“When R.E. Buster Williams ruled jukeboxes and jukeboxes ruled music.”
music
Posted inFeature
A Year in Reading: The Dark Side of Progress
We’re moving farther, faster, than ever before. But we’re also destabilizing crucial areas of human experience.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Stevie Nicks: ‘I Believe in the Church of Stevie’
“In a nearly four-hour interview, the legendary singer goes deep on longevity, Kamala Harris, why Fleetwood Mac are finished, and much more.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
In Kosovo, Techno Is a Symbol of Resilience
“Long a sacred space for catharsis and healing, the smoke-filled dance floors of Pristina have become the backdrop to a changing country.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
How the ‘Slamming Door’ Sound Became Embedded in Hip-Hop History
“If you’ve listened to any rap or pop music made in the 21st century, you’ve heard John Lehmkuhl’s most famous creation, a thwacking metallic percussion sample named ‘Tribe.’”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Elusive Erykah Badu
“Twenty years ago, she dropped Baduizm, the album that created a genre. I wanted to know how she did it and found something I hadn’t bargained for.”
Posted inReading List
Bad Blood (Longreads’ Version): A Musical Feuds Reading List
Whether competition between artists or strife within a band, popular music features some of pop culture’s messiest rivalries.
Posted inEssays & Criticism
Finding Worth Among the Echoes
Faded music dreams, a fledgling family farm, and a search for new definitions of work and success.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Harmony
“You can practice a song a thousand times and still its first note sends you into the unknown.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
André 3000 Is at Peace (For Now)
“One of the greatest rappers of our time in conversation with one of the most lauded culture writers alive on freedom, fame, flutes, and the burning question: ‘You gonna put some beats on that shit?’”