Public Policy Polling, the masters of getting press attention for inconsequential polls, have gotten our attention. For its national poll of Americans' musical tastes, we figured we'd give you a quiz to see how you compare — with pop-up visuals.
This movie sounds different, and some of it doesn't sound right to everyone. So how does the new Great Gatsbysoundtrack from Jay-Z and Baz Luhrmann sound to those who study the language for a living? We asked the musicians and scholars. They were not impressed.
On Wednesday evening, Chris Kelly, the rapper who won international fame as one half of the young duo Kriss Kross, was found unresponsive by his family and later pronounced dead.
Havens toured constantly for 45 years — and opened Woodstock almost by accident — before retiring only recently. The cause of his death was reportedly a heart attack. He was 72.
Baz Luhrmann's 3D Great Gatsby is now less than a month away, and Gatsby fever is building. But will any of this catch on? The Brooks Brothers and Tiffany collections are pretty high brow, and the soundtrack has its flaws. Let's (over)analyze.
The results are in, and "Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead" has failed to climb to the number one slot on British charts. It was just 5,700 copies behind Duke Dumont's "Need Me (100 Percent)" when the official tally was taken.
In the handful of days since Margaret Thatcher's death, there's been no indicator of her opponents' satisfaction more troubling than the resurgence of the near-century-old song, "Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead."
Two days after the Internet became aware of their godawful and actually racist collaboration, "Accidental Racist," we've been given the duo's second joint, the love tune "Live for You." Love songs are perfectly nice and harmless, right?
It's always fun to watch President Obama go to music-related events, most especially because there's usually a good chance that he might get on stage to sing. Tuesday night was one of those nights. Except he didn't sing a thing!
A very strange thing happened to pop music this year. David Bowie released a new album, and it is awesome, so awesome that it rocketed the 66-year-old singer to the top of the charts for the first time in 20 years.
For those of you who've been all doom and gloom about the music industry — claiming the Internet and mp3s and iTouches and all those gizmos have killed it — here's some news that might flip your wigs: the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry reports that its members took in more money in 2012 than it did in 2011. As in, growth. Actual growth.
One of the ways youngish Republicans try to reach out to America's youth is by declaring their love of artists who, while not all that new, do cuss enough to upset the people at The National Review. But in Rubio's case, Tupac fandom is glaringly off-message.
A Seattle radio station claims to have their hands on the new single by garage rock revivalists The Strokes, and fans are already foreseeing a fifth album, and maybe—just maybe—another tour.
Discovered: Lighting up might not lead to dumbing down; playing music can put you on a natural high; black carbon is twice as bad as we thought; evidence that obesity is inherited.
Blame it on hipsters? This chart from Digital Music News shows how vinyl hit another "modern-era record" in 2012, selling 4.6 million units, according to data from Nielsen Soundscan.
What can we learn when Skrillex, the populist producer followed by a rabid fan base of ravers, aspires to critical credibility with a more cerebral electronica? The Internet's dubstep junkies will not be denied their drops.
Discovered: Radiation worries are expanding Japanese children's waistlines; birds respond to music like humans; chemo changes the brain; asparagus each day keeps the hangovers away.
For readers who don't obsessively comb through dozens of music blogs every day, we put together a guide to this year's musical micro trends. None were nominated for Grammys.
When perusing the just-released list of this year's Grammy nominees, you'll notice a few names are conspicuously missing, namely that of the cheerful Korean man with the pop hit of historic proportions.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
Discovered: Money straight from the mint is more likely to be saved; brains respond well to harmony; shedding light on dark energy; human ancestors started eating grass 3 million years ago.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
The NHL benefitted from a big move, Adobe got artsy and Vevo listened to fans all in this week's power rankings.
Discovered: Smoking bans get heart health results; boys lean more than girls; music illiterates don't get emotion either; Curiosity verifies volcanic soil on Mars.
Discovered: Population of man's rarest best friend dwindles; hermit crabs are terrible friends; the song of the sand; candy corn is social media's favorite candy.
Forget "America's sweetheart" or "crossover queen" or whatever else folks may be calling her. In the spirit of Halloween, I'm going to call Taylor Swift what she really is: a witch. How else but through some strange, possibly dark magic could this 22-year-old barn swallow have so intoxicated me?
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
Discovered: The quantum study that upset the Higgs; computing by waving a gloveless hand; crash dummies that better represent women; how music tastes are formed.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
Every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the video clips that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
Fending off a malicious smear that went viral yesterday, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has denied any affection he allegedly has or had for the loathed rock group Nickelback.
A study last month found that pop music is sadder now more than ever, and it's because top 40 artists are opting for slower tempos and minor keys, as you can see from this new interactive by WNYC's John Keefe.
The President of the United States has many roles: commander-in-chief, head of state, chief comforter in times of tragedy, national model of the American dad. But President Obama has a unique role in American culture -- Explainer-in-Chief for Rap Music. His latest lesson: Nicki Minaj probably isn't voting for Mitt Romney.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
A Stradivarius is the best violin a player could ask for thanks to a very specific biological reaction in the wood used to construct them during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. But a new study reveals that fungus might be the trick to making new violins that sound nearly identical.
Discovered: Antarctic ice methane could hasten global warming; tuning an instrument also tunes the brain; NASA survey finds millions of potential black holes; low-cal diets don't improve lifespan.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
Every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the video clips that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention.
For its 15th anniversary, Pitchfork surveyed readers about their favorite albums to come out since 1996. The problem is, when music is broken down to statistics, things get pretty predictable.
Subscription media services are rapidly seeing consumers build up libraries in their rental ecosystems. But, as they become more popular, operators must keep it easy for users to go back to the content they love and pay for.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
Every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the video clips that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention.
Just when we thought the Fifty Shades franchise had reached as far and wide as it possibly could, the news arrives that we were wrong. There will be sweet, sweet music, too.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
Every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the video clips that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention.
Every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the video clips that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
Have a story we missed? A link we have to click? A sharp opinion about the news? Instead of waiting for us to post it, tell us on the Open Wire.
Submit your news and ideas | See all reader postsThe Atlantic Wire is your authoritative guide to the news and ideas that matter most right now. Our team tracks newsmakers and opinions across the entire media spectrum: newspapers, web sites, television, radio and magazines.
But we do more than just collect information. By synthesizing, analyzing and summarizing what’s out there, and adding new information when we can, we are a news engine that gives you a quick and valuable account of the issues of the day.
Have a hot tip? A story we missed? Tell us on the Open Wire
How to send us editorial or technical feedback
Get Five Best Columns in your inbox each morning (preview)
