| January 17, 2026 
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I didn’t know I’d be publishing a story accompanied by footage of Dave Mustaine wielding a flame thrower this week, but here we are (and wow). Mark Yarm talked with the Megadeth leader as the long-running thrash-metal band prepares to release its final album, and they had a very revealing chat about the medical condition leading to the act’s end, the perception (and reality) of Mustaine’s religion and politics, and the state of his relationship with Metallica, the group he was booted from during its early days. We also had interviews with ASAP Rocky, who opened up on Popcast about Rihanna, his recent legal troubles and his return to rap; the six-string worshipers Sunn O))), whose upcoming LP features dozens and dozens of guitar tracks; the ’80s pop star Richard Marx, who made a Great American Songbook album his own way (and is funnier than you’d expect); and the Kid Mero, who is the new morning host on the storied New York hip-hop radio station Hot 97. (Following him on his first day, Jon Caramanica did not sleep.) And we paid tribute to Bob Weir, the Grateful Dead guitarist, singer and songwriter whose death was announced last Saturday night — with Jon Pareles’s sharp appraisal, 10 essential songs, his life in photos, an ode to his hot pants and a look at the band’s endless goodbyes. Plus, Lindsay Zoladz and Olivia Horn brought us a rundown of new releases and 2026 albums to look forward to. I remain a sucker for pop songs that spell themselves out (MNDR set the bar quite high with “C.L.U.B.”), so Fcukers, a group that is evading our standards by a hair, caught my attention with “L.U.C.K.Y.” |
