Blue Sky’ Resonates 15 Years After Release
Is there such a thing as middle-aged rock? If so, it would sound like Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky with its measured simplicity and reflective intensity.
The 75 Best Songs of 2011
Nostalgia Alert! Jump back a decade and enjoy the best songs of 2011. They are headlined by a synthpop classic, a massive hit from a hot diva, pristine harmonies of a young band headed for greatness.
The 20 Best Album Re-Issues of 2020
In 2020, the music world saw spectacular reissues spanning rock legends to foundational electronic artists, jazz to pop of all stripes.
The Most Memorable Albums of 1999 (Part 1)
PopMatters is 20 this year -- until October when we are 21 -- and a 2009 special section celebrates the popular music that defined the year of our birth. Today we kick things off with albums from January through March, highlighted by Eminem's debut and stellar pop from XTC and Blur.
The 60 Best Albums of 2007
From tech house to Radiohead and Americana to indie and everything in between, the 60 best albums of 2007 included many of the 2000s' best albums.
The 10 Best Americana Albums of 2007
If 2007 didn't invite any gripping controversies, it was certainly filled with competitive comparisons -- between young and old, past and present, and among splintered factions -- and both surprising hits and disappointing misses. All in all, a dynamic and at times resurgent year for the broad scope of Americana.