Art
A Renaissance of Mexican Cumbia, Through the Eyes of a Fan
Toño Estrada’s personal archives paint a rare portrait of a brief and beautiful period of Mexican cultural creation.
Music
Film
Jeen-Yuhs Knows That Kanye West Isn’t a Riddle That Can be Solved
The gargantuan three-part documentary follows the famous, controversial rapper for 20 years, capturing his brilliance and contradictions.
Film
Exploring the Baffling Popularity of Kenny G
Penny Lane’s Listening to Kenny G finds fascinating layers to the cult of the smooth jazz icon.
Film
The Velvet Underground Brings the New York of the ’60s Back to Life
With dense split-screen use of period artifacts and a killer Velvets soundtrack, Todd Haynes’s documentary is a loving tribute to his favorite band.
News
Drake's Next Album Cover Is Comically Bad — and Designed by Damien Hirst
The cover is a deluded, self-referential tribute to Hirst's career.
Film
The Three Versions of The Jazz Singer and the Sinister Bargain of Jewish Whiteness
For scholars, weighing the context of the classic film’s use of blackface is a valuable thought exercise. For a Jew, it is an exorcism.
Music
When Live Music Brings the Beat Back Into Your Body
A concert at the Cloisters shed the Met’s stuffiness, broadening what performance can be.
Film
Looking Back at the Misbegotten Woodstock ’99 Music Festival
The HBO documentary Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage views the event not just as one fiasco, but as an allegory for the Y2K era.
Film
The Forgotten “Black Woodstock” of 1969
Summer of Soul, Questlove’s directorial debut, seeks to resurrect the memory of the Harlem Cultural Festival, a vital touchstone of Black music.
Film
An In-depth Look at the Art-Pop Music Duo Sparks
Edgar Wright's epic-length documentary The Sparks Brothers preaches to the choir, but the choir will love it.
Books
Detroit’s Electronic Music Scene, Seen Through Its Black Creators
Electronic Landscapes takes the reader into the storied record shops and cozy home studios of Detroit’s most important musicians.
News
With the Help of Scientists, Artist Tomás Saraceno Makes Music Out of Spider Webs
Listen to the spooky cacophony of spider web sounds.