From Spotify playlists to algorithm-driven hits, streaming platforms and financial pressures are turning pop into a uniform, predictable sound.
Tag: music
As Spotify CEO Daniel Ek pours millions into an AI weapons company, bands like Deerhoof, Xiu Xiu, and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard are pulling their music from the streaming platform, challenging a model they say was never built for them.
Morning raves are taking over Europe as young professionals swap pre-work gym sessions for sober dancing, fresh juice, and early-morning euphoria. But is the early rise worth it?
In a not-so-distant future, Latin Americans will find they too were wealthy like their overbearing northern neighbor, only their “capital” consisted of art, music and resilience, combined in one of their biggest assets home-bred superstar Shakira.
The birth of a music icon, the dawn of a new monarchy, and a timeless board game.
As James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown biopic on “The Bard” is about to hit the screens, we’ve gathered a collection of people singing Bob Dylan songs around the world.
As the world’s most celebrated techno club celebrates two decades, Germany’s Die Zeit revisits the iconic venue. Inside, the pulsating beats, exposed bodies, and elusive atmosphere remain unchanged, while outside, Berlin’s landscape evolves around this enduring monument to hedonism and freedom.
A video in the summer of 2023 showed Julia Alli playing the piano in her home southern Lebanon. In the fall of 2024, a new video emerges of Israeli soldiers in the ruble of that home and piano. For writer Badia Fahs, the contrast also links to the story of Roman Polanski’s Oscar-winning Holocaust drama The Pianist.
The traditional burial rite of the Jopadhola is becoming increasingly rare as villagers opt instead for DJs spinning modern tunes.
Updated Sept. 18, 2024 at 11:20 a.m. Jimi Hendrix died on this day in 1970 from an accidental drug overdose. He was found unconscious in his London apartment and was pronounced dead shortly after being taken to the hospital. Who was Jimi Hendrix? Jimi Hendrix was a renowned American musician, singer, and songwriter. He is […]
Few artistic disciplines have as many women as leading figures as flamenco does. Madrid-based media Ethic takes a look at some of the most representative names — from Carmen Amaya to Rosalía — of this cultural expression and their contribution to the history of music.
Updated August 15, 2024 at 8:50 a.m. The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, mostly known as Woodstock, opened on this day in 1969. The famous music event took place on a dairy farm in Bethel, New York, in the United States. How many people attended Woodstock? Estimates vary, but it is believed that approximately 400,000 […]
Updated July 23, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. On this day in 2011, Amy Winehouse was found dead in her home in the Camden neighborhood of London. The cause of her death was determined to be accidental alcohol poisoning. How old was Amy Winehouse when she died? Amy Winehouse was 27 years old at the time […]
A gifted accordionist, 25-year-old Théo Ould is pushing the limits of his instrument, playing a repertoire of unprecedented richness, from Bach to contemporary music, with virtuosity and conviction.
The Islamic Bands were especially popular in the early 2000s, then became a tool of the Muslim Brotherhood after their victory following the Arab Spring. Then they largely disappeared, until showing up more recently on social media.
July 8 – July 14, 2024
While busy delivering the best international journalism, the Worldcrunch team also stumbles on a fair deal of downright strange stuff happening around the world, reported in every language.
There’s the obvious stops. And then there’s the off-the-beaten path venues and activities — all recommended by an Istanbulite travel journalist!
Updated May 24, 2024 at 10:45 a.m. Legendary American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan was born on this day in 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota. Who is Bob Dylan? Bob Dylan is a renowned American singer-songwriter and musician who has been active in the music industry since the early 1960s. He is widely regarded as one of the […]
From Aya Nakamura in France to Selena Gomez in the U.S., pop stars are collaborating more and more with Nigerian artists like Rema or Burna Boy. Les Echos looks into into how Afrobeats went global — and where it’s going.
Updated April 21, 2024 at 11:45 a.m. Iggy Pop was born on this day in 1947 in Michigan. He is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor known for his influential career in rock music, particularly his work with the punk rock band The Stooges in the late 1960s and early 1970s. How did Iggy […]
The complexity of danzón, a graceful and intricate dance, encourages a group of older adults to stimulate their minds, making it a key part of protecting their mental agility and memory.
Updated March 25, 2024 at 12:40 p.m. Aretha Franklin was born on this day in 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee. The American singer, songwriter, and pianist was often referred to as the “Queen of Soul”. What are some of Aretha Franklin’s most famous songs? Some of Aretha Franklin’s most famous songs include “Respect,” “Chain of Fools,” […]
A debate about the Spanish entry for this year’s Eurovision prompts one woman writer to challenge the benefits of re-appropriating the word “slut.”
Updated March 12, 2024 at 12:15 p.m. Stromae, the Belgian singer, rapper, and songwriter, was born on this day in 1985. Where is Stromae from? Stromae’s real name is Paul van Haver, and he was born and raised in Brussels, Belgium. His father was a Rwandan Tutsi named Pierre Rutare, and his Flemish mother is […]
A California law professor with an expertise in mental health and ethics, and who suffers from chronic schizophrenia, takes a look beyond the headlines at the case of Britney Spears, who has been fighting to free herself from the conservatorship of her father.
From Reggaeton and Dembow to Dancehall, Latin hip hop and others, Spanish-language music makes up almost a quarter of the charts on a global level.
Are Bob Marley’s artistic and cultural values now clouded in a haze of rampant commercialization?
Sales of vinyl have tripled in the past five years in France, and Paris trails only Tokyo. In this age of dematerialization, LPs symbolize a return to a ceremonial approach to music, a taste for beautiful objects and a desire to give and collect.
Updated Jan. 8, 2024 at 1:10 p.m. Elvis Presley was born on this day in 1935. Who was Elvis Presley? Born into a poor family in Mississippi, he rose to become a global icon and the “King of Rock and Roll”. He has been inducted into five Halls of Fame and sold over one billion […]
For a combination of spiritual and political reasons, Rastas developed a diet based on healthy, local ingredients that was a precursor, it turns out, to some current food trends.
It’s an opportunity to recreate an otherwise bypass cultural moment. But there are limitations in combining live music and a pre-recorded voice: You can’t respond to the temperament of the audience. You can’t speed it up when required
Daughter of conservative Korean immigrants to Argentina, portrait of rising star in Latin America’s electronic music club scene.
Censorship in Russia has increased rapidly over the last couple of decades, especially since their invasion of Ukraine. Russian rap, which has often challenged the politics and society of Russia, has become even more censored than before, even causing some rappers to emigrate.
Opera has played with ideas of gender since its earliest days. Now the first openly trans performers are taking to the stage, and operas explicitly exploring trans identities are beginning to emerge.
Updated Nov. 7, 2023 at 2 p.m. He may be the most well-known DJ of our time: David Guetta’s songs have garnered over 10 billion online streams. His music has become culturally universal and is played on the radio and at parties and clubs around the world, but most know little about the man behind […]
Depicted by some artists as a threat to creativity, algorithms are used by others as a powerful new instrument, able to stimulate their imagination, expand their creative capabilities and open doors to so-far unexplored worlds.
Death metal is considered the most soulless music of all. But the Taipei-based Buddhist death metal band Dharma is proving otherwise. Their music may also even be a secret weapon in the island’s stand-off with China.
The German public prosecutor’s office has dropped its sexual assault investigation against Rammstein frontman Till Lindemann. The singer could not be proven to have committed any criminal misconduct. You may be angry about that, but that’s how the rule of law works.
Consumer habits have changed, and with it the music industry – gone are the days when one hit song would define the sound of an entire summer. But why have we abandoned this iconic practice, and what has the race turned into in our modern day?