Louder: Kim Gordon’s coolest act yet

Plus: St. Vincent, Faye Webster, disgraced but embraced stars

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story March 2, 2024 By Caryn Ganz Pop Music Editor I have enjoyed Kim Gordon's music and admired her as a person for so long, it was such a win to hit play on "Bye Bye," the first single from her second solo album, "The Collective," and think what on earth is this, I love it. Lindsay Zoladz shared my joy, and got the story behind the LP for an incredible profile filled with unexpected details and quotes you'll want to text your friends, like this banger from Kathleen Hanna about women making art in their 70s: "What Kim's doing is totally, absolutely normal. What's not normal is when women or people who are marginalized in other ways have stopped making art." (And if you want to know more about Gordon's music, Lindsay made an 11-song playlist in The Amplifier that'll wake you up this morning.) With Ye spending a second week atop the Billboard 200 and Shane Gillis hosting "S.N.L." (and Morgan Wallen remaining a top-selling artist and the Michael Jackson estate flourishing), Jon Caramanica took a look at "the emergence of a class of artists across disciplines — call them the disgraced — who have found ways to thrive despite pockets of public pushback." St. Vincent returned with a "volcanic buildup of a song," as Jon Pareles writes in the Playlist. And we put a spotlight on three artists with strong albums out this week: the country-tinged indie singer-songwriter Faye Webster, the imaginative punk outfit Mannequin Pussy and the Brazilian jazz pianist and composer Amaro Freitas. Looking ahead to next weekend's Oscars, Ben Sisario chatted with Sean Ono Lennon about "War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko," which is up for best animated short film. And 22 years after the death of Run-DMC's Jam Master Jay, two men were convicted of killing the D.J. this week, bringing a close to a painful chapter of rap history. Molly Matalon for The New York Times Kim Gordon's Coolest Act Yet At 70, the onetime Sonic Youth musician is releasing a blistering new solo LP, finding new fans on TikTok and making art that continues to surprise. By Lindsay Zoladz Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT THE AMPLIFIER NEWSLETTER 11 Essential Kim Gordon Songs Hear her latest work and enduring classics from Sonic Youth and beyond. By Lindsay Zoladz Meet Olivia Rodrigo's Guts Tour Openers The 21-year-old pop star wears her influences on her sleeve and, in one particular case, books them for her live show. By Lindsay Zoladz Alex Da Corte The Playlist St. Vincent Channels Nine Inch Nails, and 11 More New Songs Hear tracks by Cardi B, Mdou Moctar, T Bone Burnett and others. By Jon Pareles and Lindsay Zoladz POPCAST Popcast Remembering Toby Keith and His Complexities A conversation about his loudest (and quieter) moments, and how patriotism has played into country music. 45 MIN LISTEN Popcast Popcast (Deluxe): Is TikTok Done? 4 Crises Holding the App Back Once addictive and effective, TikTok is struggling with commercialization, a shifting relationship with the music industry and more. 54 MIN LISTEN Will Heath/NBC, via Getty Images Critic's Notebook Disgraced but Embraced: Pop Culture Pariahs Are Making Big Comebacks Shane Gillis hosted "S.N.L.," the show that rebuffed him. Ye topped the Billboard chart after making antisemitic remarks. Has the mainstream given up on banishing bad actors? By Jon Caramanica Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT FEATURES Irina Rozovsky for The New York Times Faye Webster Hates Attention. But Her Songs Keep Getting Bigger. Music that walks the line between indie-rock and country — and her easy access to her emotions — has brought the singer-songwriter a growing fan base. By Dani Blum Micael Hocherman The Pianist Amaro Freitas Takes His Jazz Somewhere New: The Amazon For his latest album, "Y'Y," the Brazilian composer looked to inspirations in nature and experiments with prepared pianos. By Carolina Abbott Galvão Sam Hellmann for The New York Times Mannequin Pussy's Music Is Built on Big Emotions (and Inside Jokes) The band started as a cathartic outlet for the singer and guitarist Marisa Dabice, and grew into a tight-knit act that makes confrontational and tender punk. By Marissa Lorusso How Sean Ono Lennon Helped His Parents Send a Message To keep their legacy relevant for a new generation, he worked on the short "War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko." Now it's up for an Oscar. By Ben Sisario In Justin Peck's 'Illinoise,' Dance On and Feel It This narrative dance musical, set to Sufjan Stevens's album, is a coming-of-age story and a meditation on death, love, community, politics and zombies. By Melena Ryzik Girls to the Front: Olivia Rodrigo's Fans Show Up in Force At opening night of the pop star's Guts World Tour, her devotees wore lavender and screamed their hearts out. By OK McCausland Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT NEWS 2 Men Are Convicted in 2002 Killing of Run-DMC D.J. Jam Master Jay Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington were convicted of fatally shooting the hip-hop D.J., born Jason Mizell, in his Queens recording studio. By Karen Zraick Eagles' Don Henley Testifies That Lyrics Taken From Him Were Personal Mr. Henley testified in a Manhattan courtroom, where three men are charged with conspiring to possess papers taken from a barn on his organic farm in Malibu. By Colin Moynihan Sean Combs Accused of Sexual Misconduct by Music Producer Rodney Jones Jr. filed a federal lawsuit on Monday that says the hip-hop mogul made unwanted sexual contact while they worked on an album. A lawyer for Mr. Combs denied the allegations. By Ben Sisario and Julia Jacobs The Charts Ye Spends a Second Week at No. 1 With 'Vultures 1' The rapper once known as Kanye West's collaborative album with Ty Dolla Sign repeats at the top of the Billboard 200, narrowly defeating an LP from Yeat. By Ben Sisario A Louis Armstrong Musical Is Coming to Broadway This Fall "A Wonderful World," featuring Armstrong's songs, is set to begin previews at Studio 54 in October after previous runs in Miami, New Orleans and Chicago. By Michael Paulson Bidders Chase Elton John Items and a Banksy at Christie's Auctions The objects most closely associated with John's public persona as a performer, showman and style icon captivated the crowd in the first week of sales. By Julia Halperin Donna Summer's Estate Sues Ye for Sampling 'I Feel Love' The estate said it had denied a clearance request by Ty Dolla Sign and the rapper once known as Kanye West, who then used the song on their new album, "Vultures 1." By Marc Tracy Woohae Cho for The New York Times A K-Pop Star's Lonely Downward Spiral Goo Hara's life was a struggle from the start. She ended it at 28, isolated and harassed online. By Motoko Rich and John Yoon OBITUARIES Roni Stoneman, Country Music's 'First Lady of the Banjo,' Dies at 85 A featured player on "Hee Haw" and a member of the famed Stoneman Family, she was the first woman to play modern bluegrass banjo on a phonograph record. By Bill Friskics-Warren Pankaj Udhas, Bollywood Singer and Maestro of the Ghazal, Dies at 72 His soulful renditions of ghazals, or traditional love poems, were featured on the soundtracks of hit Bollywood movies and moved generations of Indians. By Suhasini Raj and John Yoon Peter Anthony Morgan, Grammy-Winning Reggae Singer, Dies at 46 Known as "Peetah," he and other children of the singer Denroy Morgan formed the group Morgan Heritage in the 1990s. By Mike Ives Lee Hoyang, Prolific K-Pop Producer and Songwriter, Dies at 40 Professionally known as Shinsadong Tiger, he created the upbeat, catchy and danceable musical style that defined K-pop in the early 2010s. By John Yoon Cat Janice, Singer Who Released a Dance Track From Hospice, Dies at 31 TikTok rallied around the singer, who revealed during her cancer treatment that she had transferred the rights to her final song to her son, as an inheritance of sorts. By Callie Holtermann Make a friend's day: Forward this email! Get this from a friend? Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter @nytimesmusic. Send your feedback on Louder at theplaylist@nytimes.com. Check out our full range of newsletters and subscribe to The Amplifier here. Continue reading the main story Need help? 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