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Music

  • Portrait of Janet Jackson in structure jacket and knee-high lace-up boots sitting on a large cement sphere

    Interview
    ‘I shouldn’t have listened to those around me’: Janet Jackson on Michael, motherhood and how she’s taking back control

  • Sophie on stage at Coachella

    Feature
    ‘My first impression was this person’s a genius’: the life and legacy of producer pioneer Sophie

    The musician, who died in 2021, shaped much of the sound of modern pop, from Madonna to Charli xcx. As her posthumous second album is released, her family and collaborators share memories of a producer who saw the future
  • One Hand Clapping Paul McCartney during the Backyard Tapes session at EMI Studios. London, August 1974.

    Feature
    ‘The whole human condition is encased in the story’: why Beatles films just keep coming

    Midas Man and One Hand Clapping are just the latest in a stream of movies telling a story we seemingly can’t get enough of
  • Chappell Roan

    Interview
    ‘Fame is like going through puberty’: Chappell Roan on sexuality, superstardom and the joy of drag

  • Katy Perry performing at the MTV Video Music Awards, 11 September 2024.

    Album review
    Katy Perry: 143 – wan Europop revival falls short of total catastrophe

  • Drew Barrymore and Demi Lovato smile and hug each other

    Demi Lovato’s starry documentary Child Star offers hard truths

    Adrian Horton
  • A garlanded career … The Rheingans Sisters, Rowan and Anna.

    Folk album of the month
    The Rheingans Sisters: Start Close In – a radical leap into darkness

Loads more stories and moves focus to first new story.

Interviews

  • ‘We want mindless mayhem along with an element of sophistication’ … The Jesus Lizard. L-R: Duane Denison, David Yow, David Wm Sims and Mac McNeilly.

    Rock
    ‘I love it when things get out of hand’: the return of outrageous 90s rockers the Jesus Lizard

  • Terry Reid performing in 1973.

    Pop
    Hendrix, Jagger, Bowie and me: Terry Reid, the British pop outlier adored by the greats

  • Neneh Cherry photographed in London by Phil Fisk for the Observer New Review, August 2024.

    You ask the questions
    ‘My whole life’s interconnected’: Neneh Cherry on the relationships that inspire her, leaving home at 15, and the joy of a trashy box set

  • Cameron Muncey, Nic Cester and Mark Wilson of Jet

    10 Chaotic Questions
    Nic Cester from Jet: ‘I wrote the majority of Get Born while sitting on the toilet’

Loads more stories and moves focus to first new story.

Album reviews

  • Flipping the script … Jamie xx.

    Alexis Petridis's album of the week
    Jamie xx: In Waves – bright, blissful bangers for 3am on big speakers

  • Rejuvenated … Stuart Staples of Tindersticks

    Alexis Petridis's album of the week
    Tindersticks: Soft Tissue – still ruling their own twilit world after 30 years

    • Rock
      The Jesus Lizard: Rack – Chicago punks return with pyrotechnics undimmed

    • Experimental
      Wendy Eisenberg: Viewfinder – insightful jazz voyage into life after laser eye surgery

    • Dance
      Floating Points: Cascade – an enthralling record of out-and-out bangers

    • Contemporary album of the month
      Daniel Inzani: Selected Worlds – unhinged, exhilarating adventures in genre-hopping

    • Pop
      Fousheé: Pointy Heights – a Caribbean-facing new direction

    • Folk
      Astrid Williamson: Shetland Suite – a beautiful enchantment

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Live reviews

  • Roaring and rousing … Moby performing at Manchester Apollo.

    Electronic
    Moby – full of teenage energy on first tour in over a decade

  • Mermaid-themed … Chappell Roan on stage in Manchester.

    Pop
    Chappell Roan – having the time of her life

    • Thrillingly feral … Jack White at the Islington Assembly Hall.

      Rock
      Jack White – virtuoso noisemaker delivers in riotous style

    • Powerful … Azealia Banks at O2 Academy in Brixton.

      Pop
      Azealia Banks – thundering bare bones set almost brings down the building

    • A mighty good time had by all … the Jonas Brothers performing in Belfast earlier this week.

      Pop
      Jonas Brothers – epic 60-song eras set is full of cheesy joy

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Add to playlist

  • Eve.

    Honest playlist
    ‘I’m not a singer but I can just about do Sweet Dreams at karaoke’: Eve’s honest playlist

  • Friedberg band

    One to watch
    Friedberg

  • The Weeknd performing in Sao Paulo last week.

    Track review
    The Weeknd: Dancing in the Flames – another apocalyptic romance, and another surefire hit

  • Gok Wan

    Honest playlist
    ‘I fancied Matt Goss. When Will I Be Famous? was an awakening’: Gok Wan’s honest playlist

Loads more stories and moves focus to first new story.

Obituaries

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From the archive

  • Mitski

    Mitski, the US’s best young songwriter
    I’m a black hole where people dump their feelings

    With songs about heartbreak and capitalism, the cult pop singer is on the brink of the mainstream – but the intensity of her fandom has her fearing for her safety
Loads more stories and moves focus to first new story.
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  • Musically tough and dynamic … Morrissey and Johnny Marr in their Smiths days

    Analysis
    There is a light that never goes out: is a Smiths reunion genuinely impossible?

  • Rammellzee in his Tribeca apartment in 1991.

    ‘Rammellzee was an electric presence’: Thurston Moore on NYC’s graffiti-writing hip-hop pioneer

    Thurston Moore
    Sonic Youth’s frontman pays homage to the otherworldly New York City artist who turned graffiti into a futurist art weapon and used experimental linguistics to escape definition
  • Keep on the grass … Mick Jagger and Keith Richards at Richards’ Redlands cottage in 1967.

    Theatre
    It’s only LSD but I like it: the play telling the untold story about the Rolling Stones drugs bust

    Keith Richards and Mick Jagger’s 1967 raid and trial caused a national storm, seeming to pitch old against young, Establishment against counterculture. But was the real story overlooked? We return to the 60s at their most swinging
  • Pete Townshend of the Who smashing a guitar up on stage – though there would be even more violent moments between the band.

    Feature
    ‘Only three more songs till I kick your ass!’ Rock’n’roll’s biggest onstage bust-ups

  • Illustration

    I’m a devout agnostic. But, like Nick Cave, I hunger for meaning in our chaotic world

    John Harris
  • Linkin Park, with co-founder Mike Shinoda, right, and new singer Emily Armstrong, centre.

    Feature
    ‘Instantly a very different vibe’: the glory and controversy of Linkin Park’s explosive comeback

  • Chappell Roan wearing a dress and a large crucifix and holding a sword.

    Social media have blurred the boundaries between fans and celebrities – with disturbing results

    Hannah Ewens
Loads more stories and moves focus to first new story.

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