“For seven decades, the gospel singer Mavis Staples has troubled the opposition between chorus and soloist, background and lead.”
musicians
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Story John Darnielle Lived to Tell
“When he was a teenager, the Mountain Goats founder never expected to make it to 21. He has since become one of this century’s best songwriters. The lessons of his survival, life, and work feel endless.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
My Father, Guitar Guru to the Rock Gods
“When the greatest musicians of the 1970s needed an instrument—or a friend—my dad was there.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Swiftology: Taylor Swift Inspires KU Professor’s Teaching, Research
“What can millions of Swifties tell us about human community and pop culture? A KU sociology professor is finding out.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
What My Musical Instruments Have Taught Me
“When music made collaboratively with other musicians goes right, I feel a budding, rising warmth and comfort. Is this my mother smiling on me?”
Posted inEditor's Pick
What’s a God to a Machine?
“Frank Ocean emerged from self-imposed exile to headline Coachella Weekend 1. After a polarizing set, he won’t be returning for Weekend 2. What does his performance say about artistry in an increasingly algorithmic and AI-generated world?”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Nick Cave on the Fragility of Life
“The singer-songwriter believes that we are deeply flawed, impermanent creatures who can sometimes do extraordinary things.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Trance Is Back—and It’s No Joke
“With Y2K aesthetics back in vogue, and post-pandemic clubbers jonesing for a hit of euphoria, the much-maligned genre is making a comeback.”
Posted inReading List
Pawns, Puppet Heads, and Paranoia: An Eccentrics Reading List
“They’re a little eccentric” is a phrase I suspect most of us have heard used to describe a certain kind of memorable person. For me, it evokes my childhood dentist — an elderly man who favored colorful bow ties and humming loudly as he worked, and who once wagged his finger in my face and […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Black Vanguard in White Utopias
“Country music issues a promissory note to its white listeners. The promise is that no matter how much the world around them may be changing, a country radio station or concert will be a safe space for white sentimentality.”