music
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'Women in music are allowed to sing about their boyfriends'In an open letter posted on her Facebook page, the Icelandic artist wrote about the sexism she and other female artists face when they cover complex subjects -
Tekno, Babe Wodumo and moreFrom Diamond Platnumz’s update of a Tanzanian classic to Patoranking’s ode to sexual consent, these are the tunes that got Africa shimmying this year
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Musician to release new, politically inspired album in spring 2017Fuelled by global political events, Annie Clark promises ‘the deepest, boldest work I’ve ever done’ on her new record -
Mel B: 'You get to laugh your pants off at people who are delusional'The woman once and for always known as Scary Spice discusses the upcoming mini-reunion, having her car broken into and her ethics on nudity
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Tupac's election to hall of fame a sign of rap's acceptanceThe rapper’s election is only the sixth time a figure from hip-hop has made it into the hall, and those who say they don’t belong will have to get used to it
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Sløtface (No 133) – perky pop with a feminist edgeNorwegian band aiming to make moshing safe for women and create the most joyous punk ditties you’ve heard since the 90s
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Orange Goblin frontman sets up JustGiving campaign for Team RockThe heavy-metal band’s Ben Ward urges the rock community to ‘help give something back’ to the more than 70 Team Rock staff members now facing unrecompensed redundancy
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Tupac Shakur, Yes and ELO join the Rock and Roll Hall of FameThe 2017 inductees also see Pearl Jam inducted in their first year of eligibility – and Chic spurned for the 11th time
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Chic to release first album in 25 years in 2017Nile Rodgers promises It’s About Time will be accompanied by a ‘big surprise’
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A perfect stormKate Tempest felt the love as she rhymed and rapped her way through her new album, Let Them Eat Chaos
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Dunedin Consort: Messiah review – drive and drama, clarity and beautySoloists James Laing and Nicholas Mulroy shone particularly among an exemplary ensemble in a small-scale interpretation of Handel’s oratorio led by John Butt
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The RCA and Arista Albums box set – a long and winding roadThis 17-CD set gathers together a hefty chunk of Reed’s solo output, from 1972’s Lou Reed to 1986’s Mistrial. It tells quite a tale
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How we made Driving Home for Christmas‘The first time we played it live, we hired 12 cannons and put three feet of snow in the stalls. The clean-up cost me £12,000’
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How streaming censorship is affecting queer musiciansRapper Mykki Blanco is the latest LGBT artist to confront the age restrictions being added to music videos. He will not be silenced, he says
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video
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Donald Trump and Kanye West meet at Trump Tower – videoKanye West and Donald Trump meet at Trump Tower on Tuesday. Trump says the rapper is a good man
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‘Nervous’ Patti Smith sings for Bob Dylan at Nobel prize ceremony – videoA nervous Patti Smith sings ‘A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall’ in Stockholm on Saturday, in a performance given to mark Bob Dylan’s Nobel prize for literature
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Sleaford Mods on Brexit: 'You can't ignore things any more' – videoWe go backstage at a Sleaford Mods gig in their hometown of Nottingham to hear what singer Jason Williamson thinks about politicians
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Madonna tells James Corden she kissed Michael Jackson – videoMadonna joins James Corden for a trip around New York in the latest episode of Carpool Karaoke from The Late Late Show aired on Wednesday.
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'You are brave, you are courageous': Lady Gaga visits homeless LGBT teenagers – videoLady Gaga visits a shelter for homeless LGBT teenagers in New York and tells them about her own struggle with PTSD
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Dolly Parton to give $1,000 a month 'hand up' to families hit by Tennessee fires – videoCountry singer Dolly Parton has created a ‘My People Fund’ to help victims of fires that have killed 10 people and laid waste to large parts of her home county in the Smoky Mountains
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The enigma of Kanye West – and how the world's biggest pop star ended up being its most reviled, too
The enigma of Kanye West – and how the world's biggest pop star ended up being its most reviled, too
Everything Kanye West does is an event, from the smallest interview to the biggest show. As he prepares to headline Glastonbury, one writer considers how West became the divisive figure he is
interviews
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The Swedish psychedelic enigmas: 'Our ancestors ate mostly heron. I mean herring'What is Goat? A centuries-old collective from a remote part of Sweden, thousands strong, whose existence would stop if ever their masks fell off
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Josienne Clarke and Ben Walker – the duo who annoy bearded men called BrianMeet the darlings of the folk world who found themselves criticised for wanting to do something different
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‘We’re all clinging to a rock, and some people have got a better grip than others’Nine years sober and back on tour, the Culture Club star talks about the power of positivity and why pop needs mystery
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Metallica's Master of PuppetsLars Ulrich: ‘There’s a fast song, a mid-tempo song, a ballad. It’s like food groups: you need your carbs, your protein’
quizzes
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How well do you know the life of Freddie Mercury?It’s the 25th anniversary of the death of the Queen frontman on 24 November – test your knowledge of his life and times
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How well do you know the Triple J Hottest 100? Try our infinite quizThis quiz features randomised questions dynamically generated from Hottest 100 data between 1993 and 2014
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From Jessie J to Jerry Lee, how well do you know this week in music history – quizIt’s our weekly test of your knowledge of pop arcania – come and have a go if you think you know enough
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Quiz – how well do you know this week in music history?A delinquent Door; a rapping Ramone; a generation of Whitesnakes; and a TV dispatch from our own correspondent
in pictures
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An artist through the years – in picturesThe Morrison Hotel Gallery is hosting Long May You Run, a retrospective of Neil Young, charts his rise from Buffalo Springfield to refusing to settle down in his 70s
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Robert Smith and the CureSince the 1980s, Melody Maker’s Tom Sheehan has captured the Cure’s ascent from the underbelly of British alternative rock to global stadium headliners. Now Sheehan – who was even enlisted as frontman Robert Smith’s official wedding photographer – has compiled a record of his journey with the band in a new book, In Between Days
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The Beatles in infographicsA pair of graphic designers and self-confessed Beatles geeks have mapped Fab Four trivia including the instruments they played, the outfits they wore and even some of their most famous press-conference quips
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Blondie, Paul McCartney and moreSince the 1970s, Ross Halfin has photographed the biggest names in rock and pop, capturing seminal shows by the Who, AC/DC and Led Zeppelin. Shots from his career will be exhibited at The Indulgence Show in London
you may have missed
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‘Drugs were a crutch for me’Abel Tesfaye’s tortured, genre-bending R&B has brought him millions of fans, a triple platinum album and collaborations with Daft Punk and Beyoncé. Will mainstream success make him happy?
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‘Being the voice of a generation is not a pretty place to be’Their seventh album made them superstars. But the fame cost REM a band member and, nearly, their friendships. In a rare interview, five years after splitting, they discuss legacy, Trump and why they’re still sorry for Shiny Happy People
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He knew things about life, and if you listened you could learnThe great musician was a man who used songwriting as a way of making sense of a bewildering world
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The rising music stars to look out forFrom squat rock to laptop futurism, 2016’s most creative music is being made away from focus groups, major labels and publicists. Meet the most exciting independent minds in music
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‘You can change a life in three minutes with the right song’The global superstar talks about the masculine facade of Donald Trump, the strength he inherited from his mother, the philosophy he shares with fans, and the joy he delivers on stage
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‘I sat in a room for 20 years, taking crack and watching the Alien films’In the 80s, the bitchy, ‘bloody gorgeous’ singer was groomed to be the next Boy George. Stardom beckoned – until drugs and a very lengthy breakdown got in the way
How we voted The best albums and tracks of 2016
The best track of 2016 Work by Rihanna
Classical music Andrew Clements' top 10 classical releases of 2016
Albums of the year 2016 Our readers respond