The end of the Eras
After 149 shows over nearly two years, Taylor Swift's blockbuster, career-defining show comes to an end. Has it changed pop…
ByPop music
Why Paul McCartney cannot let it be
The great Beatle and the shadow of John Lennon.
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Charli XCX’s victory lap
A recent London show proved Brat is the album of the year, and she is the artist of the moment.…
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The understated power of Charlotte Day Wilson
Her cool style only makes her music more emotionally powerful, especially live.
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Quincy Jones’s gift to music
The venerated producer, who has died at the age of 91, brought a jazz sensibility to pop.
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How Kraftwerk’s Autobahn remade pop
Half a century ago, the art-rock band introduced the world to the vocoder. Their sound – and pop music –…
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Against child stardom
As another former teen idol’s story ends in tragedy, we must ask: should we let children become famous?
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Self Esteem: “I’ve been maturing my disgust at societal norms”
Rebecca Lucy Taylor’s hit record Prioritise Pleasure was a loud rejection of the status quo. Her next album is “a…
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The media is damaging public life by “sanewashing” Donald Trump
Should we avoid reporting reality simply because it isn’t new? Plus: unease at the Observer and the tragic death of…
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Liam Payne was a victim of the pop pin-up machine
The dream that One Direction represented now seems an obvious nightmare.
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Colin Greenwood’s tour diary: checking in with Radiohead and suiting up for Nick Cave
The bassist on becoming a Bad Seed, reconvening with old friends, and how life on the road has changed.
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Charli XCX should let Brat summer die
It was exhilarating for a while, but there is power in knowing a moment has passed.
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Chappell Roan’s war on fandom
Like her peer Charli XCX, the pop star of the moment wants to free artists from a “creepy” culture of…
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Florence + the Machine at the Proms: a thrilling two hours of pure emotion
This imaginative orchestral reworking of her debut album Lungs was part film score, part pop song, and totally euphoric.
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The Sabrina Carpenter effect
The pop star has hit the mainstream thanks to a playful sense of humour that brings her smart, elliptical songs…
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Why terror targets Taylor Swift fans
On a street in Vienna, the star’s fans are building a sanctuary in defiance against the threat of terror and…
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Donald Trump is Brat
The meme has transcended culture and taken over politics. Why has everyone misunderstood it?
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At Hyde Park, Stevie Nicks is a powerful presence
The Fleetwood Mac singer is 76 years old – but she doesn’t sound it.
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The young prole rebels of Dexys Midnight Runners
Denied an audience with frontman Kevin Rowland, the author Nige Tassell asks the band’s army of musicians to tell its…
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Rediscovering the bright lights
An old album and a Pet Shop Boys gig remind me of music’s power to refresh memories and forge new…
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