Louder: Black Liberation Jazz, and Unheard Aretha Franklin

critic’s pick

Bob Dylan Still Bristles on ‘Rough and Rowdy Ways’

His first album of original songs since 2012 is a death-haunted, cantankerous collection with a late-night sense of seclusion.

By Jon Pareles

critic’s pick

Phoebe Bridgers Wants to Believe

On her second album, “Punisher,” the singer and songwriter showcases her greatest talent: weaving tiny, specific details into big-tent tapestries of feeling.

By Lindsay Zoladz

The Long, Complicated History of ‘Urban’ Music

As the music industry reckons with racial inequality, one of the first old structures to fall has been a term that dates back to the 1970s.

the new vanguard

Music From a Distance? Eivind Opsvik Has Been Making It for Years

The Norwegian bassist’s group, Overseas, is releasing a live album featuring a decade’s worth of his immersive compositions.

By Giovanni Russonello

Vera Lynn, Singer Whose Wartime Ballads Lifted Britain, Dies at 103

Known as the “Forces’ Sweetheart,” Ms. Lynn performed sentimental songs that captured the affection of troops abroad and Britons at home.

By Lawrence Van Gelder

Rupert Hine, Synth-Pop Music Producer, Dies at 72

He was behind Tina Turner’s “Better Be Good to Me” and hits by the Fixx and Howard Jones. He also made a dozen albums of his own songs.

By Jon Pareles

‘My Darling Vivian’ Review: The Forgotten Wife of Johnny Cash

The singer-songwriter’s romance with June Carter is well-known, but this new documentary shines the spotlight on Cash’s first wife, Vivian Liberto.

By Kristen Yoonsoo Kim

Confederate Symbols Are Coming Down. Should Dolly Parton Go Up Instead?

A petition is calling for Tennessee to replace statues and memorials of Confederate generals with the trailblazing performer.

By Maria Cramer

the charts

Lil Baby Returns to Top Chart With ‘My Turn’

#BlackoutTuesday and a delay of some of that week's new releases helped pave the way for a No. 1 with the equivalent of just 65,000 sales in the United States.

By Ben Sisario