Opinion
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In Memoriam: Daniel Johnston and 14 other artists we lost in 2019
Our team explains why the following people have moved us as music lovers: Bushwick Bill, Germs bassist Lorna Doom, Stephen Fitzpatrick and Audun Laading of English duo Her’s, Gershon Kingsley, Keith Flint of Prodigy, David Berman, Daniel Johnston, Ric Ocasek of The Cars, Roxette singer Marie Fredriksson, Roky Erickson,…
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PLAYLIST: Behind the scenes with Roman Gokhman’s year in interviews
Roman Gokhman writes about his favorite interviews of the year: Cautious Clay, Rhett Miller, Suzannah Powell, Joseph, Aurora, Joy Williams, SHAED, K.Flay, Hozier, Ivory Layne, Yoke Lore, Lumineers, Just Loud, Josh Malerman, the Dandy Warhols and JR JR. As RIFF has continued to grow, my free time has continued…
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Daniel J. Willis: The death of Dick Dale and the worst of 2019 in music
Editor Daniel J. Willis shortly after hearing “Baby Shark” again. Design: Roman Gokhman. It’s the end of 2019 so, as I did at the end of 2018, it’s time to revisit all the things that were just profoundly awful in music. I don’t mean the music is awful, mind…
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Joaquin Cabello’s top 15 concerts of 2019, starring Billie Eilish
Photographer Joaquin Cabello’s favorite concerts of the year included Babymetal, American Football, Marina Diamandis, Anderson .Paak, Laura Jane Grace, Explosions in the Sky, Carly Rae Jepsen, Alexisonfire, the Jonas Brothers, Mineral, Incubus, Gouge Away, The 1975, Blink-182 and Billie Eilish. Taking pictures of artists might be one of my…
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Rachel Goodman’s top 25 alt-rock and alt-pop songs of 2019
Rachel Goodman’s favorite alt-rock and alt-pop songs of the year for 2019 include The Dandy Warhols, The Knocks, Nilüfer Yanya, Strand of Oaks, Sharon Van Etten, Better Oblivion Community Center, Kirin J. Callinan, Mikal Cronin, The New Pornographers, Jenny Lewis and Cigarettes After Sex. Rounding up my favorite songs…
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Kyle Kohner’s 20 best hip-hop albums of 2019
Our list of the 20 best hip-hop albums of 2019 includes Danny Brown, Post Malone, ECCO2K, Tinashe, Little Simz, Malibu Ken, DaBaby, Megan Thee Stallion, slowthai, Maxo Kream, Billy Woods & Kenny Segal, Rico Nasty & Kenny Beats, Clipping., YBN Cordae, Kate Tempest, Quelle Chris, Denzel Curry, Injury Reserve,…
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The 50 best albums of 2019: 10-1
Clockwise from top left: Angel Olsen, Foals, Sharon Van Etten, Billie Eilish, Freddie Gibbs and Madlib, Oh Sees, The Highwomen, Bring Me The Horizon, Gary Clark Jr., and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. Well, we’ve made it. The following 10 albums are the best we heard this year.…
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The 50 best albums of 2019: 20-11
Clockwise from top left: Altin Gun, K.Flay, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Lightning Bolt, Big Business, Boy Harsher, Carly Rae Jepsen, Battles, Tyler, the Creator, and American Football. We’re nearing the end of our countdown of the top 50 albums of 2019! A lot of these records would have…
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The 50 best albums of 2019: 30-21
Clockwise from top left: Alice Merton, Jenny Hval, Jpegmafia, Jessica Pratt, Kingfish, Kim Petras, Cate Le Bon, Swans, Ty Segall and Bad Wolves. We’ve reached the halfway point of RIFF’s top 50 albums list! It only get harder from here, but we can certainly guarantee a wealth of quality…
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The 50 best albums of 2019: 40-31
Clockwise from top left: Aurora, Billy Strings, Honeyblood, Bon Iver, Sum-41, Tool, Opeth, 100 gecs, Subhumans and Lizzo. Welcome back to RIFF’s year-end album roundup! If you’re joining us just now, start with part one. Our album review staff is pretty musically diverse, which might explain why Opeth, Bon…
