“The Mind Squad and editorial staff like theirs—people who understood and loved the music—would create a new, vibrant, and deeply informed style of cultural journalism that defined an era.”
music
Posted inCuration
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
In this edition: Eschatolgy, Texas style; dancing like nobody’s watching; the men, they myths, the legends; monumental responses; and notes fit for a King.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Ballad of Ollie Jackson
“How the baddest man int he St. Louis underworld failed to become a folk hero.”
Posted inFeature
An Internet of Checkpoints
A mysterious YouTube video gave thousands of people a place to breathe. Then it vanished.
Posted inEditor's Pick
If You Think This Instrument Is Hard to Play, Try Building One
“The oboe has 500 parts. Turning a profit is a killer. But Jim Phelan is bent on reviving one of the great names in classical music.”
Posted inFeature
30 Years Later: Phyllis Hyman, “I Refuse to Be Lonely”
The singer’s first posthumous album deserves to be remembered as the bravest of her career.
Posted inCuration
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Recommending stories from Yasmin Tayag, Elliott Woods, David Ramsey, Larissa Diakiw, and A.S. Hamrah.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Dude Ranch Above the Sea
“Steely Dan conjured a sealed-in-amber studio perfection—a sound that could alienate listeners as easily as seduce them.”