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Review: Beach House's '7' Is a Radical Blast of Psychedelic Pop Bliss

Tue, 15 May 2018 20:57:37 -0400

Review: Beach House's '7' Is a Radical Blast of Psychedelic Pop Bliss:

I love this album.

Stephen Malkmus: My Life in 15 Songs

Tue, 15 May 2018 20:41:24 -0400

I’ve been enjoying the recent spate of entertaining Malkmus interviews in the past few days. (Lindsay Zoladz, Rob Tannenbaum, and Michael Tedder all did very nice jobs with theirs.) Anyway, here’s mine: A guided tour through his songwriting catalog, from 1992 to the present day. i’m glad his list included “Spit on a Stranger,” which was my first favorite Pavement song.

The Innovator: Jlin is Altering Dance Music's DNA

Tue, 24 Apr 2018 15:45:12 -0400

The Innovator: Jlin is Altering Dance Music's DNA:

Jlin is on an incredible streak right now. Black Origami was one of my favorite albums of last year — I sometimes feel like I underrated it by putting it at No. 4 on my year-end list — and her new work for Wayne McGregor’s Autobiography is daring in the best way. It was a delight to interview her for Rolling Stone. Click through to read our conversation!

The Wanderer: Mitski Is the Voice for Dreamers

Wed, 18 Apr 2018 16:00:07 -0400

The Wanderer: Mitski Is the Voice for Dreamers:

I’ve been a fan of Mitski’s music since I first heard her in 2014, and it’s been a pleasure to see the world catch on. Puberty 2 is as close to perfect as any album made in the last five years — I really believe it will be looked at as a landmark for a long time to come. Click through to read our conversation for Rolling Stone!

The Risk Taker: Vince Staples Doesn't Care If You Like Him

Thu, 12 Apr 2018 13:00:00 -0400

The Risk Taker: Vince Staples Doesn't Care If You Like Him:

Vince Staples is one of the best interviews in the world right now — talk to him for 10 minutes and you’re guaranteed to get, like, eight pull quotes. I spoke with him for about an hour, so click through to find out how many smart, hilarious, fearless things he said.

Frankie Cosmos’s Small World Gets Bigger

Thu, 29 Mar 2018 11:50:59 -0400

Frankie Cosmos’s Small World Gets Bigger:

Zentropy and Next Thing are two of my favorite indie-pop albums by anyone, in any decade, and Frankie Cosmos goes three-for-three this week with Vessel. It’s an incredible album, with so many verses and melodies that have been circling around my head for the last few weeks. I had a great time speaking with Greta Kline for The New York Times. Click through to read the full piece!

Artist You Need To Know: Soccer Mommy

Mon, 12 Mar 2018 22:10:51 -0400

Artist You Need To Know: Soccer Mommy:

I’ve been a fan of Soccer Mommy’s music since hearing For Young Hearts, the excellent lo-fi album she put out on Orchid Tapes the summer before last. Her new one, Clean, is even better — as I write in this short profile for Rolling Stone, “the songwriting is tighter, the sound is brighter, and every emotion hits 10 times harder.” Click through to read our interview.

A New York Night With The Voidz' Julian Casablancas, (Still) Reluctant Rock Star

Thu, 08 Mar 2018 11:53:39 -0500

A New York Night With The Voidz' Julian Casablancas, (Still) Reluctant Rock Star:

A few weeks back, I spent a long night walking around downtown and talking with Julian Casablancas for the new issue of Billboard. Checking one off the bucket list, as someone whose worldview and career path were significantly shaped by the experience of hearing Is This It as a high school senior in New York in 2002. Very proud to share this! Click through for the full profile.

“Two Dreamers, Together in a Dreamworld”: How Beach House Found Their Sound on ‘Devotion’

Tue, 20 Feb 2018 00:00:00 -0500

“Two Dreamers, Together in a Dreamworld”: How Beach House Found Their Sound on ‘Devotion’:

Beach House’s Devotion is one of my favorite albums ever, by anyone. It was an honor to speak with Victoria and Alex about how they made that dreamy classic, ten years later, for Vinyl Me, Please! Click through to read the story.

Tune-Yards’ Merrill Garbus Wants You to Think About Whiteness (and to Dance)

Wed, 17 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0500

Tune-Yards’ Merrill Garbus Wants You to Think About Whiteness (and to Dance):

I interviewed Merrill Garbus for The New York Times. Click through for our Q&A. Topics covered include her new album, dance music, critical race theory, Billy Joel, and Get Out.

The 10 Best Cranberries Songs

Tue, 16 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0500

The 10 Best Cranberries Songs:

Dolores O’Riordan’s death came as a shock. I’d just seen her sing “Linger,” “Zombie,” and “Ode to My Family” at a corporate holiday party this past December, in what seems to have been her last public performance. She sounded great, and the songs sounded timeless. In the hours after the sad news got out, I compiled this top 10 list for Stereogum as a small tribute.

My Favorite Albums of 2017

Sun, 10 Dec 2017 10:35:05 -0500

Previously: 2016 2015 2014

ALBUM OF THE YEAR: Lorde, Melodrama

Melodrama’s marvelous too-muchness won me over with the first single and never let up. At its core there’s a great singer-songwriter record, one person’s interior life sketched in vivid, shocking shades. Because it’s a big pop album, those specifics need to add up to something universal—and in this, too, Lorde delivers. “Writer in the Dark” might be uniquely relatable for bookish, easily bruised types (and how!), but “Homemade Dynamite” and “The Louvre” and “Supercut” speak to anyone who’s ever been high on their own supply, emotionally. She makes her graceless nights feel like yours. That’s in the writing, but it’s also in Lorde’s vocal presence, which often sounded tentative or ironic on her debut, and sounds so wide-awake now. She races through these songs with such verve that you want to run to keep up, from “I’ll be your quiet afternoon crush” to “Oh, how fast the evening passes” and back. I can’t wait to hear the music she makes when she’s 30 and jaded.

TOP 25

Lorde, Melodrama (Republic)
Grizzly Bear, Painted Ruins (RCA)
Kendrick Lamar, DAMN. (Top Dawg/Aftermath/Interscope)
Jlin, Black Origami (Planet Mu)
Japanese Breakfast, Soft Sounds From Another Planet (Dead Oceans)
Jay-Z, 4:44 (Roc Nation)
Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile, Lotta Sea Lice (Matador/Milk!)
Stef Chura, Messes (Urinal Cake)
Jen Cloher, Jen Cloher (Milk!)
Harry Styles, Harry Styles (Erskine/Columbia)
Perfume Genius, No Shape (Matador)
The National, Sleep Well Beast (4AD)
Chicano Batman, Freedom is Free (ATO)
Alvvays, Antisocialites (Polyvinyl)
Daniele Luppi and Parquet Courts, Milano (30th Century/Columbia)
Palm, Shadow Expert (Carpark)
Phoenix, Ti Amo (Loyauté/Glassnote)
Jeff Tweedy, Together At Last (dBpm)
Migos, Culture (300/Atlantic)
Broken Social Scene, Hug of Thunder (Arts & Crafts)
Charlotte Gainsbourg, Rest (Because/Atlantic)
Kehlani, SweetSexySavage (TSNMI/Atlantic)
Palehound, A Place I’ll Always Go (Polyvinyl)
Charli XCX, Number 1 Angel / Pop 2 (Asylum)
Drake, More Life (OVO/Cash Money/Republic)

HONORABLE MENTIONS (A-Z)

Alex G, Björk, David Crosby, Gord Downie, Downtown Boys, Gabriel Garzón-Montano, Sharon Jones, Kamaiyah, Lomelda, Laura Marling, Oddisee, Priests, Queens of the Stone Age, Rapsody, Sam Smith, Spoon, Syd, SZA, The War on Drugs, Wiki

ALSO PRETTY GOOD, SURE

Anything you love that was not included on this list

BASS LINE OF THE YEAR

“Bad Liar” via “Psycho Killer”

PIANO PART OF THE YEAR

“Green Light” pre-chorus

BEST MUSIC WRITING IN A BOOK (FICTION)

The scene in Elif Batuman’s The Idiot where they’re at a bar and “Linger” by the Cranberries is playing

BEST MUSIC WRITING IN A BOOK (NON-FICTION)

Rob Sheffield, Dreaming the Beatles

Charlotte Gainsbourg Finds Her Own Voice

Thu, 09 Nov 2017 00:00:00 -0500

Charlotte Gainsbourg Finds Her Own Voice:

I profiled Charlotte Gainsbourg for The New York Times’ Arts & Leisure section! This piece features scary movies, disco bliss, Jane & Serge, blog house, a Beatle and lots more. Click through to read our conversation.

Karen O And Parquet Courts Share The Wild, True Story Of 'MILANO'

Sun, 29 Oct 2017 15:32:51 -0400

Karen O And Parquet Courts Share The Wild, True Story Of 'MILANO':

I spoke with Karen O and Parquet Courts’ Andrew Savage about Milano, the awesomely trippy album they made with Italian composer Daniele Luppi. This story has it all: Memphis Group design, Marxist theory, Dylan jokes, early Yeah Yeah Yeahs flashbacks, parenthood…It’s a riot! Click through to read the whole story.

Gord Downie, a Canadian Rock Legend, Sings Goodbye

Wed, 18 Oct 2017 00:00:00 -0400

Gord Downie, a Canadian Rock Legend, Sings Goodbye:

Earlier this month, I interviewed Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew about the new solo album he produced for Gord Downie from the Tragically Hip. That story ended up running this week after the news broke that Downie had died at age 53. It’s an immense loss, and I feel honored to have written about the remarkable way he spent his final months — making music and telling people how much they mattered to him. Downie was dealt an unfair hand, but in Drew’s words, “He really did pull off what he wanted to do, which is take that anger and turn it into love.”

Introduce Yerself is out Oct. 27. Click through to read more.

Tom Petty, 1950-2017

Fri, 06 Oct 2017 00:00:00 -0400

I spent most of the first week of October listening to Tom Petty songs and wishing I’d seen what turned out to be his final tour this summer. In between, I wrote two pieces:

• 14 Essential Tom Petty Tracks, for The New York Times

• Tom Petty Could Jam With the Best of Them, for Billboard

He was one of the greatest. Here’s a clip I love, of Eddie Vedder singing “The Waiting” with Petty and the Heartbreakers a few years ago. RIP to a hero from outer space.

How David Crosby Followed Joni Mitchell’s Lead on His Great New Album

Thu, 28 Sep 2017 00:00:00 -0400

How David Crosby Followed Joni Mitchell’s Lead on His Great New Album:

The best song on David Crosby’s new album, Sky Trails, is a cover: a quiet, tender, almost devotionally simple version of his old friend Joni Mitchell’s “Amelia.” In the original, from Mitchell’s 1976 masterpiece Hejira, the singer is on a long, solo drive through the desert, lost in thoughts of Amelia Earhart’s final flight and her own life as a successful artist. She mistrusts her gifts, sees poetry everywhere, and can’t decide if it means anything. She’s lonely and brilliant, and suspects the two qualities are connected. At the end of each verse, she gives a cryptic sigh: “Amelia, it was just a false alarm.”
The narrative viewpoint in “Amelia” is so specifically Mitchell’s that the song feels almost uncoverable; it’s jolting at first to realize how well it works with the perspective shifted to that of a cantankerous rock-and-roll survivor in his mid-70s….

Grizzly Bear Are Still Here

Tue, 26 Sep 2017 00:00:00 -0400

Grizzly Bear Are Still Here:

Grizzly Bear’s Ed Droste was one of the first artists I ever interviewed, way back in February 2005. Nice to come full-circle recently and speak with the band about their excellent new album, Painted Ruins, for Vulture! Click through to read our Q&A.

Avicii Talks Quitting Touring, Disappointing Madonna, New Music

Tue, 05 Sep 2017 00:00:00 -0400

Avicii Talks Quitting Touring, Disappointing Madonna, New Music:

Are you over EDM? Well, Avicii is. We chatted for Rolling Stone recently.Click through to read our Q&A.

Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett: Inside Indie-Rock Superduo's New Album

Tue, 29 Aug 2017 22:10:31 -0400

Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett: Inside Indie-Rock Superduo's New Album:

My first Rolling Stone byline in over a year! This album seriously rules — KV and CB’s styles complement each other perfectly, and I think that came through in this conversation. I can’t wait to see them on tour this fall!