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Music
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Dua Lipa – bouncing, ballads and full-bore pop bangersThe industrious singer’s giant arena show spans futuristic disco hits and spine-tingling torch songs, performed with winningly jazzercise-style dance routines
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Calvin Harris, Friendly Fires and Bon JoviThe dance don teams up with Dua Lipa, while the calypso-indie hip-shakers are back and Jon Bon Jovi gets geopolitical
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The female producers making hip-hop wavesThe likes of WondaGurl, Trakgirl and Tokimonsta have broken down the rap studio glass ceiling to make some of the best beats around for stars from Drake and Jay-Z to A$AP Ferg and Smoke DZA
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Jobs give us meaning – Jeremy Corbyn doesn’t understand thatTheir new album is entitled Resistance Is Futile, but the Manic Street Preachers aren’t accepting things lying down. Nicky Wire and James Dean Bradfield share their thoughts on nostalgia, Francis Bacon and why they considered splitting up
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The middle-aged DJs still keeping paceThirty years on from the second summer of love, a cohort of fiftysomething DJs are refusing to hang up their headphones, fuelled by nothing stronger than caffeine
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The lost musical superstar of Ceaușescu's RomaniaPlaying an extraordinary blend of prog, pop and electronic experimentalism, Rodion GA was heard by millions in cold war-era Romania – and unknown everywhere else. He explains how he created a career out of nothing, and how it may be coming to an early end
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I didn’t get a smear test because I was embarrassed. StupidJust as her band broke through and began a European tour, the singer was diagnosed with cervical cancer. She talks about her dramatic year
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Success is overwhelming. People talk to you differentlyThe Years & Years frontman on fame, therapy and how Disneyland inspired him
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Inside Madrid's buzzing garage rock sceneSpain’s teens, reared on europop, were oblivious to DIY rock. But a feeling of helplessness amid their country’s economic collapse has been the catalyst for Hinds, Baywaves, the Parrots and others to kick out the jams
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Shame – wet sweat and dry quips from seething post-punk kidsThe young Londoners make no bones about thieving ideas from other bands, but their blend of intense rhythms and sarcastic banter is unique
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The Courteeners – indie-rock underdogs defy the naysayersThe atmosphere is like a football match as this once-maligned band celebrate 10 years at the top with massed chants and singalong choruses
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Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Sound Prints: ScandalA beacon of group unity and flexibility with a smouldering title track
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Manic Street Preachers: Resistance Is Futile – defeat and defianceThe songs on this 13th album are heavy with a sense of uncertainty about a place in the world
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Joni Mitchell: the sophistication of her music sets her apart from her peers – even DylanFifty years since the release of her debut album, Sean O’Hagan argues that Joni Mitchell’s very best albums contain a depth of songwriting that remains unsurpassed
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In focus
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Coachella 2018: Beyoncé, the Weeknd and Eminem head to the desertMore than 200,000 people will attend one of the year’s biggest music festivals, with an all-star lineup and a $300,000 stage set from Cardi B
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On my radar: Jamael Westman’s cultural highlightsThe Hamilton star on how Kendrick Lamar is changing rap, the relevance of Julius Caesar, and why it’s now Wakanda for ever
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Man tries to woo Taylor Swift by robbing bank and throwing loot over her fencePolice say ‘it seemed he wanted to propose’ after a Connecticut man robbed a bank and then drove to Swift’s Rhode Island home
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Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Lady Gaga to feature on Elton John covers albumsThe pop and country-themed covers collections of Elton John and co-writer Bernie Taupin’s best-loved material are released on 6 April
By genre
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Confidence Man: Confident Music for Confident People review – bratty, wacky dance-pop joySinger Janet Planet brings ennui-laden vocals to tracks bathed in euphoric retro beats
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Novelist: Novelist Guy review – young grime star shows his social conscienceMC pays tribute to the scene’s old guard while bringing in new lyrics about masculinity and politics
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Shame review – wet sweat and dry quips from seething post-punk kidsThe young Londoners make no bones about thieving ideas from other bands, but their blend of intense rhythms and sarcastic banter is unique
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Tinashe: Joyride review – delayed gratificationTinashe’s long-gestated second album is a mixed bag, best when her coolly focused sexuality is put to the fore
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Rodion GA: the lost musical superstar of Ceaușescu's RomaniaPlaying an extraordinary blend of prog, pop and electronic experimentalism, Rodion GA was heard by millions in cold war-era Romania – and unknown everywhere else. He explains how he created a career out of nothing, and how it may be coming to an early end
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'Age can be a babe magnet': Spinal Tap's Derek Smalls on why old is goldAfter a career with heavy metal gods Spinal Tap – and a battle with addiction to the internet – the bassist is back with a new album reflecting on the ageing process. As his cells degrade, he shares his hard-fought wisdom
You may have missed
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Meet the musicians rewriting the rulebookThe UK is home to a diverse, collaborative and newly confident jazz scene. We meet seven musicians reinvigorating the genre
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How pop’s new gen deal with social media anxietyA wave of nihilism is infiltrating music, with the likes of Noah Cyrus, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Let’s Eat Grandma reflecting on the dystopia created by the digital world
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How she queered mainstream pop foreverIt’s a decade since Lady Gaga burst into the charts with Just Dance, and showed a new generation how to create a vivid identity for yourself, anywhere
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I'm at war with myself. That's what the piece sounds likeAs a member of Battles, Braxton reinvigorated art rock. Now his superpower-themed symphony for an 87-piece orchestra will reopen one of London’s most famous concert halls
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Arts Council funding to opera is unfair – pop needs support tooJust 8% of Arts Council England’s main music fund goes to pop, 2% to jazz, compared with 62% to opera. We must even out the imbalance if we want a diverse and healthy national music scene
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The tribute albums that saved careers and changed livesThis week brings new all-star love-ins dedicated to Elton John and Johnny Cash – marginal releases in the context of their careers, yet tributes to lesser-known acts can prove transformative
Lil Dicky and the truth about comedy rap – it’s tricky!