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Music Features

Saturday February 28, 2015

Josh Tillman's latest album as Father John Misty, I Love You, Honeybear, is a sincere and shocking catalog of the main character's adventures in sex and love. Emma Tillman/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Emma Tillman/Courtesy of the artist

The Record

Sympathy For The Devils

February 28, 2015 • From Lana Del Rey to Father John Misty, musicians in the current pop moment who expose themselves, warts and all, do so in isolation, without support or challenge from a like-minded community.

Tuesday February 10, 2015

D'Angelo At The Apollo: We Were All Here Before

D'Angelo. Gregory Harris/Courtesy of RCA Records hide caption

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Gregory Harris/Courtesy of RCA Records

The Record

D'Angelo At The Apollo: We Were All Here Before

February 10, 2015 • The concert, like Black Messiah, was bulwark: it was a reminder that music's ability to bring people together to celebrate soulful feeling is, as Fela once remarked, a weapon of the future.

Sunday February 8, 2015

Sam Smith Wins 4 Grammy Awards, Including Song Of The Year

Michael Tran/Getty Images

The Record

Sam Smith Wins 4 Grammy Awards, Including Song Of The Year

February 8, 2015 • The British singer also won Best New Artist and Record of the Year, for "Stay With Me." Beck won Album of the Year for his subdued, folky Morning Phase.

Sam Smith Wins 4 Grammy Awards, Including Song Of The Year

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Saturday February 7, 2015

Radio, Radio: How Formats Shaped, Splintered And Remade Pop Music

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The Record

Radio, Radio: How Formats Shaped, Splintered And Remade Pop Music

February 7, 2015 • Over the second half of the 20th century, radio gave music its deepest connection to Americans. By splitting the dial into different formats, it produced a pop scene of striking diversity.

Friday February 6, 2015

On The Grammy Stage, Collaborations Will Rule

Nile Rodgers (left) and Pharrell Williams (right) on stage with Stevie Wonder during a performance of Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" during the 2014 Grammy Awards. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images hide caption

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Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

The Record

On The Grammy Stage, Collaborations Will Rule

February 6, 2015 • During a Grammy telecast that's over three hours, only a dozen or so awards are handed out — but there will be a boatload of performances, most with more than one marquee musician on stage at a time.

On The Grammy Stage, Collaborations Will Rule

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Tuesday February 3, 2015

Frank Black (right) and Joey Santiago of the Pixies perform at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2004, the year the band reunited after more than a decade apart. Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images hide caption

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Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

The Record

Unfinished Business

February 3, 2015 • Bands like Pixies, Pavement and Sleater-Kinney might reunite for money, unfulfilled glory or a renewed creative spark. But can album sales help us measure how much they have been missed?

Thursday January 29, 2015

Pop's New Old Sound: Retro Without Rules

Bruno Mars (left) and Mark Ronson, whose song, "Uptown Funk!," has been the No. 1 song in the country for four weeks in a row. Vevo/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Vevo/Courtesy of the artist

The Record

Pop's New Old Sound: Retro Without Rules

January 29, 2015 • From Sam Smith to Meghan Trainor, to Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars, many of the biggest hits on today's charts pilfer from the past, but not all borrowing works the same way.

Pop's New Old Sound: Retro Without Rules

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Wednesday January 28, 2015

Some of A$AP Mob at BET's 106 & Park Studios in July 2013. Standing, from left to right, ASAP Bari, ASAP Yams and ASAP Illz. In front, from left to right, ASAP Ferg, ASAP Twelvyy and ASAP Rocky. John Ricard/Getty Images hide caption

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John Ricard/Getty Images

The Record

A Rational Conversation With ASAP Yams

January 28, 2015 • A posthumously published interview reveals the New York rap impresario's insights, directness and humor that made him so beloved in the music community.

Tuesday January 27, 2015

From The Isleys To Aaliyah To Frank Ocean, The Evolution Of 'Love'

Frank Ocean released an Aaliyah tribute, "At Your Best (You Are Love)," on the late R&B singer's birthday. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

The Record

From The Isleys To Aaliyah To Frank Ocean, The Evolution Of 'Love'

January 27, 2015 • Frank Ocean's cover of The Isley Brothers' "At Your Best (You Are Love)" shows how the singer is re-imagining R&B for the future by exploding stereotypes about gender.

Monday January 26, 2015

From Prog-Rock Pioneer To Kitsch King: Remembering Demis Roussos

International pop star Demis Roussos hams it up for the camera at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1975. Roussos died in Athens Sunday at age 68. Ralph Gatti/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Ralph Gatti/AFP/Getty Images

The Record

From Prog-Rock Pioneer To Kitsch King: Remembering Demis Roussos

January 26, 2015 • Greek songman Demis Roussos lived an enormously colorful life, from his start as a prog-rock pioneer to being held captive by Hezbollah terrorists. He died Sunday at age 68 in Athens.

Wednesday January 21, 2015

Bjork's 'Vulnicura': An Inquiry Into Melodrama

Bjork. Courtesy of Sacks and Co. hide caption

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Courtesy of Sacks and Co.

Review

The Record

Bjork's 'Vulnicura': An Inquiry Into Melodrama

January 21, 2015 • If its songs demand that the listener get uncomfortably close to the viscera of romantic experience, they do so the better to expose how humans move through pain and finally justify leaving it behind.

Friday January 9, 2015

Andraé Crouch, Who Moved Gospel Into The 21st Century, Has Died

Andraé Crouch in an undated press photo, circa 1970. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images hide caption

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Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

The Record

Andraé Crouch, Who Moved Gospel Into The 21st Century, Has Died

January 9, 2015 • The singer and songwriter played a major role in creating a contemporary, conservative gospel sound.

Andraé Crouch, Who Moved Gospel Into The 21st Century, Has Died

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Tuesday January 6, 2015

With Downloads In Decline, Can iTunes Adapt?

Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs stands in front of a projection of iTunes at a presentation in 2004. Ian Waldie/Getty Images hide caption

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Ian Waldie/Getty Images

The Record

With Downloads In Decline, Can iTunes Adapt?

January 6, 2015 • Digital downloads of iTunes fell sharply in 2014, as consumers abandoned Apple's music store in favor of cheap, easy-to-use subscription services.

With Downloads In Decline, Can iTunes Adapt?

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