Louder: How the All-Female Band Fanny Made History

May 27, 2022

By Caryn Ganz

Pop Music Editor

With another horrifying week in the news, it’s of course hard to send a note highlighting our music stories. So with deep appreciation to our colleagues across the newsroom who work so hard on such unfathomable, challenging coverage, here’s a quick rundown of articles our pop writers published this week that I hope you have time for at some point.

Mark Yarm brought us the story of Fanny, the groundbreaking all-female rock group that David Bowie lamented never had a prolonged spotlight. A new documentary explores its history.

Shane O’Neill interviewed Oliver Sim of the xx, who spoke for the first time about the subject of his first solo album — his H.I.V. status — and insisted (and proved!) he is not the morose or withdrawn artist he has been described as in the past.

Alex Marshall reported from London, where Abba returned to the stage (as avatars, that is) in a closely watched, technologically advanced show (that Jarvis Cocker attended).

Giovanni Russonello spoke with Brian Jackson, a partner in Gil Scott-Heron’s revolutionary work, who is returning to music after decades away.

Jon Caramanica hosted a conversation about Kendrick Lamar’s anxiety era on Popcast.

And Jon Pareles named Wilco’s “Cruel Country,” an album that “sets out to engage the notion of ‘country’ as both a musical style and a nation,” a Critic’s Pick.

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The All-Female Band Fanny Made History. A New Doc Illuminates It.

The group put out five albums in the ’70s and counted David Bowie and Bonnie Raitt as fans. The filmmaker Bobbi Jo Hart, dismayed its story hadn’t been told, took action.

By Mark Yarm

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THE CRITICS

Jamie Kelter Davis

Critic’s Pick

Wilco Makes an Understated Magnum Opus

On “Cruel Country,” the Chicago band ponders a genre and a nation.

By Jon Pareles

Capitol

The Playlist

Sky Ferreira’s Dazzling, Defiant Return, and 11 More New Songs

Hear tracks by Wynonna & Waxahatchee, Superorganism, Rico Nasty and others.

By Jon Pareles, Jon Caramanica, Isabelia Herrera, Giovanni Russonello and Lindsay Zoladz

PODCASTS

Kendrick Lamar’s Anxiety Era

During his five-year pause between albums, the rapper has been reckoning — with his own evolution, and the narrative that’s been constructed for him.

Ella Fitzgerald and the Lasting Power of Childhood Icons

When you’re young, the pop culture you absorb becomes a kind of “parent.” Wesley Morris and the critic Margo Jefferson reflect on the icons who shaped them.

By Wesley Morris, Elyssa Dudley, Hans Buetow, Sasha Weiss and Marion Lozano

Continue reading the main story

Abba Returns to the Stage in London. Sort Of.

The Swedish superstars — or digital versions of them, at least — performed on Thursday to 3,000 enthusiastic fans with the help of 140 animators, four body doubles and $175 million.

By Alex Marshall

Ryan Pfluger for The New York Times

The Horror and Happiness of Oliver Sim

The xx singer on going solo, disclosing his H.I.V. status and learning that he actually likes people.

By Shane O’Neill

Kalpesh Lathigra for The New York Times

Brian Jackson, a Key Gil Scott-Heron Collaborator, Reintroduces Himself

For a decade, Jackson was the revolutionary artist and activist’s musical director. After their split, and 35 years in a day job, he is finding his way back with a new album.

By Giovanni Russonello