music
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From the anthemic to the polemic, here are some of the most influential songs by the self-proclaimed ‘Rolling Stones of rap’
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Call them greedy and vacuous, but the TV show’s legion of would-be musicians have produced songs of heartbreak, courage and perseverance
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Craig Tarry, 32, was behind the wheel of the band’s hire car when it crashed and fell 80ft into frozen shipping canal in Sweden
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Beyoncé’s nine dominating nods, along with impressive showings for Rihanna, Kanye West, Drake and Chance the Rapper, reflect a stellar year for black artists
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‘Women hate women. That’s what I think,’ says pop star crowned Billboard’s woman of the year – and once photographed in Trump’s bed
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Records sales hit £2.5m last week compared with £2.1m for digital, with surge partly attributable to Christmas gift buying
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This Florida rapper has a tragic, troubled past and a bright future, and his music draws on both the dark and the light
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Concept album scored the singer nine nods, followed closely by Drake, Rihanna and Kanye West who all have eight nominations each and Adele with five
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Musician posts YouTube message urging Obama to release Manning, who is serving a prison sentence for leaking state secrets, before President-elect Trump takes office
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Lady Gaga visits a shelter for homeless LGBT teenagers in New York and tells them about her own struggle with PTSD
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The A-listers’ go-to vocalist previews tracks from his debut album in a powerful hometown gig
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The pianist’s very fine recital featured a set of variations written for the festival’s former director, a birthday tribute to Tan himself, and Liszt’s Three Concert Études
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Jagger, Richards and co reconnect with their youth on this joyful collection of blues covers
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Emulating his idol Marvin Gaye, the singer has fashioned the personal and the political into a heartfelt musical statement
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Canadian police have warned criminals that part of their punishment will include having to listen to the ’Back. From Sting to Phil Collins, some acts just can’t escape being the butt of our jokes
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With references to Super Nintendo, Pixar and healthy vegetables, this year has seen a new breed of rap superstars who are content to swap scowls for smiles
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video
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Country singer Dolly Parton has created a ‘My People Fund’ to help victims of fires that have killed 10 people and laid waste to large parts of her home county in the Smoky Mountains
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The audience at the final night of Crowded House’s Opera House reunion harmonise the chorus of Four Seasons in One Day, gently coached by frontman Neil Finn
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Stars of Australian music perform and Crowded House are inducted into the hall of fame at the Sydney ceremony
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Australia’s musical finest squelch around on the red carpet to reveal their personal award picks and what the Arias mean to them
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A flashback to some of the most memorable performances at the awards ceremony over the years
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Crowded House members Nick Seymour and Neil Finn open up to ABC interviewer Leigh Sales on forgetting lyrics and striking a balance between playing their favourites and the crowd-pleasers
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Sombre prophet, mordant wisecracker, repentant cad: Leonard Cohen is back with a great new album, Old Ideas – and more wit and wisdom
interviews
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Lars Ulrich: ‘There’s a fast song, a mid-tempo song, a ballad. It’s like food groups: you need your carbs, your protein’
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Abel Tesfaye’s tortured, genre-bending R&B has brought him millions of fans, a triple platinum album and collaborations with Daft Punk and Beyoncé. Will mainstream success make him happy?
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As she publishes an intimate new memoir, the Against Me! founder shares her thoughts on the presidential election, parenting and the healing power of punk
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She’s been threatened with rape and was beaten in the street, but Paradise Sorouri refuses to stop singing about the horrific injustices inflicted upon Afghan women
quizzes
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It’s the 25th anniversary of the death of the Queen frontman on 24 November – test your knowledge of his life and times
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It’s our weekly test of your knowledge of pop arcania – come and have a go if you think you know enough
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A delinquent Door; a rapping Ramone; a generation of Whitesnakes; and a TV dispatch from our own correspondent
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As the 25th-annual event approaches, test how well you know the past winners, losers and all-round award show bothers
in pictures
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The Morrison Hotel Gallery is hosting Long May You Run, a retrospective of Neil Young, charts his rise from Buffalo Springfield to refusing to settle down in his 70s
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Since the 1980s, Melody Maker’s Tom Sheehan has captured the Cure’s ascent from the underbelly of British alternative rock to global stadium headliners. Now Sheehan – who was even enlisted as frontman Robert Smith’s official wedding photographer – has compiled a record of his journey with the band in a new book, In Between Days
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A pair of graphic designers and self-confessed Beatles geeks have mapped Fab Four trivia including the instruments they played, the outfits they wore and even some of their most famous press-conference quips
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Since the 1970s, Ross Halfin has photographed the biggest names in rock and pop, capturing seminal shows by the Who, AC/DC and Led Zeppelin. Shots from his career will be exhibited at The Indulgence Show in London
you may have missed
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Last week she was widely attacked for apologising to refugees on the UK’s behalf. But, just as her candour and directness mark her music, she has never been afraid to speak her mind
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His return to live performance will infuriate as many as it delights, but only a hardened bete noire can haul today’s pop out of cheery mediocrity. And maybe those derided solo hits weren’t so bad after all…
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Appearing on the most streamed track of all time, Lean On, made the Danish singer an instant global star. But is she ready to abandon her anarcho roots?
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Some songwriters can turn any subject into gold. Most aren’t so fortunate, so here are some subjects best steered clear of – and feel free to add more
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Bon Iver joins the pantheon of music number nerds fascinated by figures and their occult connections, from Mozart and the Beatles to Led Zep and Wu Tang
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Denmark’s Agnes Obel takes music where it has never gone before, layering 250 tracks on top of each other, and duetting with a male cyborg version of herself. Where does it all come from?
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First to go was her meekness in rehearsals – then she had to ‘learn how to be unapologetic and unemotional’ with the people who worked for her. Did it pay off creatively for her new album, The Altar?
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