Music Columns

Rush in high fidelity, Matt B with the London Phil, dancing with DJ Danny Trance, chill string trios, and more.

Have the Stones, Madonna, and Jack White still got what it takes? Can Ariana Grande defy gravity? And can Collective Soul ride a new wave?

"While the world is waiting for the UFC Freedom 250 on June 14 at the White House, I challenge President Putin to a cage match," says Pussy Riot.

Deluxe editions from Neil Young and The Cranberries and a world premiere recording of a long-lost opera highlight this week's new-release news.

'Something Else' isn't about reinvention in the purest sense, but reimagination. It shows that The Cranberries are willing (and able) to retrofit their formidable canon, and that's not something every recording act is capable of 25 years into their career.

'Whatever' is but one of many moments in En Vogue's canon that show their gift of making music that stretches the limits of listeners' imaginations.

'Middle of Nowhere' has remained as precocious as it was in 1997, brimming with zest and the promise of a band that had a sound that was only just beginning to make itself known.

'Saturnz Barz (Spirit House)' is delightfully weird, addictive and promises that its parent record 'Humanz' will be yet another post-modern masterpiece―and head-scratcher―like the four albums that preceded it.

Jidenna's debut, 'The Chief', is a frustrating or rewarding listening experience, depending on the individual partaking in its offerings.

Tethered by her witty, idiosyncratic lyrics and scratchy, sweet vocals, Macy Gray's "Sexual Revolution" may have been too frothy for American radio at the time of its release, but it remains one of the finest singles released from the 2000s.