Plus: Why is Elton John’s lyricist still underrated?
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Sleeve Notes
Picks of the week
Floating Points on his landmark album with Pharoah Sanders
‘I imagine he’s in the cosmos, hearing music’  
Floating Points on his landmark album with Pharoah Sanders
The UK producer has never spoken about one of the century’s most acclaimed records, Promises, until now. He recalls bonding with the late jazz legend over okra curry – then making a masterpiece
Gene Simmons on Kiss, sex and calling it quits  
As long as your schmeckle works, you feel immortal
‘He was brave and defiant’  
The lost jazz and blues songs of disco icon Sylvester
‘People who were affected by punk still are’  
Pauline Murray on rage, life on the road and doing things her way
Genre-exploding vocalist Teezo Touchdown  
You’re going to spend the rest of your life with me!
‘He’s like a method actor’  
The Japanese salesman who transforms into Jimmy Page
Reviews
Alexis Petridis's album of the week  
Mitski: The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We – a songwriter with stunning melodic power
Mitski: The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We – a songwriter with stunning melodic power
Global album of the month  
DJ Znobia: Inventor Vol 1 – raw minimalist kuduro to shake the dancefloor
Album review  
Diddy: The Love Album: Off the Grid – rap megastar gets lost amid big-name return
Album review  
James Blake: Playing Robots Into Heaven – back in his own atmospheric universe
Album review  
Gaika: Drift – the sonic shapeshifter goes analogue
Album review  
Margo Cilker: Valley of Heart’s Delight – more engaging, minimal Americana
 

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Spotlight
Even after 300m album sales, why is Elton John’s lyricist still underrated?
Bernie Taupin  
Even after 300m album sales, why is Elton John’s lyricist still underrated?
A new autobiography sheds light on John’s songwriting partner – someone who wrote lyrics with astonishing empathy, and cleverly documented the music scene that surrounded the pair
Classical
‘I threw my pop records in the bin’  
George Benjamin on his defining moments – and his latest opera
George Benjamin on his defining moments – and his latest opera
Classical album of the week  
Ethel Smyth: Der Wald – an operatic pioneer finally gets her just deserts
Ethel Smyth: Der Wald – an operatic pioneer finally gets her just deserts
Opera review  
Das Rheingold – uncluttered staging is a compelling start to Kosky’s Ring cycle
Das Rheingold – uncluttered staging is a compelling start to Kosky’s Ring cycle
Concert review  
Ensemble Modern/Benjamin/Prohaska – teetering on the edge of the atonal
Ensemble Modern/Benjamin/Prohaska – teetering on the edge of the atonal
‘A more hopeful kind of patriotism’  
A first-timer goes to the Last Night of the Proms
A first-timer goes to the Last Night of the Proms
Concert review  
Mahan Esfahani; Ibragimova/Osborne – from electric dreams to muscular Prokofiev
Mahan Esfahani; Ibragimova/Osborne – from electric dreams to muscular Prokofiev
Pop Culture with Chanté Joseph
Will AI ruin music as we know it? Is astrology changing our love lives? We go beyond the gossip with smart takes on trends and internet culture. Listen wherever you get your podcasts every Thursday.
Add to playlist
Ranked  
Cat Power’s 20 greatest tracks
Cat Power’s 20 greatest tracks
‘Every Cocteau Twins song sounds like an orgasm’  
Perry Farrell’s honest playlist
One to watch  
Jalen Ngonda
You may have missed
The musicians who took on the Chilean junta
‘A fascist tried to electrocute us on stage’  
The musicians who took on the Chilean junta
Under Pinochet, artistic expression in Chile was its own form of resistance. Fifty years on from the coup, performers are keeping the flame of protest alight
‘Instant 80s!’  
Ex-Midlake singer Tim Smith on mixing William Blake with the Cure
The Texan caused shockwaves when he left Midlake. Now he’s back with his new band Harp – and a musical love letter to the British landscape, full of drum machines and mystical poetry
‘The most fun!’  
Paul Simon unveils collaboration with The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse illustrator
Charlie Mackesy created his new drawings while listening to Simon’s music, the pair explain at the exhibition launch, with Simon outlining how the Covid-19 pandemic helped his creativity
‘It’s a sickness’  
Chuck D on his new graphic novel and the ‘madness’ of US gun culture
The Public Enemy frontman talks about why he returned to his first love of art to create a book about the violence dividing his country
‘Dancing femininely is the most metal thing’  
The young women turning Slipknot into feminist anthems
With videos that are part thirst trap, part protest, gen Z is changing the image of the nu metal fan
Elvis Costello on writing The Juliet Letters  
It initially caused panic
‘It’s been translated into different languages, there’s a version for a cabaret band – and the songs have been covered many times. Björk’s version of Why? is better than mine!’
Live music this week
Feist  
One of the best live shows of the year
One of the best live shows of the year
Graham Nash  
The lyrics are iffy, but the melodies remain magic
Shania Twain  
Soaring self-confidence leaves fans much impressed
Get in touch
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