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Portraits of Dean Dixon, William Grant Still, and Margaret Bonds, three African American classical musicians.

A Prophecy Unfulfilled?

What a new book and six companion videos have to say about the fate of Black classical music in America.
by Mark N. Grant via The American Scholar on April 2, 2022
A photo of Fontella Bass repeated as if it's a frame in a filmstrip.

Can't You See That I'm Lonely?

“Rescue Me,” on repeat.
by David Ramsey via Oxford American on December 7, 2021
An astronaut on the moon with the MTV flag planted.

Watch the First Two Hours of MTV’s Inaugural Broadcast

MTV's 1981 broadcast was advertised to be as important as the moon landing.
by Ted Mills via Open Culture on August 6, 2021
Ronald Reagan and popular musicians from 1980s, black and white collage with colorful shapes

I Want My Mutually Assured Destruction

How 1980s MTV helped my students understand the Cold War.
by Tom Nichols via The Atlantic on May 8, 2021
Vanilla Ice in front of an American flag

The Rise and Fall of Vanilla Ice, As Told by Vanilla Ice

Thirty years after "Ice Ice Baby," Robert Van Winkle is ready to talk about it all—his rise, his fall, and that infamous night on the balcony.
by Jeff Weiss via The Ringer on October 6, 2020

The My Generation: An Oral History Of Myspace Music

Myspace changed the way we discovered music and fell apart after conquering the world.
by Michael Tedder via Stereogum on March 30, 2020

The Songs of Canceled Men

A new book asks how music criticism can reckon with the lives of immoral artists.
by Joe Bucciero via The Nation on November 19, 2019
Yellow ribbon.

The Many Meanings of Yellow Ribbons

The strange and convoluted history of why yellow ribbons became a symbol of the Gulf War in the 1990s.
by Linda Pershing, Margaret R. Yocom, Erin Blakemore via JSTOR Daily on April 26, 2019

Why Disco Made Pop Songs Longer

Disco, DJs, and the impact of the 12-inch single.
by Estelle Caswell via Vox Earworm on April 25, 2019
Still from a video game animation of a Black cowboy aiming a pistol at another.

‘Old Town Road’ and the History of Black Cowboys in America

A songwriter-historian weighs in on the controversy over Lil Nas X’s country-trap hit.
by Dom Flemons, Jonathan Bernstein via Rolling Stone on April 5, 2019

Punjabi Convoy

A history of trucking in America, told through the music that has kept truckers company on the lonely road.
by Nick Murray via Popula on March 25, 2019

The Drummer Hal Blaine Provided the Beat for American Music

Blaine was never as recognizable as Elvis or Sinatra. Still, he was key to the creation of some of rock n' roll's biggest hits.
by Amanda Petrusich via The New Yorker on March 13, 2019

1968: Soul Music and the Year of Black Power

The summer's hit songs offered a glimpse into the changing views of Black America.
by Mark Anthony Neal via Black Perspectives on December 31, 2018

How Smooth Jazz Took Over the '90s

And why you should give smooth jazz a chance.
by Estelle Caswell via Vox on December 3, 2018

The Vietnam War: A History in Song

The ‘First Television War’ was also documented in over 5,000 songs.
by Justin Brummer via History Today on September 25, 2018
Colorful illustration of Larry Norman, haloed by yellow.

The Unlikely Endurance of Christian Rock

The genre has been disdained by the church and mocked by secular culture. That just reassured practitioners that they were rebels on a righteous path.
by Kelefa Sanneh via The New Yorker on September 17, 2018
Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin Was the Defining Voice of the 20th Century

No one else sang as well as her, and no other singer changed popular music as much as her.
by Jack Hamilton via Slate on August 16, 2018
Woman playing a guitar, and the cover of the book 'Country Music USA.'

‘Country Music … Was Anything BUT Pure’

On the music’s African-American tributaries, its unpredictable politics, country radio’s woman problem, and working on Ken Burns’ forthcoming doc.
by Bill C. Malone, Will Hermes, Tracey Laird via Longreads on August 1, 2018
Leon Bridges singing on stage.

'They Put Us in a Little Box': How Racial Tensions Shape Modern Soul Music

While white Americana singers have infused more soul into their sound, black artists still feel restricted by limited expectations.
by Jon Bernstein via The Guardian on June 13, 2018

The Latin American Aesthetic of L.A. Music Culture

Understanding the immense reach and cultural implications of Latin American music.
by Benjamin Cawthra via Boom California on February 7, 2018

In Memory of Otis Redding and His Revolution

The legacy of the talented singer, songwriter, and producer who died at age twenty-six.
by Jonathan Gould via The New Yorker on December 10, 2017

How a Recording-Studio Mishap Shaped '80s Music

You know that punchy percussive sound popularized by Phil Collins and Prince? This is where it came from.
by Estelle Caswell via Vox Earworm on August 18, 2017

The Oral History of Lilith Fair, As Told By the Women Who Lived It

It was a time when promoters were telling women in music: “You can’t put two women on the same bill. People won’t come.”
by Melissa Maerz via Glamour on July 5, 2017

Sgt. Pepper Came Out 50 Years Ago This Week. The Timing Was As Perfect As the Album.

The Beatles released Sgt. Pepper at the exact moment that the world was ready to take a rock album seriously as art.
by Jack Hamilton via Slate on May 24, 2017

How The Hutchinson Family Singers Achieved Pop Stardom with an Anti-Slavery Anthem

"Get Off the Track!" borrowed the melody of a racist hit song and helped give a public voice to the abolitionist movement.
by Tom Maxwell via Longreads on March 7, 2017

Soul Survivor

The revival and hidden treasure of Aretha Franklin.
by David Remnick via The New Yorker on April 4, 2016
C. L. Franklin and his daughter Aretha.

The Man with the Million Dollar Voice

The mighty but divided soul of C.L. Franklin.
by Tony Scherman via The Believer on July 1, 2013

Lady Soul Singing it Like It Is

In 1968, Time Magazine searched for the elusive definition of "soul."
via TIME on June 28, 1968
A drawing of two speakers resting on clouds and sending colorful soundwaves through the air.

Bluetooth Speakers Are Ruining Music

You have two ears for a reason.
by Michael J. Owens via The Atlantic on February 5, 2025
Marianne Faithfull

Marianne Faithfull’s Life Contained Rock Music’s Secret History

The harrowing and heroic life of Marianne Faithfull, cheater of a thousand deaths and music history’s true avenging angel.
by Elise Soutar via Paste on February 4, 2025
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