I thought that if [Loretta Lynn] can have an opinion, I can, too. A lot of people can be turned off by topical songs, but I don’t really give a s***. | | | | Cardi B at rehearsals for the MTV Video Music Awards, Aug. 25, 2017 in Inglewood, Calif.
(John Shearer/Getty Images) | | | | |  | “I thought that if [Loretta Lynn] can have an opinion, I can, too. A lot of people can be turned off by topical songs, but I don’t really give a s***.”
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| | rantnrave:// "I think music has gotten very girly," BONO told JANN WENNER in an unfortunate interview moment that provided a perfect, if unintended, finish to a year soundtracked largely by the female voice. I don't know if the frontman of one of the world's biggest all-male rock bands has heard CODE ORANGE or CHARLY BLISS or ST. VINCENT or JULIEN BAKER. I honestly don't know what he was trying to say, or where he would have gone if the man from ROLLING STONE had offered him a little more rope. But, in a sense, yeah: From hustlers making money moves on the pop charts to producers reimagining the possibilities of dance music to country singers still trying to figure out how to get played on the radio to victims turning the tables in both song and real life, women were the heart, soul, rhythm and melody of nearly every significant thread of music in 2017. It was a girly year. Some guys made some good music, too. Here are the artists who helped us get through another long, dark, crazy year. | | | - Matty Karas, curator |
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 | Pitchfork |
| The rise of Cardi B and “Bodak Yellow” is about finding an audience on your own terms. | | |
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 | The Ringer |
| The most heartening thing about Kesha's third album, "Rainbow," is how joyful it is; it’s a living testament to the fact that having fun is the best revenge. | | |
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 | NPR Music |
| With faith and fate hanging in the balance, the most celebrated album of the year dares us to grapple with the politics of personal responsibility in America. But is anybody really listening? | | |
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 | The New York Times |
| The singer and songwriter, who isn’t afraid to brush up against the country music establishment, is releasing a new album that draws on her lifetime of struggle. | | |
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 | Tidal |
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| Pitchfork |
| I spent my 20s in a heavy fog of depression until it got so bad and took over my life so much that I got some serious help. I’m 35 now, and when I hear Lil Peep’s music, it reminds me of that time and that hurt. It reminds me that I made it through, that I tried. It’s devastating that Peep himself will never be able to look back on his problems the same way. | | |
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 | BuzzFeed |
| The 26-year-old musician makes atmospheric R&B that’s self-questioning, self-affirming, and as relatable as it is personal. | | |
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 | SPIN |
| How a former steel worker from Gary, Indiana, became a star in the world of avant-garde dance music. | | |
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 | The New Yorker |
| In the follow-up to her breakthrough experimental album, is Annie Clark making a grab for pop success? | | |
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 | Vulture |
| When I was first presented with the idea for this story -- where I would explain how to write a perfect pop song - I told my manager, "It's a cool idea, but it doesn't make any sense. There's no one way to do it." | | |
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 | Interview Magazine |
| As the auteur of 2016's "A Seat at the Table," she created one of the most poignant and searing statements on modern America while also giving solace and strength to millions. As the writer, director, and star of her own life, though, Solange is creating her masterpiece. | | |
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 | Revolver |
| How five hardcore kids from Pittsburgh are changing the game according to their own rules. | | |
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| The New York Times |
| In a hybrid of concert and autobiography, Bruce Springsteen delivers a major statement about his life’s work - but also a major revision of it. | | |
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 | Rolling Stone |
| Behind the scenes as Korean pop's biggest band takes America. | | |
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| NPR Music |
| "The whole world is singing in Spanish," says singer Luis Fonsi. How the mainstreaming of reggaeton, the ubiquity of streaming services and some queasy culture clashes gave us the song of the summer. | | |
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 | Stereogum |
| "Guppy" is a fast and loose and delirious debut, an addictive sugar pill. It sounds immediate and irrepressible, like all these great songs just came bursting out when someone pointed a microphone in this young band’s direction for half an hour. Of course, that’s not what happened. It took real work to make something this immediate. | | |
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| Vulture |
| Atlanta rapper Future just scored a Billboard record: The first pair of back-to-back No. 1 album debuts by the same artist. Topping the Billboard 200 album chart this week with his latest, HNDRXX, he replaces himself - his eponymous FUTURE debuted on top the week prior. | | |
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 | The Washington Post |
| The New Orleans native’s trilogy of 2017 albums feels immersive and exquisite. | | |
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| Rolling Stone |
| Lorde discusses growing up in the spotlight following her hit debut 'Pure Heroine,' and why her new 'Melodrama' is the work of a "young woman." | | |
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 | Vox |
| The British singer-songwriter is an affable, seemingly innocuous pop star. So why is he so polarizing? | | |
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 | The Muse |
| Last week, in our darkest hour, Drake returned with "More Life" and his most effective skill: reminding us that life is literally meant to be lived at its happiest, at its pettiest and as indulgently as you can manifest it. | | |
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 | YouTube |
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