music
-
Viola Beach's debut album tops the chartsThe four piece, who along with their manager died in a car accident in February, take No 1 slot with self-titled debut album -
The latest in a long line of earnest Olympian anthemsThe artist’s Rio 2016 single follows pop’s tradition of cliched Olympic tributes by releasing a video in which she conquers the art of parachuting
-
Explaining the allure of Drake's pop-upFor rappers, a pop-up merch store has become an essential part of working life. We spoke to attendees at Drake’s current ephemeral boutique to find out why -
How Buffy the Vampire Slayer's music continues to draw bloodIt wasn’t only through its lead character that Joss Whedon’s show put gender roles centre-stage. Two decades on, its tunes still inspire bands and fans
-
The remake fad that’s hot with hipsters – and Nick CleggRecreating classic pop music videos shot for shot is the so hot right now. That doesn’t mean they’re any good, mind
-
David Bowie heads Mercury shortlist with his final album, BlackstarThe singer, who died in January, appears on a list that also recognises the resurgence of UK grime by including Skepta and Kano
-
Beethoven's Eroica voted greatest symphony of all timeGerman and Austrian composers occupy eight of top 10 places in survey of leading conductors by BBC Music magazine
-
Ozzy Osbourne undergoing 'intense therapy' for sex addictionBlack Sabbath singer says he is ‘mortified’ at what his behaviour has done to his family, following the exposure of his ‘relationship’ with a celebrity hairstylist
-
NYOGB/Gardner review – an epic odyssey through space and timeSnape Maltings, Aldeburgh
The NYO and Edward Gardner paid homage to Einstein and the cosmos in a programme that was graceful and evocative -
Don Broco review – album blowout bash turns boisterousA burst water pipe only enhances the celebration for an air-punching moshpit of tattooed teens singing along to the post-hardcore of 2012’s Priorities
-
-
Blossoms – doughty indie indebted to 80s rock-popThe Stockport quintet have already had a Twitter spat with Sleaford Mods, but their chugging melodies show sparks of individuality
-
-
Where have the women gone?The genre that once boasted the likes of Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn now shuts young women out of country radio – and the problem’s actually getting worse
-
Terry Allen – country music outlaw and renaissance manThe Texas-born artist’s work is found in the Museum of Modern Art and he’s creating a sculpture from Nashville legend Guy Clark’s ashes, but his reissued 1970s concept album might be his greatest work of art
-
video
-
Stevie Wonder tells crowd 'black lives matter' in wake of shootings – videoStevie Wonder performed in London’s Hyde Park on Sunday, and he urged the crowd to choose ‘love over hate’ and proclaimed that black lives matter
-
Paloma Faith: 'Musicians are scared to speak out' – videoPaloma Faith tells Owen Jones that she thinks few musicians discuss politics because of the abuse directed at them on social media
-
Lady Gaga and the Dalai Lama call for kindness in a violent world – videoThe singer and Tibetan spiritual leader attended a conference in Indianapolis on Sunday hosted by the US Conference of Mayors that focused on bringing more kindness to a violent world
-
Has Brexit put a downer on Glastonbury? Reaction from festival-goers – videoJohn Harris talks to Glastonbury revellers waking up to a damp day on Friday and the news that Britain had voted for Brexit
-
Pianist Ludovico Einaudi’s haunting iceberg performance to draw attention to Arctic plight – videoThe Italian pianist Ludovico Einaudi, renowned for his career composing scores for television and movies, gives a haunting performance among the icebergs of the Arctic
-
Led Zeppelin win copyright case over intro to Stairway to Heaven – videoLed Zeppelin musicians Robert Plant and Jimmy Page have won a lawsuit brought by the estate of guitarist Randy Wolfe, which alleges that the introduction sequence of the famous hit Stairway to Heaven was copied from Taurus, by Wolfe’s band Spirit
-
AC/DC: 'If there's a bad-parenting issue, the US moral majority blames rock'n'roll. You can’t fix stupid'For 40 years, they’ve rocked like a juggernaut, fighting off claims they were a threat to society. But, with the release of Rock or Bust accompanied by unwelcome headlines about drummer Phil Rudd’s arrest and guitarist Malcolm Young’s dementia, can AC/DC keep the wheels on? Angus Young and Brian Johnson speak out …
interviews
-
‘Brian Eno taught me to embrace accidents in music’The musician talks about the five highlights of his career – from his first ever show opening for Coldplay at Madison Square Garden to working with David Lynch
-
Lyor Cohen: 'Steve Jobs was a seductive and profound bully'He made his name with Def Jam and came through the ‘Greek tragedy’ of Napster. The mogul tells the Guardian why Apple’s svengali was difficult to work with and how he’s survived in the music business
-
The drug-dealing hustler who became Bernie Sanders' favourite bluesmanWhen he realised his life of guns, knives and hustling was getting too dangerous, Fantastic Negrito grew his sideburns long – and gatecrashed music school
-
A journey in song through migrants' paper-thin worldMartin Green has brought together fellow musicians and Bafta-winning film animators to bring stories of migration vividly and hauntingly to life at the Edinburgh international festival
quizzes
-
From Amy Winehouse to Pearl Jam – do you know this week in music history?It was the week Elvis made his first recordings, and we lost Amy Winehouse. But how well do you know your pop history?
-
From Top of the Pops to AC/DC – do you know this week in music history?It’s our weekly test of the byways of pop – and today is a test of your knowledge on angry Swiss crowds, Carole King and the best ‘gay albums’ ever
-
Pop quiz: from Aerosmith to Prince – do you know this week in music history?It was a big week for Drake, Live Aid and Take That – test your knowledge
-
Sounds and sweet airs: Shakespearean operas quizIn this year of Shakespeare celebrations, the opera world too is marking the 400th anniversary of the playwright’s death. Glyndebourne not least, with one new and one old Shakespearean productions in their summer season. Do you know your Titania from your Trinculo? Try our quiz
in pictures
-
Forty years of A Midsummer Night's Dream at GlyndebourneHow Glyndebourne has tackled the Benjamin Britten opera, from Peter Hall’s 1981 production to the latest revival, which will debut on 11 August
-
A look back at Woodstock - in picturesA collection of photographs, exhibited in Camden’s Proud Galleries from 28 July until 11 September, and taken by Baron Wolman, document a journey ‘three days of peace and music’ which took place at Woodstock during the summer of 1969
-
Jewish pop – in picturesFrom superstar cantors to Streisand and CBGB’s roster of rebels, Jews have played an influential part in the rise of popular music. The new exhibition Jukebox, Jewkbox! charts the highs of Yiddish theatre, punk politics and Israeli folk
-
How to remake a Blue Note jazz albumThe vinyl revival continues. Founded in 1978, Music Matters Jazz is dedicated to re-releasing new pressings of historic Blue Note jazz titles. Each of the reissued albums is restored and remastered from the original analogue master tapes
you may have missed
-
10 songs in the key of 2016The blistering revenge of a superstar scorned, an anthem to the rise of gender fluidity... Observer and Guardian writers to pick the songs that most reflect the state of music – and the world – right now
-
'I thought my music was beautiful all along'She was subjected to decades of vilification. Now everyone from Gaga to Sparks are lining up to pay tribute. How does the 83-year-old artist feel about the world catching up to the Yoko Ono sound?
-
Why working-class voices are music to Darkstar's earsWhy did these two men hang around Huddersfield railway station asking young people what they did today? Electronic duo Darkstar explain their most daring LP yet
-
The women with triple-A access to the 60sIn 1969, Rolling Stone shocked the world with an issue about the rock ‘supergroupie’. A new book tells all
-
'I like everything people say about me – you gay, you a punk, you can't rap, you're the hardest'Atlanta’s Young Thug is the gender-fluid, surrealist rapper who’s being anointed as hip-hop’s next titan. Don’t know what to make of him? You’re not the only one
-
Blur: 'We used to take it in turns to punch each other'Back in Hong Kong, where they recorded their album The Magic Whip, Damon, Graham, Alex and Dave talk about falling out and making up, the state of British pop music and why 90s Britpop was a wasted opportunity
Gateways – Tony Allen and Nigeria Watch Tony Allen pass on his drumming tips to new jazz star Moses Boyd
Gateways Tony Allen: ‘Fela was right – but I detest singing militant’
Gateways Lagos calling: Tony Allen opens up Nigeria's music scene