Music Features

During the 50-odd years that R&B was a central force in pop culture, no other genre celebrated as many fine gradations of the human voice. Few acts could match Otis Redding’s volcanic ache; Smokey Robinson’s exquisite falsetto communicated unrivaled fragility; Aretha Franklin offered an inimitable combination of steely and combustible. …

American journalist and author Tim Mohr admits that when he first arrived in Berlin in 1992, he was clueless to the reality of what the post-Wall city would look like. “I thought all of Germany was Oktoberfest basically,” he told punk writer Legs McNeil at Brooklyn record store Rough Trade …

The rock world has never seen a rash of retirements like this. In the past few weeks, some of rock & roll’s most legendary performers have declared they’re giving up the endless highway. Elton John announced his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, the final curtain for the ultimate showman. Paul …

Chris Dave has drummed on some of the most popular and most acclaimed albums of the past decade, including Adele’s 21 and D’Angelo’s Black Messiah. But instrumental prowess rarely comes with the same cultural clout as singing, producing or even composing. “If you play drums, that’s what people look at …

Cleveland, Ohio, holds a special place in the heart of Cars frontman Ric Ocasek. It’s the town where he learned to love music and first met his future Cars bandmate Benjamin Orr. It’s the first place he ever played his songs in front of an audience. And on April 14th, …