Louder: In 2021, We Couldn’t Stop Looking Back

December 17, 2021

By Caryn Ganz

Pop Music Editor

When I worked purely in print media, at magazines in the early 2000s, we looked back somewhat rarely: Major anniversaries and deaths were the main catalysts, along with the occasional “hmm, we don’t really have a good cover this month …” But when I switched to primarily digital media, looking back was something that suddenly happened with a lot more frequency — with quotas for posts and a lot of grasping for what the heck will people click on today, things started to shift. You no longer just saw anniversary coverage for albums turning 50, but those turning … 15.

In the past year or so, it’s taken on an added dimension: looking back to identify the wrongs of the past, rather than simply celebrate it. And now, Lindsay Zoladz observes in an essay this week, that has become a bit of a cottage industry unto itself, as so much culture in 2021 involved re-examining the recent past through a contemporary critical lens. (Is that a good thing? Not always, she argues.)

In his own look back at this year in jazz, Giovanni Russonello writes that much of the music he found most compelling came from duos, “which allowed me to hear musicians not just collaborating but conversing directly.”

Plus, from Ben Sisario: a major payday for Bruce Springsteen, who sold his music catalog to Sony, and big news for the long embattled James Brown estate.

And please don’t miss a farewell notebook from our chief classical music critic, Anthony Tommasini, who has held that position since 2000 and will be sorely missed at the Culture desk. The topic: what shouldn’t change about classical music.

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Let’s Look Back on 2021, When We Couldn’t Stop Looking Back

There’s now a thriving cottage industry for content that re-examines the recent past through a contemporary critical lens. Is that a good thing?

By Lindsay Zoladz

Caroline Mardok

Critic’s Notebook

For Jazz Musicians in 2021, Two Was the Magic Number

A host of outstanding duet albums emphasized musicians not only collaborating but truly listening to each other.

By Giovanni Russonello

The Best Albums of 2021? Let’s Discuss.

Our critics spar over their year-end lists (and agree on Olivia Rodrigo and Tyler, the Creator) in a wrap-up of the year in LPs.

The Breakout Stars of 2021

In a year that offered glimmers of hope across the world of arts, these performers and creators rose to the occasion.

By Maya Salam

Notable Deaths 2021: Music

Remembering DMX, Charlie Watts, Phil Spector, Sophie, James Levine, Chick Corea, Mary Wilson and many others who died this year.

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Raven O, a Nightlife Fixture for Four Decades, Takes a Final Bow

Since the ’80s, Raven O has choreographed, directed, hosted, danced and sung on many New York stages. After two final shows, he’ll return to Hawaii.

By Elysa Gardner

THE CRITICS

The Playlist

Cécile McLorin Salvant Branches Out, and 7 More New Songs

Hear tracks by FKA twigs and the Weeknd, Leon Bridges and Khruangbin, Animal Collective and others.

By Jon Pareles, Jon Caramanica and Giovanni Russonello

NEWS

Krista Schlueter for The New York Times

Bruce Springsteen Sells Music Catalog in Massive Deal

Sony Music Entertainment buys the Boss’s entire corpus, including classics like “Born to Run,” for an estimated $550 million.

By Ben Sisario

Meyer Liebowitz/The New York Times

After 15 Years of Infighting, James Brown’s Estate Is Sold

The sale to Primary Wave Music, for an estimated $90 million, provides resources to ultimately realize the musician’s wish to fund scholarships for needy children.

By Ben Sisario and Steve Knopper

OBITUARIES

Vicente Fernández, ‘El Rey’ of Mexican Ranchera Music, Is Dead at 81

A beloved Mexican singer, Mr. Fernández was known for his powerful operatic range and marathon performances, delivered in a signature charro outfit and intricately embroidered sombrero.

By Christine Chung

Vicente Fernández, the King of Machos and Heartbreak

The singer’s brand of machismo may have frayed, but for many, he was the ideal of what it means to be hard-working, hard-loving Mexican man.

By Maira Garcia

Vicente Fernández Knew His Way Around Your Broken Heart

First breakups. Final goodbyes. For generations, Mr. Fernández, who died on Sunday, provided a soundtrack for moments of anguish and heartache, and a pathway to healing.

By Eduardo Medina

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Ken Kragen, a Force Behind ‘We Are the World,’ Dies at 85

Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones were among the public faces of that 1985 fund-raising record. But behind the scenes, Mr. Kragen made it all happen.

By Neil Genzlinger

NEWS

North Korea Executes People for Watching K-Pop, Rights Group Says

At least seven people have been put to death in the past decade for watching or distributing K-pop videos, as the North cracks down on what its leader calls a “vicious cancer.”

By Choe Sang-Hun

The Charts

Adele’s ‘30’ Crosses a Million Sales and Holds at No. 1

The singer’s first album in six years became the first release to reach that milestone since Taylor Swift’s “Evermore” a year ago. But in 2015, Adele’s “25” sold 3.4 million its first week.

By Ben Sisario

The rapper Doja Cat, who has been dismissive of Covid, says she has tested positive.

By Alyssa Lukpat

Plane Crash in Dominican Republic Kills All 9 Aboard

A prominent Puerto Rican music producer known as Flow La Movie was reported to be among the dead.

By Richard Pérez-Peña and Mike Ives

FROM STYLES & THE MAGAZINE

Disney+

Glyn Johns Doesn’t Get Why People Like His Look in ‘Get Back’

The long-lost outfits of the Beatles sound man have made him an unwitting fashion favorite, five decades later.

By Alex Williams

Photo illustration by Anthony Gerace

Screenland

What Can You Learn from a Celebrity Masterclass on Empathy?

Pharrell Williams is joined by a chorus of famous people whose lessons about feeling for others strangely highlight their personal achievements.

By Mireille Silcoff

After a Tornado Blew His Roof Away, He Played Piano Under an Open Sky

The morning after Jordan Baize’s house in Kentucky was destroyed, he turned to his Yamaha piano. It was a moment of calm that his sister recorded on video.

By Jenny Gross