The Pitchfork Review

By this time of year, there’s usually consensus around what the “Song of the Summer” is. But 2020 isn’t like any other summer in so many ways, including the pop charts. The Billboard Hot 100 has been all over the place for the past several months, with a new artist rising to the top most weeks, including Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, the Weeknd, Lady Gaga, and DaBaby. In this episode, we’re going...

British singer/songwriter Lianne La Havas recently released her third album, a self-titled collection of songs about love, heartbreak, and independence. Pitchfork editor Puja Patel recently spoke with Lianne at home in London over video chat for Pitchfork’s Listening Club . They talked about the nostalgia of breakup songs, staying true to yourself, Lianne’s cover of Radiohead’s “Weird Fishes,” and...

Listening to new music is what we do all day here at Pitchfork. But it isn’t always easy. Sometimes (OK, a lot of the time) it can be tempting to just throw on an old favorite rather than dig into something fresh. On this week’s episode of our podcast, Pitchfork Editor Puja Patel is joined by Reviews Editor Jeremy Larson to talk about the science behind why it’s difficult to engage with music you’...

Last week, Taylor Swift surprised her fans with the announcement of the imminent release of a new 16-track album, entitled folklore . The National ’s Aaron Dessner co-wrote or co-produced 11 of the songs, and it also features collaborations with Bon Iver and Jack Antonoff. “Most of the things I had planned this summer didn’t end up happening, but there is something I hadn’t planned on that DID hap...

On June 19th, Bob Dylan released his 39th album, Rough and Rowdy Ways -- his first full length album of original songs in nearly a decade. Throughout his career, Dylan has followed moments of silence with something wholly new. In the mid-sixties, after a motorcycle accident brought Dylan’s creative and popular explosion to a halt, he retreated for a year and a half. Then, he released John Wesley H...

On February 19th, 2020, Pop Smoke’s life was tragically cut short, when he was shot and killed at the age of 20. At the time of his death, the rapper was a leading light of Brooklyn drill, the hyper-local scene that had quickly become the premier NYC hip-hop subgenre. With hits like “Welcome to the Party” and “Dior,” Pop had helped reinvigorate interest in New York hip-hop overall. His posthumous...

TikTok, the omnipresent fifteen-second video platform, has taken over social media. The app has also changed the landscape of the music industry, churning out chart-topping hits like Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” and DaBaby and Roddy Ricch’s “Rockstar” in the process. This summer, following the killing of George Floyd and nationwide protests, activists have co-opted dance and music TikToks in the na...

From the upcoming episode “The Revolution Will Be TikTok’d”, Pitchfork Staffer Cat Zhang shows us what it takes to make a TikTok hit—and why the music industry is taking notice. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Introducing The Pitchfork Review -- the music podcast you’ve always wanted, from the most trusted voice in music. Hosted by Puja Patel, editor in chief of Pitchfork, our brand new podcast launches on July 10th. Subscribe to get episodes right when they drop at midnight. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices