Music

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

This Should Be a Movie: “American Utopia,” the Concert Film, and Extending a Terrific Moment
Sara Black McCulloch considers the nature of the concert film — its scope, its liveness, and its political commitments.
Sara Black McCullochDec 30, 2020
When Loving Lennon Became Difficult
Lucía Benavides on John Lennon, the man and the artist.
Lucía BenavidesDec 18, 2020
- Music
Real Life Rock Top 10: December 2020
LARB presents the December installment of “Real Life Rock Top 10,” a monthly column by cultural critic Greil Marcus.
Greil MarcusDec 17, 2020
Adrift in Cosmic Quarantine: Randy Newman Turns 77
The great singer-songwriter has spent a lifetime turning bluesy snark into pop gold.
Tim RileyNov 28, 2020
- Music
Mountain Music, Women’s Music, and the Roots of Our Obsession with Roots
A pioneer folklorist found some British origins of Appalachian music, but missed so much else.
Gregory P. DownsNov 5, 2020
Real Life Rock Top 10: October 2020
LARB presents the October installment of “Real Life Rock Top 10,” a monthly column by cultural critic Greil Marcus.
Greil MarcusOct 30, 2020
- Music
Visions of Cash
Growing up with the man in black.
Drew BratcherOct 23, 2020
- Music
Stanley Crouch, Radical Pragmatist
The death of Stanley Crouch leaves America’s intellectual culture less interesting, less imaginative, and, above all else, less artful.
David MasciotraOct 18, 2020
“This Decadent Western Thing”: Joanna Stingray on the Soviet Underground Rock Scene
The L.A. rocker on her experiences in the underground rock scene in pre-glasnost Russia.
Sasha RazorOct 17, 2020
A Plurality of Traditions: Anthony Davis and the Social Justice Opera
The socially driven dream-telling of Anthony Davis’s political operas.
Thomas LarsonOct 17, 2020
- Music
- Politics
Real Life Rock Top 10: September 2020
LARB presents the September installment of “Real Life Rock Top 10,” a monthly column by cultural critic Greil Marcus.
Greil MarcusSep 25, 2020
Sound Territory: The Genius of Ornette Coleman
Kathelin Gray reviews Maria Golia’s biography of composer and musician Ornette Coleman.
Kathelin GraySep 24, 2020
- Biography & Autobiography
- Music