The Accordion Blues
Though many associate the accordion with polkas and klezmer, the instrument played an important role in Black music after its arrival in the United States.
Charting the Music of a Movement
Galvanized by an act of racial violence, the band A Grain of Sand brought a new version of Asian American activism and identity to the folk music scene.
Land of the Free, Home of the Bootleggers
When technology made music mobile, the American South changed from one type of bootlegging industry to another: copying and selling records.
From Jamaica to the World: Contextualizing Bob Marley
Bob Marley’s life and music intersected with Pan-Africanism, the Rastafari movement, and post-colonial politics around the globe.
Willie Mae Thornton Deserves Your Full Attention
In a meditative new biography, DJ and scholar Lynnée Denise examines the mysteries and trials in the life of the legendary performer.
The Tricky Politics of Swedish Folk Music
In the early twentieth century, folk music in Sweden was connected with right-wing nationalists, leaving a complicated inheritance for today’s music fans.
The Mystery of Beethoven’s “Immortal Beloved”
More than 200 years have passed since Beethoven wrote a passionate letter to his “Immortal Beloved.” We still don’t know her name.
The Nineteenth-Century Banjo
Derived from an instrument brought to America by enslaved Africans, the banjo experienced a surge of popularity during the New Woman movement of the late 1800s.
It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me
Rock and R&B have been considered separate genres for decades. But why?
Xerox and Roll: The Corporate Machine and the Making of Punk
On the 85th anniversary of the first xerographic print, a collection of punk flyers from Cornell University provides an object lesson on (anti-)art in the age of mechanical reproduction.