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      How Did Melanie’s ’Brand New Key” Hit No. 1?

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      Melanie’s “Brand New Key” is just one of many weird songs that somehow topped the Billboard charts.When Melanie’s “Brand New Key” debuted in 1971, some people were confused. What did the singer, who died on Tuesday at 76, mean when she sang about having a brand-new pair of roller skates and someone else having a brand-new key?Melanie told interviewers that she wrote the song in 15 minutes, after ending a 27-day fast, and that it was intended to be cute. The folk singer said that it did not have a deeper meaning, though many thought its playful lyrics about biking and roller skating were really about sex (“Don’t go too fast but I go pretty far”). It sounded strange, like a song out of time — Melanie said she intended it to hearken to the 1930s — sung with what could now be called a warbling “indie girl voice.” And it somehow hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.The song has lingered in pop culture, from a lip sync battle between Jimmy Fallon and Melissa McCarthy to a post-apocalyptic DJ playing it endlessly on “Kids in the Hall.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?  More

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      How Often Is Taylor Swift Shown at NFL Games?

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      A romance between the pop star and Travis Kelce has dominated social media, but TV broadcasts are focusing on it less than many seem to think.As Taylor Swift’s N.F.L. adventure began in earnest at a Kansas City Chiefs game against the Chicago Bears on Sept. 24, the reaction of the Fox broadcast crew — and much of the N.F.L. world in general — was summed up by Erin Andrews, a veteran sideline reporter.“We all need to calm down,” Ms. Andrews said, shortly after Travis Kelce scored a second-half touchdown.Ms. Andrews was making a nod to one of Ms. Swift’s songs, but she was also acknowledging how star-struck she and her colleagues were to have the world’s biggest pop star at Arrowhead Stadium to see her new love interest, Mr. Kelce, play for the Chiefs. Greg Olsen, the lead analyst on the broadcast, went as far as bragging that Ms. Swift had once liked one of his tweets.While Ms. Swift’s presence dramatically expanded the audience for Chiefs games — Nielsen Media Research estimated an additional two million women watched Kansas City’s game on Oct. 1 — some backlash was inevitable. Ms. Swift joked about “pissing off a few dads, Brads and Chads” in her Time Person of the Year profile, but she had run out of one-liners (and facial expressions) by the time the comedian Jo Koy, in a disastrous hosting gig at the Golden Globes, said: “The big difference between the Golden Globes and the N.F.L.? At the Golden Globes, we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift.”Mr. Koy soon went on a media tour defending the joke as a criticism of the broadcasts, not Ms. Swift. But the reality was that the sequence at the awards ceremony took 16 seconds to play out, which was more time than CBS had dedicated to showing Ms. Swift at either of the last two Chiefs games she’d attended leading up to that night.And that dissonance between how many times Ms. Swift is shown versus how many times people seem to think she was shown, has continued despite the reality that she is typically on screen for less than 25 seconds over the course of broadcasts that run longer than three hours, and her name is rarely mentioned.Rob Hyland, the coordinating producer for NBC’s Sunday Night Football broadcasts, has run the coverage for two games Ms. Swift attended — the Jets-Chiefs game on Oct. 1 and the Packers-Chiefs game on Dec. 3 — and said his team prepares heavily for how they cover her, but that everything falls away if the game gets interesting.“It is always a balance with what’s happening on the field and how you can enhance what’s happening on the field,” said Mr. Hyland, who challenged any dissatisfied viewers to name any aspect of the games they missed as a result of the cutaways. “It wasn’t like, ‘Hey, let’s, let’s show her this many times.’ It was, ‘Hey, when appropriate, let’s remind the audience that she’s there.’”Mr. Hyland’s crew spent the lead-up to the Jets game — which was only a week into Ms. Swift and Mr. Kelce’s public relationship — frantically trying to find out if Ms. Swift would attend, going as far as having a spotter plane searching the area for police escorts. But a close game led to most of their preparation being tossed aside in favor of game action (and at least six cutaways to Aaron Rodgers, the Jets’ injured quarterback, sitting in his own suite).Two months later, NBC showed her only once during the broadcast of the Packers game, largely because the novelty of the relationship had begun to wear off.A close look at the games that have aired since Christmas reveals familiar patterns of coverage that have Ms. Swift’s fans hoping to see her more while some vocal N.F.L. fans remain overwhelmed.Cameras often spotlight Ms. Mahomes and Ms. Swift after big plays by Travis Kelce. Their outfits are scrutinized heavily by fans online.Mark J. Rebilas/USA Today Sports, via ReutersJan. 21 — Chiefs vs. BillsTimes shown: 5 | Total duration: 24 secondsTravis’s day: 5 catches, 75 yards, 2 touchdownsTime devoted to a shirtless Jason Kelce: 21 secondsScore: Chiefs 27, Bills 24After an early catch by Mr. Kelce, Ms. Swift was shown sitting in her luxury suite, and Tony Romo, the color commentator, said, “There’s an interested fan right there.” The broadcast went back to her suite after both of Mr. Kelce’s touchdown catches to see her celebrations. On the second one, Mr. Romo pointed out that Jason Kelce was sitting behind Ms. Swift, drinking a beer with no shirt on. “There’s your brother-in-law right behind you,” he said, incorrectly characterizing her relationship with Travis Kelce, just as he had during Kansas City’s game on Christmas.Ms. Swift has featured a different Chiefs-themed wardrobe choice at each game, including a custom jacket that Kristin Juszczyk made using one of Mr. Kelce’s jerseys.Ed Zurga/Associated PressJan. 13 — Chiefs vs. DolphinsTimes shown: 5 | Total duration: 1 minute 16 secondsTravis’s day: 7 catches, 71 yardsScore: Chiefs 26, Dolphins 7Ms. Swift’s jacket — a custom creation by Kristin Juszczyk — quickly became the talk of social media. As for the game, which was shown exclusively on the Peacock streaming service, the mentions of Ms. Swift were few and far between, other than an extended stretch in which the game’s commentators, Mike Tirico and Jason Garrett, discussed their proximity to her.“So I’m not exactly sure where in the stadium Taylor Swift sits, right?” Mr. Tirico said, as the cameras showed her suite and began to pull back. “We’re just sitting here watching the game. The last quarter-and-a-half, there have been people up here, and I’m like, ‘Man, they must love Jason Garrett.’ Everybody’s pointing their camera up to our booth to take a picture of Jason. And then about 10 minutes ago I was like, ‘Hey dummy, they’re taking a picture of Taylor.’”As the camera showed a wide shot of the booth, which was just above Ms. Swift’s suite, Mr. Garrett said, “And the worst part is, I’ve been waving the whole time.”Even a simple white Chiefs jacket can cause a stir, as there was speculation online that she had borrowed a coat that Mr. Kelce had recently worn. Swifties soon discovered subtle differences between the jackets.Ed Zurga/Associated PressDec. 31 — Chiefs vs. BengalsTimes shown: 3 | Total duration: 12 secondsTravis’s day: 3 catches, 16 yardsScore: Chiefs 25, Bengals 17This was a quiet day for Mr. Kelce, which led to very little mention of Ms. Swift. After a crucial defensive play by one of Mr. Kelce’s teammates late in the game, the CBS cameras showed Ms. Swift celebrating in her suite, and Mr. Romo said, “You see all the fans — and your favorite fan — all excited out here.”Ms. Swift brought several family members with her to the Chiefs game on Christmas, including her brother, Austin, who dressed as Santa Claus.Charlie Riedel/Associated PressDec. 25 — Chiefs vs. RaidersTimes shown: 3 | Total duration: 14 secondsTravis’s day: 5 catches, 44 yardsScore: Raiders 20, Chiefs 14Ms. Swift and her entire family spent Christmas with the Chiefs, and her brother, Austin, dressed as Santa Claus. But after CBS opened its broadcast with a shot of Ms. Swift in her suite, she largely disappeared, probably because Mr. Kelce played relatively poorly in a frustrating loss. The third and final time the cameras showed Ms. Swift was after a catch by Mr. Kelce in the second quarter, prompting Mr. Romo to say: “And his wife loves it — I mean girlfriend.” More

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      Melanie, Singer Who Made a Solo Splash at Woodstock, Dies at 76

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      Just 22 when she charmed the festival crowd, she went on to enjoy success with songs like “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)” and “Brand New Key.”Melanie, the husky-voiced singer and songwriter who was one of the surprise stars of the Woodstock music festival in 1969 and two years later had a No. 1 single with the disarmingly childlike “Brand New Key,” died on Tuesday. She was 76.Her death was announced on social media by her children, Leilah, Jeordie and Beau Jarred. Neither the cause nor the location were cited.Melanie, born Melanie Satka in 1947, was only 22 but already a presence on the New York folk scene when she appeared at Woodstock. She was one of only three women who performed unaccompanied at the festival — and, as she later recalled, she was petrified at the thought of performing in front of a crowd vastly bigger than the coffeehouse audiences she was used to.It started to rain before she took the stage, and she would later say that the sight of people in the crowd lighting candles inspired her to write “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain),” which she recorded with gospel-style backing from the Edwin Hawkins Singers. Released in 1970, it became her first hit, reaching No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.Her biggest hit, “Brand New Key,” charmed listeners with its simplicity but generated controversy — and was said to have been banned by some radio stations — because some people heard sexual innuendo in lyrics like “I’ve got a brand-new pair of roller skates/You’ve got a brand-new key.” She acknowledged that the words could be interpreted that way, but insisted that this was not her intention.“‘Brand New Key’ I wrote in about 15 minutes one night,” she told one interviewer. “I thought it was cute; a kind of old ’30s tune.“I guess a key and a lock have always been Freudian symbols,” she continued, “and pretty obvious ones at that. There was no deep serious expression behind the song, but people read things into it.”Among her other compositions was “What Have They Done to My Song, Ma,” which, as “Look What They’ve Done to My Song, Ma,” was a Top 20 hit for the New Seekers in 1970.A complete obituary will follow. More

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      That Spotify Daylist That Really ‘Gets’ You? It Was Written by A.I.

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      The music-streaming platform’s new “daylist” feature serves users three personalized playlists a day, with titles ranging from quirky to bewildering.Have your Sunday scaries ever given way to a “Nervous Ocean Monday Morning”? Does the weekend truly begin on Friday, or on a “Wild and Free Chaotic Thursday Afternoon”? How should one dress for a “Paranormal Dark Cabaret Evening”?Those odd strings of words are titles of “daylists,” a newish offering from the music-streaming giant Spotify. The feature provides users three new algorithmically generated playlists a day, each with an ultra-specific title that practically begs to be screencapped and posted.The often baffling titles have recently captured the attention of social media, propelling the service to fresh popularity about four months after its September debut. In post after post, users seem amused by the feature’s ability to see right through them.“Spotify called me out a little bit with this daylist,” one X user wrote of her own playlist. Its title: “Midwest Emo Flannel Tuesday Early Morning.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?  More

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      Popcast (Deluxe): Playboi Carti, Waxahatchee and 12 More to Watch

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      Subscribe to Popcast!Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon MusicThis week’s episode of Popcast (Deluxe), the weekly culture roundup show on YouTube hosted by Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli, includes segments on:Will-they-or-won’t-they releases from Playboi Carti, Rihanna and Cardi BNew music from WaxahatcheeThe Atlanta rapper 2Sdxrt3allThe post-rage rappers Nettspend and XaviersobasedThe teenage SoundCloud rap elder Matt OxThe ambitious punk band Sheer MagThe sibling harmony group Infinity SongThe Mexican American singer-songwriter XaviThe Brooklyn drill trio 41The rustic roots-folk singers Sam Barber and Dylan GossettSnack of the weekConnect With Popcast. Become a part of the Popcast community: Join the show’s Facebook group and Discord channel. We want to hear from you! Tune in, and tell us what you think at popcast@nytimes.com. Follow our host, Jon Caramanica, on Twitter: @joncaramanica. More

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      Sarah Jarosz Tests the Mainstream

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      With her new album, “Polaroid Lovers,” a luminary of Americana broadens her sound.In modern Nashville, songwriting is often a matter of professionalized co-writing: planned, mix-and-match collaborations by appointment, musicians sharing a room to come up with sturdy material.It’s a method that Sarah Jarosz had largely shied away from until she made her seventh studio album, “Polaroid Lovers.” The LP, arriving Friday, includes songs she wrote with behind-the-scenes Nashville stalwarts including Jon Randall, Natalie Hemby and the album’s producer, Daniel Tashian, who worked on the country-psychedelia fusion of Kacey Musgraves’s “Golden Hour.”On “Polaroid Lovers,” Jarosz reaches toward a broader audience while still maintaining her individuality. The songs are more plugged in, muscular and reverberant than her past albums, which were intimate and largely acoustic. But her particular perspective — at once clearheaded, thoughtful, vulnerable and open to desire — comes through.The first song Jarosz wrote with Tashian was “Take the High Road,” with a chiming chorus that declares, “It won’t be the easy way/Saying what you want to say.” In a video interview from her home in Nashville, with string instruments hanging on the wall behind her, Jarosz said that the song’s lyrics “are almost a thesis for the whole album. You know, ‘I’m tired of being quiet — time to face up to the fear.’”Jarosz, 32, is a luminary in acoustic Americana, where bluegrass, folk, jazz and chamber music mingle with pop and rock. Born in Austin, Texas, and raised in Wimberley, a small town nearby, Jarosz emerged as a teenage bluegrass prodigy, playing mandolin, guitar, banjo and the instrument she considers her “soul mate”: the octave mandolin, pitched an octave below the standard mandolin, which she often uses for solos or countermelodies. The instrument sounds a little darker and twangier than acoustic guitar in the same range — a hand-played lower voice that answers Jarosz’s own hovering mezzo-soprano.She made her first four albums in Nashville, and she was urged to write songs with more seasoned musicians; she chose not to release any of them. “The quote-unquote ‘Nashville co-writing’ thing had been pushed on me when I was like 18, 17, making my first record,” she said. “I was really closed off to it back in that time, because I felt like I was still finding my voice. And I was worried that if I went into those co-writing rooms prematurely, that I would get lost at sea.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?  More

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      Review: The Philadelphia Orchestra Revels, and Struggles, in Jazz

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      At Carnegie Hall, a program of Stravinsky, Weill and freely improvised Gershwin highlighted a dialogue between jazz and classical music.Much of 20th-century classical music owes a deep thanks to jazz. And while on paper, the Philadelphia Orchestra’s concert at Carnegie Hall on Tuesday night was organized for a festival at the hall, Fall of the Weimar Republic: Dancing on the Precipice, the subtext was American jazz.All three of the composers on the program (Stravinsky, Weill and Gershwin) loved and, to one extent or another, made references to the style in their music. Although Stravinsky was based in Europe when he premiered “Petrushka” in 1911, he was already a U.S. citizen when he revised this piece in 1947, and had long experimented with incorporating jazz into some of his pieces — and jazz musicians loved him right back. Weill, who left Europe for the United States after the fall of the Weimar Republic, was also steeped in jazz. And Gershwin, of course, wouldn’t be Gershwin without it.The Philadelphians opened with a magical performance of “Petrushka,” led off by a piquant solo from Patrick Williams, the associate principal flutist. The orchestra staked out rhythmic details with crystalline precision and saw each phrase through with patience and a rich sound. Stravinsky relays the spirit of Petrushka, the folkloric Russian trickster puppet, and the ballet’s tale of a deeply twisted puppet love triangle, with equal parts humor and darkness; the conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the musicians captured the piece’s flickers of light and its swirls of despair.Weill’s Symphony No. 2, from 1934, is an oddity: structurally and harmonically a mash-up of plush, Mahlerian harmonies, Weill’s acidic stage works, and jazz-inflected plain-spokenness. In its best moments, such as in the dreamy, lonely slow movement — with a trombone solo played gracefully by Nitzan Haroz — this music feels like being inside an Edward Hopper painting.The giddiest part of the evening was a literally jazzed-up version of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” featuring the jazz pianist Marcus Roberts and the members of his trio: the bassist Martin Jaffe and the drummer Jason Marsalis.Roberts has made a specialty of reworking Gershwin; along with the “Rhapsody,” which he recorded nearly three decades ago, he has toured his version of the Concerto in F. In Tuesday’s account of the “Rhapsody,” the orchestra played its traditional score, but Roberts used the piano solos to introduce extended improvisations for himself, sometimes in flights of Romantic, Rachmaninoff-esque fancy, and occasionally nodding instead to the blues and stride piano. By the jazz standards of 2024, Roberts is conservative, and while he didn’t cast any new light on a cherished standard, his performance was still charming.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?  More

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      Pitchfork, the Early Years

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      Subscribe to Popcast!Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon MusicLast week, Condé Nast announced that Pitchfork, the taste-making music news and criticism website it had acquired in 2015 — which had entranced and sometimes infuriated fans for more than two decades — would be brought under the editorial umbrella of GQ. Many staffers were laid off.The announcement felt like a death knell for a certain kind of critical posture — progressive but not inaccessible, knowledgeable but also curious — that feels increasingly remote in the current media landscape. Some version of the site will continue, but online, the news was received with dismay and frustration.On this week’s Popcast, a conversation with two of the people responsible for building the site’s editorial and business operations about what it took to develop the company from a one-person organization to a cross-platform publication and festival business, and the challenges that led to its sale to Condé Nast.Guests:Ryan Schreiber, the founder of Pitchfork and its editor in chief for approximately two decadesChris Kaskie, Pitchfork’s first employee and first CEOConnect With Popcast. Become a part of the Popcast community: Join the show’s Facebook group and Discord channel. We want to hear from you! Tune in, and tell us what you think at popcast@nytimes.com. Follow our host, Jon Caramanica, on Twitter: @joncaramanica. More