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Ken Regan / Camera 5 / Contour RA … What Madonna Knows
The artist is always one step ahead—and has a unique power to scandalize each generation anew.
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The Atlantic. Sources: Getty The Weirdos Living Inside Our Phones
Brian Jordan Alvarez’s ode to sitting makes him the latest comedian to wring ineffable joy out of a very viral, very silly song.
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Debbie Hickey / Getty Some Good News About Your Malaise
The indie-rock band the National is at the height of its influence, and still wrestling with its concerns about declining.
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Illustration by Jan Robert Dünnweller. Sources: Richard McCaffrey … The Undoing of a Great American Band
Sly and the Family Stone suggested new possibilities in music and life—until it all fell apart.
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Illustration by Paul Spella / The Atlantic Political Art Isn’t Always Better Art
The cultural critic dream hampton on the false divide between “conscious” and mainstream rap
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Kevin Mazur / Getty The Problem Olivia Rodrigo Can’t Solve
The singer’s sophomore album makes a persuasive case for rock’s rebirth as musical theater, as she comprehends life’s unavoidable obstacles.
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Bob Berg / Getty The Album That Made Me a Music Critic
The second LP by Smash Mouth, whose singer Steve Harwell recently died, contained accessible yet weird songs that invited childhood obsession.
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Photograph by Erik Paul Howard for The Atlantic Hip-Hop’s Fiercest Critic
The writer dream hampton thinks hip-hop is broken. But she can’t stop trying to fix it.
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Illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: Scott Dudelson / … The Real Men South of Richmond
Oliver Anthony and Zach Bryan are playing to a desire for working-class heroes.
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Illustration by Joanne Imperio / The Atlantic. Source: … The ‘Transcendent Tastelessness’ of MySpace
A new oral history explores how the platform pushed a generation of teens to find their loudest selves.
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Photo-illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: Ed Rode / … When Small-Town Pride Sounds Like Anger
Jason Aldean says “Try That in a Small Town” celebrates community—but its words and sound tell a different story.
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Frans Schellekens / Redferns / Getty The Song That First Captured Sinéad O’Connor’s Power
Before “Nothing Compares 2 U” made her a household name, a single from the Irish singer’s first album established her as a creative force.
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David Redfern / Getty The Song That Made Tony Bennett a Star
Where many artists downplay their early work, he kept “Because of You,” his first hit, close to his heart.
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Fernando Leon / TAS23 / Getty Justice for the Teenage Taylor Swift
In smoothing over a messy lyric on the rerecorded Speak Now, Taylor Swift loses the pained, angry, and sanctimonious sound of her teenage self.
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Anohni / Rebis Music Anohni’s Message: To Save the World, We’ll Have to Forgive Ourselves
The artist talks about her new album, My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross, which explicitly aligns her with the American protest-music tradition.
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Lexie Moreland / Getty Olivia Rodrigo’s Big, Bloody Return
“Vampire,” the singer’s first new song in two years, pushes her confessional-pop appeal to a sizzling extreme.
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Jen Rosenstein Dave Grohl’s Monument to Mortality
With trademark ferocity, the Foo Fighters front man is tackling the capriciousness of sudden loss.
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Leon Neal / Getty Scenes From Glastonbury 2023
Images of some of the performers and concertgoers at this year’s Glastonbury music festival
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llustration by The Atlantic* The Age of Pleasure Is Here
New albums by Janelle Monáe, Jake Shears, and Jessie Ware offer uninhibited takes on life after stir-craziness.
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Rita Harper / The Guardian / eyevine / … Killer Mike’s Critique of Wokeness
The rapper discusses his new album, meeting with Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, and embracing conflict in politics and all walks of life.
