Louder: Fiona Apple Is Back and Unbound

April 17, 2020

By Caryn Ganz

Pop Music Editor

The buzz was palpable at midnight: *New Fiona Apple Album!* Apple’s first LP since 2012 arrived today, and our critics have so much insightful stuff to say about it. Lindsay Zoladz also spun through Apple’s back catalog for anyone looking for a refresher (or a place to start).

Jon Caramanica took a joyous tour of the various shades of the New York accent, and our graphics and video teams put it all together in a delightful package. It marked the first time the NYT published the word “yeeerrrrrrrr,” and in another piece this week, Jon wrote about the new “Trolls” movie (which is about music, you’ll see) and got the word “poptimists” in print. I am famously opposed to that term, but for the good of the story, we let it ride.

Jon Pareles explained the Strokes’ relationship to nostalgia (it’s not what you think); Ben Sisario and Graham Bowley reported on the latest concerns over ticketing, refunds and the pandemic; Elisabeth Vincentelli made a great list of rock docs (not the usual suspects!); and I yakked with Jon Caramanica about Dua Lipa on the Popcast.

(Note: if you didn’t get last week’s Dua Lipa-focused Louder, please email theplaylist@nytimes.com — I just realized I never got mine!)

The obituaries this week are again quite crushing. Jimmy Webb, the longtime manager of the East Village clothing shop Trash and Vaudeville, was one of my favorite local characters. I clearly remember the day I met him in 1999, when my friend stepped into the store to buy a motorcycle jacket. He was rock ’n’ roll to his core.

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Chad Batka for The New York Times

Fiona Apple Is Back and Unbound: Let’s Discuss

“Fetch the Bolt Cutters,” the singer and songwriter’s first album since 2012, is a bold, cathartic, challenging masterpiece. Our critics have a lot to say about it.

By Jon Pareles, Jon Caramanica, Wesley Morris and Lindsay Zoladz

Chad Batka for The New York Times

Playlist

Fiona Apple’s Essential Songs

In anticipation of “Fetch the Bolt Cutters,” her first new album in almost a decade, hear a quick trip through some of her best tracks.

By Lindsay Zoladz

Nicole Perlongo and Jennifer Jade Roberts

How Does a New Yawker Tawk?

The #BestNYAccent challenge on Instagram brought out the sound of an unflappable city.

By Jon Caramanica, Noah Throop and Shane O’Neill

THE CRITICS AND POPCAST

album review

On ‘The New Abnormal,’ the Strokes Flip Nostalgia Toward the Future

The band’s sixth album, produced by Rick Rubin, makes clear that the group never intended to reincarnate garage rock or proto-punk.

By Jon Pareles

the playlist

Bon Iver’s Plea, and 8 More New Songs

Hear tracks by the Streets, Norah Jones, American Football and others.

By Jon Pareles, Jon Caramanica and Giovanni Russonello

critic’s notebook

‘Trolls World Tour,’ a Kids’ Music Movie, Has Big Problems With Pop

Rock tries to rule the other genres in this sequel to “Trolls,” but the real lesson is about how pop has been a conqueror for generations.

By Jon Caramanica

Dua Lipa, Dance-Pop Crusader

The English pop star has given fans an upbeat album at a very dark time.

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REPORT

Erika Gerdemark for The New York Times

New York Lawmaker Asks for Probe Into Ticketing Refund Policies

As consumers seek refunds for events postponed because of the pandemic, one state senator has taken action, and the concert giant AEG has set a window for returning fans’ money.

By Ben Sisario and Graham Bowley

DIVE IN!

critic’s notebook

Stream and Shout: 10 Underseen Rock Documentaries

Missing live music in person? Here are 10 films that will make you feel as if you are there, even on your couch.

By Elisabeth Vincentelli

How the ‘Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World’ Got Its Logo

On the 50th anniversary of his famous “tongue and lips” emblem for the Rolling Stones, John Pasche says he had no expectations it would become so famous, or lucrative.

By Joobin Bekhrad

OBITUARIES

Jimmy Webb, Purveyor of Punk Fashion, Is Dead at 62

He wasn’t a rocker himself, but as the manager of the East Village clothing emporium Trash and Vaudeville, he was a proud bearer of the punk-glam torch.

By Penelope Green

those we’ve lost

Lee Konitz, Jazz Saxophonist Who Blazed His Own Trail, Dies at 92

He was a pioneer of the cool school, but he resisted pigeonholing and focused on “making a personal statement.” He died of complications of the coronavirus.

By Peter Keepnews