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.
Music Journalism
A Beat of His Own Making — Chris Molanphy, Chart Analyst and Pop Critic
The host of Slate's 'Hit Parade' joins The Tonearm Podcast to discuss the two pools of data that keep the Billboard Hot 100 honest, the bundling schemes that turned the album chart into a promotional shell game, and the cultural rules that decide who country radio will play.
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.
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.