Louder: Diamanda Galás Gives Voice to Unbearable Pain, Once More

June 3, 2022

By Caryn Ganz

Pop Music Editor

Good afternoon, everyone, I am briefly passing the mic to Zachary Woolfe, once our classical music editor and now our classical critic, who wrote this week’s divine Arts & Leisure story on an absolutely singular, stunning artist:

If you’ve listened to the music of Diamanda Galás, which tends to the satanically threatening, you might not be keen to visit her at home, and you might not imagine her living in sunny San Diego. But that’s where Galás grew up. And when I visited recently to speak with her about her reissue of “The Divine Punishment” (1986) — the first in a trilogy of albums she made screaming against the silence surrounding AIDS — and the upcoming release of “Broken Gargoyles,” she was warm, funny and hospitable, serving me spanakopita and strong coffee on the sofa in her front room. Since her parents passed away, she’s lived in the sprawling Victorian alone. “I’m really addressing the same thing over and over again,” she told me, draped in black, her eye makeup vivid. “The issue of a person who is isolated from society — either through choice or through necessity, through a sort of legal structure.”

(Caryn again). Obviously my advice is do not miss that story. Also this week, Stephen Deusner profiled S.G. Goodman, a Kentucky singer-songwriter who explores how love can leave a physical impact on her excellent second LP, “Teeth Marks.” Lindsay Zoladz named Angel Olsen’s new album, “Big Time,” a Critic’s Pick, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs returned with a dramatic, sweeping new song and Jon Caramanica hosted a Popcast about the artist with the biggest opening week of the year: Harry Styles.

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Diamanda Galás Gives Voice to Unbearable Pain, Once More

Revisiting “The Divine Punishment,” the first album in a trilogy addressing AIDS, and at work on new music, the singer and composer is still exploring isolation in her singular, startling way.

By Zachary Woolfe

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True Love Can Leave Traces. S.G. Goodman’s Detailed Songs Do, Too.

The Kentucky musician’s second album, “Teeth Marks,” is steeped in Southern songwriting, but not tethered to anything beyond its creator’s own truths.

By Stephen Deusner

THE CRITICS

Angela Ricciardi

Critic’s Pick

Angel Olsen Finds a New Gear in a Vintage Genre: Country

“Big Time,” an album made at a tumultuous time in the singer-songwriter’s life, is charged with cleareyed emotion and heartbreaking moments.

By Lindsay Zoladz

David Black

The Playlist

Yeah Yeahs Yeahs’ Apocalyptic March, and 10 More New Songs

Hear tracks by Kyshona, the Mountain Goats, Maggie Rogers and others.

By Jon Pareles, Giovanni Russonello and Lindsay Zoladz

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Can Harry Styles’s Music Catch Up to His Fame?

How his time in One Direction and a powerful online fan base have shaped the pop star’s career.

Why ‘This Is How We Do It’ Is Actually a Country Song

Wesley Morris has a revelation about Montell Jordan’s 1995 R&B hit.

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

THE CRITICS, CONTINUED

Abba Voyage Review: No Ordinary Abba Night at the Club

With a concert spectacle mixing wizardry and technical skill, the band makes a case for its continued relevance.

By Juan A. Ramírez

Critic’s Notebook

‘MJ’: Dancing the Pain, and Dancing the Pain Away

What is the role of choreography on Broadway? Two musicals, “MJ” and “A Strange Loop,” shed light on the dancing body.

By Gia Kourlas

Critic’s Notebook

Rock ’n’ Roll Swindles, Revisited

“Pistol,” about the Sex Pistols, and “Angelyne,” about a sex icon, find the reality in pop-culture fakery.

By James Poniewozik

‘Freakscene: The Story of Dinosaur Jr.’ Review: A Volatile Band

This alt-rock trio is made up of three soft-spoken guys who generated a big noise, learned to hate one another and then made peace.

By Glenn Kenny

FEATURES

Nina Westervelt for The New York Times

Broadway’s Beloved Basement Club, Feinstein’s/54 Below, Turns 10

The venue beneath what was once Studio 54 will pick up a Tony Award for excellence in the theater as it marks its anniversary with a pair of concerts.

By Elysa Gardner

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Becoming Johnny Rotten, When John Lydon Would Rather You Didn’t

Anson Boon went through a grueling process to play the punk star in “Pistol,” even though the original wanted nothing to do with the project.

By Douglas Greenwood

With ‘Neptune Frost,’ How to Make an Afrofuturist Sci-Fi Musical

What does technological progress look like to those exploited to achieve it? The co-directors Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman discuss their unusual film.

By Carlos Aguilar

NEWS

The Charts

Harry Styles Is No. 1 With a Record-Breaking Total for Vinyl Sales

“Harry’s House,” the British pop star’s third solo album, moved more copies on vinyl since at least 1991, when SoundScan began keeping reliable sales data.

By Ben Sisario

‘Almost Famous,’ Now a Musical, Will Open on Broadway This Fall

The stage adaptation, with book and lyrics by Cameron Crowe and music and lyrics by Tom Kitt, will begin previews Sept. 13.

By Michael Paulson

OBITUARIES

Ronnie Hawkins, Rockabilly Road Warrior, Is Dead at 87

Besides performing, he mentored stars like Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm and Rick Danko, who went on to form one of the most influential groups of the rock era, the Band.

By Peter Applebome

KK, Singer of Bollywood Hits, Dies at 53 After a Concert

He had just concluded a performance when he was stricken. Nicknamed “the Mesmerizer,” he recorded hundreds of songs for some of India’s biggest movie stars.

By Suhasini Raj