Louder: Sean Combs, from Harlem to stardom to federal court
Plus: Rilo Kiley, Beyoncé live, Buddy Guy on “Sinners” and more
Louder

May 3, 2025

On Monday, jury selection begins for the trial of Sean Combs, the music mogul charged with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. Ben Sisario has provided a great place to start: a detailed, fascinating look at Combs’s life from his childhood in Mount Vernon, N.Y., up through his arrest last fall spotlighting the many moments he escaped serious consequences.

This week we also had a bounty of profiles: Blondshell, the alt-rock singer-songwriter who released her second album on Friday; Gigi Perez, the artist behind the TikTok breakout “Sailor Song,” whose new LP is steeped in grief; Rilo Kiley, the early 2000s indie-rock heroes who are returning after a 15-year pause with a very refreshing perspective; plus a look at the artwork Daniel Johnston left behind, an introduction to the roving impromptu beatmaker AriAtHome, and spotlights on the Pavement movie (documentary? something else, maybe?) and “Sinners,” including a delightful conversation with Buddy Guy, who appears in the film.

And new music from 10 artists (including Barbra Streisand) on Jon Pareles’s Playlist and six genre-smashing recent songs selected by Joe Coscarelli, plus a Critic’s Pick review of Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter Tour from Jon Caramanica.

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Ariel Fisher for The New York Times

How Blondshell Became an Alt-Rock Supernova

Sabrina Teitelbaum bares it all in her raw, crunchy songs. On her second album, “If You Asked for a Picture,” she’s weighing how much of herself to give away.

By Olivia Horn

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Sinna Nasseri for The New York Times

The Resurrection of Rilo Kiley

Two and a half decades since the group won the hearts of a young generation — and more than 15 years after calling it quits — the indie-rock heroes are hitting the road.

By Reggie Ugwu

A woman in a blue shirt and overalls holds a large longhaired cat in front of white shelves stocked with books and knickknacks.

OK McCausland for The New York Times

What Comes After Trauma and a TikTok Hit? Gigi Perez Is Finding Out.

The artist, 25, struck platinum with “Sailor Song.” Her debut album is a tribute to her lost sister, and an attempt to make sense of a few rudderless years.

By Dani Blum

Plastic frog figurines in brown, red, yellow and blue sit on a shelf.

What the Cult Singer Daniel Johnston Left Behind

In his music, the songwriter cut to the emotional quick. A new book of his drawings, many never seen before, reveals he did the same in thousands of pieces.

By Grayson Haver Currin and Eli Durst

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Vincent Tullo for The New York Times

AriAtHome Walks the Streets, Making Beats (and New Friends)

The one-man band Ari Miller creates music on the fly and invites anyone to hop on the mic. The result has become an online sensation, and a type of community.

By Tristan Geary and Vincent Tullo

PLAYLISTS

Barbra Streisand, in a black pantsuit, sings into a microphone onstage while standing next to a small table holding a pot of tea and a flower in a thin vase.

The Playlist

Barbra Streisand’s Silky Duet With Hozier, and 9 More New Songs

Hear tracks by Summer Walker, Nilüfer Yanya, Ed Sheeran and others.

By Jon Pareles

A figure in a goth black outfit, wearing a mask and carrying a sword.

6 (Genre-Smashing) New Songs You Should Hear Now

Hit play on Sleep Token, Cortisa Star, Bon Iver and more.

By Joe Coscarelli

‘SINNERS’

A man onstage wears a yellow Stratocaster and waves his hands in the air. He’s sporting striped overalls over a black shirt with large white polka dots.

Buddy Guy on ‘Sinners’: ‘This May Help the Blues Stay Alive’

The guitarist and singer, who turns 89 in July, discusses his role in Ryan Coogler’s musical horror drama and his promise to Muddy Waters and B.B. King.

By Mesfin Fekadu

Popcast

‘Sinners,’ the Blues and Fighting for Artistic Control

Unpacking the Ryan Coogler movie starring Michael B. Jordan, and its relationship to music, genre and gatekeeping.

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1 HR 6 MIN LISTEN

Two men, one with a mustache and beard, hold each other closely with distressed expressions as they look into the distance. The scene is dimly lit with a warm, orange glow, suggesting tension or fear.

Anatomy of a Scene

Conjuring the Past and Future of Black Music in ‘Sinners’

The writer and director Ryan Coogler narrates a sequence from his film.

By Mekado Murphy

‘PAVEMENTS’

A man holds his hand to his cheek. Projected behind him on a screen, another man makes the same gesture.

Utopia

‘Pavements’ Blurs Fact and Fiction to Reimagine a Band’s Legacy

The director Alex Ross Perry said Stephen Malkmus of Pavement told him to “avoid the legacy trap.” The result is a music documentary with made-up elements that really existed. What?

By David Renard

In a movie still, a man with a red electric guitar slung around his body reaches his hands out. Next to him is a microphone stand.

Utopia

Documentary Lens

‘Pavements’: A Sly Ode to the Last Band You’d Give the Biopic Treatment

Part spoof and part serious, the film is about mythmaking as much as it is about music. The result is delightfully destabilizing.

By Alissa Wilkinson

CLASSICAL, THEATER & TV

A conductor leads a small jazz ensemble on a wood-paneled stage.

Carla Bley’s 1970s Experimental Masterpiece Gets a Belated Premiere

Cultic and unclassifiable — “clearly some sort of monstrous hybrid” — Bley’s “Escalator Over the Hill,” a 1971 album, is being staged at the New School.

By Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim

A man in a light-blue sequined blazer and dark blue pants sings and dances onstage. Behind are three dancers in short sequined dresses.