Our favorite music longreads of 2017. Subscribe to Stack to get one each week.
January 4th, Stack №122
Six Vocalists on the Power and Influence of Yoko Ono
To celebrate the reissues of her classic early albums, we asked six vocalists what it is about Yoko Ono that they find inspiring.
— Bandcamp Daily
January 11th, Stack №123
Midnight in a Perfect World
Twenty years after the release of DJ Shadow’s ‘Endtroducing …,’ DJs, artists, and collectors talk about crate digging in the internet age
— The Ringer
January 19th, Stack №124
The five-year quest to reissue William Onyeabor
Does he own a flour mill? Why hasn't anyone seen his movies? When Luaka Bop tried to track down this enigmatic Nigerian singer, they found more questions than answers
— The Guardian
January 25th, Stack №125
How Memes Turned Migos’s “Bad and Boujee” Into a Billboard Hit
It’s poised to reach no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it would supplant Rae Sremmurd’s "Black Beatles." The common thread? A slew of social-media memes that helped the song go viral.
— The Ringer
February 1st, Stack №126
Casio Keyboards: A Big Idea, Synthesized
Casio claimed it could fit the sounds of dozens of musical instruments into its keyboards. Maybe it wasn't totally true, but the Casiotone gave us a lot.
— Tedium
February 8th, Stack №127
Breaking Elgar’s Enigma
For decades, musicologists, cryptologists and music lovers have searched for the phantom melody of Edward Elgar’s "Enigma Variations."
— New Republic
February 15th, Stack №128
The Man Who Broke Ticketmaster
The most infamous ticket scalper of all time used bots to buy millions of tickets. Now he wants to stop them.
— Motherboard
February 22nd, Stack №129
fitteR happieR
Much of Radiohead’s music is undeniably sad, and this post catalogs my journey to quantify that sadness
— Charlie Thompson
March 1st, Stack №130
The very white ways of the top 40
The outdated practices of America’s most popular radio program perpetuate systemic musical segregation.
— The Outline
March 8th, Stack №131
Transfiguration and Transcendence: The Music of Alice Coltrane
On the 10th anniversary of the jazz icon's passing, an exploration of her many livesâ—anD how her art continues to live on
— Pitchfork
March 15th, Stack №132
The promoter's dilemma
Is dance music's growth as an industry squeezing out the people who throw parties? Angus Finlayson unpacks one of the broadest problems facing dance music today.
— Resident Advisor
March 22nd, Stack №133
The Art and Science of White Noise
White noise, touted as the key to productivity, calm, and sleep, is widely misunderstood.By Kelsey McKinney(Photo: Bernard Spragg/Flickr)Once or twice a year,
— Pacific Standard
March 30th, Stack №134
The Most Expensive Record Never Sold: Discogs, Billy Yeager And The $18,000 Hoax That Almost Was
The story of a mysterious Florida musician, fake identities and the record-breaking sale of a rare album that might not actually exist.
— NPR
April 5th, Stack №135
The Neural Systems of People Who Don't Enjoy Music
For people with musical anhedonia, the auditory and reward regions of the brain may not interact in response to songs.
— The Atlantic
April 12th, Stack №136
The Link Between Whitney Houston and the Rise of Auto-Tune in North Africa
In this excerpt from Jace Clayton's new book Uproot: Travels in 21st-Century Music and Digital Culture, an unlikely connection between Houston's âI Will Always Love Youâ and the Maghreb regionâ…
— Pitchfork
April 19th, Stack №137
Steve Lacy Produced That Hot Kendrick Lamar Track Using Only His iPhone
Up-and-coming hip-hop producer Steve Lacy uses his smartphone as his personal studio.
— Wired
April 26th, Stack №138
Ooooooohhh... On The TLC Tip 25 Years On
Lesley Chow revisits TLC's unique debut album
— The Quietus
May 3rd, Stack №139
Is this the most influential love song in modern music?
We explore how Chris Isaak’s ‘Wicked Game’ became a pop classic over a quarter of a century after its release
— Dazed
May 10th, Stack №140
How Temple of the Dog Pioneered a New Genre of Music Videos in the ’90s
Fronted by Eddie Vedder and Chris Cornell, Temple of the Dog was the original rock supergroup. Their music video “Hunger Strike” helped launch a musical movement.
— Longreads
May 17th, Stack №141
Richard Russell’s XL Recordings Empire
By signing artists like Adele and Vampire Weekend, the label banks on long-term potential instead of chasing viral hits.
— The New Yorker
June 1st, Stack №143
How African med students created a new genre of Cuban music
First came the students and their favorite afropop sounds, then came bakosó.
— The Outline
June 8th, Stack №144
Who is pop's biggest star? Drake, Adele, Beyoncé? It’s become impossible to tell
The Beatles dominated the '60s. Now even the music-industry charts can't determine who is the tops.
— Quartz
June 15th, Stack №145
How Franz Liszt Became The World's First Rock Star
The classical pianist, who turns 200 today, changed the art of performance forever with his over-the-top concerts, creating a craze that historians have dubbed "Lisztomania."
— NPR
June 23rd, Stack №146
The Secret Lives of Playlists
Not all Spotify playlists are created equally. To begin understanding this, look at them closely. Literally.
— Watt
June 30th, Stack №147
The Death of Prodigy and the End of "the Hood"
The death of the Mobb Deep rapper Prodigy raises a few questions about “the hood."
— CityLab
July 13th, Stack №148
The final bar? How gentrification threatens America's music cities
Austin, Nashville and New Orleans have thrived on the success of vibrant music scenes. But as rents rise and noise complaints become more common, do they risk ruining what made them famous in the firs…
— The Guardian
July 21st, Stack №149
Can small businesses survive on the internet?
Hype Machine, a small but beloved music streaming site, attempts a comeback without selling out.
— The Outline
July 28th, Stack №150
Turning The Tables: The 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women
This list, of the greatest albums made by women between 1964 and the present, is an intervention, a remedy, a correction of the historical record. It rethinks popular music to put women at the center.
— NPR
August 4th, Stack №151
The Unlikely Influence of Schoolhouse Rock! on Hip-Hop
How an animated educational children’s TV show from the late 1970s inspired artists from De La Soul to MF Doom
— Red Bull Music Academy Daily
August 11th, Stack №152
The Story of the DuckTales Theme, History’s Catchiest Single Minute of Music
A woo-hoo heard around the world.
— Vanity Fair
August 18th, Stack №153
The Story of Tropicalia in 20 Albums
The defiant soundtrack of Brazil in the late â60s and early â70s, including classics by Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa, Gilberto Gil, Os Mutantes, Tom Zé, and more
— Pitchfork
August 25th, Stack №154
The Reformation: classical music's punk moment
The great cultural and religious schism of the 16th century democratised music and participation, creating the template for modern classical music
— The Guardian
September 8th, Stack №156
Rock's Not Dead, It's Ruled by Women: The Round-Table Conversation
Guitars may seem to matter less than ever. But just beneath the mainstream, dozens of female bands are making some of the most urgent, politically relevant music around.
— The New York Times
September 15th, Stack №157
Spotify’s RapCaviar, the Most Influential Playlist in Music
The most influential playlist in music is Spotify’s RapCaviar, which turns mixtape rappers into megastars. And it’s all curated by one man.
— Vulture
September 22nd, Stack №158
Can Music Heal Trauma? Exploring the Therapeutic Powers of Sound
An increasing number of music therapists are now treating people touched by traumas both big and small, highlighting humanityâs deepest connections with music in the process.
— Pitchfork
September 29th, Stack №159
The Fairy-Tale Come-up of Cardi B
As "Bodak Yellow" soars toward no. 1 on the charts, the former stripper and reality show star has emerged as one of the great rap success stories of the decade. Here’s how it happened.
— The Ringer
October 6th, Stack №160
Why British DJs From the '60s and '70s Kept Their Best Records Secret
The art of the "cover-up" once led an obscure Marvin Gaye record to be misidentified for decades.
— Atlas Obscura
October 13th, Stack №161
Do Androids Dream Of Electronic Beats? How Blade Runner impacted electronic music
Blade Runner 2049 arrives this week. Gary Numan, Ikonika and more explain why electronic music is still obsessed with the original in our new documentary.
— FACT
October 20th, Stack №162
T La Rock, the Man Who Forgot He Was a Rap Legend
One day hip-hop pioneer T La Rock woke up and had no idea who he was.
— GQ
November 3rd, Stack №164
Instrumental Instruments: Big Muff
Our series on important music-making devices continues with the effect pedal that changed rock & roll forever
— Red Bull Music Academy Daily
November 17th, Stack №166
The Unlikely Resurgence of Rap Rock
A new generation is rethinking the much-maligned genre in its own progressive image.
— Pitchfork
December 1st, Stack №167
Within The Context Of All Contexts: The Rewiring Of Our Relationship To Music
You've probably been surprised to hear a remarkable song you've never heard pop out of nowhere sometime recently — you're not alone. But as the terms of excavation shift, what are we losing?
— NPR