Miles Davis’ ‘Filles de Kilimanjaro’ Makes a Jazz Noise
Miles Davis was a shapeshifter, and in his restlessness, he urged and created the groundwork for protean music that reflected shapes and shifts.
All Things Reconsidered
The Enduring Mystery of the Jaynetts’ “Sally Go ‘Round the Roses”
The Jaynett’s ’60s pop single “Sally Go ‘Round the Roses” is equal parts all surface and inscrutable depth, which is why a range of artists cover it to this day.
This Is Your Life: XTC’s ‘Oranges & Lemons’ at 35
In 1989, XTC released Oranges & Lemons, one of their finest. There are nods to trippy 1960s touchstones, but it’s more of a lush, power-pop celebration.
60 Years On: The Animals, the Hollies, and British Beat
As these 1964 albums from the Animals and the Hollies show, the music of the beat boom was characterized by excitement, reverence, and sound.
Morphine’s ‘The Night’: A ‘Souvenir’ of a Golden Era
Morphine saxophonist Dana Colley looks back at the alt-rock band’s career and discusses the newly expanded vinyl reissues for The Night and Like Swimming.
Pop-Rock Not for the Masses: Nellie McKay’s ‘Get Away From Me’ at 20
Nellie McKay is appealing but with an edge, offering hooks but also barbs, looking back at the past and ahead of her time. She could be a pop star in 2024.
Marilyn Monroe Really Knew How to Act
Marilyn Monroe’s performative femininity as Sugar in Some Like It Hot is just as artificial as Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon’s drag characters’, only better.
Brian Eno’s ‘Here Come the Warm Jets’ After 50 Years
Brian Eno’s approach captured the best of what we wanted from punk, new wave, prog, glam, and classic ’60s pop and channeled their excesses by relying on chance.
Film Producer David Puttnam on the Making of ‘The Killing Fields’
The Killing Fields, the harrowing film set in Cambodia during the Pol Pot regime, could not be made until after Chariots of Fire, Producer David Puttnam recalls.
Buffy Sainte-Marie’s ‘It’s My Way!’ at 60: Maybe Not Entirely Her Way!
For decades, Buffy Sainte-Marie was celebrated as America’s most famous Indigenous musician. Recent revelations force a reconsideration of her music.
Joni Mitchell’s ‘Court and Spark’ Still Smolders at 50
While the shift from folk to jazz-rock on Joni Mitchell’s Court and Spark may seem like commercial ambition, it was layered and signaled a profound change.
The Hotelier’s ‘Home, Like Noplace Is There’ Is Peak Emo Revival
The Hotelier’s harrowing Home, Like Noplace Is There is a defining record of the emo revival. It can make us feel less alone in our darkest moments.