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William P. Gottlieb / Library of Congress Thelonious Monk's Quiet, Slow Conquest of the World
For decades a respected but somewhat eccentric figure even within the jazz scene, the pianist and composer is at the peak of his influence as he reaches his centennial this month.
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Richard Shotwell / AP Hip-Hop's 'Rockstar' Moment Gets Its No. 1 Hit
Post Malone’s smash marks the biggest charts year for rap in a decade—and shows rap’s obsession with the genre it dethroned.
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Matador Rock and Roll to Break Your Writer's Block To
Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett's Lotta Sea Lice charmingly riffs on the question of where inspiration comes from.
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Reuters / Mario Anzuoni What Makes Eminem's Trump Diss Special (and What Doesn't)
The rapper’s unique in speaking to the president's supporters—but his freestyle is otherwise typical of 2017’s hip-hop politics.
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Steve Hengstler / Katie Martin / The Atlantic Remembering Hüsker Dü's Grant Hart
The musician, who died in September at age 56, helped influence alt-rock giants like Nirvana—but didn’t see the appreciation he deserved in his lifetime.
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Charles Sykes / AP Harvey Weinstein, Jay-Z, and the Misuse of Art
The film producer explained away his alleged misconduct by making up the words to a very personal song.
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Chip East / Reuters Nina Simone Nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame—Finally
This year’s list spans gospel and synth-pop, as well as overdue inclusions and new shoo-ins.
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Amy Harris / Invision / AP The Nuanced Bluster of Kamasi Washington
Two years after The Epic, the saxophonist is back with a lush, soaring ode to unity.
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Geffen Records / Vevo Tom Petty's Psychedelic Curveball Triumph
“Don't Come Around Here No More” is an outlier in the late rocker’s catalogue—and all the more glorious for it.
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Chris Pizzello / Invision / AP For Women Seeking Pop Hits in 2017, It's a Climb
Miley Cyrus, Shania Twain, and Demi Lovato’s new albums enter a newly indifferent charts landscape.
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Amy Harris / Invision / AP The Humble Hugeness of Tom Petty
The rocker, who always let his songs be the star, is dead at 66.
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Bill Hughes / Las Vegas News Bureau / … Another Concert Made Into a Target
A country-music festival in Las Vegas joins the list of pop-cultural gatherings—usually places of community and escape—to become sites of mass killing.
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Scott Kowalchyk / CBS Chance the Rapper's Radical Humility on Colbert
His delicate new song makes the problems of fame shockingly relatable.
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Greg Allen / AP When Stevie Wonder
Took a KneeHigh-profile members of the music world are showing solidarity with Colin Kaepernick—as well as the various ways protest translates across cultural spheres.
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Netflix Lady Gaga's Illness Is Not a Metaphor
A new film details the reason the star postponed her recent tour—and will test cultural attitudes about gender, pain, and pop.
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Owen Sweeney / AP The False Prophets of Protest Music
Members of Rage Against the Machine, Public Enemy, and Cypress Hill team up for political rock that seems immediately obsolete.
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Kevin Mazur / Hand in Hand / Getty The Apolitical Politics of the Celebrity Hurricane Telethon
Amid raising $44 million, Stevie Wonder and Beyoncé blew past the question of whether it’d be divisive to talk about climate change.
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Colin Young-Wolff / AP Princess Nokia's Brash, Oddball Rap
The young artist’s 1992 Deluxe is a super-fun, smart celebration of how identity is tied to culture.
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Evan Agostini / AP The National's Super-Political Love Songs
The singer and lyricist Matt Berninger talks about his band’s adventurous, election-influenced new album.
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RCA Records / Warp Records / Universal Music … 29 New Albums to Listen to This Fall
From Miley Cyrus to Kamasi Washington, the most anticipated records of the season
