Tag: Pop

Ryuichi Sakamoto: the avant gardist who became a groundbreaking pop star | Music

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Ryuichi Sakamoto performing in 1988.

Ryuichi Sakamoto was not a man cut out to be a pop star. As a teenager, he liked the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, but his abiding passion was New York’s underground avant garde art […]

Post your questions for singing legend Darlene Love | Pop and rock

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Darlene Love in the early 1960s.

Hers is one of the most powerful voices in popular music: so warming in its deep register and so head-spinningly euphoric in its higher notes. At the age of 81, Darlene Love is still socking […]

Can you copyright a rhythm? Inside the reggaeton lawsuit that could shake the pop world | Music

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The label on the 7” single of Fish Market by Steely & Clevie

With the release of their song Fish Market in 1989, the Jamaican duo Cleveland “Clevie” Browne and Wycliffe “Steely” Johnson inadvertently changed the course of pop music. The track featured the first known example of […]

Charli XCX and Jack Antonoff to Write Songs for A24’s New Pop Music Movie Mother Mary

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jack antonoff

Jack Antonoff and Charli XCX will write and produce original songs for Mother Mary, a new film from David Lowery and A24 starring Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel. The film, a pop melodrama that follows […]

Review: Taylor Swift delivers master class in pop ambition

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A woman plays the piano covered in grass onstage

GLENDALE, Ariz. —  Taylor Swift stood on stage at State Farm Stadium, lights bouncing off her bedazzled leotard, and absorbed the sound of the 70,000 or so fans in front of her. “I don’t know how […]

‘She was no submissive puppet’: how I discovered the real Karen Carpenter’s determination and drive | Pop and rock

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The Carpenters performing on the BBC’s In Concert series in 1971, with Karen on the drums.

With their rapturous harmonies and lush production, the Carpenters were one of the biggest acts in the 1970s, selling over 100 million records with global hits like Close to You, Only Yesterday and Please Mr […]

13 Badass Hard Rock and Metal Covers by Pop Stars

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13 Badass Hard Rock and Metal Covers by Pop Stars

Of all people to cover Rammstein’s “Du Hast,” not many would guess Lizzo. And yet, at her recent arena show in Berlin, Lizzo busted out a full rendition of the song, finding real joy in […]

Caroline Polachek and OPN on Code-Switching and “Failure Pop”

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Caroline Polachek and OPN on Code-Switching and "Failure Pop"

Catsuit, Bikini, and Shoes Burberry. Belts Stylist’s Own. Kneepads Soma Faitanin. Jewelry Amy Rodriguez. Caroline Polachek is in the Valley putting the finishing touches on Desire, I Want to Turn Into You, the follow-up to […]

Legendary Pop Composer Burt Bacharach Dies at 94

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Burt Bacharach dies

Photo Credit: Marco Rosanova / CC by 3.0 A dominant force in American pop music for over 50 years, songwriter, composer, and producer Burt Bacharach died of natural causes at age 94. Legendary songwriter, arranger, […]

Burt Bacharach, visionary pop composer, has died at 94 : NPR

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Burt Bacharach, visionary pop composer, has died at 94 : NPR

Burt Bacharach, pictured here in 1970, wrote music that was accessible — it even sounds simple. But there is nothing simple about it. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images […]

Burt Bacharach: an astonishing creator of impermeable classics and supersmooth pop | Music

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Let’s dance … Dionne Warwick and Burt Bacharach recording in 1964.

With the arrival of rock’n’roll, pop music divided, broadly speaking, into two categories. There was music aimed squarely at the recently discovered teenager that frequently seemed to have the specific intention of alienating their forebears. […]