, Slate music critic Carl Wilson emails with fellow critics this year, Rolling Stone staff writer Brittany Spanos, New York Times contributor Lindsay Zoladz, and four special guests about the year in music.
Chris, as always, thank you for indulging my request for chart nerdery. I too harbor an outsized disdain for the modern phenomenon that is the here-today-gone-tomorrow No. 1 chart debut, which too often feels like an artist’s attempt to game an algorithm rather than create a genuinely appealing piece of music the streaming-service version of clickbait. And while I agree that “Trollz” was probably the year’s worst offender infamously, after debuting at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in June, it fell to No. 34 the following week, setting a record for the steepest plunge from the top of the chart I’m hard pressed to think of two people who hold the integrity of the Billboard chart to account as diligently as you and your supposed nemesis Tekashi 6ix9ine. Now there’s a TikTok duet
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Back in late February, when COVID-19 was an ominous but still-uncertain threat, Megan James held out hope for a big year on tour.
Purity Ring, her L.A.-based electronic duo, had locked an April 3 release for its third LP, “Womb.” It had gone five years between albums and ached to hit the road with new material. The duo had booked a June hometown show at the 4,000-capacity Hollywood Palladium, with a global tour to follow.
But the band got nervous as South by Southwest, then Coachella, announced postponements. Should it push things back? Maybe this would all be over in a few weeks?