music — Bunk History

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William S. Burroughs and the Cult of Rock ‘n’ Roll

From Bob Dylan to David Bowie to The Beatles, the legendary Beat writer’s influence reached beyond literature into music in surprising ways.

by Casey Rae via Longreads on June 11, 2019

Odetta Holmes’ Album One Grain of Sand

Odetta’s artistry was a weapon in the Civil Rights struggle, and was crucial to the era’s politics.

by Matthew Frye Jacobson via Longreads on May 22, 2019

Rhiannon Giddens and What Folk Music Means

The roots musician is inspired by the evolving legacy of the black string band.

by John Jeremiah Sullivan via The New Yorker on May 13, 2019

Tom Petty: A Cool, Gray Neo-Confederate?

Michael Washburn explains what we can glean from the failure of Tom Petty's 1985 concept album "Southern Accents."

by Michael Washburn, Connor Goodwin via Los Angeles Review of Books on May 5, 2019

How a Small-Town Navy Vet Created Rock’s Most Iconic Surrealist Posters

The story of one of rock's most prolific poster artists.

by Ben Marks via Collectors Weekly on March 28, 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

Vessel of Antiquity

Influence, invention, and the legacy of Leon Redbone.

by Megan Pugh via Oxford American on March 19, 2019

Poster for minstrelsy cake walk

The Faces of Racism

A history of blackface and minstrelsy in American culture.

via BackStory on February 8, 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

Baby, Christmas Songs Have Always Been Controversial

Long before “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” holiday songs played a part in the War on Christmas.

by Neil J. Young via The Atlantic on December 24, 2018

How 'Green Book' And The Hollywood Machine Swallowed Donald Shirley Whole

Why relatives of the musician depicted in "Green Book" called the film “a symphony of lies.”

by Brooke Obie via Shadow and Act on December 14, 2018

'I'm Feeling Bad About America'

The sick history of the U.S. campaign song.

by J. W. McCormack via The Baffler on November 1, 2018

David Porter Takes Us to School

The man who wrote "Soul Man" gives a master class on how code-switching through music helped catalyze the Civil Rights Movement.

by Tonyaa Weathersbee via The Bitter Southerner on October 16, 2018

Here Is a Human Being

The Spotify and Ancestry partnership proposes to entertain users based on the narrowest possible conception of who they are.

by Cam Scott via Popula on September 27, 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

How Auto-Tune Revolutionized the Sound of Popular Music

An in-depth history of the most important pop innovation of the last 20 years, from Cher’s “Believe” to Kanye West to Migos.

by Simon Reynolds via Pitchfork on September 17, 2018

Canon Fodder

Where's the country music on Pitchfork's Best Albums of the 1980s?

by Shuja Haider via Popula on September 13, 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

The Forgotten Story of Pure Hell, America’s First Black Punk Band

The four-piece lived with the New York Dolls and played with Sid Vicious, but they’ve been largely written out of cultural history.

by Cassidy George via Dazed on August 8, 2018

Who's the Boss?

When conductor and soloist clash, a concerto performance can turn into a contest of wills.

by Sudip Bose via The American Scholar on July 26, 2018

The Counterfeit Queen of Soul

A strange and bittersweet ballad of kidnapping, stolen identity and unlikely stardom.

by Jeff Maysh via Smithsonian on June 28, 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

Donald Trump’s Use of the “Star-Spangled Banner” Is an American Tradition

It's a short song with a complicated history.

by Michael J. Pfeifer via HNN on May 29, 2018

The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show Lives on in the Internet Archive

Episodes from the infamous hip-hop radio show of the '90s.

by Drew Millard via The Outline on May 26, 2018

God Gave Rock and Roll to You

Fiery, energetic and preached by charismatic frontmen, Pentecostal Christianity had a big influence on rock and roll in its formative years.

by Randall J. Stephens via History Today on May 16, 2018

Lynyrd Skynyrd: Inside the Band's Complicated History With the South

The Southern-rock group is much different than the one Ronnie Van Zant led in the Seventies.

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine via Rolling Stone on May 15, 2018

The Historical Roots of Blues Music

The blues is not "slave music," but the music of freed African Americans.

by Lamont Pearley Sr. via Black Perspectives on May 9, 2018

King's Death Gave Birth to Hip-Hop

The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. led directly to hip-hop, an era that is often contrasted with his legacy.

by Vann R. Newkirk II via The Atlantic on April 8, 2018

The Ambivalence of Appropriation

A new book by Eric Lott frames white appropriation of blackness as containing the possibility of greater racial solidarity.

by Noah Hansen via Public Books on March 29, 2018

Organ Grinding

When the audience revolted at Carnegie Hall.

by Sudip Bose via The American Scholar on March 29, 2018

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