Many things to report over here, including what looks to be a successful Kickstarter campaign for the 2012 edition of Best Music Writing. But many other things are in progress (including this reading, which all of you should check out), and so instead I’ll leave you with a link to this Porcelain Raft interview that … Continue reading
Category Archives: criticism
Me @ Volume 1- Afternoon Bites: Book art, Dusted and Fluxblog turn ten, Joyland on Greenpoint, and more
- There Is a Documentary About Linotype. We Think This Is Awesome.
- Afternoon Bites: Carl Wilson’s 2011, Emma Straub makes a mix, Justin Davidson on Philip Glass, and more
- Hillary Jordan’s “When She Woke”: A Discussion
- Afternoon Bites: Steve Erickson talks politics, Mikhail Bulgakov gets unreal, Pam Houston on mentoring, and more
January 31, 2012, Author: , Leave a comment
Porcelain Raft, Best Music Writing, Sara Levine, and more
Categories: criticism, Music
June 18, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Reading on Reading: 18 June 2009
Categories: criticism, CultureAs I write this, I’m somewhat pressed for time, and thus don’t have the ability to write up an amazing line of thought connecting the three pieces linked below. However, I suspect that one could be created; were I more professorial, I would write this post up in the form of an essay question. One: … Continue reading
May 13, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Reading on Reading: 13 May 2009
Categories: Books, criticism, Culture, MusicOne: At the excellent new Atlantic Correspondents blog, Hua Hsu discusses limited-edition books/magazines/art. It’s a good argument, and I’m glad to see it made in a high-profile place. (Odd case in point: I just ordered the upcoming issue of Yeti. It’s one of my favorite publications out there, both in the scope and quality of … Continue reading
April 27, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Notes on Longform Music Writing: One
Categories: Books, criticism, MusicRecently, a press release arrived in my inbox noting that Skyscraper was making the shift from print to online effective immediately. One piece in particular stood out to me in a fairly encouraging way: We will also no longer be restricted by word and page counts, meaning we can feature more content and go into … Continue reading
January 31, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: Doug Mosurock, Dusted, Los Llamarada
Recommended Music Writing: 31 January 2008
Categories: criticism, MusicTags:: Doug Mosurock, Dusted, Los Llamarada
Doug Mosurock on Los Llamarada: Trash rock drums pound out the sex beat. Vocals are delivered in a nasal monotony best likened to those of Mark E. Smith, pinning the tension between the instruments to taunting heights. The synths and piano provide some of the more delicate moments in an otherwise brusque album; creepy, spectral … Continue reading
January 20, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
pazz + jop + assorted musical thoughts
Categories: criticism, MusicThe Voice has posted 2008′s Pazz & Jop. My ballot can be found right…here. I am pleased to see that I was again the sole voter for roughly half of my choices in the “Singles” category. I think I’m also going to follow Reed Fischer’s lead and post what I jotted down at the time … Continue reading
In Slate: Ron Rosenbaum on Jeff Jarvis. Worth reading for most anyone interested in the debate on how technology will affect journalism, book publishing, and — for lack of a better word — print.
August 29, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: paper thin walls
praise / burial
Categories: criticism, MusicTags:: paper thin walls
Paper Thin Walls has called it a day. Something of a retrospective is now up. I’ll miss it. Not only because I did a fair amount of writing for it, but because it cultivated a style of honed-in music writing that I daresay doesn’t exist anywhere else. Plus, this was pretty damn funny.
August 13, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: cultural criticism, film reviews, Jody Rosen, Manohla Dargis, Tropic Thunder
in which critics address the same cultural phenomenon from very different angles
Categories: criticism, FilmTags:: cultural criticism, film reviews, Jody Rosen, Manohla Dargis, Tropic Thunder
Reading Manohla Dargis’s review of Tropic Thunder today, I found myself getting thematic echoes of the work of another acclaimed New York-based critic. The topic came in the review’s last paragraph, focusing on the character played by Tom Cruise: What’s most notable about the film’s use of blackface is how much softer it is compared … Continue reading
July 28, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: bill bishop, criticism, internet smacktalk, Politics, reihan salam, ross douthat, tpm cafe
talking polarization blues
Categories: criticism, Internet, PoliticsTags:: bill bishop, criticism, internet smacktalk, Politics, reihan salam, ross douthat, tpm cafe
Lately, I’ve been delving more and more into the TPMCafe Book Club — I’m pleased to see that they’re veering more and more into both books on politics from across the ideological spectrum, but also throwing in the occasional novel (specifically, Joseph O’Neill’s Netherland). I have, though, noticed some hostility from the comments section when … Continue reading
July 26, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: christopher orr, the dark knight
‘the dark knight’ postscript
Categories: criticism, FilmTags:: christopher orr, the dark knight
I should also say that, having cited him below, Christopher Orr’s take on the film is pretty close to my own.
July 26, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: christopher nolan, christopher orr, criticism, david edelstein, films, keith uhlich, Reviews, the dark knight
moviegoing, critical responses, and responses to criticism
Categories: criticism, Culture, FilmTags:: christopher nolan, christopher orr, criticism, david edelstein, films, keith uhlich, Reviews, the dark knight
So I went to see The Dark Knight yesterday after work. Did I like it? That I did, though at times it seemed like a strange fusion of The Wire and The Long Halloween — but that’s not necessarily a bad thing in my book. It Batman Begins factored in an homage to the character’s … Continue reading