It’s brutal out there, and that’s why, more than ever, we needed the consoling and prodding pleasures of popular music to help everything make sense in here. [Stage direction: taps chest, knowingly.] ...

Before we get to this week's column, some housekeeping: After eight(!) years writing The Week In Pop, I am handing over the reins of this column in 2022. Starting in January, Rachel Brodsky will be ...