Pop and Rock Music

Subterms

    More stories

    • 100 Shares189 Views

      in Music

      Morten Harket, a-ha’s Lead Singer, Has Parkinson’s Disease

      by

      Harket, best known for his band’s infectious 1985 synth-pop hit “Take on Me,” revealed his illness in an interview on a-ha’s website.Morten Harket, the lead singer of the Norwegian synth-pop band a-ha, best known for its 1985 hit single “Take on Me,” said Wednesday that he had Parkinson’s disease.Harket, 65, revealed his illness in an interview with Jan Omdahl, a-ha’s biographer, on the band’s website. Harket did not say when he received the diagnosis.“I’ve got no problem accepting the diagnosis,” he said. “With time I’ve taken to heart my 94-year-old father’s attitude to the way the organism gradually surrenders: ‘I use whatever works.’”His announcement comes days after the 40th anniversary of the release of a-ha’s first album, “Hunting High and Low,” on June 1, 1985. The first single from the album, “Take on Me,” became a global hit that year, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States on the basis of the song’s infectious synthesizer hook and innovative video that mixed animation with live action.In the interview, Harket said he took medicine to manage his symptoms. Last June, he traveled to the United States, where surgeons at the Mayo Clinic implanted, inside the left side of his brain, electrodes that receive electrical impulses from a small pacemaker-like device in his upper chest. He underwent the same procedure in December for the right side of his brain.The treatment, known as deep brain simulation, is an established treatment for Parkinson’s. Omdahl writes that the treatment has helped keep Harket’s symptoms in check.Still, problems with his voice “are one of many grounds for uncertainty about my creative future,” he said. The dopamine supplements that he takes affect his voice, but his underlying symptoms become more pronounced if he doesn’t take them, he said.Parkinson’s is a progressive and incurable disease that affects the central nervous system and causes tremors, muscle stiffness, impaired balance and other symptoms. More than 10 million people worldwide are estimated to be living with Parkinson’s, according to the Parkinson’s Foundation.Harket, who has released six solo albums, said he has worked on songs in recent years.A-ha formed in Oslo in 1982. Harket and his two bandmates, Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and Magne Furuholmen, spent their early days playing in London before they eventually landed a contract with Warner Bros.Though a-ha is largely known as a one-hit wonder in the United States for “Take On Me,” its second single, “The Sun Always Shines on TV,” cracked the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1985. The band went on to sell millions of copies of its albums worldwide, and has performed before audiences in 38 countries. Its most recent studio album, “True North,” was issued in 2022. More

    • 88 Shares189 Views

      in Music

      Taylor Swift Never Rerecorded ‘Reputation.’ Thank God.

      by

      After buying back her master recordings, the superstar says she has no plans to finish remaking her sixth album — her most inventive, shocking and risky yet.“Reputation,” Taylor Swift’s rowdy and sly 2017 document of exasperation and recrimination followed by blooming love, is, in a deep catalog of very fine albums, her finest. It is profoundly and disorientingly effective — sinister and hilarious and almost lighthearted in its viciousness — and also an experimental release from a superstar who had previously largely steered clear of formal risk.“Reputation” broke all of Swift’s formulas, taking her from an underdog prodigy who treated every win as an unexpected thrill to a pop star willing to play in the mud (and hurl it at her enemies). It may not be her most representative work, but it demonstrates her versatility and her ability to engage with the predominant sound of the moment, and reveals a snarl that had previously gone unseen.Last Friday, Swift announced that she would not be making a new recording of “Reputation” to join her Taylor’s Versions of “Fearless,” “Speak Now,” “Red” and “1989.” Those releases are the result of a long-running battle over the ownership of the master recordings of her first six albums. Swift has now acquired those assets — in a deal reportedly worth about $360 million, according to Billboard — so she no longer needs to produce an alternate version to draw fan interest away from the originals.Which means she no longer needs to tinker with memory, either. The Taylor’s Version projects were foundationally ahistoric, grand-scale curios that muddied the place Swift’s originals held in the public consciousness. They also implied, via force, that Swift’s original artistry was somehow insufficient. And it relegated old recordings to relic status, largely in the interest of commercial concerns.What they succeeded at, however, was acknowledging that for an artist with several generations of fans, some older material might benefit from a refresh and a reintroduction. The commercial and chart success of these albums — her remake of “1989” had a larger opening week than the original, the equivalent of 1,653,000 sales in the United States — suggested that old work, rethought and repackaged, could be as lucrative as new songs.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? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 100 Shares99 Views

      in Music

      15 Surprising Show-Tune Covers for Broadway’s Big Night

      by

      Get ready for the Tony Awards with songs from Sylvester, Diana Ross & the Supremes, Queensrÿche and more.“One Night Only” originated in “Dreamgirls” and was later covered by Sylvester.Richard Creamer/Michael Ochs, via Getty ImagesDear listeners,This is Scott Heller, the former theater editor (now I’m on The New York Times Book Review). With the Tony Awards this Sunday, I’m serving up show tunes to Amplifier readers — but not the usual fare.There are no deathless standards here, like Judy Collins singing “Send in the Clowns” or anything from Barbra Streisand’s “Broadway Album.” And if you’re the kind of person who saves your Playbills, you’ve already listened to the Pet Shop Boys version of “Losing My Mind” — a lot.Rather, I’m hoping this edition of The Amplifier is full of surprising covers, and covers of show tunes you may not know as theater songs in the first place. I’ve mostly stayed away from pop albums designed to market the shows themselves, though I couldn’t resist opening with one, from well before “Hamilton” got into that game. And, alas, one of my favorites — Jill Sobule’s “Sunrise, Sunset,” recorded for the “Fiddler” tribute compilation “Knitting on the Roof” — doesn’t seem to be streamable. But you can find it on her website.Laden with happiness and tears,ScottListen along while you read.1. Diana Ross & the Supremes: “If a Girl Isn’t Pretty”Who knew? This delightful curiosity comes from a 1968 Motown album on which the trio performed 11 songs from “Funny Girl,” a tie-in released just as the movie version reached theaters. Take away the ugly duckling story line and the Brooklynese and it doesn’t exactly add up. But who cares when greeted with brash horns, sunny vocals and a group cheer after the unforgettable rhyme, “When a girl’s incidentals / are no bigger than two lentils.”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? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 113 Shares129 Views

      in Music

      TikTok Made Addison Rae Famous. Pop Made Her Cool.

      by

      A couple of years ago, when Addison Rae went to pitch herself for a deal with Columbia Records, pop stardom was not a guarantee. She was best known as one of TikTok’s breakout stars, someone who had used the app to catapult from anonymity to ubiquity, but as a dancer and personality — not a musician. And some early demo recordings she didn’t love had recently leaked online, and she wanted to distance herself from them.So instead of presenting a set of sonic ideas, she came into the meeting with a mood board in a binder.First there were the descriptors: words like “intentional,” “intense,” “loud,” “dance,” “glitter.” Then there were the colors: aquamarine, hot pink, purple, yellow. And then the screen grabs of superstar live-show touchstones: Britney Spears’s “I’m a Slave 4 U” at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards, Madonna’s Girlie Show tour, and so on.It worked — she landed the deal. But what came next was a conundrum, Rae said in an interview last month on Popcast, The New York Times’s music podcast: “I was like, I know what I want people to feel when they hear my music, but what does that sound like? And what am I going to say?”Those questions set Rae on a year-plus mission of refining her public image, one that was forged in the relentless algorithmic fires of TikTok and that has lately seen her remade as a savvy pop ingénue. This week, she’ll release “Addison,” her debut album and one of the year’s signature pop releases. (Its original title was, in fact, “Mood Boards.”) It’s a breathy, sweaty, urgent album — more a throwback to the sonics of three decades ago than a conversation with contemporary pop.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? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 125 Shares179 Views

      in Movies

      Tribeca Festival: Music and Movies Make for a Successful Mix

      by

      The festival has more than 20 music events this year — its highest number yet — including documentaries, music videos and podcasts.Metallica, Billy Idol, Miley Cyrus and Depeche Mode — they are just a few of the music acts participating in the Tribeca Festival this month. The Korean rock band the Rose, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, Wizkid and Anderson .Paak are also part of the mix.These artists are either the subject of documentaries or have a hand in creating films premiering at the event, which starts Wednesday and runs through June 15. Following their screenings, some musicians, like Billy Idol and Eddie Vedder, are taking the stage to perform in intimate settings compared with their usual mass crowds. Others, including Depeche Mode and Metallica, are sitting for conversations with audiences.Music has been a part of the event since its inception, according to the festival’s director and senior vice president of programming, Cara Cusumano. In its first edition in 2002, the festival partnered with MTV for a free community concert in Battery Park City with Sheryl Crow, Counting Crows, Wyclef Jean and David Bowie. “We have always considered Tribeca a storytelling festival, so music fits in alongside the other forms of storytelling we celebrate like games, immersive, TV, podcasts and, of course, film at the center,” Cusumano said in an email interview.Much like the festival itself, the amount of music at Tribeca has only grown over the years, she said. The increased presence of musical programming is driven by its popularity with audiences. Cusumano said that the music events saw the highest number of attendees compared with the number of attendees at any other part of the festival. Tribeca is hosting more than 20 music events this year — the highest number yet — including documentaries, music videos and podcasts.“Anecdotally, we often hear audiences speak about how special the experience was since they have usually just seen a doc about the artist, which puts the show and the artist themselves in a unique context,” Cusumano saidIn 2011, Tribeca opened with “The Union,” a documentary about making the eponymous album from Leon Russell and Elton John. In his performance for audiences after the premiere, John dedicated his love ballad “Your Song” to New York. The film and John’s concert set the precedent for Tribeca opening with a music documentary whenever possible, Cusumano said.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? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 100 Shares179 Views

      in Music

      Miley Cyrus Told Us to Ask Her Anything

      by

      Miley Cyrus’s entire life has been shaped by fame. Born at the height of her father Billy Ray Cyrus’s celebrity, she spent her childhood at his sold-out country concerts. At 13, she became a star herself — and an important part of the Disney machine — as the titular lead in “Hannah Montana,” playing a regular girl by day and a pop star by night and becoming a cultural touchstone for millennial kids.By the time Cyrus left the show, she already had dozens of Billboard Hot 100 hits, but industry and tastemaker respect was harder to come by. As with many former female child stars, her transition to adulthood in the public eye was marked by controversy (twerking with Robin Thicke at the 2013 Video Music Awards) and judgment (the Parents Television Council condemned the performance), which she looks back on today with some bitterness at how she was treated.Now 33, Cyrus is one of pop’s reigning female queens, a status cemented by her first Grammy win for her 2023 megahit “Flowers.” Her ninth studio album, “Something Beautiful,” has just been released, and she says it’s her attempt to reimagine what “beautiful” means — her beloved grandmother’s death, for instance, or the emotion of rage, which she told me is beautiful because “it lets you know you’re alive.” We also spoke at length about her close relationship with her mother, Tish Cyrus-Purcell, her repaired relationship with her father and how she has learned to protect herself in a world that is still fascinated by everything she does. But we started by talking about the first time I interviewed her, when her candor and openness quite honestly freaked me out.The Grammy-winning singer on overcoming child stardom, accepting her parents and being in control.Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | iHeart | NYT Audio AppYou know, I’ve interviewed you before. You look really familiar to me.No, we never saw each other because I was at NPR. The voice!I was a new host back then. I hadn’t done a lot of celebrity interviews, and you came on and said: “Ask me anything. Anything at all.” And I had no idea what to do with that. I just froze and thought, I don’t know what to ask Miley Cyrus if she’s saying, “Ask me anything.” Would you say something like that now? I think I would say something like that now, but maybe paying a little closer attention. But yeah, you can ask me anything. I’ve learned that I’m in control. The worst that happens is I just leave the room — say, “I’ll be right back,” and then don’t come back. More

    • 188 Shares189 Views

      in Music

      Trump Says He’d ‘Look at the Facts’ of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Case: Latest Trial Takeaways

      by

      President Trump discussed if he would consider a pardon for Sean Combs, while in court, an ex-assistant testified about sexual abuse. Mr. Combs denies sexually assaulting anyone.As the third week of Sean Combs’s racketeering conspiracy and sex-trafficking trial came to a close on Friday, the second woman to testify that she was sexually abused by him came under close questioning by the music mogul’s lawyers. The woman, who took the stand under the pseudonym Mia, spoke about eight grueling years working for Mr. Combs in an environment characterized by sleep deprivation and violent outbursts.In the afternoon, President Trump commented on the trial, saying that although no one had asked about a potential pardon, he would be open to looking “at the facts” of the case.The music mogul has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. His lawyers have acknowledged their client has a history of violence and a “bad temper,” but assert he is not a racketeer or sex trafficker.Here are some takeaways from the day in court.Mia faced her former boss’s lawyers.Mia testified that Mr. Combs threatened her, threw objects at her and sexually assaulted her during her years working for him. Prosecutors have accused him of subjecting her to forced labor — including sexual activity — through violence and threats of serious harm.During cross-examination, Brian Steel, a lawyer for Mr. Combs, sought to show the jury another side of Mia’s time working for the famous record producer. The defense displayed dozens of posts from her Instagram account, many of which showed her posing beside or celebrating Mr. Combs, whom she called a “mentor” and an “inspiration,” as well as marveling at her good fortune to be working for him — years after she says he first sexually assaulted her.“Why would you promote the person who has stolen your happiness in life?” Mr. Steel asked.“Those are the only people I was around, so that was my life,” Mia replied, describing her time working for Mr. Combs as a “confusing cycle of ups and downs.”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? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 113 Shares119 Views

      in Music

      Lorde’s Anthem of Transformation, and 9 More New Songs

      by

      Hear tracks by Miley Cyrus featuring Brittany Howard, Thom Yorke, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith and others.Every Friday, pop critics for The New York Times weigh in on the week’s most notable new tracks. Listen to the Playlist on Spotify here (or find our profile: nytimes) and at Apple Music here, and sign up for The Amplifier, a twice-weekly guide to new and old songs.Lorde, ‘Man of the Year’“I’ve become someone else, someone more like myself,” Lorde sings, somewhere between pride and astonishment, in “Man of the Year,” the second single from her album due in June, “Virgin.” It’s a crescendo of self-transformation, from quietly plucked cello to full-band stomp, as Lorde seizes the masculinity within herself. In the video clip, she flattens her breasts, taping them down with duct tape; she ponders, “Who’s gonna love me like this?” and then proclaims, “Now I’m broken open / Let’s hear it for the man of the year.”Miley Cyrus featuring Brittany Howard, ‘Walk of Fame’“Walk of Fame,” from “Something Beautiful,” the new Miley Cyrus album, turns the proverbial morning-after walk of shame into something prouder: “I walk the concrete like it’s a stage.” The song is mostly formulaic disco, thumping away. But the voice of Brittany Howard — adding little responses and wordless overlays, then promising “You’ll live forever”— gives it some gravity.Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, ‘Urges’Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, an dedicated electronic-pop experimenter, toys with and displaces dance-floor rhythms in “Urges,” from her coming album, “Gush.” She whisper-sings “I keep getting urges /What if I just let them move through me like this” while brittle programmed syncopations, disembodied voices and distant, tootling arpeggios materialize around her voice; even as the sounds disintegrate, the pulse is danceable.Santana and Grupo Frontera, ‘Me Retiro’Two generations of Mexican American musicians — the Texas band Grupo Frontera and the guitarist Carlos Santana — make a natural combination in “Me Retiro” (“I’m Leaving”), a song about trying to drink away a heartbreak. Santana sits in with the Grupo Frontera band and, rightly, takes over; his guitar slices through the clip-clop beat and accordion chords and compounds the sorrows that Adelaido “Payo” Solís III sings about.Obongjayar featuring Little Simz, ‘Talk Olympics’Obongjayar — Steven Umoh, a Nigerian musician based in London — has a new album, “Paradise Now,” that’s full of inventive, Pan-African electronic grooves like the zippy staccato propulsion of “Talk Olympics.” With an octave-bouncing bass line and the sounds of balafons, drums, synthesizers and sampled voices, Obongjayar and Little Simz take turns complaining about someone who’s far too chatty: “I let you speak, that was my mistake,” Little Simz notes; Obongjayar adds, in his sweetest falsetto, “Shut up! Shut up!”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? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More