Why Go Low When You Can Go High?
Why has pop music moved away from lower male voices? They can be heard as more mature, seductive, and thus potentially dangerous. Read more.
When the Piano Man Picks Up a Guitar
Billy Joel is a pop stylist before anything else, but his jazzy sensibilities make his songs sound slightly different than the rest. Read more.
Billy Corgan’s Wall of Sound
On "Siamese Dream," Billy Corgan creates a fullness of sound and texture that wallops the listener with a tidal wave of fuzzed-out arena rock Read more.
Stupid Pop Star Tricks: Pat Boone’s “In a Metal Mood…”
Pat Boone's metal album was head-scratching but harmless fun. That doesn’t make it any less strange. Read more.
Albums You Might Not Know: Robbie Robertson’s “Contact From the Underworld of Redboy”
In 1998, Robbie Robertson explored his Indigenous roots with an ambitious and rewarding album. Read more.
A Year After Going Electric, Bob Dylan’s Transformation Was Still Making Waves
The Timothée Chalamet Bob Dylan biopic doesn't tell the whole story. The "Judas" jeers happened in Manchester in 1966. Read more.
The Only Christmas Album You Need
Bad Religion's "Christmas Songs" celebrates a time when Christianity wasn’t merely performative. Read more.
The Case Against Pop Christmas Music
Adam Carlson shares his thoughts on how pop Christmas music is ruining the holidays. Read more.
New Jack Swing: The Subgenre That Revlolutionized R&B and Hip-Hop
New jack swing took over pop R&B for nearly a decade and pop music would never be the same. Read more.
Who Writes a Song About a Car Crash?
The phenomenon remains a strange footnote in the history of American pop music. Read more.