Last.fm Was The Only Music Social Network That Made Sense
Inside the rise and fall of Last.fm, the social network that understood how online music worked and that resembled bits of Facebook, Songkick, Blogspot, and Spotify.
View ArticleThe Charts Made No Goddamn Sense In 2017
In both the US and UK they suffered identity crises, tweaking their rules in a bid to keep up with streaming.
View ArticleThe Psychedelic Tale Of Terence McKenna's Forgotten Music About DMT
In collaboration with the synth explorers Zuvuya, the "Timothy Leary of the 90s" made two albums nearly as hallucinatory as the psychedelic substance that drove his work.
View ArticleNPR's Tiny Desk Is Actually Not Tiny at All
One of America's most respected media institutions is hiding a secret that's anything but tiny.
View ArticleWhat Ever Happened To Willis Earl Beal?
After his promising career evaporated four years ago, the songwriter disappeared. Inside an 18-month long, transatlantic journey chasing down a musician-in-exile.
View ArticleThe Dollars And Desperation Silencing #MeToo In Music
Sexual misconduct is built into the foundation of the music industry. Our data and the stories of over two dozen women show how culture and labor conditions create a perfect storm for abuse.
View ArticleMy Surprisingly Difficult Quest To Get My Song 'Punch A Nazi In The Face' On...
Online distribution services have confusing and arbitrary rules about songs about punching Nazis, apparently.
View ArticleYou Don't Have To Listen To Abusive Rappers
The abusive histories of rap's new guard — XXXtentacion, 6ix9ine, Kodak Black and more — challenges listeners to confront a moral decision. But really, is it that complicated?
View ArticleThe Ghost Of Big Freedia
Mainstream artists like Drake and Beyonce continue to borrow Big Freedia's voice and New Orleans flavor, but she remains completely absent from their videos.
View ArticleCardi B, Bad Bunny, And The Perils Of Latin Novelty
"I Like It" is an inarguable hit, but its sample invokes a history of the industry exoticizing songs sung in Spanish.
View ArticleBlack Eyed Peas' 'I Gotta Feeling' Is The Most Depressing Song In Existence
Released on the edge of summer in 2009, this WOAT party anthem fills me with a sadness like no other.
View ArticleRadiohead Is A Cult And Arenas Are Their Church
Curiosity underwrites the marvel of Radiohead. Their live performance is a chance to catch a glimpse of all their mystery coming undone, which is what took place when they returned to Toronto in...
View ArticleBen Gibbard Ranks Death Cab For Cutie's Eight Albums
Ahead of the release of the band's new album, "Thank You for Today," the indie rock icon looks back on a 20-year career of appearances on "The O.C.," Grammy nominations, and dodging that whole emo thing.
View ArticleThe Enduring Cult Of Robyn
The Swedish pop icon is back with "Honey," her first album in eight years.
View ArticleTony Hawk Ranks His Video Game Soundtracks
The world's most legendary skateboarder takes a look back at his long-running video game series and plays favorites with its influential soundtracks.
View ArticleThe Spectacular Failure Of The World's Only Hard Rock Theme Park
Hard Rock Park boasted rides themed around Led Zeppelin songs and acid trips, but it closed after just five months, amid the 2008 financial crisis. Ten years later, we visited the abandoned site to...
View ArticleListen To Laura Stevenson
With "The Big Freeze," Stevenson has made an album that's richly detailed and completely genuine, the product of a songwriter who has never been given her big break and is wholly content to make work...
View Article20 Years After 'No Scrubs,' We Look Back At The Song's Best (And Worst) Covers
The TLC track topped the charts two decades ago this week — since then artists of all stripes have offered up their takes.
View ArticleMy Soul Melted At Coachella's Branded Parties
Once again, I conquered the elite, invite-only, corporate bacchanalia that happens around the big California festival.
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