:quality(75)/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.lareviewofbooks.org%2Fuploads%2Fdesperately-seeking-susan-2000x1415-screenshot%20Purnell.jpg)
The Only Girl in the World: On Madonna and “Desperately Seeking Susan”
Brontez Purnell pays tribute to Madonna through a close reading of her performance in “Desperately Seeking Susan,” in an essay from the LARB Quarterly issue no. 43, “Fixation.”
Music
"I don't care much about music. What I like is sounds." — Dizzy Gillespie
All the Honky-Tonk Babies Have Broken Hearts
Drew Bratcher considers the career of Hank Williams Jr. and the anxiety of his father’s influence.
Can Opera Be Reborn?
Peter Kazaras reviews Yuval Sharon’s “A New Philosophy of Opera.”
You’ve Got to Let This Razor Blade into Your Life
Tim Riley reviews Robert Hilburn’s “A Few Words In Defense of Our Country: The Biography of Randy Newman.”
Bringing People Together in a State of Joy
Peter Catapano interviews Alvin Curran about his long career as an avant-garde composer.
The More You Write, the Less You’ll Know
Gregg LaGambina interviews PJ Harvey about her most recent book, album, and international tour.
When Art Evolves, We Evolve
Brendan Riley reviews Cisco Bradley’s “The Williamsburg Avant-Garde: Experimental Music and Sound on the Brooklyn Waterfront.”
True Believer
Sadie Sartini Garner recalls a Nine Inch Nails concert from the year 2000 and wonders where those she stood shoulder to shoulder with have gone.
How to Hug a Cactus Tree
Paul Allen Anderson reviews Ann Powers’s “Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell.”
The Glory and Freedom of Our Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished
Nick Owchar reviews Reuben Woolley’s new translation of Andrey Kurkov’s “Jimi Hendrix Live in Lviv.”
Eurovision in Wartime
Lina Abascal reports from the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden.
Reviving “Ophelia”: On Returning to the Music of Natalie Merchant
Jenny Boyar writes about her midlife rediscovery of singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant.
:quality(75)/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.lareviewofbooks.org%2Fuploads%2FHank%20Williams%20Jr%20from%20Im%20One%20of%20You.png)
:quality(75)/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.lareviewofbooks.org%2Fuploads%2FNew-Philosophy.jpg)
:quality(75)/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.lareviewofbooks.org%2Fuploads%2FA-Few-Words-1.jpg)
:quality(75)/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.lareviewofbooks.org%2Fuploads%2FAC%20headshot%202009%20hi-res.jpg)
:quality(75)/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.lareviewofbooks.org%2Fuploads%2FPJ%20Harvey%20020423%20Gullick_Q8A2398.jpg)
:quality(75)/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.lareviewofbooks.org%2Fuploads%2Fwburgbridge2_ee-2.jpg)
:quality(75)/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.lareviewofbooks.org%2Fuploads%2Fnineinchnails%20AATCHB%20still_ee.jpg)
:quality(75)/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.lareviewofbooks.org%2Fuploads%2FTravelingee.jpg)
:quality(75)/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.lareviewofbooks.org%2Fuploads%2FJimi%20Hendrix%20Live%20in%20Lvivee.jpg)
:quality(75)/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.lareviewofbooks.org%2Fuploads%2FEurovision%20fixed-1.jpg)
:quality(75)/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.lareviewofbooks.org%2Fuploads%2F202407Natalie-Merchant.jpg)