The Underdog Beat — Ira Robbins on Trouser Press
A second anthology, ‘Zip It Up! Too,’ finds the magazine’s co-founder still keeping faith with the bands that sold ten copies rather than ten million.
Authors
Never Leave Time Unfulfilled — George Grella on 'Minimalist Music'
In 'Minimalist Music,' author and critic George Grella reframes minimalism's defining quality not as style or technique but as a specific, audible practice of composing with time — then turns to ask what becomes of that practice when those who invented it are gone.
From the Line to the Frame — Beth Ann Hooper's Moving Poetry
Inspired by Werner Herzog's argument that film must evoke the emotion of poetry, Beth Ann Hooper built 'Poetry in Motion Picture' from three poems in her collection 'Haunting the Dead,' pairing each with original symphonic music as the project heads for the festival circuit.
'Piano Decompositions' and the Politics of Instruments in Decay
Heidi Hart and Beate Schirrmacher's 'Piano Decompositions' follows Annea Lockwood's Piano Transplants into an argument about ecological crisis, political control, and why a burning instrument unsettles us in ways a burning forest does not.
Audrey Golden's 'Shouting Out Loud' Brings The Raincoats Into Focus
In 'Shouting Out Loud,' Audrey Golden brings her background in law, gender studies, and human rights research to the Raincoats' full story, from art school in North London to the cells of the Maze.
Graphical Jazz — The Unsung Canvas of Prestige Records
Bob Weinstock believed in treating music and album covers equally as serious art, and 'WAIL,' by Chris Entwistle and Mark Havens, reveals how that conviction produced a graphic legacy still being imitated today.
Ludo Hunter-Tilney — A Five-Star Pop Critic in a Three-Star World
The music journalist reflects on his two-decade tenure at the Financial Times, the tension between covering superstars and unknown artists, and his conviction that transcribing interviews by hand remains a moral compulsion in an age of automated everything.
Better Living Through Imperfection — Michael Hallsworth on the Hypocrisy Trap
Drawing on behavioral science research, Hallsworth's 'The Hypocrisy Trap' examines how false signals of consistency drive our contempt for hypocrites and what happens when accusations of hypocrisy spiral out of control.
The Accidental Psychopomp — Terence McKenna's Hallucinatory Afterlife
Cultural historian Graham St. John's 'Strange Attractor' chronicles McKenna's role as rogue scholar and stand-up philosopher, tracing his journey from a 1966 DMT conversion experience to becoming a disembodied voice whispering into the ears of dancers worldwide.
The World-Breakers and Myth-Makers of Greil Marcus's 'Mystery Train'
Fifty years after its first publication, Marcus reflects on his landmark examination of American mythology through rock and roll, discussing Little Richard blowing away a Dick Cavett debate panel, Robert Johnson's inescapable netherworld, and why Elvis still leaves him dumbfounded.
High Concept — Bill Kopp Tackles the Big Idea
Music writer Bill Kopp's new book 'What's the Big Idea' examines 30 concept albums across six decades, from Frank Zappa to Apples In Stereo, William Shatner to Ghostface Killah, arguing that the format remains vital in an era of streaming and shortened attention spans.
Digging Through the Ashes — Chris O'Leary on Bowie, Blogging, and Music Writing's Future
The author of 'Rebel Rebel' discusses his revised deep dive into David Bowie's formative years, the organic growth of his song-by-song blog, and why he fears the resources that supported his research may not exist for future music writers.