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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 29, 2026
STORY · Pop
Gaitana: The Girl Who Spoke Lingala and Learned Ukrainian Pop
Gaitana, born in Kyiv in 1979 to a Ukrainian mother and Congolese father, turned 47 in 2026. Her biography spans two continents and multiple languages.
4 min read
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4 min read
STORY · Pop
How Selena Gomez Made Kiss & Tell a Chart Surprise
Selena Gomez & the Scene's 2009 debut Kiss & Tell sold over 900,000 copies in the US, turning a Disney star's band-first gamble into a chart surprise.
5 min read
Cover of “Kiss & Tell” by Selena Gomez & the Scene. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
5 min read
STORY · Alternative
New Order's Brotherhood: Why the Split-Personality Album Worked
New Order's 1986 album Brotherhood split itself between synth and guitar sides. The deliberate fracture produced a breakthrough single and a lasting cult reputation.
4 min read
Trevor Key, Peter Saville; Distributed by Qwest Records, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, modified: re-encoded
4 min read
STORY · Alternative
Why did Julien Baker's Sprained Ankle resonate so deeply?
Julien Baker's 2015 debut Sprained Ankle turned a nineteen-year-old's confession into a quiet anthem. It mapped faith, addiction, and mental illness with structural precision.
5 min read
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5 min read
STORY · Alternative
Brett Anderson: The Voice That Outgrew Britpop
Brett Anderson, born in Lindfield in 1967, moved from garage bands and science A-levels to fronting Suede. He then built a parallel solo career that outlasted Britpop.
4 min read
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4 min read
STORY · Pop
Kurt Nilsen: The Plumber Who Beat the World
In 2004, plumber Kurt Nilsen from Bergen won World Idol singing U2's 'Beautiful Day', becoming Norway's most improbable pop export of the mid-2000s.
4 min read
Ernst Vikne, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, modified: re-encoded
4 min read
STORY · Other
Hebe Camargo: Brazil's Queen Who Sang Before She Spoke
Hebe Camargo, born in 1929 in Taubaté, built a career spanning singing, radio, cinema, and decades of daily television. She became Brazil's queen of the small screen.
4 min read
rodrigo mesquita, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, modified: re-encoded
4 min read
STORY · Metal
The Rolling Stones album that broke their own UK rule
In 1997, The Rolling Stones released Bridges to Babylon, their twenty-first British studio album. It became the only one of their studio records to miss the UK top five.
4 min read
Cover of “Bridges to Babylon” by The Rolling Stones. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Other
Portishead's Second Album Was Built on a Lie
Portishead's self-titled 1997 album credits a sample from a song that never existed, a deliberate joke that still guards the record's strangest secret.
3 min read
Cover of “Portishead” by Portishead. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Other
The poetry crisis that gave Lana Del Rey a new voice
After the creative wall that followed Lust for Life, Lana Del Rey turned to poetry. She published Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass and a spoken word album in 2020.
4 min read
Cover of “Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass” by Lana Del Rey. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Rock
Jerry Lee Lewis: The Killer Who Shook Rock 'n' Roll
A piano stool kicked across the stage, a boot heel hammering the keys, a voice that sounded like it was trying to escape a burning building. That was Jerry Lee …
4 min read
Silvio Tanaka from Sao Paulo, Brazil, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, modified: re-encoded
4 min read
STORY · Soul
Why did Otis Rush play a guitar strung upside down?
Otis Rush, who died in 2018, built his approach to Chicago blues around a right-handed guitar flipped upside down. His technique influenced Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
4 min read
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4 min read
STORY · Other
How Ian McShane Became Hollywood's Favorite Bastard
Ian McShane, who turns 84 today, spent decades as a working actor before Deadwood made him the standard by which all television villains are measured.
4 min read
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4 min read
STORY · Metal
Mark Farner: How Grand Funk's Captain Steered to No. 1
Mark Farner, born in Flint, Michigan on September 29, 1948, wrote Grand Funk Railroad's first Top 40 single 'I'm Your Captain (Closer to Home)'. It peaked at No. 22 in October 1970.
4 min read
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4 min read
STORY · Other
Why did Auden renounce his most famous poem by 1973?
W. H. Auden died in Vienna on 29 September 1973, leaving behind a legacy split between his own revisions and the world's memory of 'Funeral Blues'.
4 min read
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4 min read
September 28, 2026
STORY · Pop
Coolio: From Compton Libraries to Gangsta's Paradise
Artis Leon Ivey Jr., known as Coolio, died in Los Angeles on September 28, 2022, leaving behind a legacy that spans from Compton libraries to a Grammy-winning hit.
4 min read
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4 min read
STORY · Soul
Melody Thornton Turned 42 With A Voice Built In Arizona
Melody Thornton, born in Arizona and raised on Phoenix talent shows, turned 42 in 2026. Her career moved from The Pussycat Dolls to a solo catalog and a masked victory in Australia.
4 min read
Keith HInkle, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, modified: re-encoded
4 min read
STORY · Alternative
Why did St. Vincent hand her guitar to Jack Antonoff?
Annie Clark's path from Berklee student to self-producing artist saw her hand guitar duties to Jack Antonoff on Masseduction. She reclaimed full control on All Born Screaming.
4 min read
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4 min read
STORY · Soundtracks
Lata Mangeshkar: The Barefoot Voice That Outlasted a Century
Lata Mangeshkar, born in 1929 in Indore, built a seven-decade career as India's most prolific playback singer. She recorded in over thirty-six languages while keeping a barefoot ritual in the studio.
3 min read
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3 min read
STORY · Other
Brigitte Bardot: The Sex Kitten Who Walked Away
Brigitte Bardot, born in Paris in 1934, became a global sex symbol with And God Created Woman. In 1973 she walked away from cinema to lead an animal rights foundation.
4 min read
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4 min read
STORY · Pop
Depeche Mode: The Album That Finally Cracked America
Depeche Mode's Music for the Masses, released in 1987, marked a turning point in the band's sound. It finally opened the American market for the synth-pop group.
3 min read
Cover of “Music for the Masses” by Depeche Mode. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
3 min read
STORY · Hip-Hop
Why does OutKast's Aquemini still sound like 2026?
OutKast's 1998 album Aquemini fused live funk, southern soul and cosmic lyricism. Twenty-eight years later, it still refuses to be categorized.
4 min read
Cover of “Aquemini” by OutKast. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Rock
Yes: The Italian Castle Sessions That Nearly Killed Big Generator
In 1985, Yes rented a castle in Carimate, Italy, to force closeness. The sessions for Big Generator became one of the group's most unproductive stretches.
4 min read
Cover of “Big Generator” by Yes. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Alternative
Why Does the Prodigy Experience Still Sound Like 1992?
Liam Howlett's Experience, the 1992 debut by The Prodigy, still sounds like a hardcore set bolted to a jungle break, thirty-four years later.
4 min read
Cover of “Experience” by The Prodigy. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Rock
Jennifer Rush: Why 57 in the US Still Meant a World Record
Jennifer Rush, born Heidi Stern, topped charts across Europe with 'The Power of Love' while the same song stalled at 57 on the Billboard Hot 100. That gap defined her transatlantic career.
5 min read
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5 min read
STORY · Soul
How Stevie Wonder Nearly Left Music Before Key of Life
In 1975, Stevie Wonder nearly left music for Ghana. Instead, he signed a landmark Motown contract and released Songs in the Key of Life, his most successful album.
4 min read
Cover of “Songs in the Key of Life” by Stevie Wonder. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Rock
Andy Ward: How Camel's Drummer Survived the Fall
Andy Ward, born in Epsom on 28 September 1952, helped define Camel's early sound. He survived a nervous breakdown with Marillion in 1983 and rebuilt his career through Canterbury scene connections.
6 min read
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6 min read
STORY · Jazz
Why did Miles Davis leave Juilliard for 52nd Street?
Miles Davis left Juilliard in 1945 for the jam sessions on 52nd Street, where he played alongside Charlie Parker and found his real education in bebop.
3 min read
Peter Buitelaar, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, modified: re-encoded
3 min read
STORY · Metal
Why does Led Zeppelin's 1976 live album miss Black Dog?
Led Zeppelin's 1976 live album The Song Remains the Same omitted Black Dog and other film tracks. The puzzle stems from fitting three Madison Square Garden nights onto four vinyl sides.
4 min read
Cover of “The Song Remains the Same” by Led Zeppelin. Source: Cover Art Archive (coverartarchive.org)
4 min read
STORY · Pop
Nolwenn Leroy Is 44 and Still Singing in Four Languages
Nolwenn Leroy, born in Brittany in 1982, became a French folk-pop star after winning Star Academy. Her album Bretonne sold over a million copies.
3 min read
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3 min read