Pop music
Sin, sex and Celine Dion: This is the best album you’ve never heard of
Here is a wild work from an enigmatic genius that is ridiculous, over the top and dripping in lyrical and musical excess.
- by Michael Koziol
Latest
We’re blessed to have Bob Dylan’s wild book of 66 game-changing songs
Headlong passion is cut with a flinty old timer’s asides in the Nobel Prize winner’s new book, The Philosophy of Modern Song.
- by Michael Dwyer
How Dolly Parton helped Rose Byrne and friends launch a new force in film
Seriously Red is the first film from Dollhouse, but it would never have happened without Dolly Parton’s seal of approval.
- by Karl Quinn
‘My heart has been broken’: Nick Carter remembers his ‘baby brother’
The Backstreet Boys member said he and Aaron had “a complicated relationship [but] my love for him has never ever faded”.
Dylan’s take on a rock ‘n’ roll classic – and why Elvis would land a Nike deal
A joyous ode to cobalt brogues, or a game-changing reflection of society? Nobel Prize-winner Bob Dylan offers a fresh riff on a 1950s standard.
- by Bob Dylan
Why this Taylor Swift fan bought 15 copies of the superstar’s new album
Australian Morgan De La Rue ordered 15 versions of the new album Midnights. She bought her first Swift vinyl before she even owned a record player.
- by Jackson Graham and Martin Boulton
How managing Mick Jagger was like nannying a kid
When chance landed Sally Arnold the job of a lifetime, she could never have predicted where it would lead – to a life of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.
- by Louise Burke
Queer as Folklore: Why are fans arguing over Taylor Swift’s sexuality?
In the lead-up to Swift’s new album, groups called “Gaylors” and “Hetlors” are debating her sexuality (and whether it’s right to speculate at all).
- by Nell Geraets
Opinion
Social media
Why Lizzo’s flawless fluting put a song in my heart
The pop star and rapper playing a 200-year-old crystal flute is just what we need to make this maligned wind instrument fashionable again.
- by James Valentine
Opinion
Reality TV
Was everyone else too busy? Why Australian Idol’s new judges are a big let-down
The new line-up isn’t a great crop of judges and doesn’t reflect the competition’s diverse history. But maybe that will allow contestants to shine instead.
- by Angus Livingston
Everybody’s darling: Why the music world loved Charlie Watts
Paul Sexton’s biography of the late Rolling Stones drummer reveals a man who took great pride in the band.
- by Michael Dwyer