Music

"I don't care much about music. What I like is sounds." — Dizzy Gillespie

Eurovision in Wartime
Lina Abascal reports from the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden.
Lina AbascalJul 16
- Music
- Cultural Studies
Reviving “Ophelia”: On Returning to the Music of Natalie Merchant
Jenny Boyar writes about her midlife rediscovery of singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant.
Jenny BoyarJul 5
Echo, Echo: Death, Rebirth, and New Age Music
In an excerpt from LARB Quarterly no. 41, “Truth,” Peter Holslin reflects on synthesizer drones, inoffensive ambience, and his father’s affinity for...
Peter HolslinMay 7
Respect Is Just a Minimum: On HBO Max’s “Rap Sh!t”
Alyx Vesey bemoans the cancellation of HBO Max’s series about a female hip-hop duo, “Rap Sh!t.”
Alyx VeseyApr 25
- Music
- Television
Actual Real Life: On Curtis Hanson’s “8 Mile”
Jayson Buford revisits Curtis Hanson and Eminem’s “8 Mile.”
Jayson BufordApr 14
Ocean of Sound
Theo Spielberg appreciates Fatima Al Qadiri’s haunting score for the 2019 Senegalese film “Atlantics.”
Theo SpielbergApr 11
- Film
- Music
One-Man Band: A Conversation with Ben Greenman
Jaelani Turner-Williams interviews Ben Greenman, co-author of Sly Stone’s “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin).”
Jaelani Turner-WilliamsMar 28
The Journey of a Musical Émigré: On Inna Faliks’s “Weight in the Fingertips”
Herb Randall reviews Inna Faliks’s “Weight in the Fingertips: A Musical Odyssey from Soviet Ukraine to the World Stage.”
Herb RandallMar 18
Fading Memories: On Sly Stone’s “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)”
Matthew Ritchie reviews Sly Stone’s “Thank Ya (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin).”
Matthew K. RitchieMar 11
- Music
That Mystic Shit: On Lou Reed’s “The Art of the Straight Line” and Will Hermes’s “The King of New York”
Michael Scott Moore writes on the life, death, and possible religion of Lou Reed, via Lou Reed’s “The Art of the Straight Line: My Tai Chi” and Will...
Michael Scott MooreMar 2
- Biography & Autobiography
- Music
I Had Become the Target: On Taylor Swift and the Power of Revisionism
In a preview of the upcoming LARB Quarterly issue, no. 41: “Truth,” Claire Shaffer muses on how Taylor Swift has begun to recast her personal story...
Claire ShafferFeb 10
- Cultural Studies
- Music
The Bottom of the Funnel: On Blacks, Jews, Whiteness, Conspiracy, and Hip-Hop
Adam Mansbach writes about his experience growing up among antisemitism and hip-hop.
Adam MansbachFeb 3
- Memoir & Essay
- Music