Stardust – Music Sounds Better With You
In 1998 at Daft House in Paris, Thomas Bangalter, Alan Braxe, and Benjamin Diamond built one French house single around a Chaka Khan guitar loop.
Chasing Yesterday – Warmer mid-tempo, Johnny Marr on guitar
On Chasing Yesterday, Noel Gallagher trades stadium swagger for warmer mid-tempo songs with Johnny Marr on guitar.
Earth, Wind & Fire – Boogie Wonderland (with The Emotions)
In March 1978 Allee Willis and Jon Lind wrote "Boogie Wonderland" in Los Angeles as a state of mind, and Earth, Wind & Fire cut it with the Emotions for the album I Am.
Gaz Coombes – From Supergrass bounce to solo craft
Gaz Coombes left Supergrass in 2010 and built a solo catalogue from Here Come the Bombs to Turn the Car Around: same Oxford ear for a hook, tighter studio craft.
Sade – Smooth Operator
Smooth Operator, from Sade's Diamond Life (1984), pairs Denman's bass and Matthewman's sax under Adu's cool character sketch.
Interview of Keith Richards (1988)
In 1988 Keith Richards discussed his solo debut Talk Is Cheap while still tied to Rolling Stones myth, chemistry, and working-guitarist grit.
DEVO – Energy domes and suburban satire
DEVO built their concept in Akron, Ohio, after the Kent State shootings of 1970: de-evolution as a theory of American regression, and a body of pop music stiff enough to demonstrate it. From Brian Eno's production on their debut to Giorgio Moroder's dancefloor, the method
Music rankings and Top lists: useful guides or bad judges?
Countdowns help discovery — and flatten taste into scores.
James Blunt – Same Mistake
On All the Lost Souls (2007), Same Mistake is Blunt's quieter confession with Tom Rothrock: post-You're Beautiful, radio edit, P.S. I Love You afterlife.
The Beatles – Thirty tracks in a blank sleeve
In November 1968, The Beatles released the White Album: thirty tracks in a near-blank sleeve, recorded largely as separate sessions at Abbey Road and Trident.