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Articles by Chris Richards
‘There’s not a lot of Black stories made by Black creatives in theater’: inside Kwame Kwei-Armah’s new TLC musical
CrazySexyCool, an ambitious new musical about the visionary 90s trio TLC at Arena Stage in Washington DC, aspires to make good on its title and then some.
"Kein Risiko": Rotation beim US-Team
Zum Schutz seiner gelbvorbelasteten Profis wird US-Trainer Mauricio Pochettino im abschließenden WM-Gruppenspiel gegen die Türkei rotieren.
Music unlocks memories and good conversation with Jack Coyne
Music unlocks memories and good conversation with Jack Coyne (washingtonpost.com) Music unlocks memories and good conversation with Jack Coyne By Chris Richards 2026020912021500 Online and off-, music freaks are a motley, opinionated bunch — but if there's any harmony to be felt on social media, it might be that "Track Star" is the most reliably delightful offering in everyone's daily scrolling on TikTok and Instagram. That is, if people could agree on what "Track Star" is. A quiz show?
The most important sound at this year’s Grammys? Free speech.
The most important sound at this year’s Grammys? Free speech. (washingtonpost.com) The most important sound at this year’s Grammys? Free speech. By Chris Richards 2026020212380500 For many years — if not 68 of them — the Grammy Awards has been staged inside a bubble of money, glitz and good manners. For the American record industry, it's a televised trophy show that prevents inconvenient American realities from leaking in. We feel it each year with the prize snubs alone.
The most important sound at this year’s Grammys? Free speech.
Sarah Sherman Went Off Script And Scolded The SNL Audience For Their Reaction To Her Dress Seriously, where were the woos? We normally think of Saturday Night Live’s topical sketches as being about politics or celebrities doing something …
The 2026 Grammys performances, ranked from best to worst Original
The 2026 Grammys performances, ranked from best to worst (washingtonpost.com) The 2026 Grammys performances, ranked from best to worst Highlights of the awards show included Lauryn Hill, Lady Gaga, Lola Young and an explosive Tyler, the Creator.
Nice Breeze is taking its lo-fi sound to new heights Original
Nice Breeze is taking its lo-fi sound to new heights (washingtonpost.com) Nice Breeze is taking its lo-fi sound to new heights By Chris Richards 2026012718410500 "Everything Disappears" is a pretty great album title for a band that keeps sticking around.
December brings great rap albums. Accept the gifts.
I was made aware of the new 21 Savage album two weekends ago when a midsize Toyota pulled up to a Christmas tree lot pumping “Where You From,” the opening track on “What Happened to the Streets?,” now charting third on the Billboard 200. Grim tune, but hearing it this way flooded my brain with happiness.
My year of not listening to AI-generated pop music Original
My year of not listening to AI-generated pop music (washingtonpost.com) My year of not listening to AI-generated pop music By Chris Richards 2025123110004600 We're told that AI was inescapable in pop music this year, but I escaped just fine. In July, when journalists revealed that the Velvet Sundown, a rising new rock quartet on Spotify, was, in fact, a fake band created with artificial intelligence, I chose not to listen to the songs.
Column | December brings great rap albums. Accept the gifts. Original
I was made aware of the new 21 Savage album two weekends ago when a midsize Toyota pulled up to a Christmas tree lot pumping “Where You From,” the opening track on “What Happened to the Streets?,” now charting third on the Billboard 200. Grim tune, but hearing it this way flooded my brain with happiness.
The top 10 albums of 2025
Skip to Content • You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account. Addison Rae attends Variety's 9th Annual Hitmakers Brunch at Nya Studios on Dec. 6, 2025 in Los Angeles. /Getty Images My favourite albums of 2025 weren’t exactly magic tricks, but you had to listen to them closely to keep from getting head-faked. A country music traditionalist was the freshest in his field. A middle-aged rapper sounded more alive than many half his age.
The top 10 albums of 2025
Author of the article: Washington Post Chris Richards, The Washington Post Published Dec 24, 2025 • 5 minute read You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account. Addison Rae attends Variety's 9th Annual Hitmakers Brunch at Nya Studios on Dec. 6, 2025 in Los Angeles. Photo by Monica Schipper /Getty Images Article content My favourite albums of 2025 weren’t exactly magic tricks, but you had to listen to them closely to keep from getting head-faked.
The top 10 albums of 2025
Author of the article: Washington Post Chris Richards, The Washington Post Published Dec 24, 2025 • 5 minute read Addison Rae attends Variety's 9th Annual Hitmakers Brunch at Nya Studios on Dec. 6, 2025 in Los Angeles. Photo by Monica Schipper /Getty Images Article content My favourite albums of 2025 weren’t exactly magic tricks, but you had to listen to them closely to keep from getting head-faked. A country music traditionalist was the freshest in his field.
The top 10 albums of 2025
Author of the article: Washington Post Chris Richards, The Washington Post Published Dec 24, 2025 • 5 minute read You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account. Addison Rae attends Variety's 9th Annual Hitmakers Brunch at Nya Studios on Dec. 6, 2025 in Los Angeles. Photo by Monica Schipper /Getty Images Article content My favourite albums of 2025 weren’t exactly magic tricks, but you had to listen to them closely to keep from getting head-faked.
5 recordings from D.C. artists that make yesterday sound like tomorrow
When worriers worry about our city’s current music scene being overshadowed by its proud history, I try to argue the opposite: We’re illuminated by that history. No matter the style — punk, jazz, go-go, anything, everything — the music made in Washington in previous decades helps us better understand our musical pathways, giving today’s scene an assortment of torches to carry.
The top 10 albums of 2025
Generate Key Takeaways My favorite albums of 2025 weren’t exactly magic tricks, but you had to listen to them closely to keep from getting head-faked. A country music traditionalist was the freshest in his field. A middle-aged rapper sounded more alive than many half his age. There were conceptual pop albums with concepts that didn’t matter, and a TikTok superstar who was better at singing hooks than dancing to them.
Geese is the best new band you’re sick of hearing good things about
There are no rules in rock and roll, except for maybe these two: It is good for bands to be ambitious, and it is good for audiences to be skeptical of those ambitions. It has been one of rock’s animating frictions across a 75-year transformation from ecstatic counterculture to corporatized mass culture to the slow-dying digital mystery culture that we struggle to make sense of today.
Column | Geese is the best new band you’re sick of hearing good things about Original
There are no rules in rock-and-roll, except for maybe these two: It is good for bands to be ambitious, and it is good for audiences to be skeptical of those ambitions. It’s been one of rock’s animating frictions across a 75-year transformation from ecstatic counterculture to corporatized mass culture to the slow-dying digital mystery culture that we struggle to make sense of today.
Howard Wuelfing chronicled the dawn of D.C. punk. The stories still echo.
Howard Wuelfing chronicled the dawn of D.C. punk. The stories still echo. (washingtonpost.com) Howard Wuelfing chronicled the dawn of D.C. punk. The stories still echo. By Chris Richards 2025111919005600 As the 1970s were dying down, the D.C. punk scene was coming alive, and Howard Wuelfing — a young rock writer transplanted from New Jersey — was noticing that no one had really bothered to notice.
Playboi Carti might be the greatest vanishing act rap has ever seen Original
Playboi Carti might be the greatest vanishing act rap has ever seen (washingtonpost.com) Playboi Carti might be the greatest vanishing act rap has ever seen By Chris Richards 2025111222033700 First question from the Playboi Carti concert: Where's Playboi Carti? Up there, somewhere.
Abe Mamet is making quiet music for a noisy world
Abe Mamet is making quiet music for a noisy world (washingtonpost.com) Abe Mamet is making quiet music for a noisy world By Chris Richards 2025111218252500 The Abe Mamet Septet is a cool, quiet, counterintuitive thing.
Rosalía made one of the year’s most demanding pop albums. Listen closely. Original
Rosalía made one of the year’s most demanding pop albums. Listen closely. (washingtonpost.com) Rosalía made one of the year’s most demanding pop albums. Listen closely. By Chris Richards 2025111020125500 Let's try to keep calm, because, for all of its ambition and grandeur, this new Rosalía album, "Lux," demands a sharpened mind more than a blown one.
Music’s biggest night is finally changing its tune on rap Original
Music’s biggest night is finally changing its tune on rap (washingtonpost.com) Music’s biggest night is finally changing its tune on rap By Chris Richards 2025110719352500 Clutching his lustrous new hardware on the dais at the Grammys back in February, hip-hop colossus Kendrick Lamar delivered a few words in a serious voice: "At the end of the day, [there's] nothing more powerful than rap music." Was he speaking truth or prophecy?
This Springsteen movie doesn’t live up to the album that inspired it
• • You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account. Article content In most biopics, when a rock star drops cold cash on a hot car, things tend to be looking up. Not for Bruce Springsteen. In Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere – about the making of his fraught 1982 album, Nebraska – our hero splurges on a Camaro with an ink-black paint job as dark as his headspace.
This Springsteen movie doesn’t live up to the album that inspired it Original
This Springsteen movie doesn’t live up to the album that inspired it (washingtonpost.com) This Springsteen movie doesn’t live up to the album that inspired it By Chris Richards 2025102216014300 In most biopics, when a rock star drops cold cash on a hot car, things tend to be looking up. Not for Bruce Springsteen. In "Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere" — about the making of his fraught 1982 album, "Nebraska" — our hero splurges on a Camaro with an ink-black paint job as dark as his headspace.
The 34 best things to do in D.C. this weekend and next week
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Generate Key Takeaways If the nip in the evening air didn’t hint that we’re getting close to Halloween, this week’s calendar surely will: There are pumpkin patches, pumpkin-carving contests, pet costume parades and a family pumpkin festival with pumpkin painting and spooky stories.
By Fritz Hahn Verified, Sophia Solano Verified, Adele Chapin Verified, Chris Richards, Chris Kelly Verified
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Yahoo Entertainment
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Bri3 is turning teenage intuition into rainbow-bright rap music
Bri3 is turning teenage intuition into rainbow-bright rap music (washingtonpost.com) Bri3 is turning teenage intuition into rainbow-bright rap music By Chris Richards 2025101515202400 Bri3 is a teenage rap phenom who can make trash talk sound like a pep talk. How? By drenching her rhymes in melodic colors and inviting everyone to join in the fun.
D’Angelo showed us what the 21st century should sound like
On the first day of the century, the sun decided to come up. Everyone’s computers blinked on, and the end-times hadn’t come. But we still couldn’t shake the question mark hanging over America, if not earthly existence: What happens to us now?
D’Angelo showed us what the 21st century should sound like
D’Angelo showed us what the 21st century should sound like (washingtonpost.com) D’Angelo showed us what the 21st century should sound like By Chris Richards 2025101421234500 On the first day of the century, the sun decided to come up. Everyone's computers blinked on, and the end-times hadn't come. But we still couldn't shake the question mark hanging over America, if not earthly existence: What happens to us now?
Soul survival: D’Angelo’s ‘Black Messiah’ marks a masterful comeback against all odds
A miracle. What a silly, sentimental idea. Especially at this time of year. But what else can we call this thing? After a 14-year absence marked by cataclysmic falls from grace and various false-start comebacks, D’Angelo’s new album, “Black Messiah,” dropped out of the heavens on Sunday night.
Rafiq Bhatia’s idea of jazz has grown into a force of nature
Rafiq Bhatia’s idea of jazz has grown into a force of nature (washingtonpost.com) Rafiq Bhatia’s idea of jazz has grown into a force of nature By Chris Richards 2025100915004400 Talking about "Environments" — a broad, beautiful new album from the jazz-adjacent guitarist Rafiq Bhatia — is like talking about the weather. Squint your ears at the tech Bhatia uses to make his sunshine and you're talking meteorology. Surrender to his music's big-sky grandeur and it's more like metaphysics.
Taylor Swift returns with an album of mixed emotions — and mixed results Original
Taylor Swift returns with an album of mixed emotions — and mixed results (washingtonpost.com) Taylor Swift returns with an album of mixed emotions — and mixed results By Chris Richards 2025100314190200 Here's the plan: You're an apex superstar tasked with one-upping the most lucrative pop tour our planet has ever seen, so you travel to Sweden to build a sunshine bomb with god-level hitmaker Max Martin, BYO photons and fructose. Foolproof, right?
Punk’s next frontier: Revolutionizing the rock-and-roll memoir? Original
Punk’s next frontier: Revolutionizing the rock-and-roll memoir? (washingtonpost.com) Punk’s next frontier: Revolutionizing the rock-and-roll memoir? By Chris Richards 2025100309001000 According to everyone who saw them back in the '80s, Swiz was a punch in the face. So why, at a crowded show in June, did the band's music sound like amplified food processors whirring inside an empty Quonset hut?
Dogo du Togo and the Alagaa Beat Band want to transport you
We value music for its illusive ability to transport us, but Dogo du Togo takes the idea quite literally. “I want this music to give people joy,” the Togo-born bandleader said of his songcraft on a recent afternoon inside his Petworth home. “Joy to the point where they’re like, ‘Whoa, I need to go discover Togo. I need to go visit that country so I can understand more of what’s going on there.’”
The 31 best things to do in D.C. this weekend and next week
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Generate Key Takeaways First things first: The government is shut down. The Smithsonian museums and National Zoo are operating at least through Monday, and the National Gallery of Art has said it is operating through Saturday. Also, bars, theaters, museums and sports teams are offering freebies and discounts to furloughed federal workers. We have a separate (and growing) list of those specials. Also, you may have heard that Taylor Swift’s new album is dropping early Friday morning.
By Fritz Hahn Verified, Sophia Solano Verified, Adele Chapin Verified, Chris Richards, Chris Kelly Verified
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Yahoo Entertainment
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Addison Rae stepped into reality and became the perfect pop star
Generate Key Takeaways It was Tuesday night in America, and Addison Rae was singing “Diet Pepsi,” an ode to kissing some boy between soda sips in the back seat of his car, and before you could decide whether she had been conjuring Madonna, Enya, Lana Del Rey or a forgotten plot point from “Twin Peaks,” every molecule in the room suddenly moved in the wrong direction. “Diet Pepsi” ends with a key change, but not the kind we would expect.
What if Doja Cat stays normal forever? Original
What if Doja Cat stays normal forever? (washingtonpost.com) What if Doja Cat stays normal forever? By Chris Richards 2025092618194500 The cow isn't coming home. It's been seven long years since Doja Cat sauntered across these lush pop pastures with "Mooo!," a breakout single in which the young singer-rapper fearlessly declared, "B----, I'm a cow. B----, I'm a cow.
The 39 best things to do in D.C. this weekend and next week
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Generate Key Takeaways This is a huge weekend for neighborhood festivals, with the H Street Festival bringing music, dancing, fashion, art, food and drinks to 12 pedestrianized blocks of H Street NE on Saturday, and Columbia Heights Day returning to 11th Street NW on Sunday. Hyattsville gets in the act with the annual Hyattsville Art Festival, with more than 100 artists and vendors alongside music and a local beer garden. DC Theatre Week kicks off with two weeks of discounted shows and events.
By Fritz Hahn Verified, Sophia Solano Verified, Adele Chapin Verified, Chris Kelly Verified, Chris Richards
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Yahoo Entertainment
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The 39 best things to do in D.C. this weekend and next week
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The 39 best things to do in D.C. this weekend and next week (washingtonpost.com) The 39 best things to do in D.C. this weekend and next week By Fritz Hahn; Sophia Solano; Adele Chapin; Chris Kelly; Chris Richards 2025091813375400 This is a huge weekend for neighborhood festivals, with the H Street Festival bringing music, dancing, fashion, art, food and drinks to 12 pedestrianized blocks of H Street NE on Saturday, and Columbia Heights Day returning to 11th Street NW on Sunday.
By Fritz Hahn Verified, Sophia Solano Verified, Adele Chapin Verified, Chris Kelly Verified, Chris Richards
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The Washington Post
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El Cousteau grew up to become your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper
El Cousteau grew up to become your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper (washingtonpost.com) El Cousteau grew up to become your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper By Chris Richards 2025091021121100 Never seen a unicorn, but I have seen a bespectacled teenager shout rhymes through his braces while riding a skateboard on his belly through the streets of Washington, D.C. You can, too.
Oasis is back. And this time, the whole world is singing along.
Is this what it’s like to participate in the tying of cosmic loose ends? (Photo by Big Brother Recordings) EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – So what’s this Oasis reunion really all about? Pomp. Circumstance. Second chances. Picking up where we left off. Nostalgic comfort. Ego maintenance. Fraternal reconciliation, maybe. Cash flow, definitely. A confusingly disproportionate amount of fame generated by four extraordinary songs. Loud thrills with strangers in the dark. Laughter. Belonging.
El regreso de Oasis estimula el poder de la música como ritual colectivo de varias generaciones
¿De qué se trata realmente esta reunión de Oasis? Pompa. Circunstancia. Segundas oportunidades. Retomar donde lo dejamos. Consuelo nostálgico. Mantenimiento del ego. Reconciliación fraternal, tal vez. Flujo de efectivo, sin duda. Una cantidad desconcertantemente desproporcionada de fama generada por cuatro canciones extraordinarias. Emociones fuertes con desconocidos en la oscuridad. Risas. Pertenencia. Comunión entre las generaciones X-Y-Z. Noche de karaoke para la humanidad.
From Addison Rae to Iggy Pop, here are the fall’s best pop concerts Original
From Addison Rae to Iggy Pop, here are the fall’s best pop concerts (washingtonpost.com) From Addison Rae to Iggy Pop, here are the fall’s best pop concerts By Chris Richards 2025090211002100 Sure things. New things. All things. Our area's fall pop concert schedule offers a Neapolitan scenario for intrepid music seekers. The best bets include legends of different scales and stripes (Patti Smith, Stereolab, Paquito D'Rivera, Autechre).
Oasis is back. And this time, the whole world is singing along. Original
Oasis is back. And this time, the whole world is singing along. (washingtonpost.com) Oasis is back. And this time, the whole world is singing along. By Chris Richards 2025090119422700 EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — So what's this Oasis reunion really all about? Pomp. Circumstance. Second chances. Picking up where we left off. Nostalgic comfort. Ego maintenance. Fraternal reconciliation, maybe. Cash flow, definitely. A confusingly disproportionate amount of fame generated by four extraordinary songs.
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Disclaimer: If you are dragging yourself through another day, desparate for a way out but thinking this is just another load of AI generated "slop", then you're right! You always will be! Much of what I initially write is AI generated, but at the end of the day, I read it all before I publish, I correct any of the glaring errors and ultimately when you react, you will be reacting with me, not some AI Agent. I recognise everyone is different and everyone needs different solutions.
Is Sabrina Carpenter the funniest pop singer alive?
Generate Key Takeaways We’ve always lived in a world filled with funny pop songs, but funny pop singers are much harder to come by. Maybe that’s because going for laughs and being taken seriously as an artist don’t often square in our cultural imagination, and maybe that’s why Sabrina Carpenter seems to be inventing a new kind of stardom right now. Has any singer occupying this stratum of fame ever committed themselves to being funny at all times? The framing matters here.
Is Sabrina Carpenter the funniest pop singer alive?
We’ve always lived in a world filled with funny pop songs, but funny pop singers are much harder to come by. Maybe that’s because going for laughs and being taken seriously as an artist don’t often square in our cultural imagination, and maybe that’s why Sabrina Carpenter seems to be inventing a new kind of stardom right now. Has any singer occupying this stratum of fame ever committed themselves to being funny at all times? The framing matters here.
Zach Top is making a new kind of old-school country music Original
Does Gen Z remember the Marlboro Man? Maybe he still lights up somewhere on the plains of their genetic memory. Consciously or not, young country music fans seem to have found their own version in Zach Top, a 27-year-old singer from Sunnyside, Washington, who wears tall blue jeans, a brambly mustache and a cowboy hat voluminous enough to hold heavy thoughts.
Is Sabrina Carpenter the funniest pop singer alive?
Is Sabrina Carpenter the funniest pop singer alive? (washingtonpost.com) Is Sabrina Carpenter the funniest pop singer alive? By Chris Richards 2025082918431400 We've always lived in a world filled with funny pop songs, but funny pop singers are much harder to come by. Maybe that's because going for laughs and being taken seriously as an artist don't often square in our cultural imagination, and maybe that's why Sabrina Carpenter seems to be inventing a new kind of stardom right now.
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