The moment that really sticks from this conversation is when Maggie Serota told us this experience was the one when she realized men just say things. They may mean those things in the moment, but they often don't stick. It's a real kick to the gut moment in every person's life to feel lied to. And when that lie is part of a big romantic gesture that ruins a song...well, that's unforgivable
A very special episode in which a certain ex (or two) will not be given the satisfaction of being named, shamed, and allowed to be the main character. Also in which the gang talks about inequity for women in music, the historical lessons we have and haven’t learned about it, and the insidious way music history omits and discounts people of color.
Across more than 50 years, the music of artists including Dolly Parton, Alanis Morissette, and Megan Thee Stallion has been used communicate the anger and grief around the fight for reproductive rights.
Technology has caused a symphony of shifts for songwriters, with the ingenuity of new formats and studio equipment driving significant changes in what kinds of music are popular and what kinds are possible.
American pop culture will tell you these songs come exclusively from white creators with Appalachian backgrounds. That’s wrong, and it erases countless Black contributions.
Whatever name you call Stagger Lee, we know one thing for sure: He shot Billy Lyons in plain sight, with a bar full of witnesses. If you’ve heard the song, you might think he did it because he lost a game of dice. But the real Stagger Lee wasn’t gambling at all. He got mad when Billy took his Stetson hat and wouldn’t give it back.
Frankie killed Albert one night in St. Louis, back in 1899. Songwriters took a few liberties, even changing some names (that’s where “Johnny” comes in). Then Hollywood took more liberties while building multiple films around the song. Unfortunately for Frankie, it was a ballad people kept singing for over a hundred years — a ballad that ultimately killed her.
On Christmas Day 1929, Charlie Lawson committed the chilling act of murdering his wife and children. What’s darker is the reason why, according to some true crime authors. But are they right, and what do we know today about the rare phenomenon of familicide?
When we talk about the sexism of murder ballads, “Omie Wise” jumps to the forefront as one of the most prominent examples. Whether the true story involves a woman who was drowned because she became inconvenient or because she stood up to a no-good man, they both end the same way — with Naomi Wise dead, and many tales that got it wrong.
When Henry Clay Beattie’s wife Louise died under what turned out to be mysterious circumstances in 1911, the trial of the century began. Figuring out the circumstances of her death would lead to a million lines of newsprint all over the country — and end with the electric chair. Naturally, the story became a song.
A 14-year-old girl named Delia Green was shot to death on Christmas night in 1900 by a boy who thought she was being mean to him. How did that turn into a song about a “lowdown” and “trifling” woman who was cheating on her man — and a song that would save Johnny Cash’s career?
Caithlin De Marris is a musician who has been recording since the late '90s, with a career that started in the emo scene with Rainer Maria. I met the band, which I was a fan of, while I was at MTV when I booked them for a live performance in the early 2000s.
I’ve talked with so many women and former co-workers in the industry about the vile things we’ve heard said about women artists, opinions on their bodies and their looks that are dehumanizing. It’s had an impact on all of us. It’s also caused us to wonder: What terrible things must they be thinking about me?
I asked Domino's director of A&R to talk to me about her career and everything *except* how she finds new music because if she told you it would make you want to curl up into a ball and die.
Here’s who I’d like to see from a list of women that should be titled: Are You F***ing Kidding Me, She/They Haven’t Been Inducted or Even Nominated Yet???
Who gets canceled? In Hulu's "High Fidelity," the show examines the controversy around Michael Jackson while another famous musician gets off unscathed.
Talking about including women in music as artists, songwriters, and producers is making a difference, the 2019 Annenberg Inclusion Institute study finds.
What made a song great in 2010? The answer was different from the start to the finish of the decade that we had to tell you about the songs that built us.
When Ariana Grande wanted to surprise fans and drop "7 Rings" at the last minute on the weekend, she called Wendy Goldstein. When Nick Jonas wanted a No. 1 track on the Billboard Hot 100 for the Jonas Brothers reunion album, Happiness Begins , he turned to Wendy Goldstein.
Kacey Musgraves got blasted for bringing up gun control at Lollapalooza after the El Paso and Datyon shootings. Can musicans talk about politics to fans?
Yola Día is a one-of-a-kind experiment in festival culture; rather than slowly integrating more women into a lineup, this festival is centering on them.
Forget Lil Nas X. Yola is the 36-year-old Black, British woman is putting her own spin on country despite the long and historic struggles in the genre.