How Strong, Angry Women in Pop Culture Guided Me Through the COVID-19 Pandemic
Why do men in the LGBTQ+ community often take comfort in the feminine pop music made by strong, angry women? We’ve also had to fight for our femininity.
Madonna
35 Years Ago Madonna Staged on Her (First) Bid for Artistic Credibility with ‘True Blue’
Madonna’s True Blue is a concerted effort to prove her mettle as an accomplished singer-songwriter. For the first time in her career, she co-wrote and co-produced all nine tracks.
20 Music Videos of the ’80s That Have Aged Well
In this second installment of the retrospective of music videos from the 1980s, we focus on 20 promos that have, remarkably, stood the test of time.
15 Overlooked and Underrated Albums of the 1990s
With every "Best of the '90s" retrospective comes a predictable list of entries. Here are 15 albums that are often overlooked as worthy of placing in these lists, and are too often underrated as some of the best records from the decade.
The 11 Greatest Hits From “Greatest Hits” Compilations
It's one of the strangest pop microcosms in history: singles released exclusively from Greatest Hits compilations. We rounded 'em up and ranked 'em to find out what is truly the greatest Greatest Hit of all.
‘We’re Not Here to Entertain’ Is Not Here to Break the Cycle of Punk’s Failures
Even as it irritates me, Kevin Mattson's We're Not Here to Entertain is worth reading because it has so much direct relevance to American punks operating today.
This Is How You Break Into My House to Find Me: An Interview with Sxip Shirey
Sxip Shirey found recent success with "Woman of Constant Sorrow", and now discusses robotic bells, the pleasure of composing for circuses, and his new album A Bottle of Whiskey and a Handful of Bees.
Phil Collins: Singles
The main question with Singles is this: does Phil Collins really deserve all the critical revilement he's gotten for decades?
Is ‘Madonna: Tears of a Clown’ a Laughing Matter?
In Madonna's bizarre one-off concert in Australia, she proved that she's still willing to push the envelope with a bold artistic statement. But what exactly was she saying?
Madonna Isn’t That Interesting, But Alina Simone Is
Madonnaland is not the end-cap of Simone's existential musings; it's an intense jewel in the already sparkly crown of a consistently perceptive critic.
‘Madonna: Innocence Lost’ Was Tawdry But Fun
This highly stylized interpretation of Madonna’s hand-to-mouth existence possesses the sort of terribleness you would expect of a TV movie -- but it’s the kind of trash diet that leaves you feeling fulfilled, somehow.