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Daily stories about music and vinyl: albums, artists, labels. Read on the web or in the CrateCore app.
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October 7, 2026
STORY · Hip-Hop
How Flying Lotus Turned a Cartoon Network Ad Into a Universe
Steven Ellison sent beats to an Adult Swim promo as Flying Lotus in 2006, and the reply launched a career spanning Warp Records, Brainfeeder and film.
3 min read
Kolby Ari, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, modified: re-encoded
3 min read
STORY · Hip-Hop
Nu-Mixx Klazzics: Tupac Shakur Remixed by Death Row
Nu-Mixx Klazzics arrived in 2003 on Death Row Records and Koch Records. It was Tupac Shakur's first official remix album, rebuilding tracks from All Eyez on Me and The Don Killuminati.
4 min read
Cover of “Nu-Mixx Klazzics” by Tupac Shakur. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
September 15, 2026
STORY · Rock
How Genesis Made Foxtrot Against the Odds
Genesis replaced producer Bob Potter mid-recording and still finished Foxtrot. The English progressive rock group's fourth album took them to number 12 in the UK chart.
3 min read
Cover of “Foxtrot” by Genesis. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
October 6, 2026
STORY · Rock
Why Did a-ha Call Their Second Album Scoundrel Days?
a-ha released Scoundrel Days in the autumn of 1986, a darker follow-up to their debut that was recorded in Wimbledon with producer Alan Tarney.
3 min read
Cover of “Scoundrel Days” by a-ha. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Metal
Why Eddie Van Halen Built His Own Guitar
Eddie Van Halen built the Frankenstrat from a 50-dollar body and an 80-dollar neck because no factory guitar could keep up with his hands.
3 min read
Abby Gillardi, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, modified: re-encoded
3 min read
October 16, 2026
STORY · Classical
Why Did Granville Bantock Abandon the Empire for Music?
Granville Bantock was meant to serve the empire in India, but instead became a composer, conductor and the force behind Birmingham's orchestra.
4 min read
Photograph by Lafayette, Dublin., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
4 min read
October 6, 2026
STORY · Classical
Glenn Branca and the 100-Guitar Symphony
Glenn Branca led a hundred electric guitars at the World Trade Center on June 13, 2001, in a career built on redefining what the instrument could do.
3 min read
IntangibleArts, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, modified: re-encoded
3 min read
October 21, 2026
STORY · Rock
Comes a Time: The Album Neil Young Bought Back
Neil Young bought back the first two hundred thousand copies of Comes a Time after a mastering fault stripped the high frequencies. He then remixed the 1978 Reprise album himself from a safety copy.
3 min read
Cover of “Comes a Time” by Neil Young. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
October 6, 2026
STORY · Pop
How Bobby Farrell Fronted Boney M Without Singing a Note
Frank Farian confirmed in 1978 that Bobby Farrell did not sing on Boney M's studio records. The split between the body audiences saw and the voice they heard shaped his whole career.
4 min read
Fotopersbureau De Boer, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons
4 min read
STORY · Classical
Karol Szymanowski and the Young Poland Circle
Karol Szymanowski joined the Young Poland in Music circle in 1905, a short-lived Warsaw group backed by Prince Władysław Lubomirski. The circle gave Polish music a decisive push.
4 min read
AI-generated illustration
4 min read
STORY · Classical
Paul Badura-Skoda and the Piano That Could Not Be One
In a Vienna studio, the Austrian pianist Paul Badura-Skoda sat down to record the same Schubert sonata three separate times, each take on a piano from a differe…
4 min read
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4 min read
STORY · Classical
Montserrat Caballé and the Night That Made Her
Montserrat Caballé stepped in at Carnegie Hall in 1965 and earned a twenty-minute ovation. The unknown Spanish soprano became one of the defining voices of her century.
4 min read
Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, modified: re-encoded
4 min read
STORY · Pop
How Belle & Sebastian Let a Pop Wizard Rework Their Sound
Trevor Horn, the producer known for electronic pop polish, stepped in to produce Belle & Sebastian's sixth album. Dear Catastrophe Waitress arrived on Rough Trade Records on October 6, 2003.
4 min read
Cover of “Dear Catastrophe Waitress” by Belle and Sebastian. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · World
How Johnny Nash Found His Clearest Sound in Jamaica
Johnny Nash was a Houston-born singer once marketed as a rival to Johnny Mathis. He found his own sound in Jamaica by signing Bob Marley and the Wailers and recording rocksteady grooves in Kingston.
3 min read
AI-generated illustration
3 min read
STORY · Pop
Why Did Zoë Më Get Zero Televotes at Eurovision?
Zoë Më finished second with the juries at Eurovision in Basel but received zero points from the televote. The twenty-four-position gap set a new record for the contest.
4 min read
Nurtenge, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, modified: re-encoded
4 min read
STORY · Pop
How Tereza Kerndlová Walked Into Eurovision's Firing Line
Tereza Kerndlová, the Czech pop and R&B singer from Brno, took Have Some Fun to Eurovision's second semi-final in Belgrade. She finished eighteenth out of nineteen with nine points.
4 min read
Daniel Kruczyński, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, modified: re-encoded
4 min read
STORY · Classical
Jean-François Le Sueur risked everything on an orchestra
Jean-François Le Sueur put an orchestra inside Notre-Dame in 1786, lost his post when the music budget was cut, and later found rescue from Napoleon.
3 min read
AI-generated illustration
3 min read
STORY · Pop
How Nelson Riddle Found a Second Act with Linda Ronstadt
In 1982 Linda Ronstadt asked Nelson Riddle to arrange an album of jazz standards. The partnership sold more than seven million copies and won him Grammys late in life.
4 min read
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4 min read
September 5, 2026
STORY · Electronic
John Cage: The Inventor Who Turned Silence Into Music
In 1928, John Cage proposed a day of silence at the Hollywood Bowl, an idea that grew into '4′33″' and a lifetime of turning listening itself into music.
4 min read
AI-generated illustration
4 min read
October 5, 2026
STORY · Rock
How Bob Geldof Turned a Tragedy Into a Global Anthem
Bob Geldof turned a San Diego school shooting into 'I Don't Like Mondays,' the Boomtown Rats single that made him famous far beyond Dublin and London.
4 min read
Miljøstiftelsen ZERO, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, modified: re-encoded
4 min read
STORY · Pop
Why Glynis Johns Got Send In the Clowns
Glynis Johns, born in Pretoria in 1923, went from a rubber mermaid tail in Miranda to a Tony-winning Broadway turn in A Little Night Music.
3 min read
AI-generated illustration
3 min read
STORY · Rock
How Led Zeppelin III Turned a Power Outage into a Folk Reckoning
A stone cottage in the Welsh countryside, no electricity, no running water, and two of the loudest men in rock sitting by candlelight with acoustic guitars. Tha…
3 min read
Cover of “Led Zeppelin III” by Led Zeppelin. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Pop
Eden Golan and the Hurricane That Made Her
Eden Golan took "Hurricane" to Eurovision in Malmö and finished fifth overall. She came second with the public vote after months of protests and a boycott campaign.
4 min read
AI-generated illustration
4 min read
STORY · Rock
How The Beatles' 'Love Me Do' Survived a Drummer Swap
The Beatles' first single 'Love Me Do' was cut in a London session that swapped Pete Best for Ringo Starr. Session drummer Andy White was then brought in for a third attempt.
4 min read
Cover of “Love Me Do” by The Beatles. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
October 29, 2026
STORY · Electronic
How Depeche Mode Built Speak & Spell on a Toy and a Coin Toss
Depeche Mode's debut Speak & Spell was recorded on eight-track equipment with an ARP 2600 synthesizer. It remains the only Depeche Mode album to feature Vince Clarke.
4 min read
Cover of “Speak & Spell” by Depeche Mode. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
October 5, 2026
STORY · Metal
How Eddie Clarke Became Fast and Then Lost Motörhead
Eddie Clarke earned the nickname 'Fast' for a rapid tremolo technique, not sheer speed. He turned that trick into the engine of Motörhead's classic line-up.
3 min read
AI-generated illustration
3 min read
STORY · Pop
Why Did Felicia Eriksson Hide Her Face to Sing?
Felicia Eriksson spent years as the masked voice of Fröken Snusk. She won Melodifestivalen 2026 with My System and represented Sweden at Eurovision.
3 min read
AI-generated illustration
3 min read
STORY · Rock
How Elton John's Failed Jamaica Trip Made a Double Album
Elton John's January trip to Kingston produced no usable takes. The detour to a French château led to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, his first double album.
4 min read
Cover of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Electronic
Harold Faltermeyer and the Banana Theme That Took Over the World
Harold Faltermeyer wrote 'Axel F' in a few hours as a throwaway cue for a banana scene in Beverly Hills Cop. It became one of the decade's defining instrumentals.
3 min read
AI-generated illustration
3 min read
STORY · Hip-Hop
How Twenty One Pilots Escaped Their Own Insecurities
Twenty One Pilots released Trench on October 5, 2018, after a year of silence that followed the Blurryface tour. Tyler Joseph built the album's fictional world of Dema before writing a single song.
4 min read
Cover of “Trench” by Twenty One Pilots. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read