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Music
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The jailed band Turkey can't silencePop’s never been short of groups claiming to be rebels, but Grup Yorum are the real thing. Eleven members are currently in jail, thanks to their uncompromising – and hugely popular – protest songs
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Things were going so good, I was afraid to screw it up with a new recordThe singer-songwriter’s career has spanned almost 50 years. In his first album since 2005, Prine gets reflective and romantic while avoiding any mention of the president
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If whales make jazz, what about the rest of the animal kingdom?Scientists are comparing the songs sung by bowhead whales to the music of Thelonious Monk. But from cicada techno to bonobo gabber, they have competition for who’s top of the pops -
Spotify's public listing shows its ambition – but won't help struggling musiciansAs it floats on the stock market, Spotify has been talking up how empowering it is for artists – but this is a company that actually disenfranchises most of them -
Rolo Tomassi – sugary post-hardcore pulverisationAfter a 13 year career, the Sheffield five-piece are reaching the peak of their powers, spanning dream-pop sweetness and intense riffage
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People have lost the ability to even know what a joke is. It’s very OrwellianThe indie rockers rolled out their last record, Everything Now, with a satirical ad campaign. The result? Mass confusion and bad reviews. As they hit UK arenas, frontman Win Butler is defiant: ‘Let’s see if we can break through the noise’ -
The busker who went viral on his new chance at fameAfter decades of singing without acclaim, former America’s Got Talent contestant Mike Yung has raised over $80,000 to make his first record
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David Lynch is my mentor in art, music and lifeThe singer and actor, on the eve of a UK tour, discusses the Twin Peaks reboot and her long history of collaborations with the director -
Gwenno’s cultural highlightsThe musician on the teen spirit of Derry Girls, John Abell’s medieval-style watercolours, and a book about cheese
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Charlotte Gainsbourg – legacy and legend meet in a strobe-lit iconWith a whisper of a voice, Serge’s daughter channels her father’s lascivious magnetism into a mesmerising, euphoric show -
Jarvis Cocker – lusty and electrifying works in progressMoving like a spider and dispensing fruit to the audience, the one-time Pulp frontman’s new songs seem some of the best of his career -
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Beautiful backings for breakup bawlingAbel Tesfaye’s surprise EP – the follow-up to the massively successful Starboy – features ghostly and gorgeous production but lyrics that are suffocatingly solipsistic -
Kacey Musgraves: Golden Hour – universal classic from acid-dropping country starDrugs, futurism, LGTBQ rights … Musgraves’ new album confirms she is not your average Nashville star -
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Joni Mitchell: the sophistication of her music sets her apart from her peers – even DylanFifty years since the release of her debut album, Sean O’Hagan argues that Joni Mitchell’s very best albums contain a depth of songwriting that remains unsurpassed
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In focus
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On my radar: Jamael Westman’s cultural highlightsThe Hamilton star on how Kendrick Lamar is changing rap, the relevance of Julius Caesar, and why it’s now Wakanda for ever -
Love lockdown: the untapped world of celebrity fan dating sitesAs Yeezy Dating, a site dedicated to finding romance for Kanye West fans, prepares to launch, what other stars could inspire online connections? -
The Weeknd: My Dear Melancholy review – beautiful backings for breakup bawlingAbel Tesfaye’s surprise EP – the follow-up to the massively successful Starboy – features ghostly and gorgeous production but lyrics that are suffocatingly solipsistic
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Eminem attacks NRA in awards show performance: 'They control the puppet'At the iHeartRadio Music awards, the rapper castigated gun lobbyists, saying ‘they love their guns more than our children’
By genre
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Toni Braxton: 'I tried marijuana once and got really paranoid'The R&B star has survived bankruptcy (twice!), the wrath of Oprah and Whitney’s dating tips. As she returns with a new album, she talks about her turbulent life and career -
Spring Awakening review – feverish teens blast out furious anthemsThis rock-musical version of Frank Wedekind’s 1891 play about sex, abortion, abuse and depression has some great tunes but never quite flies -
Coco Solid: meet the hip-hop artist – and protege of Taika WaititiThe rapper, TV writer, artist, director and producer is already a cult figure in New Zealand, where she’s part of a Polynesian pop culture takeover
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50 great tracks for April from MØ, Trouble, Hot Snakes and moreFrom the first pop song of the summer to Alpine indie, San Diegan punk and Chinese neo-trance, here’s our latest roundup of the best new music -
When good TV goes bad: the time MTV Unplugged went nu-metalWhether a proving ground for nascent acts or an opportunity for the old guard to win new fans, the acoustic staple was unmissable. Until Korn showed up
You may have missed
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The Ugandan dance collective reversing colonial cultureTechno, soukous, abstract electronics – the Nyege Nyege collective draws from the cultural melting pot of Kampala’s music scene. But unlike other European visitors, it also gives something back -
Being a white American, you have zero cultural capitalThe US DJ-turned-pop star is dogged by cries of cultural appropriation, but whether on his own or with Major Lazer, he’s on a permanent global quest to start trends – ‘or mess them up’ -
Did Lana Del Rey plagiarise Radiohead? A note-by-note analysisAfter Lana Del Rey settles her plagiarism case with Radiohead, composer Ed Newton-Rex shows just how similar their songs Get Free and Creep truly are
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Ursula K Le Guin's electronica albumIn the 1980s, the sci-fi author teamed up with musician Todd Barton, inventing new instruments and a language to create Music and Poetry of the Kesh. Is the album any good? -
Why do so many obsessive rumours swirl around Beyonce?As ‘Who bit Beyoncé?’ sweeps the internet, the pop queen has remained imperious – and silent. It’s her usual response, but it has encouraged fans to weave endless bizarre theories around her every move -
Our community's reliance on Facebook is counterintuitive – but there are alternativesWhile Facebook has fostered open communities in alternative music, they can disappear with a tweak of an algorithm. Fortunately, non-corporate marketing tools are emerging
Kim Wilde Maybe aliens are using me to put out a record with them on it