MUSIC

At Union Park in Chicago, the annual Pitchfork Music Festival returns for another amazing lineup for three days in mid-July. If you’re in the area, don’t miss out on these under-the-radar groups, as well as the heavy hitters like The National, Mitski, and The Roots.

Indie singer/songwriter Courtney Barnett came up with a brilliant tour idea for 2022. Instead of a traditional show using the same opening bands, Barnett culled together 24 amazing acts to perform all over the United States as the Here and There Festival. Every show purports to have a unique lineup, and each choice is remarkably vital to the indie music scene of past and present. Here are some of the highlights from this national tour!

Californian funk-rockers Red Hot Chili Peppers released Unlimited Love on April 1st, 2022, but it was no joke. This twelfth studio album from the band reunited the three core members with classic guitar John Frusciante who has recorded five previous albums with the band but had been absent since 2009. Though Unlimited Love is not a terrible album by any means, it is a massive 73 minutes of relatively low-key funk-rock that doesn’t quite have the quality to support its length. For those who still want an entry point, here is a select group of diverse song choices from the album that makes for a 30-minute representative slice!

For the last decade, Norwegian Jenny Hval has released some of the most forward-thinking music in the indie avant-garde world. Her eighth solo album, Classic Objects, finally draws her sometimes elusive creations into the light, making a clear picture of her musical pathway into self-reflection. With percussive grooves and enticing basslines, this might be the most accessible of Hval’s albums, creating musical familiarity with added intimacy thanks to the thoughtful lyrics.

If you are having trouble getting into the music of Florence + The Machine, you still have time before the 2022 album! The band’s fifth album shows up after four years of absence (except for the occasional non-album single), but as of this year, new music has flooded into streaming services with the usual aplomb. Here are some entry points to Florence Welch’s music!

The votes are in! Here’s a bit of analysis on the biggest awards, examining the 2022 Grammys winners and who missed out this year.

It's hard to keep up with an onslaught of new music, but some new music is essential to check out. While the albums that contain the following songs are all recommended listens, here are the songs that are required listening if you don't have the time at the moment. From ten artists of different genres, here are the ten best songs of the year so far!

Fans of the boyband One Direction have vastly different opinions on the post-breakup solo albums from Harry, Zayn, Louis, Liam, and Niall, but the group’s leader and most popular member, Harry Styles, has always stood out as a favorite. In the lead-up to his new record, Harry’s House, it’s time to re-examine exactly the quality of these nine solo albums. For those listening to the aesthetic qualities of the music, and not just to their love or hatred for each respective singer, there is only one viable option for the best! Scroll down to find out who it is.

As you dig back into the music of the 90s, along with everyone else who’s feeling nostalgic, one album stands out as a record simultaneously tempting to forget about and necessary to remember. Jeff Buckley’s Grace is better known for surrounding details beyond the music itself. Primarily, one of the featured cover songs, “Hallelujah,” brought the simple arpeggiated sound used today in versions to its first commercial peak. Only a couple of years from turning 30, Grace will soon surpass the age of its creator, so we all need to find a copy of this essential album to step past the nostalgia phase into long-overdue recognition for great music.

Mary J. Blige, the nine-time Grammy winner known as the “Queen of Hip-Hop Soul,” has managed to stay casually in the public eye for her entire 30-plus-year career. As a singer, songwriter, rapper, and actress (she notably appeared in the Dee Rees film Mudbound), Blige has found success in every form of media. Even 14 albums in, she is still conquering the music world, with old classics like “Family Affair” still passing around and new songs making the charts. Here are the ways Mary J. Blige took on 2022 with full force.

Olivia Rodrigo, with seven Grammy nominations going into the April 3rd ceremony, is easily the biggest and brightest debuting star of 2021. SOUR has multiple of the most streamed songs in the world, despite being this artist’s first original collection of songs. With co-writing contributions from Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff, St. Vincent, and Hayley Williams, and help from Conan Gray producer Dan Nigro, SOUR has all the hallmarks of an award-winning album. Here are the categories that Olivia Rodrigo received a nomination in, and if she has a realistic chance of winning any of them.

It’s hard to believe it’s been this long since some of these songs. So much has happened in the last five years, the sound of 2017 feels like a distant era of popular music history. Here’s a list of representative songs from the year to refresh your memory.

Rapper/singer/songwriter Doja Cat, through a series of not entirely clear Twitter posts, announced in March 2022 that she will retire from music. The profanity-laden comment came as a shock to fans since the artist received a career-best of eight Grammy nominations earlier this year. Here’s everything we know so far about Doja Cat’s retirement.

The list of artists at Lollapalooza has been finalized! Here are the rap highlights from this year's stacked lineup.

Breaking from your fanbase is a bold gamble in an era where online chatter can ruin an artist’s career. With her pre-release singles and comments about this being her most pop-oriented album yet, rabid fans of the PC music experiments immediately latched onto her apparent disregard for those who made her famous. The months between the release of “Good Ones” and the full album date seemed tense, without anyone knowing for sure how critics and audiences would receive Crash. Thankfully, it turned into an all-around success, reaching #1 on the charts thanks to her focused, dynamic efforts.