The Best Albums of 2021 The Best Albums of 2021
Our music critic’s 10 favorite pieces of music from this year.
Dec 24, 2021 / Books & the Arts / David Hajdu
Soul Train and the Desire for Black Power Soul Train and the Desire for Black Power
Don Cornelius’s faith that Black culture would attract a mass audience—and his devout belief that Black culture should be in the hands of Black people—make the program he created a...
Dec 22, 2021 / Mark Anthony Neal
What’s New in the New “West Side Story”? What’s New in the New “West Side Story”?
In Steven Spielberg’s version, we get a film that offers a far more inclusive vision of postwar America but one that still retains its flawed view of working-class tribalism.
Dec 20, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Ed Morales
Portraits in Minneapolis Portraits in Minneapolis
A street-art celebration of diversity.
The Last Days of the Beatles The Last Days of the Beatles
Does Peter Jackson’s eight-hour documentary give us the fullest picture of the band’s late history?
Dec 15, 2021 / Books & the Arts / David Hajdu
The Greatest Teacher of America’s Great Art Form The Greatest Teacher of America’s Great Art Form
The pianist Barry Harris, who died last week, dedicated his life to continuing the oral tradition of jazz improvisation.
Dec 15, 2021 / Ethan Iverson
Letters From the December 27, 2021/January 3, 2022, Issue Letters From the December 27, 2021/January 3, 2022, Issue
Value proposition… Funny women…
Dec 14, 2021 / Our Readers
The Making of Tom Stoppard The Making of Tom Stoppard
How mistaken identity and acts of reinvention define the life and work of the British playwright.
Dec 13, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Hannah Gold
Stephen Sondheim’s Art Stephen Sondheim’s Art
Despite beginning his career at the end of musical theater’s golden age, Sondheim helped bring the form to its artistic zenith.
Dec 1, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Shuja Haider
Fly, Pelican, Fly Fly, Pelican, Fly
What’s this all about? Let’s do a list. Die is last. Dawn is first. Underneath it all, the sea tries to say the sea is all there really is. Fly, pelican, fly. It’s not enough to lo…
Nov 30, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Jim Moore