Ken Tucker
Ken Tucker reviews rock, country, hip-hop and pop music for Fresh Air. He is a cultural critic who has been the editor-at-large at Entertainment Weekly, and a film critic for New York Magazine. His work has won two National Magazine Awards and two ASCAP-Deems Taylor Awards. He has written book reviews for The New York Times Book Review and other publications.
Tucker is the author of Scarface Nation: The Ultimate Gangster Movie and Kissing Bill O'Reilly, Roasting Miss Piggy: 100 Things to Love and Hate About Television.
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The range of country music is on display in Kane Brown's hit single; a duet by Wynonna Judd and the alt-rocker Waxahatchee; and the title song of Big Time, indie singer-songwriter Angel Olsen's album.
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Though drenched in deep melancholy, Lamar's new album avoids superstar-level self-pity. Instead, the hip-hop artist summons up specific memories and works through his issues with uncommon grace.
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More than 50 years after the release of her first album, Raitt's voice remains a subtle instrument: earthy with an ache around the edges. Its sly intimacy is, as always, a deep pleasure.
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Last year, a catchy song called "Chaise Longue" became a breakout hit for a duo of 20-something women from the Isle of Wight. Wet Leg's new self titled album is full of more clever entertainment.
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McCoury's been prominent in bluegrass since the 1960s, when he performed in Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys. His new album, with sons Rob and Ronnie, in an energetic work that also takes a dark turn.
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Mitski claims new ground on her sixth album, spreading herself across different kinds of pop music with each new song. The result is more varied than anything she's created thus far.
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No woman in the history of country has cried as eloquently as Smith has. The album title, The Cry from the Heart, is the answer she's given over the years when asked to define country music.
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Young has long been a nature writer, composing pastorals about the environment. Barn finds him composing lyrical hymns to the earth and sky, or raging against destruction on the horizon.
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From 18-year-old Olivia Rodrigo to 83-year-old Peter Stampfel, critic Ken Tucker says the music he most enjoyed in 2021 was recorded by artists who were either very young or quite old. -
Adele is a rare thing right now: an artist whose appeal cuts across genres and generations. Her new album about divorce features thrilling, exhilarating songs about being absolutely miserable.
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Jade Jackson and Aubrie Sellers are singer-songwriters who each had a solo career before getting together. Their debut album showcases a new sound that neither of them had ever achieved individually.
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A new 5-disc reissue of the 1970 and 1971 albums Sunflower and Surf's Up reveals the Beach Boys at a crossroads, having moved beyond surf-music pop hits, and shooting for more mainstream success.
