“We have forgotten that black gospel music was fashioned by the courageous inventiveness of black migrants from Southern states to places like Chicago and Detroit. The style they created had within it a political and economic critique of racial capitalism: One need only peruse the lyrical content about joblessness, motherlessness, despair, to see it. But […]
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Posted inArts & Culture, Books, Nonfiction, Story
Hellhound on the Money Trail
Standard recording contracts screwed Bluesmen out of royalties in the early 1900s, and the system was no different when Columbia released “Robert Johnson: The Complete Recordings in 1990.”
Posted inCommentary, Current Events, Discussions, Podcasts
OK Listener, We’ll Talk About OK Boomer
Longreads editors chat with Internet culture reporter Taylor Lorenz about ok boomer, TikTok, patriotism, and more.
Posted inBooks, Nonfiction, Profiles & Interviews, Story, Writing
Hanif Abdurraqib on Loving A Tribe Called Quest
“I wasn’t interested in writing the definitive book on A Tribe Called Quest. I was trying to write the definitive book on a single arc of fandom.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Wonder Valley Desert of Gram Parsons
A week alone in a California desert cabin leads one woman to the music of the legendary country rock songwriter and a sense of metaphysical perspective under the stars.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Feature, Story
Out There: On Not Finishing
What happens if the stories we tell ourselves about our lives leave us lonely, wrestling with meaning?
Posted inEditor's Pick
In My Own Voice, Redefining Success and Failure
In this personal essay, Lauren DePino looks back at her ambitions as a singer, and re-evaluates the rejections she once allowed to define her.
Best of 2019
The Best of 2019 series is made up of guest-curated collections across food, sports, music, investigative reporting, science & nature, and other categories. Contributing writers and editors to these lists include Deborah Blum, Pamela Colloff, Danielle A. Jackson, Morgan Jerkins, Emily Raboteau, Sam Riches, Helen Rosner, Matthew Salesses, Mayukh Sen, Michael W. Twitty, and more.
Posted inStory
Remembering Woodstock ’94
On the concert’s 25th anniversary, Steve Edwards reflects on the mud, the music, and the myths he lives by.
Posted inArts & Culture, Feature, Nonfiction, Story
Shelved: The Lady of Rage’s Eargasm
Rapper Robin Allen’s hit song bypassed the hip-hop boys club that held her debut solo album back.
