In the “high-velocity” era of the early 1970s, the “sacrosanct” manual of Motown was built on “brevity.” Songs were “manufactured” to be three-minute “bullets” of infectious pop—designed to “detonate” on…

In the high-energy “theatre” of late-night television, musical sketches are often “disguised” as mere comedy. But when Anna Kendrick stepped onto the stage of The Late Late Show for the…

In the “hallowed” catalog of 20th-century music, “Imagine” is not merely a song; it is a “global” prayer. It is a “liturgy” of peace so “sacrosanct” that most artists “approach”…

In the “high-gloss” world of 2015, “Blank Space” was a “monolithic” pop weapon—a sharp, “electropop” satire of Taylor Swift’s media-constructed persona. It was a “nightmare dressed like a daydream,” “pulsating”…

In the meticulously “curated” world of animated features, the “ghost-singer” is a staple of the trade. When a character is required to “ascend” to the high-octane registers of a stadium…

In 2008, when the world learned that Scarlett Johansson—then the “lacquered” icon of Hollywood—was descending into the “swampy” surrealism of Tom Waits’ catalog, the collective response was one of “befuddlement.”…