Kraftwerk’s Seductive Post-Human
The power in Kraftwerk’s music lies in how they persuade us that the human – sweaty, inefficient, psychologically noisy – is the least necessary component of the future.
music feature
The Mountain Goats and the Evolution of Our Idols
The Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle is adept at carving patterns, often creating threads in his music by returning to idols that are both familiar and ever-evolving.
Maia Sharp on Testing Her Own Truths
For singer-songwriter Maia Sharp, every song is both a mirror and a map, a way of testing her truths against the larger, shifting world.
Rufus Wainwright’s Fascination for Kurt Weill’s Music
Long obsessed with classic idols, Rufus Wainwright talks about his fascination with Kurt Weill and his new album of Weill’s strikingly relevant music.
Gen X’s Nostalgia for 1980s Music Is a Memory Problem
Gen X nostalgia for 1980s music like Starship’s “We Built This City” and Toto’s “Africa” is built on old forgotten words and ancient melodies – and faulty memory.
Trump Country Music’s Dance of the Cowboy Boots
Trump country music has right-wing country stars and fans dancing to the beat of the authoritarian in their hard-heeled country boots… for now.
Taylor Swift Between Idols and Icons
Taylor Swift dazzlingly shows how our idols’ humanity is reduced and replaceable, but our icons help us recognize that love is what binds us and makes life meaningful.
Nine Inch Nails’ Dive into the Green Decay
Just as J.G. Ballard framed decay and overgrowth as both terrifying and strangely beautiful, Nine Inch Nails’ The Fragile exists in that same green duality; lush, hypnotic, and suffocating.
Gaby Amarantos Codifies Rock Doido
With Rock Doido, a work of homage and cultural repossession, Amazonic diva Gaby Amarantos solidifies the status of “rock doido” as a musical genre.
When Feminist Anthems Were Volume-Controlled
From an era when protest music rang out across every other frontier, we have only seven feminist songs where the lyrics spoke explicitly to women’s liberation.
Shoegaze, Virginia Woolf, and Dissolute Structures
As with shoegaze’s crescendoing textures, there’s a sheer force of sensory feeling in Virginia Woolf’s verisimilitude.
John Lennon’s Science of Songwriting
What compels creativity at the level of John Lennon’s songwriting is difficult to pin down, but sifting through various pearls of wisdom illuminates the mystery.