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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Once known as a loud bar band, Low Cut Connie bends classic rock to meet ever-more complex emotionalism. The resulting album is filled with songs about lovers, losers and beautiful dreamers.
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Prince's creativity is more impressive than ever on a new version of his highly praised 1987 album — now with three discs of previously unreleased material.
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Guyton's hit song, off her EP Bridges, is about feeling like a stranger in one's own land. The issues Guyton raises pose new challenges — not just to country music, but to our country itself.
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The musical trio met in college and are now making some of the catchiest tunes around. Their sound features a guitarist, a drummer and one lead singer — who's also a classically trained cellist.
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Looking for music that's soothing without being sentimental? Listen to "Guilty," by Courtney Marie Andrews; "Sleeping Without You Is a Dragg," by Swamp Dogg; and "End of My Rope," by Pokey LaFarge.
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Alessia Cara's "Rooting for You," Megan Thee Stallion's "Hot Girl Summer," and Bon Iver's "U (Man Like)" offer three different takes on — and moods for — the summer.
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The Unseen In Between, by instrumentalist-turned-singer-songwriter Gunn, and True North, by veteran folk musician Chapman, both use the guitar to explore the mysteries of life.
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Emotions like lust and love serve as metaphors for social and political struggles on Lamar's new album. Critic Ken Tucker says the music on DAMN. signals the artist's bold refusal to back down.
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The Philadelphia-based quartet idealizes youth and innocence on its new album. Critic Ken Tucker says the nostalgia on After The Partyis "mostly free of excess sentimentality."
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The country singer teams up with producer Lenny Kaye on her new record of spiritual songs. Critic Ken Tucker says the result is one of the most distinctive recordings he's heard in a while.
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Though the Tennessee-born musician lives in Brooklyn now, she still takes inspiration from the Gospel music she grew up with. Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews June's latest album.
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Critic Ken Tucker reviews the British group The xx's third album. "Beneath its sleek beauty, there's a fresh joyousness ... that at its best is something close to inspirational," he says of I See You.