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Music Featured: Top of Home Page Features Music Features PopMatters Picks

Tom Waits’ Perfect Performance 50 Years Later

By

Matt Mahler / 20 November 2025

Nighthawks at the Diner has received a 50th anniversary reissue. It remains a jazzy, captivating portrait of a young Tom Waits deep in character.

Features

‘The Brutalist’ Delivers a Bold Revision of the American Dream

‘The Brutalist’ Delivers a Bold Revision of the American Dream

By

Liam Springate-Jones / 20 November 2025

Pantheon’s House of High-Tech Mirrors

PopMatters Picks

Pantheon’s House of High-Tech Mirrors

By

Amir Segal / 20 November 2025

Jesse Welles Sings Out for Truth and Justice

Jesse Welles Sings Out for Truth and Justice

By

Greg M. Schwartz / 20 November 2025

MADA Festival’s Psychedelic Delirium

MADA Festival’s Psychedelic Delirium

By

Ana Clara Ribeiro / 19 November 2025

Cautious Clay’s New Album Is Evening Angst Distilled

Cautious Clay’s New Album Is Evening Angst Distilled

By

Colin Scanlon / 18 November 2025

Southside Johnny: Bluesman, Soul Shouter, Moving Balladeer

Southside Johnny: Bluesman, Soul Shouter, Moving Balladeer

By

Gary Stern / 18 November 2025

Music Reviews

Music Music Reviews PopMatters Picks Reviews

The Howling Harmonies of the Avett Brothers and Mike Patton

By

Matthew McEver / 20 November 2025

Music Music Reviews PopMatters Picks Reviews

Fame Is the New Muse of 5 Seconds of Summer

By

Matthew Dwyer / 20 November 2025

Reviews Music Music Reviews

This Is Supposedly the Best of Everything But the Girl

By

John Bergstrom / 20 November 2025

The Necks Experiment with Long-Form Minimalism

The Kyle Sowashes Resist Defeat on ‘Start Making Sense’

Sudan Archives’ ‘The BPM’ Delivers Dancefloor-Ready Anthems

keiyaA Finds Strength in Stretching Out on ‘hooke’s law’

Amir ElSaffar Explores Microtones in a Unique Setting

Bob Dylan Scholarship Comes in ‘Through the Open Window’

Tame Impala Seek Truth Through Imperfection in ‘Deadbeat’

Blondie Went Genre Crazy on Their Comeback ‘No Exit’

Music Features

Music Featured: Top of Home Page Features Music Features PopMatters Picks

Tom Waits’ Perfect Performance 50 Years Later

By

Matt Mahler / 20 November 2025

Music Events Feature Sub Head Features Music Features Reviews

Jesse Welles Sings Out for Truth and Justice

By

Greg M. Schwartz / 20 November 2025

Books Featured: Top of Home Page Features Music Music Features

Rock of Pages: The Literary Tradition of 1980s Heavy Metal (excerpt)

By

Jesse Kavadlo / 19 November 2025

MADA Festival’s Psychedelic Delirium

Cautious Clay’s New Album Is Evening Angst Distilled

Southside Johnny: Bluesman, Soul Shouter, Moving Balladeer

Why 2025 Is a Crucial Year for Post K-pop

Gen X’s Nostalgia for 1980s Music Is a Memory Problem

Why the New GWAR Don’t Feel Dangerous Anymore

Singles Going Steady

Music Singles Going Steady

Oliver Ray Gets Darkly Political in “Black Budget”

By

Jack Walters / 18 November 2025

Music Singles Going Steady

Bill Callahan Gets Busy Living on “The Man I’m Supposed to Be”

By

Patrick Gill / 17 November 2025

Music Singles Going Steady

Boy Golden Finds Love in His “Cowboy Dreams”

By

Steve Horowitz / 17 November 2025

Film

‘The Brutalist’ Delivers a Bold Revision of the American Dream

‘The Brutalist’ Delivers a Bold Revision of the American Dream

By

Liam Springate-Jones / 20 November 2025

Three Robert Hossein Films Evoke Harold Pinter

Three Robert Hossein Films Evoke Harold Pinter

By

Matt Mahler / 17 November 2025

‘Sirius’ Casts a Glittering Eye on WWII Hungary

‘Sirius’ Casts a Glittering Eye on WWII Hungary

By

Michael Barrett / 13 November 2025

‘He Who Gets Slapped’ Gets Its Slap-Happy Revenge

‘He Who Gets Slapped’ Gets Its Slap-Happy Revenge

By

Michael Barrett / 11 November 2025

‘Peter Hujar’s Day’ Finds and Makes Meaning in the Mundane

‘Peter Hujar’s Day’ Finds and Makes Meaning in the Mundane

By

Matt Mahler / 10 November 2025

‘Die My Love’ Is An Act of Self-Destruction

‘Die My Love’ Is An Act of Self-Destruction

By

Paul Risker / 10 November 2025

‘Lighthouse’ Shines Amidst B-Movie Trappings

‘Lighthouse’ Shines Amidst B-Movie Trappings

By

Imran Khan / 5 November 2025

Books

Books Featured: Top of Home Page Features Music Music Features

Rock of Pages: The Literary Tradition of 1980s Heavy Metal (excerpt)

By

Jesse Kavadlo / 19 November 2025

Reviews Books Feature Sub Head

‘Damaged People’ and the Inescapability of Intergenerational Trauma

By

Thomas Scott McKenzie / 11 November 2025

Books Music Reviews

Lemonheads’ Evan Dando Authors His Addictive Hooks

By

Brian Stout / 11 November 2025

Video Game Storytelling Is a World-Colliding Reinvention

The Beach Boys Sing for Peter Doggett

Television

Pantheon’s House of High-Tech Mirrors

PopMatters Picks

Pantheon’s House of High-Tech Mirrors

By

Amir Segal / 20 November 2025

‘The Lowdown’ Finds Hilarity in the Lowest Places

‘The Lowdown’ Finds Hilarity in the Lowest Places

By

Ana Yorke / 11 November 2025

When Celebrity Spouses Go Off-Script

When Celebrity Spouses Go Off-Script

By

Shandela Contreras / 22 October 2025

‘Zero Day’ Disconnects Our Worst Fears

‘Zero Day’ Disconnects Our Worst Fears

By

Liam Springate-Jones / 22 October 2025

Interviews

Music Feature Sub Head Featured: Top of Home Page Features Interviews Music Features

Cautious Clay’s New Album Is Evening Angst Distilled

By

Colin Scanlon / 18 November 2025

Music All Things Reconsidered Feature Sub Head Features Interviews Music Features Pop Past Pop Past Music

Chubby Checker’s Unexpected Journey Into Psychedelia

By

Sal Cataldi / 7 November 2025

Music Feature Sub Head Features Interviews Music Features

Take a Dose of Winterpills and See ‘How We Dance’

By

Michael Bialas / 7 November 2025

Greet Death’s Depression Anthems Are Suited to the Times

The Complete Oral History of Caravan Palace’s <|°_°|>

Lists

10 David Gray Songs You Need to Hear (That Aren’t “Babylon”)

10 David Gray Songs You Need to Hear (That Aren’t “Babylon”)

By

Brice Ezell / 11 November 2025

MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of November 2025

Feature Sub Head

MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of November 2025

By

Spyros Stasis / 10 November 2025

12 Horror Movies That Burrow Into Our Psyches

12 Horror Movies That Burrow Into Our Psyches

By

PopMatters Staff / 30 October 2025

MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of October 2025

MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of October 2025

By

Spyros Stasis / 27 October 2025

The Best 1970s Horror Movies for Halloween

The Best 1970s Horror Movies for Halloween

By

Michael Barrett / 23 October 2025

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PopMatters Seeks Book Critics and Essayists

PopMatters Seeks Book Critics and Essayists

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Karen Zarker / 24 January 2024

Submit an Essay, Review, Interview, or List to PopMatters

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PopMatters Seeks Music Writers

PopMatters Seeks Music Writers

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PopMatters Seeks Film Critics and Essayists

PopMatters Seeks Film Critics and Essayists

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