By Phil Baker Going to a concert or basketball game normally involves buying a ticket, passing through security and finding your seat. If you go to Madison Square Garden your face may be scanned and matched against a database. A…

By Douglas Heselgrave The first day of spring. The bees from our hive were buzzing around my head as I pulled out buttercups and planted arugula seeds. Morning dew burned off the grass and the sun rose above the Blue…

By Jim Wallis The music journal Aquarium Drunkard has been shining a light on an eclectic selection of incredible music for the last 20 years. In their own words, “AD traces the connective tissue between contemporary sounds and the outer…

By Phil Baker - NYA Clive Davis, the legendary music executive whose influence shaped popular music for more than half a century, died Monday at his home in Manhattan. He was 94. Few people outside the spotlight have had a…

Senior Chief Update Dear listeners and writers, There are several items that have come to my attention from your letters to the NYA “letters to the editors” section of the Times Contrarian. And of course they were interesting queries that…

We think that music and art should be made by humans and not artificial intelligence. We are the Knights of Molino - a San Francisco Bay Area punk band. Support local bands and come to a show! 5/23 - Phoenix…

by Astrid Young Being an indie musician is not for the faint of heart. Music has steadily been devalued; the only way you can earn a living is on the road, and only a select few actually make money from…

NYA view by Phil Baker In a newly published essay on May 19 for Rolling Stone, former President Barack Obama examines the role that music plays in shaping American history and social progress. Obama opens the piece with a personal…

By Joel Gouveia How skip culture, the 30-second rule, and your 15-second attention span killed the greatest art form in modern music. The 45-Minute Ritual I remember the smell of the plastic wrap. There was a specific, tactile ritual to…

A street anthem for Freedom’s gladiators. NYA Thanks Nils and Amy Lofgren!

Barack Obama's summer playlist is an annual music playlist curated by former President of the United States Barack Obama. The president has shared a playlist, curated by himself, most summers since 2015. The 2026 playlist, released on July 30, 2026,…

By Douglas Heselgrave The world record that Neil Young sings about on his so-named 42nd studio album isn’t one that anyone’s likely going to want to lay claim to or take credit for. Climate change, dirty water, air the color…

By TMZ Staff Katy Perry just exploded on President Trump's administration for using her hit 2010 song, "Firework," in a social media video that shows missile attacks by the U.S. government. Katy shared the fiery tweet Saturday morning in response…

By Rob Sheffield Real Young and Lazy Horse are a group of New York DIY lifers who play four-hour sets for the sheer love of it. It’s made them one of the most fun live acts in rock “We’re almost…

By Phil Baker - NYA For years, the music streaming market has been dominated by a handful of giant platforms competing to become all-purpose entertainment hubs. Music, podcasts, audiobooks, videos, and advertising increasingly share the same space, often leaving the…

Recording ‘Second Song’, my next studio album for Reprise records, was a lifetime experience. First, the music was breathing. Every song of the seven released on this album is straight form the heart. Second, we tried to do something we…

By Lauren Gould A musician offers tips to helping your favorite artists thrive – from switching streamers to buying merch Each week we cut through the noise to bring you smart, practical recommendations on how to live better – from…

by Bob Lefsetz On the other hand… I mean I’m sitting there at Musicares… All those label people? They don’t attend anymore, that’s not where the money is, it’s all in live. And Mariah Carey was honored and it was weird,…

By Douglas Heselgrave If Neil Young reads his own press, he must be out there, somewhere, having a good laugh. His new album Chrome Dreams II is the sequel to a record he made in 1977 but never released, and…

By Douglas Heselgrave Expectations don’t often live up to reality. Fortunately, that’s not true of Hitchhiker, Neil Young’s most recent archival release. Like two of his other “great lost” records, Homegrown and Chrome Dreams, it has become the subject of…

By Douglas Heselgrave When I was just out of my teens, I left my home in Vancouver, Canada to travel around Europe, hoping that the time away would help me decide what to do with the rest of my life.…

By Douglas Heselgrave I am sure that you have been in this situation before. You have two friends and you love them both, but for almost completely different reasons. Taken individually, there’s no problem, but you worry about how it’d…

By Douglas Heselgrave Neil Young has been an artist for his whole life. He’s released a record almost every year for sixty years. He’s toured generously. Solo acoustic, CSNY, Stray Gators, Crazy Horse, Blue Notes, Promise of the Real, Chrome…

Music - Neil Young, Beck, and Lana Del Rey Join us for *Harvest Moon: a Daytime Benefit Concert* featuring Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts, Beck, and special guest Lana Del Rey on Saturday, October 25th at The Painted Turtle…

MICHAEL BONNER 8/10, Vital document from Young's 2025 live shows Seasoned Rusties disappointed that Neil cancelled his 2026 UK dates can, at least, draw solace from this splendid live album recorded last year in Europe during his inaugural tour with…

On the recent full moon we were mastering our new untitled album. It’s quite a special album to me. Music is a gift and when it comes like this I really feel it. Everything here feels so good. I hope…

By Lauren Feiner This verdict is the first step toward a potential breakup of Live Nation-Ticketmaster. Live Nation-Ticketmaster is an illegal monopolist, a Manhattan jury found, according to Bloomberg. The jury found the company liable on three counts: illegally monopolizing…

By Lauren Feiner Even offering ‘retaliation insurance’ wasn’t enough, a rival company’s CEO claims. SeatGeek was close to a deal that would bring its ticketing business to the next level. The company was in negotiations with the Dallas Cowboys, aiming…

By Ben Beaumont-Thomas Queen guitarist says ‘everyone is thinking twice about going there at the moment’ when asked about touring plans Queen guitarist Brian May has ruled out touring in the US for the foreseeable future, because of the potential…

Emerging stars are starting to critique Trump’s immigration crackdown – defying the genre’s legacy of conservatism Thanksgiving did not go the way that Frank Ray had anticipated. The country singer had invited his family up from Texas to Tennessee for…