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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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September 3, 2026

The Lunchroom Wager That Built Sum 41's Backbone

STORY · Alternative

The Lunchroom Wager That Built Sum 41's Backbone

Jason McCaslin got his nickname in an Ajax high school cafeteria. He became the bassist who held Sum 41 together through platinum records, lineup changes, and a quarter-century of pop-punk history.

September 3, 2026 · 4 min read

007master, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

September 3, 2026

4 min read

What Happens When a Flute Player Sings with Led Zeppelin?

STORY · Pop

What Happens When a Flute Player Sings with Led Zeppelin?

A classically trained flautist trading riffs with Ian Anderson on a European tour shouldn't make sense, yet it defines Tinkara Kovač. Born 3 September 1978, she turns forty-eight today.

September 3, 2026 · 3 min read

Andraž Blaznik, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

September 3, 2026

3 min read

Locatelli: The Virtuoso Who Walked Away from the Court

STORY · Classical

Locatelli: The Virtuoso Who Walked Away from the Court

A teenage virtuoso from Bergamo, Pietro Locatelli conquered Rome and the courts of Europe. Then he walked away from all of them to spend thirty-five years in Amsterdam.

September 3, 2026 · 4 min read

Rijksmuseum, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

September 3, 2026

4 min read

The Dry Cleaner Who Stretched Time Past Breaking

STORY · Classical

The Dry Cleaner Who Stretched Time Past Breaking

Morton Feldman, the dry cleaner who composed at night, died on September 3, 1987, leaving behind music that dismantled every assumption about listening.

September 3, 2026 · 5 min read

Rob Bogaerts for Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

September 3, 2026

5 min read

How a French Horn Player Became Berlin's Reggae Truth-Teller

STORY · World

How a French Horn Player Became Berlin's Reggae Truth-Teller

In a Kreuzberg apartment, a French horn gathers dust beside gold records. The man who once played it hasn't picked up the instrument in decades, but the discipl…

September 3, 2026 · 4 min read

AI-generated illustration

September 3, 2026

4 min read

Roll the Bones: The Rush Album That Dared to Rap

STORY · Metal

Roll the Bones: The Rush Album That Dared to Rap

Rush's fourteenth album Roll the Bones arrived on September 3, 1991. It cracked the Billboard top five and went platinum despite a rap interlude no sensible band would attempt.

September 3, 2026 · 3 min read

Cover of “Roll the Bones” by Rush. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)

September 3, 2026

3 min read

Dawn of Chromatica: Gaga Handed the Keys to the Underground

STORY · Pop

Dawn of Chromatica: Gaga Handed the Keys to the Underground

Five years ago, Lady Gaga released Dawn of Chromatica. The remix album handed her polished dance-pop to hyperpop and underground club artists like Arca and Charli XCX.

September 3, 2026 · 4 min read

Cover of “Dawn of Chromatica” by Lady Gaga. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)

September 3, 2026

4 min read

44 Years and Three Pianos In, Andrew McMahon Still Moves

STORY · Pop

44 Years and Three Pianos In, Andrew McMahon Still Moves

From a Bexley living room to three distinct musical identities, Andrew McMahon turns 44 in 2026 with a memoir and a decade of solo work behind him.

September 3, 2026 · 4 min read

Unugunu / Unugunu at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

September 3, 2026

4 min read

The Voice That Brought Mondo Cane to the Oscars

STORY · Pop

The Voice That Brought Mondo Cane to the Oscars

Katyna Ranieri sang for Fellini and became the first Italian female singer to perform at the Oscars. Her career was a chain of collisions between Italian pop elegance and global pop culture.

September 3, 2026 · 5 min read

AI-generated illustration

September 3, 2026

5 min read

A Man Without a Mask, a Band That Never Showed Its Face

STORY · Metal

A Man Without a Mask, a Band That Never Showed Its Face

Before the masks and Eurovision, Tomi Putaansuu shot a bare-faced video for his 1993 demo Napalm Market — the only time the public would see him that way.

September 3, 2026 · 4 min read

AI-generated illustration

September 3, 2026

4 min read

Who Was Johnny Rebel Behind the Racist Songs?

STORY · Folk

Who Was Johnny Rebel Behind the Racist Songs?

A twelve-year-old boy unwraps a guitar in Moss Bluff, Louisiana, and no one in the room could have guessed that this gift would one day provide the soundtrack f…

September 3, 2026 · 3 min read

AI-generated illustration

September 3, 2026

3 min read

The Ad Executive Who Sang Beyoncé Into a Record Deal

STORY · Pop

The Ad Executive Who Sang Beyoncé Into a Record Deal

Iza spent her twenties torn between an advertising degree and a Warner Music Brasil contract. She built a pop career from YouTube covers of Beyoncé and Rihanna.

September 3, 2026 · 4 min read

Humor Multishow, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

September 3, 2026

4 min read

Eduard van Beinum: The Conductor Who Said No to the Nazis

STORY · Classical

Eduard van Beinum: The Conductor Who Said No to the Nazis

In 1943, a charity concert in occupied Amsterdam came with a condition no musician could ignore — and one conductor chose to reject it outright. Eduard van Bein…

September 3, 2026 · 4 min read

Koos Raucamp / Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

September 3, 2026

4 min read

Who Told RCA the Girl Could Out-Sing Their King?

STORY · Rock

Who Told RCA the Girl Could Out-Sing Their King?

When RCA signed Janis Martin in the mid-1950s, the label already had Elvis Presley. But a Virginia teenager who wrote her own songs and led her own band forced them to pay attention anyway.

September 3, 2026 · 4 min read

AI-generated illustration

September 3, 2026

4 min read

September 2, 2026

Where Death Wore a Party Hat

STORY · Metal

Where Death Wore a Party Hat

A nude figure rendered in early-2000s CGI, mid-cavort, frozen forever on the cover of an Iron Maiden album. The decision so baffled the artist who painted the r…

September 2, 2026 · 3 min read

Cover of “Dance of Death” by Iron Maiden. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)

September 2, 2026

3 min read

The Genesis Album That Killed a 48-Year Chart Streak

STORY · Alternative

The Genesis Album That Killed a 48-Year Chart Streak

After Phil Collins walked away in 1996, Genesis hired a new singer and cut their fifteenth studio album — then cancelled two U.S. tours when the seats stayed empty.

September 2, 2026 · 4 min read

Cover of “Calling All Stations” by Genesis. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)

September 2, 2026

4 min read

Miles Davis: When the Sextet Broke the Key

STORY · Jazz

Miles Davis: When the Sextet Broke the Key

When pianist Red Garland missed a Columbia session in 1958, Miles Davis covered both trumpet and piano. The resulting album Milestones turned jazz's harmonic rules inside out.

September 2, 2026 · 3 min read

Cover of “Milestones” by Miles Davis. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)

September 2, 2026

3 min read

Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables: 46 Years of Burning Chrome

STORY · Alternative

Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables: 46 Years of Burning Chrome

Dead Kennedys released their debut album on September 2, 1980. Its cover showed six burning police cruisers from the White Night riot, and 46 years later the photograph still burns.

September 2, 2026 · 4 min read

Cover of “Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables” by Dead Kennedys. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)

September 2, 2026

4 min read

Heartbeat of a New Metal Epoch

STORY · Metal

Heartbeat of a New Metal Epoch

Thirty-three years ago, on September 2, 1993, Sepultura released Chaos A.D. — the album where the Brazilians deliberately walked away from the thrash metal orthodoxy they had helped define.

September 2, 2026 · 5 min read

Cover of “Chaos A.D.” by Sepultura. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)

September 2, 2026

5 min read

Madilyn Bailey: The CNA Who Chose Covers Over Scrubs

STORY · Pop

Madilyn Bailey: The CNA Who Chose Covers Over Scrubs

Before a hundred million YouTube views, Madilyn Bailey was a certified nursing assistant. That contrast became the engine behind a career that refused to wait for permission.

September 2, 2026 · 4 min read

Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

September 2, 2026

4 min read

How Suede Made Britpop's Brightest Rebound

STORY

How Suede Made Britpop's Brightest Rebound

Thirty years ago this week, Suede released Coming Up. The album answered Bernard Butler's departure with five top-ten singles and a number one chart position.

September 2, 2026 · 4 min read

Cover of “Coming Up” by Suede. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)

September 2, 2026

4 min read

The Knife Before the Cut

STORY · Alternative

The Knife Before the Cut

On September 3, 2013, Nine Inch Nails released Hesitation Marks. The album ended a five-year silence and brought Trent Reznor back to a major label with a sound no one expected.

September 2, 2026 · 4 min read

Cover of “Hesitation Marks” by Nine Inch Nails. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)

September 2, 2026

4 min read

September 1, 2026

Gloria Estefan: The Voice That Walked Away from a Broken Neck

STORY · Pop

Gloria Estefan: The Voice That Walked Away from a Broken Neck

Gloria Estefan was at the peak of her career when a semi-truck snapped her spine in 1990. She returned to the stage less than a year later, walking.

September 1, 2026 · 4 min read

AI-generated illustration

September 1, 2026

4 min read

How Let's Dance Left David Bowie With Nothing to Say

STORY · Pop

How Let's Dance Left David Bowie With Nothing to Say

Forty-two years ago, David Bowie released Tonight — a number one album written in a creative vacuum that still puzzles anyone tracing his chameleonic path.

September 1, 2026 · 5 min read

Cover of “Tonight” by David Bowie. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)

September 1, 2026

5 min read

Can a Singer Who Never Learned Music Front a Rock Band?

STORY · Rock

Can a Singer Who Never Learned Music Front a Rock Band?

Bill Kaulitz never learned to read sheet music or master keyboards. His raw instinct and twin bond with Tom made Tokio Hotel one of Germany's most recognizable pop-rock exports.

September 1, 2026 · 4 min read

livepict.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

September 1, 2026

4 min read

Three Men, One Welsh Farm, and an 11-Minute Opener

STORY · Rock

Three Men, One Welsh Farm, and an 11-Minute Opener

Forty-nine years ago this week, Rush released A Farewell to Kings. Recorded on a Welsh farm, it gave the Canadian trio their first UK Top 40 entry and an 11-minute opener.

September 1, 2026 · 4 min read

Cover of “A Farewell to Kings” by Rush. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)

September 1, 2026

4 min read

Yvonne De Carlo: The Dancer Who Became a Monster

STORY · Pop

Yvonne De Carlo: The Dancer Who Became a Monster

A major Hollywood producer once crowned her "the most beautiful girl in the world," yet the role that immortalized her demanded a long black wig shot with a whi…

September 1, 2026 · 5 min read

AI-generated illustration

September 1, 2026

5 min read

57 Years Since Nick Drake Sat in a Half-Circle of Strings

STORY · Folk

57 Years Since Nick Drake Sat in a Half-Circle of Strings

In 1968, Nick Drake climbed onto a stool inside Sound Techniques studio and recorded his debut live. Fifty-seven years later, Five Leaves Left still sounds like a secret someone forgot to lock away.

September 1, 2026 · 4 min read

Cover of “Five Leaves Left” by Nick Drake. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)

September 1, 2026

4 min read

Kylie Minogue: The Remix Series That Escaped Japan

STORY · Pop

Kylie Minogue: The Remix Series That Escaped Japan

In 1998 Mushroom Records brought Kylie Minogue's Japanese-exclusive Greatest Remix Hits to Australia. The reissue turned a collector's secret into a four-volume document of the PWL years.

September 1, 2026 · 4 min read

Cover of “Greatest Remix Hits 1” by Kylie Minogue. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)

September 1, 2026

4 min read

Jungkook: From Busan’s Shores to a Billion Spotify Streams

STORY · Pop

Jungkook: From Busan’s Shores to a Billion Spotify Streams

Jeon Jung-kook, born in Busan in 1997, became the first Korean soloist to simultaneously top Billboard's Hot 100, Global 200, and Global Excl. U.S. charts.

September 1, 2026 · 5 min read

K-POPIT 케이팝잇, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

September 1, 2026

5 min read

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