Plus: hip-hop’s 20 greatest diss tracks – ranked!
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Picks of the week
The shocking truth about the money bands make on tour
‘The working class can’t afford it’  
The shocking truth about the money bands make on tour
As Taylor Swift tops $1bn in tour revenue, musicians playing smaller venues are facing pitiful fees and frequent losses. Should the state step in to save our live music scene?
Mad fer it!  
The young musicians flying the flag for Britpop
‘A lot of rich guys arguing’  
Inside the rap beef of the decade with Drake, Kendrick Lamar and more
Dance giants Justice return  
The only thing we argued over were the bongos
‘We’re sick as a species’  
Montreal metallers Big Brave on doom, despondency and Emily Dickinson
‘People think I hate pop’  
Super-producer AG Cook on working with Beyoncé and honouring his friend Sophie
Reviews
Alexis Petridis's album of the week  
St Vincent: All Born Screaming – the unmasking of a great American songwriter
St Vincent: All Born Screaming – the unmasking of a great American songwriter
Jovial, randy and anything but dark  
Johnny Cash’s surprise return single Well Alright reviewed
Contemporary album of the month  
David Crowell: Point/Cloud – minimalism that sparkles with joy
Album review  
Porij: Teething – dance music without drama or daring
Album review  
Pet Shop Boys: Nonetheless – a great, fan-pleasing album
Album review  
Justice: Hyperdrama – an uncertain return to the dancefloor
 
Get a friend to Glasto!

We have 10 pairs of tickets to give away for this year's Glastonbury festival. Know someone who deserves to go? Nominate your worthy winner by Sunday 28 April. For UK residents only. To enter and for full terms and conditions visit theguardian.com/glastonbury-competition

 
Spotlight
From Taylor to Ariana, pop’s overreliance on gossip is choking the life out of it
Pop and rock  
From Taylor to Ariana, pop’s overreliance on gossip is choking the life out of it
Laura Snapes
Today’s pop stars are cramming songs with so much biography they need footnotes – and they’re in danger of alienating all but their hardcore fans
Classical
‘I’m not humble. I expect miracles’  
Why violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja wants to blow you out of your seat
Why violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja wants to blow you out of your seat
Classical album of the week  
Adams: Girls of the Golden West album review – California gold rush opera has a definitive recording
Adams: Girls of the Golden West album review – California gold rush opera has a definitive recording
This Proms season ticks all the boxes and promises special things
Andrew Clements
This Proms season ticks all the boxes and promises special things
Concert review  
OAE/Schiff – Mendelssohn deep dive is charged with energy and colour
OAE/Schiff – Mendelssohn deep dive is charged with energy and colour
Obituary  
Sir Andrew Davis, ex-chief conductor of BBC Symphony Orchestra
Sir Andrew Davis, ex-chief conductor of BBC Symphony Orchestra
Opera review  
Lucia di Lammermoor – a vocally breathtaking, disturbing to witness descent into madness
Lucia di Lammermoor – a vocally breathtaking, disturbing to witness descent into madness
 
Make a Feast out of anything

Feast: Our brand new cooking app is here

Discover over 1,000 easy and inspiring recipes from our brilliant cooks, to help you make a feast out of anything. Brimming full of ideas and smart features, it will make everyday cooking easier and more fun.

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Add to playlist
Furious, funny and potentially fatal  
Hip-hop’s 20 greatest diss tracks – ranked!
Hip-hop’s 20 greatest diss tracks – ranked!
On my radar  
CMAT’s cultural highlights
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Sean Bankhead on his raunchy dances for Beyoncé, Cardi B, Lil Nas X and more
‘They’re not ashamed of their bodies’  
Sean Bankhead on his raunchy dances for Beyoncé, Cardi B, Lil Nas X and more
He’s the world’s hottest choreographer, the man who cooks up steamy videos and stage shows for giants of music. But does the Atlanta star ever think he goes too far? Quite the opposite …
Chvrches’ Lauren Mayberry  
I was fixated with death… I needed to live in reality
The frontwoman of the Scottish synth-pop trio had a dream pop career, but it came with years of online misogyny and artistic frustration. As she prepares to release her debut solo album, she discusses going her own way
‘Reagan gave us something to rap about’  
How hip-hop has interacted with US politics
New documentary Hip-Hop and the White House looks back at how presidents have rejected or embraced those within the genre, from Reagan to Trump
‘Like eating too much chocolate’  
Guardian readers on Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department
‘Bland’ or ‘absolutely breathtaking’? Our readers are divided over Swift’s epically long, richly detailed new album
Sunday with Shirley Manson  
I impersonate my mother by making a chicken dinner
The Garbage singer talks about church in childhood, her need to enjoy life and her favourite arty amusement park
Wales  
‘Cancelled’ hymns about mental illness and addiction to be sung again
Folk singer revives music believed to have been rejected by hymn book committees, after she found recordings in archive
Live music this week
Take That  
Oddly packaged pop still packs a wallop
Oddly packaged pop still packs a wallop
Olivia Dean  
Pop-soul singer proves she was born for big stages
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