Ellen McIlwaine Made Music For ‘We the People’ 50 Years Ago
By combining multiple styles, playing techniques, and cultural influences, Ellen McIlwaine challenged notions of genre classification and embraced music as a “universal language”.
blues
The Crowning Glory of Chicago’s Blues King Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters’ Hard Again is his best studio album. It’s a glowing monument to him and to what electric Chicago blues can be at its very best.
Reissues of Tinariwen’s Early Albums Recall the Saharan Group at Their Most Iconic
Unimpeachable in both technique and sincerity, Aman Iman and Imidiwan are potent assemblages of the qualities that make Tinariwen’s music evergreen.
Hiding in Plain Sight: Bob Dylan’s ‘Good As I Been to You’ at 30
Good As I Been To You was warmly received by critics, but a Bob Dylan album of covers with a stripped-down, rough-edged acoustic aesthetic did not satisfy fans’ hunger for new Dylan material.
Through the Eye of a Needle: The Unlikely Success of Son House’s ‘Father of Folk Blues’
Son House is the most important Delta blues rediscovery of the 1960s, and his Father of Folk Blues LP is the best blues rediscovery studio album.
Bob Stanley’s Book on the Birth of Pop Music Spins One Helluva Playlist
Bob Stanley provides an utterly comprehensive and much-appreciated reference guide for the world of pre-rock pop music. We just need to carve out a million hours to stream the music.
Bob Dylan Remains Hard to Pin Down with ‘The Philosophy of Modern Song’
In The Philosophy of Modern Song, Bob Dylan conveys his thoughts in his signature styles, as in his lyrics, he can be plainspoken, gnomic, and over the top.
The Joke’s on You: Bob Dylan’s ‘The Philosophy of Modern Song’
Bob Dylan’s The Philosophy of Modern Song is an awful book, awash with misogyny and crusty old man rants like a drunken, MAGA hat-wearing uncle.
Ruthie Foster Sings to the Choir and with Them on ‘Healing Time’
The desire for personal love, secular community, and religious redemption make for a powerful package on Ruthie Foster’s Healing Time.
In Bob Stanley’s Let’s Do It ‘The Winds Grow Colder’ for Judy Garland and Billie Holiday
In this excerpt from Bob Stanley’s history of pop music, Let’s Do It, the music and stories of iconic singers Judy Garland and Billie Holiday are forever intertwined.
‘Addicted to Noise’: Tom Waits Tests Michael Goldberg’s Sense of Humor
Tom Waits splashes about in his “puddle of consciousness”, testing Michael Goldberg’s sense of humor in this interview excerpted from Goldberg’s new book, Addicted to Noise.
Blues Artist Rory Block Takes on Female Pop Hits in ‘Ain’t Nobody Worried’
Rory Block offers blues takes on female pop hits. The best songs on Ain’t Nobody Worried showcase her soulful guitar playing as much as her expressive voice.