
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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More than 50 years after the release of her first album, Raitt's voice remains a subtle instrument: earthy with an ache around the edges. Its sly intimacy is, as always, a deep pleasure.
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Last year, a catchy song called "Chaise Longue" became a breakout hit for a duo of 20-something women from the Isle of Wight. Wet Leg's new self titled album is full of more clever entertainment.
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McCoury's been prominent in bluegrass since the 1960s, when he performed in Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys. His new album, with sons Rob and Ronnie, in an energetic work that also takes a dark turn.
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Mitski claims new ground on her sixth album, spreading herself across different kinds of pop music with each new song. The result is more varied than anything she's created thus far.
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Burns is known for finding fresh takes on big topics, but his new eight-part PBS series about country music treads a well-worn path, leaning heavily on the biggest stars and the most obvious ideas.