Fuck with Kesha, and you’re in for the fight of a lifetime. That’s the message of “Tik Tok,” “Die Young,” “Warrior,” and “We R Who We R” — hits about going to war with the night and coming out the victor — and of many of the singer-songwriter’s endeavors since then, including her protracted battle […]
Put simply, Taylor Swift’s new documentary Miss Americana is about one thing: cats. Totally kidding, but there is a smattering of cat propaganda, and I would’ve liked some answers about her role in the movie CATS. This is not that movie (luckily). Miss Americana is a coming-of-age story. By now, we all know the tale […]
This was always going to be a heavy Grammy ceremony, but there was no way to tell just how heavy it would get. Upheaval at the highest levels of the Recording Academy had muddied the days leading up to the show. On January 16, it was announced that Academy president and CEO Deborah Dugan — […]
The Grammys are ostensibly music’s biggest night, but once again, Sunday night’s awards felt more like music’s longest night. Looming over the celebration were two unexpected happenings: the sudden death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, and the news of turmoil within the organization, prompted by Recording Academy president Deborah Dugan’s ouster. Could there be a […]
The sky was thick with fog Sunday morning as media outlets began to take their place on the Grammys red carpet for music’s biggest night. There was already a significant heaviness preceding this year’s ceremony given the ongoing controversy surrounding the Academy and its decision to put its president, Deborah Dugan, on leave ten days […]
The 62nd annual Grammy Awards have arrived at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and many, many more Grammy Awards have arrived at the Microsoft Theater directly across the street. Before the performances begin, and following the victories Beyoncé and Lady Gaga have already netted, we’re gathering the best looks turned by the best stars […]
While the world is reeling from the tragic death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, the Grammys must go on. It’s music’s self-proclaimed biggest night of the year. This year’s nominees were announced back in November by Alicia Keys, who hosted the awards show for the second time. Turns out when Beyoncé sang “Who run the […]
Before seeing the documentary Miss Americana, which had its second Sundance Film Festival screening on Friday night in Salt Lake City, you’d be forgiven for thinking Taylor Swift and filmmaker Lana Wilson unlikely bedfellows. Wilson is best known for After Tiller, a probing, no-holds-barred doc centering on the only doctors in America willing to perform […]
“Music’s biggest night” is this Sunday, but it’s already been overshadowed by behind-the-scenes tension. Last Thursday, a dramatic news story broke revealing that Recording Academy president Deborah Dugan, newly in the role as of August 2019, was put on administrative leave only ten days ahead of this year’s Grammys ceremony. Dugan, the former CEO of […]
I first spoke with Fiona Apple back in September, after she spontaneously emailed me and gave her first interview in seven years. She was in the midst of working on a new album, her first since 2012’s The Idler Wheel, and had quite happily become the sort of homebody who rarely left her house except […]
Producer, composer, singer-songwriter, and session player Jon Brion has left an indelible mark on the face of pop, rock, and hip-hop over nearly 40 years of work. His impressive résumé includes collaborations with Fiona Apple, Elliott Smith, Aimee Mann, Kanye West, Frank Ocean, Beyoncé, and many more. He has scored two dozen films since the […]
Over the last year or so, through chance or subconscious ambition or some cosmic provenance, I’ve gotten to speak with a number of people who knew and worked with Mac Miller in his lifetime. They all give a similar account. Earl Sweatshirt compared his friend to a pirate ship on the go: “He was moving […]
Ahh, remember two days ago? The Academy Award nominations had just been announced, providing us all with the perfect opportunity to get upset. Some people huffed. Others puffed! It was a glorious time, but the news cycle moves quickly, and so the outrage subsided. Until now! Enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, another […]
Last week, Justin Bieber was roundly mocked for sharing a graphic on his Instagram page that instructed fans on how to game streaming numbers in an effort to get his new (uh) ode to marital relations, “Yummy,” to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It included tips like “Create a playlist with ‘Yummy’ on […]
The path to Selena Gomez’s third album has been beset on all sides by hardships. Gomez has fought a battle with lupus that led to intensive therapy, kidney transplant surgery, and cruel internet speculation about fluctuations in her weight. There were makeups and breakups with high-profile exes Justin Bieber and the Weeknd, whose Purpose and […]
How many of us woke up on January 1 empty-handed, robbed yet again of a chance to luxuriate in Rihanna’s elusive new album? Oh, that’s right — all 7.8 billion of us. It’s a new decade and the same old story: Artists will do as artists do, which in the ’20s, just as it was […]
R&Bieber’s back. After genre excursions into pure pop, country, EDM, and airport reggae on records with Billie Eilish, Dan + Shay, BloodPop, and Ed Sheeran, the Canadian singer shifts gears again on his first solo single since 2015’s Purpose. “Yummy” is a torrent of sexual innuendoes set to muted keys and trap drums. The beat […]