Somewhere in America Miley Cyrus is appropriating black culture, but she’s certainly not the only artist—we’ve got a long and tangled history of it.
Music
Posted inBooks, Arts and Culture
Egypt’s Hot New Sound
A mix of sped up wedding songs and synthesizers made on computers with pirated software, a new dance music out of Cairo’s slums and dealing with social issues is sweeping the country.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Sentimental for the Stones Ages
Who has two thumbs and won’t be attending a Rolling Stones concert this year? This moi.
Posted inBooks, Arts and Culture
When Rock Criticism Found Its Voice
A new book charts the intellectual history of the Village Voice’s towering rock critics, as well as the community that sprung up around them.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Politicians Awkwardly Dropping Pop Culture References
When Marco Rubio keeps reminding everyone he likes hip-hop, who is he really speaking to?
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Why Liberals Make Better Political Pop Culture than Conservatives
Heaven help me, I’m praising Jonah Goldberg.
Posted inBooks, Arts and Culture
You Can’t Lip-Synch a Hip Shake
Beyoncé’s new documentary Life Is But a Dream marks a brief pit stop during her rise to world domination.
Posted inBooks, Arts and Culture
Art for Hire
When will people making a living in the arts fight for their right to be compensated fairly for their contributions to culture?
Posted inBooks, Arts and Culture
CSI: David Byrne
An investigation of music’s power by one of its great polymaths
Posted inBooks, Arts and Culture
Laura Is a Punk Rocker
The lead singer of Against Me! changes gender and challenges the male punk scene.
