Nina Simone, “You’ve Got to Learn.” In February, vocalist Nina Simone would have turned 90 years old. The jazz legend, who passed away in 2003, released records for decades. As part of the year-long celebration of Simone, Verve Records is releasing a newly unearthed six-song set Simone performed at…

Bruce Springsteen, courtesy. Last weekend was the 4th of July, but I didn’t do a column for the occasion because I needed the space to do something truly patriotic: Criticizing the government and demanding the people within it do better. Our country exists because people didn’t sit back and…

In this screengrab, Gregg Alexander of the New Radicals performs during the Virtual Parade Across America, following the presidential inauguration of Joe Biden, on Jan. 20, 2021. Courtesy: Biden Inaugural Committee. Is it just me or are you in a better mood this weekend? It’s pretty amazing how much…

Here comes—let’s be realistic here—the slightly less overcast sun, with the Beatles. You’re reading this in 2021. That means you made it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m under no impression that 2021 will immediately be all sunshine and rainbows. We’re still in the midst of a plague that should…

A mugshot of civil rights activist and politician John Lewis, following his arrest in Jackson, Mississippi for using a restroom reserved for white people during the Freedom Ride demonstration against racial segregation on May 24, 1961. Courtesy: Kypros/Getty Images. As I was writing this column it was announced that…

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…