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- Feed Preview Music blog | The Guardian
Why Earl Scruggs was the Beethoven of the banjo
A trip to North Carolina to study bluegrass yielded this lesson: Earl Scruggs was the greatest there ever was I spent a couple of months last year studying bluegrass in North Carolina, and I le...
https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2012/mar/29/why-earl-scruggs-is-great
Belinda Carlisle’s Summer Rain is an 80s power ballad worth its weight in nostalgia
It became a surprise top 10 hit in Australia and still gets played in clubs and karaoke halls. So why has the song’s appeal endured? It starts with a slinky, bass-licked groove before the voc...
Readers recommend playlist: songs with sudden changes
Artists such as Lorde, Sparks, the Moody Blues and Metallica bring changes of pace to a prog-heavy playlist with twists and turns Here is this week’s playlist – songs picked by a reader fro...
Settling the score: celebrating the women erased from the musical canon
Augusta Holmès’ compositions won awards and acclaim from admirers including Liszt and Saint-Saëns, so why is she, and so many of her female contemporaries, all but forgotten today? Augusta ...
Muse webchat – post your questions now
Matt Bellamy and Dominic Howard joined us to chat about their favourite conspiracy theories, secret side projects and what exactly Thought Contagion is EmersonRR asks: When will the new albu...
It felt so right: I Kissed a Girl and the problematic lyrics artists attempted to disavow
Katy Perry has expressed regret at the stereotypes peddled on her debut single. She’s not the only artist who has attempted to distance herself from badly aged material What a difference a de...
Annie Mac webchat – on banning bongos, club closures and her favourite song
The DJ and all-round music evangelist answered your questions about taking over from Zane Lowe, confiscating phones in clubs and the lack of male feminist allies in the music industry vanillask...
Leather daddies and jazz: a beginner's guide to garage-rock hero John Dwyer
Dwyer has released 21 albums with Thee Oh Sees – and 20 other records that range from German industrial electronics to heavy metal. He gives the backstories about key tracks in his vast back ca...
https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2017/nov/28/john-dwyer-thee-oh-sees-beginners-guide
Saturday Night Live: the best and worst musical hosts
Ahead of Chance the Rapper’s bow as the emcee of SNL, we take a look at his musical forebears who have pleased, shocked and nosedived over the years This weekend, Chance the Rapper will take ...
https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2017/nov/16/saturday-night-live-musical-hosts
Blue-eyed Brits and Kanye digs: decoding Taylor Swift’s Reputation
With her synthpop-heavy sixth album, the popstar dispenses with her diary-like lyrics in favour of something darker and more suggestive For any Taylor Swift fan, a new album release promises no...
CMA awards: slick ceremony barely mentions Las Vegas shooting
A gentle Trump parody aside, the Country Music Association’s annual event dodged burning political issues – including gun control “Maybe next time, he’ll think before he tweets,” sang...
London jazz festival: this year's must-see gigs
Singer Zara McFarlane, the festival’s director, and our jazz critic choose their five unmissable concerts from this year’s festival, which begins on 10 November Basquiat and Jazz, featuring...
https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2017/nov/09/london-jazz-festival-2017-must-see-gigs
The demons and obsessions of jazz genius Thelonious Monk
He played angular and slow when the fashion was for fast and sun-drenched. And a misdiagnosed bipolar condition meant he retreated into silence for the last years of his life. But now the pianist...
'Tom has gone and we'll go too': one last song for folk legend Tom Paley
At Sharp’s folk club, one seat was poignantly empty: that of Tom Paley, who once played with Woody Guthrie and Lead Belly and who died last week. The club’s regulars explain what he meant to ...
https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2017/oct/06/tom-paley-folk-singer-sharps-club-camden
'Such a sad event': why musicians hate the Tory party conference
Florence Welch and Calvin Harris have objected to their music being used at the Tory conference – the way Keane and the Dandy Warhols once did, too. It’s not surprising, given the tin-eared w...
'I'm this reserved, awkward human': love, death and jangles with Alvvays
Molly Rankin was stuck trying to honour her late father’s musicianship, until indie-pop opened a door. She discusses being an unlikely bandleader – and why it’s awkward playing music with y...
https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2017/oct/03/alvvays-molly-rankin-interview
The month's best music: Post Malone, Björk, Lorenzo Senni and more
From Charlotte Gainsbourg’s delicate minimalism to kick-ass indie-punk by Dream Wife – plus Somali disco and elegant techno – here are 50 of the month’s best tracks Last month we launch...
Readers recommend: share your songs about spinning
Make your nomination in the comments and a reader will pick the best eligible tracks for a playlist next week – you have until Monday 2 October We’re spinning around for your song suggestio...
'We were just clowning about': how cartoon rave changed pop
Twenty-five years ago, the British charts exploded with cheap and cheerful songs such as Sesame’s Treet, Trip to Trumpton and Ebeneezer Goode, that turned a whole generation on to dance music ...
https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2017/sep/11/cartoon-rave-feature
'It sent us down all kinds of wormholes': Bicep's secret dancefloor weapons
The Northern Irish duo have become one of the biggest acts in dance music – partly thanks to their DJ sets of ultra-obscure house and disco. They lift the lid of the darkest corners of their re...