“The once underground and countercultural ‘rave’ has fully spread to the mainstream in the form of themed pop-ups and sponsored parties. For newbies, it can be a sanitized gateway into electronic music. For true ravers, it’s more complicated.”
Pitchfork
Posted inEditor's Pick
For the Back Street Kids
“The voice of Ozzy Osbourne was unlike anything before it. It changed rock’n’roll, opened up the metal genre, and became the innate sound of alienation, darkness, and high gothic drama. John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats reflects on the loss of the singular frontman.”
Posted inReading List
The Soundtrack of Our Lives: A Reading List on Pop Concerts
It’s been a huge year for live music, so let’s take a tour.
Posted inCuration
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Featuring stories from Keri Blakinger, Zhengyang Wang, Marian Bull, Mark Synnott, and Clover Hope.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Evolution of the Hip-Hop Hunk
“One fan’s journey through rap’s pursuit of the female gaze, from LL Cool J to Tupac to Drake.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
“Blurred Lines,” Harbinger of Doom
“How Robin Thicke, Pharrell, and T.I.’s cursed megahit predicted everything bad about the past decade in pop culture”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Untangling the Knotty Politics Behind Reggaeton’s Rise in Spain
“Once stigmatized as the music of immigrants, reggaeton now leads Spanish charts, spawning local artists and global stars. But not everyone is a fan.”
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 inTop 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week’s list features stories from Shara Johnson. Paul Fischer, John Woodrow Cox, Marc Hogan, and Angelica Jade Bastién.
Posted inEditor's Pick
“The Anti-Woodstock ’99”: An Oral History of the Tibetan Freedom Concert
“The 1996 San Francisco concert set the template for combining music and activism in the 1990s.”