Cameron Carpenter is coming after “The Old Rugged Cross.” He has nothing against old-timey hymns, but he is tired of the church, the concert hall and the castle being the ...

California rapper Big Sean broke huge after signing to Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. label for his 2011 debut, “Finally Famous.” That disc’s Nicki Minaj-assisted club hit, “...

“The Sapphires” is an Australian movie about four Aboriginal women who tour Vietnam in 1968 with their Irish manager while singing American music. Small world, huh? The mo...

Lil Wayne lives! For a while, we were worried. When the sizzurp-loving rapper was hospitalized two Fridays ago following seizures, fans — myself included — were on Twitter...

You should be listening to new bands. All the time. Reading about a band in a magazine? Too late, lame-o. You should be trading playlists with a 17-year-old reggaeton DJ in Li...

A debate is raging in Massachusetts’ state house: What will be its official state rock song? In the past month, two bills have come before the legislature — one promoting ...

Wonders never cease: I’m jamming to a Gordon Lightfoot tune. It’s a cover of the Canadian folkie’s 1965 song “I’m Not Sayin’,” by seminal ’80s Minneapolis band...

For a band that lasted only four years (from 1976 to 1980, when singer Ian Curtis committed suicide), Joy Division has its cultists. I am one. There’s something entrancing a...

Beyonce is the one “singing” at presidential inaugurations and Super Bowl halftime shows, but she’s actually the second-most interesting Knowles making music right now. ...

Relevance: It’s what every musician strives for. But how to stay hip when you’ve been in the game for 20 years? Much less the club-music game, which is both fickle and nic...

Yo La Tengo’s new album has a four-letter title, “Fade,” and runs about 45 minutes. So what happened to the band known for dense, sprawling songs and long, wordy album t...

There are a lot of serious female shredders out there these days. Perhaps the most mind-blowing of them all is Marnie Stern, whose intimidatingly technical playing I can compa...

New Orleans is the heart and soul of HBO’s “Treme,” and so much of the series is about the city’s music. Local musicians such as Dr. John, Allen Toussaint and Trombone...

In 1977, NASA sent recordings into space on board the two Voyager probes. The compendium of sounds — rain, heartbeats and Chuck Berry among them — was meant to give aliens...

For nearly 40 years, musician, singer and performance artist Laurie Anderson has been hauling around truckfuls of equipment for her tours: keyboards, effects pedals, cumbersom...