Aretha Franklin. Courtesy: Wikicommons. So, look: I love Billy Porter. He’s amazing, he’s awesome, he’s a fashion icon. He’s an overall talented man. But… what in the world was that cover of “For What It’s Worth” from the Democratic National Convention? It’s like a skit from a second-tier Adult…

Editor Daniel J. Willis’ reaction to Smokepurpp at Outside Lands. Design: Roman Gokhman. We here at RIFF try to keep things positive. Music, like all art, should bring joy and understanding to the world. Even when music highlights society’s problems, it inspires us to understand and change the underlying…

L to R: Jóhann Jóhannsson, Roy Clark, Dolores O’Riordan, Scott Hutchison, Aretha Franklin, Dave Holland, Mark E. Smith and Mac Miller. All corners of the Western music world lost someone in 2018. Punk lost Pete Shelley of the Buzzcocks; metal lost Vinnie Paul of Pantera, Jill Janus of Huntress,…

Welcome to RIFF Rewind! Every week of 2018, we’ll highlight the top five songs of a different year as selected by our expert panel of tastemakers, by which, of course, I mean me (with help from my friends Robin St. Clare and Ash McGonigal, plus other contributors and RIFF…