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A group of hip hop artists talking in the documentary “As We Speak.”

Rap Is Art, Not Evidence

A new documentary chronicles efforts to keep rap lyrics from being used by prosecutors, combatting a long-standing trend of criminalizing this art form.
by Kelsey Brown via YES! on May 14, 2024
Illustration of Guitar, a Gun and Roses by Eric Hanson

The Bully in the Ballad

Was Mississippi John Hurt really the first person to sing the tragic tale of Louis Collins?
by Eric McHenry via The American Scholar on December 15, 2022
A 1912 painting by Edward Percy Moran shows Francis Scott Key pointing to the American flag at Fort McHenry in Baltimore.

The National Anthem Was a 19th-Century Meme

Like many patriotic songs of its time, ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ was created by fitting a popular tune with topical new lyrics.
by Mark Clague via The Wall Street Journal on June 11, 2022
Biggie Smalls posing for the camera, with three friends looking on from behind.

Behind the Scenes of Ready to Die

An intimate look at the creation of an iconic album.
by Justin Tinsley via Literary Hub on May 20, 2022

Why are Pop Songs Getting Sadder Than They Used to Be?

The most popular songs today are sadder than they were 50 years ago: can cultural evolution explain this negative turn?
by Alberto Acerbi, Charlotte Brand via Aeon on February 4, 2020
Mavis Staples singing on stage, head back and hand raised.

Mavis Staples on Prince, Trump, Black Lives Matter, and Her Exercise Regimen

Mavis Staples' lyrics span from the civil-rights-era to today's societal issues.
by Mavis Staples, Elon Green via The New Yorker on September 11, 2017

Chuck Berry Invented the Idea of Rock and Roll

The origins of rock and roll are unknown, but no one can deny the role Chuck Berry played.
by Bill Wyman via Vulture on March 18, 2017

The Song That Never Ends: Why Earth, Wind & Fire's 'September' Sustains

How the Earth, Wind & Fire hit "September" came into being, and why it continues to unite the generations on the dance floor.
by Dan Charnas via NPR on September 19, 2014

“Take Me Out to the Ball Game”: The Story of Katie Casey and Our National Pastime

The little-known story of one of the best known sing-along songs, and its connection to women's suffrage.
by George Boziwick via Our Game on October 8, 2013
Kendrick Lamar in the spotlight performing a concert.

Bad Beef

Rap beef is form of capitalist accumulation that enriches artists—and, most of all, the corporate suits that run their record labels.
by Austin McCoy via Public Books on January 9, 2025
Bob Dylan performing on stage.

The Lines, They Are A-Changin’

Getting lost and found in the Bob Dylan archives.
by Justin Taylor via Bookforum on October 29, 2024
Billie Holiday singing in a recording studio.

Decades After Billie Holiday’s Death, ‘Strange Fruit’ is Still a Searing Testament to Injustice

Christian and Jewish themes influenced the world of art around one of jazz’s greatest singers.
by Tracy Fessenden via The Conversation on July 15, 2024
Bruce Springsteen performing at the New Haven Coliseum in New Haven, Connecticut circa 1977-1978.

Springsteen's U.S.A.

Steven Hyden's new book about Bruce Springsteen's iconic "Born in the U.S.A" album is the product of a lifelong passion for the music of "The Boss."
by Matt Hanson via American Purpose on July 1, 2024
Eden Ahbez.

The Strangest Hit Songwriter in History

He wrote one of my favorite songs, but was so much more than a composer.
by Ted Gioia via The Honest Broker on June 12, 2024
Joni Mitchell being interviewed in 1972 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Seeing Ourselves in Joni Mitchell

Ann Powers’s deeply personal biography of Joni Mitchell looks at how a generation of listeners came to identify with the folk singer’s intimate songs.
by David Hajdu via The Nation on June 11, 2024
An up close photograph of Leonard Cohen.

Leonard Cohen: Hippie Troubadour and Forgotten Reactionary

As the legend of the singer–poet–sex symbol grows, fans rarely acknowledge his conservative streak.
by Simon Lewsen via The Walrus on April 17, 2024
Jelly Roll Blues: Censored Songs & Hidden Histories

Jelly Roll Blues: Censored Songs & Hidden Histories

From the beginning of the recording industry, many voices have been suppressed and significant cultural history has been lost to prudery and censorship.
by Steve Provizer via Syncopated Times on April 1, 2024
Robert Frost on his farm near Ripton, Vermont.

America’s Great Poet of Darkness

A reconsideration of Robert Frost at 150.
by Ed Simon via The Hedgehog Review on March 26, 2024
South Pacific.

You've Got to Be Carefully Taught

Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific shows the limits–and power–of mainstream entertainment in addressing weighty social topics.
by Stephen Akey via American Purpose on March 1, 2024
Parental advisory sticker warning of explicit content.
partner

Who Gets to Regulate #*%&? Free Speech in Popular Culture

When speech offends, who decides where boundaries should be drawn?
via Retro Report on January 18, 2024
A series of headshots of the members of R.E.M..

Was It Cooler Back Then?

A search for the memory of R.E.M. in Athens, Georgia.
by Benjamin Hedin via Oxford American on December 5, 2023
A drawing of a family tree of white rappers connecting Eminem and Macklemore.

A Brief Cultural History of the White Rapper

Why do they exist? Where did they come from? Can they be defended? The most pressing questions, answered.
by Alex Skopic via Current Affairs on November 29, 2023
Snoop Dogg.

The Snoop Dogg Manifesto

A pop star’s road map to decadence.
by Armond White via National Review on November 15, 2023
Lou Reed in front of a photography setup.

The Canonization of Lou Reed

In a new biography, the Velvet Underground front man embodies a New York that exists only in memory.
by Jeremy Lybarger via The New Republic on October 17, 2023

Why Generational Thinking Isn't Bull

Reflections on Pavement, Nirvana, the very meaning of history, and the end of neoliberalism.
by Charles Petersen via Making History on October 8, 2023
Chuck Berry performing with a guitar.

The Transgressor

RJ Smith’s biography of Chuck Berry examines his subject’s instinct for crossing the line musically, racially, and morally.
by RJ Smith via New York Review of Books on September 28, 2023
Hip hop nightclub.

Golden-Era Rap Music and the Black Intellectual Tradition

In Hip hop’s “golden era,” the period from 1987 to 1994, rappers used their platforms to bring attention to issues plaguing poor and working-class Black communities.
by Antoine S. Johnson via Black Perspectives on August 15, 2023
Shadow of Jason Aldean performing on stage.

Jason Aldean's 'Small Town' Is Part of a Long Legacy with a Very Dark Side

The country song that pits idyllic country life against the corruption of the city is a well-worn trope. Aldean's song reveals the dark heart of the tradition.
by Amanda Marie Martinez via NPR on July 22, 2023
Hands placing silhouettes of witnesses onto a chart using tweezers.

An Offer You Can’t Refuse

How a mob statute metastasized.
by Piper French via The Drift on July 12, 2023
L: Current Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis; R: Former Florida Gov. LeRoy Collins.

The Overlooked Origins of the War on Bud Light and Other “Woke” Companies

Starbucks and Anheuser-Busch are the latest corporate targets of tactics honed by segregationists post–Brown v. Board.
by Lawrence B. Glickman via Slate on July 5, 2023
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