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Getty / The Atlantic What Dixie Really Means
The band formerly known as the Dixie Chicks has changed its name in light of the growing rejection of racist symbols and phrases.
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Michael Ochs Archives / Getty What Bob Dylan Knows About This Moment
Rough and Rowdy Ways, the singer’s first album of original music in years, reminds an anxious nation that all things are eventually doomed.
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HBO What One Woman’s Shattered Career Reveals About the Music Industry
HBO Max’s On the Record details sexual-assault allegations against the rap mogul Russell Simmons—and homes in on the lives derailed by sexism.
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Atlantic Records Charli XCX Captures the Weird Intimacy of Quarantine
The pop star’s daring album How I’m Feeling Now tries to make online hedonism match the real thing.
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Thomas Rabsch / laif / Redux The Day the Live Concert Returns
I don’t know when it will be safe to sing arm in arm at the top of our lungs. But we will do it again, because we have to.
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Lalitree Darnielle A Strangely Comforting Quarantine Album
The Mountain Goats’ latest release is authentically a product of this pandemic, but it’s also nicely indifferent to it.
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BEATRICE DE GEA / The New York Times Fiona Apple’s Survival Guide to Isolation
Fetch the Bolt Cutters, the singer’s first album in eight years, argues that confinement can intensify one’s connection to the greater human whole.
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Mark Seliger / Trunk Archive Dave Grohl’s Pandemic Playlist
The Foo Fighters front man picks a song for your every quarantine mood.
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Reuters / Lindsey Wasson People Are Remembering What Music Is Really For
Listening that revolves around headphones, singular geniuses, aesthetic subcultures, and record-industry behemoths is not what’s generating heat right now.
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Kimberly Butler What Adam Schlesinger Knew About America
The Fountains of Wayne front man, who died of complications from the coronavirus, made big songs about small triumphs.
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CBS Broadcasting The Importance of Partying Alone
Is it any coincidence that the No. 1 song in the country is about loneliness and empty streets—or that it’s making people dance like Richard Simmons in their bedrooms?
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Mike Slaughter / Toronto Star / Getty The Magnetic Song That Is Kenny Rogers’s Most Enduring Legacy
The country musician, who died Friday at the age of 81, was never better than on “Islands in the Stream,” his monumental duet with Dolly Parton.
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Reuters / Mario Anzuoni Pop Music’s Version of Life Doesn’t Exist Anymore
What good are songs about touch and sweat during a pandemic?
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Paul R. Giunta / Invision / AP Megan Thee Stallion’s Sweet Defiance
The 25-year-old rapper’s new EP, Suga, makes it easy to root for her—and for her potentially industry-shifting lawsuit against her label.
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Ron Pownall / Getty / The Atlantic The Jazz Great Behind One of the Most Famous Pairings in Music History
The pianist McCoy Tyner, who died last week at 81, played with John Coltrane and developed a simple but revolutionary sound.
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Sharif Hamza The Rappers Who Are Breaking Up With Britain
Riz Ahmed’s The Long Goodbye is the latest hip-hop album to address the state of the U.K with deep sorrow and scorching anger.
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Kevin Cummins What Happened When the Sex Pistols Threw a Christmas Party
A new book showcases a collection of photos that captures the band’s last concert in England—they were in their pomp, on their mission, and fully charged.
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Interscope Lady Gaga’s ‘Stupid Love’ Is a Glorious Comeback
The irrepressible single is a return to form not only for the singer, but also for her genre.
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Robyn Beck / AFP / Getty The Message of Grimes’s Dark Masterpiece
The singer’s new album, Miss Anthropocene, combines angsty music styles with a supposedly environmental purpose—but mostly to indulge the thrill of submission.
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Jordan Strauss / Invision / AP More Than Ever, Justin Bieber Feels Like a Cautionary Tale
The singer’s first album in five years, Changes, and his YouTube documentary, Seasons, paint a picture of fragile recovery from the trauma of child stardom.
