On June 19th, Bob Dylan released his 39th album, Rough and Rowdy Ways -- his first full length album of original songs in nearly a decade. Throughout his career, Dylan has followed moments of silence with something wholly new. In the mid-sixties, after a motorcycle accident brought Dylan’s creative and popular explosion to a halt, he retreated for a year and a half. Then, he released John Wesley Harding -- a stark and simple album with standouts like “All Along the Watchtower” and “I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine.” Thirty years later, Dylan released Time Out of Mind, after years of doing mostly folk cover albums. Time Out of Mind, produced by Daniel Lanois, had an atmospheric and dark quality never heard before in Dylan’s previous work. Similarly, Rough and Rowdy Ways sees Dylan breaking new ground again. Pitchfork Editor Puja Patel is joined by Staff Writer Sam Sodomsky and Contributing Editor Andy Cush as they break down Dylan’s comeback albums and discuss his most recent album.

On February 19th, 2020, Pop Smoke’s life was tragically cut short, when he was shot and killed at the age of 20. At the time of his death, the rapper was a leading light of Brooklyn drill, the hyper-local scene that had quickly become the premier NYC hip-hop subgenre. With hits like “Welcome to the Party” and “Dior,” Pop had helped reinvigorate interest in New York hip-hop overall. His posthumous album Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon was released on July 3. Listen to this week’s episode of The Pitchfork Review as Editor Puja Patel sits down with Pitchfork Staff Writer Alphonse Pierre and Contributing Writer Sheldon Pearce to discuss Pop Smoke’s come up and legacy, Brooklyn drill and its intersections with policing and protests, and the new album.

TikTok, the omnipresent fifteen-second video platform, has taken over social media. The app has also changed the landscape of the music industry, churning out chart-topping hits like Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” and DaBaby and Roddy Ricch’s “Rockstar” in the process. This summer, following the killing of George Floyd and nationwide protests, activists have co-opted dance and music TikToks in the name of racial justice. But can a supercapitalist app like TikTok really be a force for social change? Listen to this week's episode of The Pitchfork Review as Editor-in-Chief Puja Patel discusses this question, and more, with Pitchfork staffer Cat Zhang.

From the upcoming episode “The Revolution Will Be TikTok’d”, Pitchfork Staffer Cat Zhang shows us what it takes to make a TikTok hit—and why the music industry is taking notice.

Introducing The Pitchfork Review -- the music podcast you’ve always wanted, from the most trusted voice in music. Hosted by Puja Patel, editor in chief of Pitchfork, our brand new podcast launches on July 10th. Subscribe to get episodes right when they drop at midnight.