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ZEITGEIST 2017

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The outdated practices of America’s most popular radio program perpetuate systemic musical segregation.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 lives‗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 “I Will Always Love You” and the Maghreb region 
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

May 24th, Stack №142

The art of DJing: Anthony Parasole

The New York DJ opens and closes Berghain.
Resident Advisor

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 15th, Stack №145

Lisztomania

Franz Liszt gets the ladies in a tizzy.
Lapham's Quarterly

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 18th, Stack №153

The Story of Tropicalia in 20 Albums

The defiant soundtrack of Brazil in the late ’60s and early ’70s, 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 humanity’s 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

October 20th, Stack №163

A little fright music

A few notes on why we find film and TV scores scary
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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 10th, Stack №165

MTV Total Request Live, A History

A history of the show that ate Times Square.
Vulture

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

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