What is a boy band? The history of cute guys playing pop—sometimes, even their own instruments—is long and rich. When you hear “boy band,” what do you picture? Five guys with precision dance moves? Songs crafted by the Top 40 pop machine? Svengalis pulling the puppet strings? Hordes of screaming girls? As it turns out, [...] Read more

Slate’s Carl Wilson says covers and interpolations are as valid as originals—even Bob Dylan borrowed all the time. In this mini-episode of Hit Parade, host Chris Molanphy is joined by Slate chief music critic Carl Wilson, who discusses cover songs and why his 2018 predication of a comeback for covers didn’t quite pan out. Carl [...] Read more

A smash remake of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” has reminded us of the power of cover songs. But why are hit covers so rare today? Cover songs once had a simple playbook: Artists would faithfully rerecord a song—note for note and word for word. They might modernize the instrumentation. If they were feeling radical, they’d [...] Read more

New York Times critic-at-large Wesley Morris interviewed Barbra Streisand about her memoir and her versatile career. Listen & Subscribe Choose your preferred player: Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Stitcher Amazon Music Overcast TuneIn RSS Feed For questions about subscriptions or your Slate Plus feed, check our FAQ. Please enable javascript to get your Slate Plus [...] Read more

Barbra Streisand was the Taylor Swift of her era—a self-powered Queen of All Media who set major chart records. And she might not be done. Barbra Streisand: star of stage and screen. Oscar-winner, film director and TV producer. Culture warrior and meme generator. Yes, all that—but don’t get it twisted: Barbra’s legend rests in her [...] Read more

Billboard awards editor Paul Grein says Grammy voters do their best—but they could use some help narrowing the field. Listen & Subscribe Choose your preferred player: Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Stitcher Amazon Music Overcast TuneIn RSS Feed For questions about subscriptions or your Slate Plus feed, check our FAQ. Please enable javascript to get [...] Read more

Does the Recording Academy ever get it right? And how closely should the Grammys follow the charts?” Do you watch the Grammy Awards every year and groan, or even yell at the screen? Hit Parade host Chris Molanphy sure does. But he has a weird hot take: The Grammys are better off not trying to [...] Read more