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Music Features

Monday August 24, 2015

The One Real Problem With Rolling Stone's 'Greatest Songwriters Of All Time'

Duke Ellington: Not on the list. John Pratt/Getty Images hide caption

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John Pratt/Getty Images

The One Real Problem With Rolling Stone's 'Greatest Songwriters Of All Time'

August 24, 2015 • There are many valid gripes with the magazine's selections — who was left out, who was included — but taken as a whole, the list reveals something disappointing about the way it was conceived.

Sunday August 23, 2015

Why Is 'Billboard' Asking Industry Execs If They Believe Kesha?

Singer Kesha in February 2015. Noam Galai/Getty Images hide caption

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Noam Galai/Getty Images

Why Is 'Billboard' Asking Industry Execs If They Believe Kesha?

August 23, 2015 • After an anonymous questionnaire circulated to "top music-industry executives" leaked online, questions arise about the industry publication's ethics and objectives.

Thursday August 20, 2015

In Classic Pop, Destroyer's Dan Bejar Finds A New Voice

Poison Season, Dan Bejar's 11th album as Destroyer, continues the singer's campaign of constant reinvention by small degrees. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

In Classic Pop, Destroyer's Dan Bejar Finds A New Voice

August 20, 2015 • For his latest album, Poison Season, the sometimes confrontational singer and songwriter, a master of reinvention, looked to the most iconic vocalist in American pop for an example: Frank Sinatra.

Wednesday August 19, 2015

Does Anybody Even Have Time For An 80-Minute Album?

Kendrick Lamar performs onstage in June. His most recent album, To Pimp A Butterfly, runs nearly 80 minutes over 16 songs. Earl Gibson/Getty Images for BET hide caption

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Earl Gibson/Getty Images for BET

Does Anybody Even Have Time For An 80-Minute Album?

August 19, 2015 • In a musical environment that prizes economy and the listener's ability to shuffle, skip and create playlists, is there still a place for ambitious, sprawling albums meant to be consumed all at once?

Tuesday August 18, 2015

'Is It Rolling, Bob?': Remembering Producer Bob Johnston

Bob Dylan in the studio in the summer of 1965, while recording Highway 61 Revisited, which was mostly produced by Bob Johnston. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images hide caption

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Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

'Is It Rolling, Bob?': Remembering Producer Bob Johnston

August 18, 2015 • Producing albums for Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen and most crucially, Bob Dylan, Johnston helped give shape, heft and durability to some of the most transformative music of the past five decades.

Wednesday August 5, 2015

Stakes Is High: Drake Ghostwriting Accusations Matter More Than You Think

Drake performs at Finsbury Park in London, England in June. Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill recently accused Drake of using ghostwriters, spurring the two to release diss tracks aimed at each other. John Phillips/Getty Images hide caption

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John Phillips/Getty Images

The Record

Stakes Is High: Drake Ghostwriting Accusations Matter More Than You Think

August 5, 2015 • With the notion of authorship dispatched as silly and inconsequential, the way has been paved for even greater corporate influence over hip-hop.

Stakes Is High: Drake Ghostwriting Accusations Matter More Than You Think

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Monday August 3, 2015

Dolly In Nashville: Authenticity That Makes Room For Rhinestones

Dolly Parton on stage at the Ryman Auditorium on July 31, one of two sold out shows that marked her first headlining gigs in Nashville in 12 years. Rick Diamond/Getty Images hide caption

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Rick Diamond/Getty Images

The Record

Dolly In Nashville: Authenticity That Makes Room For Rhinestones

August 3, 2015 • At her first headlining shows in Nashville in a dozen years, Parton turned the Ryman Auditorium into the Church of Dolly.

Friday July 31, 2015

In The Middle Of A Whirlwind, Miranda Lambert Shares The Spotlight

Miranda Lambert on stage in June. Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images hide caption

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Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

The Record

In The Middle Of A Whirlwind, Miranda Lambert Shares The Spotlight

July 31, 2015 • Forget tomatogate. Put aside the still-fresh news of her divorce. When Miranda Lambert played the tiny stage at Nashville's 3rd & Lindsley last week, she put the focus on fellow female songwriters.

Monday July 27, 2015

Drive-By Truckers To Release Massive Live Album

Greg Chow/Courtesy of the artist

The Record

Drive-By Truckers To Release Massive Live Album

July 27, 2015 • The 35-track It's Great To Be Alive!, recorded over three nights last year at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, will be out October 30. Hear the album's version of "Birthday Boy" now.

Friday July 17, 2015

Can You Have An Album On iTunes If You Don't Exist?

A screenshot of the now-removed page for Lucia Cole's album, Innocence, on iTunes. NPR hide caption

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The Record

Can You Have An Album On iTunes If You Don't Exist?

July 17, 2015 • The strange story of a made-up pop star who managed to keep an album on iTunes for six weeks and get 64,000 followers on Twitter, without recording a note of new music.

Wednesday July 15, 2015

The Runaways (from left, Jackie Fox, Joan Jett, Sandy West, Cherie Currie and Lita Ford) in January 1976. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images hide caption

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Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

The Record

The Cruel Truth About Rock And Roll

July 15, 2015 • Recent allegations that one of The Runaways was raped by the band's manager remind us that sexual exploitation is part of rock's foundation — and challenge the very idea that it is worth loving.

Tuesday July 14, 2015

Is Transparency The Music Industry's Next Battle?

Taylor Swift performs in Dublin. In June, Swift protested Apple's payments to musicians in its new Apple Music streaming service. Carrie Davenport/Getty Images hide caption

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Carrie Davenport/Getty Images

The Record

Is Transparency The Music Industry's Next Battle?

July 14, 2015 • A report on the music industry from Berklee College of Music offers recommendations for ensuring that royalties make it to their rightful owners.

Tuesday July 7, 2015

Why Films About Musicians Leave So Much Music Off Screen

Amy Winehouse, in an image taken from the documentary Amy, by director Asif Kapadia. Courtesy of A24 hide caption

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Courtesy of A24

The Record

Why Films About Musicians Leave So Much Music Off Screen

July 7, 2015 • Films about music — including documentaries about Amy Winehouse, Nina Simone and Kurt Cobain — tend to focus on everything surrounding the ineffable art without delving deeply into its core.

Thursday July 2, 2015

The Key To Kacey Musgraves' Hard-Won Country: Funny Women

On Kacey Musgraves' second album, Pageant Material, she follows in the footsteps of several artists who expanded the sometimes binding roles of women in country music. Kelly Christine Sutton/Courtesy of Mercury Nashville hide caption

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Kelly Christine Sutton/Courtesy of Mercury Nashville

The Record

The Key To Kacey Musgraves' Hard-Won Country: Funny Women

July 2, 2015 • The witty musician sits in a sweet spot where her charm and humor attract traditional country die-hards and pop fans alike. Ann Powers explores other women in country who paved the path.

The Key To Kacey Musgraves' Hard-Won Country: Funny Women

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Wednesday July 1, 2015

'If You Just Do What You Know, That's Boring': DJ Koze's Never-Ending Remix

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The Record

'If You Just Do What You Know, That's Boring': DJ Koze's Never-Ending Remix

July 1, 2015 • As a producer of original songs, DJ Koze owns minimal techno's wildest imagination, but his remixes and curveball-laden DJ mixes, like the recent DJ-Kicks mix, reveal just as much about his style.