Essay
45 articles
The Last Immortal Rock Star
How ‘The Vampire Lestat’ is resurrecting the archetype of the sexy, sweaty rock frontman.
How I Became A Beatmaker (By Watching Other People Make Beats)
A first-time beatmaker’s case for the nuances of developing style and gatekeeping within rap production.
How to Disappear Mostly
Considering Radiohead’s liminal existence at their Motion Picture House experience.
A Lapsed Catholic Goes to Rosalía’s Ecclesiastical Lux Tour
How the Spanish star uses devotion to push her art to unprecedented places.
The Field's New Groove
How the surprisingly emotional use of an unusual time signature powers the ambient-techno god’s best track in years.
Don’t Stop ’Til You Rewrite History
The Michael Jackson estate’s campaign to un-cancel the King of Pop is all about what they let you see.
Earl Sweatshirt, Mike, and Sideshow Are Proving That Rap Doesn’t Need to Have a Chosen One
Recent albums from the indie rap heroes gracefully toe the line between humility and divinity
The New New Jack Swing
A handful of new albums gives one woman hope for the resurgence of new jack swing ballads.
How PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson’s “Stateside” Interrogates the American Dream
A possibly too-close reading of one of the most ubiquitous songs of the year
What Does It Mean For Rap to Have “Substance”?
Hip-hop is constantly mired in discussions about importance, significance, and, yes, substance. If you come up for air, you’ll feel it all around you.