Reading up on music
21 deep · digging since dec 06, 25
- The World Cup Halftime Show Had Star Power. But the Style Missed the Point.
The World Cup halftime show featured star performers like BTS, Gustavo Dudamel, and Madonna, but their stylistic choices failed to match the event's spirit.
- Where Rap’s Avant-Garde Takes Shape
The Brooklyn festival Young World, created by artist and label head Mike, showcases emerging indie rappers alongside veterans and anchors the alt-rap scene.
- A Rainy Japanese Rock Festival Proved They Could Weather Anything
Extreme weather at Fuji Rock Festival tested infrastructure and staff resilience, yet the event succeeded through improvisation and communal effort.
- Google Flow Music
Google relaunches ProducerAI as Google Flow Music, an AI music generator with chat-based creation, music videos, and a workspace builder, but HN commenters find it lags behind Suno in prompt adherence and sound quality.
- The 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters - The New York Times
A NYT panel of critics and music-industry insiders ranked the 30 most significant living American songwriters, based on influence and craft.
- The Good List: 7 Things to Add Some Delight to Your Day - The New York Times
A list of seven simple pleasures, including train jazz, the Brady Bunch house, and the gift of time, that can add delight to daily life.
- Music for Programming
Music for Programming is a site offering curated, lo-fi electronic mixes designed to aid concentration during coding, with a large archive of episodes.
- BTS’s Comeback Show Was Heavy on Their New Album - The New York Times
BTS's Seoul comeback concert featured heavy new album promotion and a performance by injured leader RM.
- The Appalling Stupidity of Spotify's AI DJ
Spotify's AI DJ fails to understand classical music requests, highlighting its pop-oriented design and the author's frustration with the technology's limitations.
- Alysa Liu on Dancing Her Way to Olympic Gold: ‘The Music Carries My Body’ - The New York Times
Figure skater Alysa Liu tells a dance critic that music guides her body and free-spirited approach to performing in pursuit of Olympic gold.
- Bring On Defunct: The iPod Enthralls Young Music Listeners - The New York Times
Young listeners are adopting iPods as a low-tech alternative to streaming music, valuing the device for reducing constant online connectivity.
- Labiahead, All-Woman Radiohead Cover Band, Is More Than a Side Hustle for Its Members - The New York Times
Labiahead, an all-woman Radiohead cover band, provides its members, including Lena Hall and Charlene Kaye, a meaningful creative outlet and community beyond a side hustle.
- A 48-Hour Layover in Montreal With an Airline Pilot - The New York Times
A writer and airline pilot spends a 48-hour layover in Montreal enjoying urban skiing, bagels, and Leonard Cohen songs.
- Britney Spears Sells Her Song Catalog - The New York Times
Britney Spears sold the rights to her song catalog to Primary Wave after a decade without a new album.
- Bad Bunny Super Bowl Halftime Review: A History Lesson Full of Puerto Rican Pride - The New York Times
Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show served as a history lesson and personal tribute, showcasing Puerto Rican pride through an intimate 13-minute set.
- Brad Arnold, Rocker Who Fronted 3 Doors Down, Dies at 47 - The New York Times
Brad Arnold, lead singer of 3 Doors Down who wrote 'Kryptonite' in high school, has died at 47.
- The Subtle Marketing Move Behind Justin Bieber’s Grammys Boxers - The New York Times
Justin Bieber's performance in sparkly lavender boxers at the Grammys was a deliberate marketing strategy to generate buzz.
- Opinion | Why Young People Love the Grateful Dead - The New York Times
Young people are drawn to the Grateful Dead because the band's music conjures a romanticized lost world of teenage freedom and countercultural adventure on the road.
- 2002: Last.fm and Audioscrobbler Herald the Social Web
The article recounts how Last.fm and Audioscrobbler pioneered social music tracking and recommendation in the early 2000s.
- Modern Walkmans
Modern cassette players from brands like FiiO and Toshiba offer Bluetooth, USB power, and retro design, relying on a single remaining factory for their internal mechanisms.
- Best Albums of 2025 - The New York Times
The New York Times music critics name Korean pop artist Effie and Brooklyn indie-rock band Geese as their top albums of 2025.