Greil Marcus publishes a recurring Real Life Rock Top 10 of music, video and cultural oddities, plus an Ask Greil column answering reader questions about music and culture. Each issue is a personal, essayistic take on concerts, songs and found objects.

Nelson George writes about Black music, film and culture, mixing interview-based profiles, remembrances and behind-the-scenes accounts of his own projects. Readers get first-person reporting and personal context from a veteran music and culture journalist and filmmaker.

Personal essays and cultural criticism on philosophy, the arts and poetry, drawing on memories of record collecting, Dylan's religious turn, poems about Nazi atrocities, and pop-chart history. The writer mixes anecdote with close reading and historical research to explore what art and evil reveal about people.

Will Hermes, a veteran music critic based in New York City, shares a daily new song pick, monthly playlists with liner-note style commentary, record reviews and talk about NYC music. Issues mix current releases with historical context and personal anecdotes.