July 2014 - Chris Molanphy

America, we need to talk about our taste in reggae music. Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Clear Channel Media and Entertainment New York

If you need evidence that America is having its ’90s-revival moment—right on the two-decades-later nostalgia schedule—look no further than “Rude” by Magic, the new No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 pop chart. “Rude” is essentially an amalgam of two smash hits that rode the Top 10 together in the spring of 1993: the Spin Doctors’ [...] Read more

Iggy Azalea, right, has ruled the Hot 100 for weeks, with help from Charli XCX, left. Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Slate Why Is This Song No. 1?

Can Anyone Unseat Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy” as the Song of the Summer?

15 July 20142 February 2019

Last week, Vulture’s Amanda Dobbins wrote a piece bemoaning the “default Song of Summer” status achieved by “Fancy,” the Iggy Azalea hit featuring Charli XCX. Now in its seventh week at No. 1, “Fancy” has topped Billboard’s Hot 100 since the start of June, essentially the whole summer to date. Since the Song of the [...] Read more

Pitchfork

The Preacher’s Pulpit: Bobby Womack, the Soul Singles Chart, and Pop Crossover

1 July 20142 February 2019

After a long, colorful career, Bobby Womack died on Friday at age 70. Critics, music historians and longtime R&B fans know his importance, but despite Womack’s deserved induction five years ago into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, describing the magnitude of his accomplishments to the larger public is something of a challenge—this is [...] Read more