Hot Takes

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  Hot-Take Reactions to Charli XCX's 'BRAT' Remix Album: Caroline Polachek Is Romantic, but the 1975 Are a Knife

  PUBLISHED Oct 11, 2024

  The modern album rollout can feel like a clinical exercise in algorithmic optimization: artists waterfall four or five singles until the...

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  Hot-Take Reactions to Coldplay's 'Moon Music': An Inspirational ~Coexist~ Album Nearly Rescued by Jon Hopkins

  PUBLISHED Oct 4, 2024

  In a music market dominated by solo pop artists, Coldplay are the biggest band in the world, and it's not even close. At least nominally...

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  Hot-Take Reactions to Sabrina Carpenter's 'Short n' Sweet': 'Looney Tunes' Horniness and the "Big Three" Pop Stars of 2024

  PUBLISHED Aug 23, 2024

  That's that me espresso. With a few nonsense words and a cheery funk groove, Sabrina Carpenter instantly went from just another pop hopeful...

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  Hot-Take Reactions to Taylor Swift's 'The Tortured Poets Department': Gossip That Outshines Murky Production

  PUBLISHED Apr 19, 2024

  We're nearing the halfway point of this decade, and it's hard to think of a moment of it that hasn't been dominated by Taylor Swift...

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  Hot-Take Reactions to Beyoncé's 'COWBOY CARTER': Country Cred and Pop Music's Flop Era

  PUBLISHED Mar 29, 2024

  Beyoncé's 'COWBOY CARTER' is the first true "event" album of 2024 — the kind of moment where the rest of the music world grinds to a halt...

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  Hot-Take Reactions to Taylor Swift's 'Midnights': A Return to Synthpop, Autobiographical Lyrics and the Word "Fuck"

  PUBLISHED Oct 21, 2022

  After weeks of buildup and exactly zero singles, Taylor Swift finally dropped Midnights at, well, the stroke of midnight. Three hours later...