Our critics select 33 standouts from our weekly Playlists — and seven more tracks they had missed.
Category: Pop and Rock Music
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Linda Thompson Can’t Sing Her New Songs. Her Solution? ‘Proxy Music.’
The singer and songwriter who rose from the ’60s British folk-rock scene lost her vocals to a neurological disorder. So she wrote a batch of tracks for others to voice.
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Justin Timberlake Arrest Causes a Stir in the Hamptons
As the serene Hamptons village is overrun with news vans, the locals eat oysters and engage in some light media criticism.
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How Cage the Elephant’s Frontman Nearly Lost It All
Matt Shultz is a rock ’n’ roll ringmaster known for pushing himself to the brink. After a period of psychosis and an arrest, he had to put his reality back together again.
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The Fiery Sounds of the Monterey International Pop Festival
Revisiting the event’s memorable set list, 57 years later.
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With Final Tour, NOFX Is Retiring Without Ever Having Had a Job
The punk rock pioneers chose freedom — and chaos — over major labels. Pulling the plug while things are still working is one final act of rebellion.
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Hozier Was Never a One-Hit Wonder. But Now He Has a Second Smash.
He broke out in 2014 with “Take Me to Church.” Then listeners on TikTok found his passionate, dramatic songs and a new single made its way to No. 1.
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Taylor Swift’s ‘Tortured Poets’ Logs an Eighth Straight Week at No. 1
Billie Eilish is No. 2, and Charli XCX debuts strong at No. 3.
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A Hungarian Rapper’s Bandwagon Gets an Unlikely New Rider
Azahriah, who has rapped about the joy of cannabis, has shot to fame in Hungary. That may explain why he has been applauded by the country’s conservative leader, Viktor Orban.
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The Ultimate Dad Rock Playlist
What is dad rock? You know it when you hear it, so listen to 10 songs from Wilco, the Grateful Dead, Steely Dan and more.
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Jelly Roll’s Anthem of Perseverance, and 9 More New Songs
Hear tracks by Zsela, the Decemberists, Khalid and others.