musicTuesday, September 29, 2026

Rundgren calls Swift 'apotheosis of mediocrity'

Today's music news is a mixed bag, but the loudest noise comes from Todd Rundgren taking a swing at Taylor Swift, a take that's getting picked up everywhere. Elsewhere, there's a genuinely fun genre-mashup collab and a few deep cuts worth your time. The rest is mostly filler and product listings.

Sources

The Big Take

One legend's opinion is dominating the conversation, even if it's mostly about stirring the pot.

#01variety.comSep 29

Todd Rundgren Says Taylor Swift ‘Ruined Music’

Rundgren's 'ruined music' quote is the kind of inflammatory, legacy-artist-vs-pop-star clickbait that's been recycled for decades. It's less a serious critique and more a prompt for debate, but it's the only thing with any real cultural traction today.

2 min readRead original

Collabs and Crossovers

Beyond the headlines, there's some actual musical news worth a listen.

#02www.vibe105to.comSep 29

Kirk Franklin & GloRilla Shake Things Up With ‘This Time’

This is the kind of left-field collab that actually gets people talking. Flipping a mid-2000s crunk anthem into a gospel context is either genius or a trainwreck, but it's a bold creative swing that's getting attention.

#03mp3sandnpcs.comSep 29

WWE Champions announces collaboration with Cowboy Bebop

A limited-time crossover event between a mobile wrestling game and an anime classic is a fun bit of pop culture crossover. It's a reminder that music and gaming partnerships are a standard play for reaching new audiences.

Deep Cuts

For the more discerning listener, a few releases and stories are floating around the edges.

#04music.apple.comSep 29

‎Apple Music - Web Player

This is just a link to the Apple Music web player, but it's a decent snapshot of the platform's Arabic pop landscape. The 'ARABI' track with Mohamed Ramadan, Future, and Massari is a notable pan-Arab, international crossover.

#05open.spotify.comSep 29

Spotify – Web Player

A 64-minute ambient reading of a Samuel Beckett text with a JACK Quartet accompaniment is about as niche as it gets. It's a deep cut for fans of experimental music and literary minimalism.

Also today15

#Myrcia #maestrensiswww.ecosia.org
#MYRCIA #MAESTRENSIS #ROWGIR E #QALEH #HAJJI #KALITU #HORMOZGAN headlines-world.com
Perplexitywww.perplexity.ai
#KAJA #KALLAS #ZACH #WHITECLOUD aepiot.com/related-sear... #ZACH #HYMAN headlines-world.com/advanced-sea... #ZACH #BOGOSIAN music.apple.com/us/search?te... allgraph.ro
Psychological Torment, by No Returnnoreturnarmy.bandcamp.com
--- Bandcampリンク → noreturnarmy.bandcamp.com/album/psycho...
Spotifyopen.spotify.com
open.spotify.com/track/37Ul8r...
April Limousine, by Dummynotdummy.bandcamp.com
🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #KEXP's #VarietyMix Dummy: 🎵 April Limousine #Dummy ▶️ 🪄 Automagic 🔊 show 📻 playlist on Spotify ▶️ Song/Cover on Bandcamp
James Acaster admits “concern” over number of comedians on The Celebrity Traitors 2mediamole.co.uk
James Acaster admits that being a comedian may count against him on the new series of The Celebrity Traitors.
Czech Republic ready for Wembley 30 years after Euro '96www.powerpopradio.com
The Czech Republic are returning to Wembley for a Nations League game with England, just over 30 years after their Euro '96 heartbreak there.
‘Trans’ New York Times Executive Killed By In-Laws. They Called Him ‘Monster’www.cinaradio.com
The New York Times reported that the 40-year-old executive and his wife, Candice Jang, were living separately, with each having filed requests for dom...
‘We have time to make our case’: Labour insiders are confident Burnham can sell his social care reformswww.powerpopradio.com
Analysts believe PM has a ‘golden opportunity’ to offer older people better protection in return for weakening the triple lock guaranteeIt is a brave party leader who is prepared to go into an election promising a multibillion-pound new public service – likely to be funded by tax