Jason Gross’ Best Music Journalism 2015

Care to guess if this was yet another difficult, transitional year for music journalism? The story may be the same as in years past, but that also means music writing still thrives. As to why and how? Because it’s happening everywhere.

Rolling Stone had a year that they’re going to be happy to forget. The fallout from the UVA rape story included a mea culpa in the Columbia Journal Review, followed by bewilderment when the magazine seemingly didn’t respond until July when managing editor Will Dana departed. If that wasn’t bad enough for the mag, their parent company announced a round of layoffs over the summer which included senior writer and king of rock liner notes David Fricke. Billboard had a better but mixed year, suffering a round of layoffs in May, but also posting good traffic numbers to its site and making headway with branded content, which is going to be part of the future whether purists like it or not.

Meanwhile, a pair of publication sales had different dynamics to them. NYC institution The Village Voice went through yet another sale, while indie rock bible Pitchfork was gobbled up by Conde Nast. P4K is obviously in a different position than The Voice, as it’s still a significant taste maker and online destination, so it’ll be interesting to see how it changes, if it does at all.

Grantland wasn’t so lucky, getting its plug pulled by ESPN in October. Among other things, Grantland was a place for great cultural think pieces, musical and otherwise, so it was no surprise when a number of other outlets sang its praises and mourned it.

Self-styled Dean of Rock Crits Robert Christgau had an interesting summer. It started with his perch at Cuepoint/Medium being threatened as he was told that he could only keep writing for them if he did it for free, which isn’t exactly a winning strategy for a full-time writer. Luckily, he soon found a new paying home at Noisey/Vice for his column. Sasha Frere-Jones also had a period of transition as he left his long-time staff job at The New Yorker in January to become an editor at Genius.com, a website that annotates rap lyrics, and then moved to contract work for them and then to take up a more traditional post at the L.A. Times.

So where are other writers going for safe haven? Into the virtual world, but not the places that you’d expect. While newsrooms face the gloom of ever-dwindling numbers, online curation offered some hope and employment for writers/editors to help guide readers through the morass of web content. Apple Music hired music writers as curators, but there are even more opportunities for writers in social media. Snapchat turned part of itself into a news hub, so much so that some publications now have their own team to work with the service, though some places are finding that working with SC might mean a drop in web traffic.

Not one to fall behind, Facebook developed their own news service with Instant Articles, though the initial offering didn’t have any music mags as part of the mix. Google and Twitter are also getting in on action, starting up their own ‘instant articles’ services for mobile users.

Instagram was already a favorite destination for artists, so it’s no surprise they are getting in the curation game too, and started up their own @Music service to single out known and unknown performers. Instagram is also becoming a more and more important space not just for photos but for written content as well, detailed in this thoughtful New York article by Kyle Chayka. The lesson here? Any smart publication should have some kind of social media guru on staff to keep up with and take advantage of the changes in the field, which are happening even as you’re reading this right now.

Also noteworthy is the fact that 2015 was a banner year for music writing in book form. First off, we had a stack of impressive titles from writers you should know and should be reading, including Robert Christgau, Banning Eyre, Nelson George, Richard Goldstein, Peter Guralnick, Jessica Hopper, Greil Marcus, Michaelangelo Matos, Kris Needs and Lisa Robinson among others. Then on top of that, we’ve also had a flurry of musicians and industry people adding their stories to the mix, including Eddie Argos, Carrie Brownstein (best one I’ve seen), Elvis Costello, John Fogerty, Philip Glass, Kim Gordon, Rick Hall, Bill Kreutzmann, Willie Nelson, Patti Smith and Cynthia Weil.

Something notable about the following list is a number of pieces collected here came about as responses to other articles. That’s becoming an ongoing trend as noted in last year’s music writing round-up. Years ago, these kind of responses might have been a few sentences in the letters section, but some writers and editors have decided more and more that these issues were important enough to turn into articles, thus creating a wider conversation. Some might think of this as inter-magazine/publication sniping and navel-gazing, but I say that all of us are better for having these discussions out in the open.

All of this fine work is proof of something: Music journalism is still alive. The practicality of calling it a full time job is getting harder as each day goes by, but it still exists and sometimes thrives, even if many times it’s not happening in places you’d traditionally think. As long as there are spaces out there for communication, arguments, fights, rants, think pieces and such, we should all be grateful and embrace it, regardless of the source.

And speaking of being grateful, I know it’s an ongoing mantra, but it’s important to repeat: If you really do love music and the writing around it, when you run across a good piece of writing, don’t be silent about it. Share it with anyone you think might appreciate it. Let the writer know how much you liked it, especially since they rarely get feedback. You’re part of the process whether you know it or not, so why not feed it and help it grow?

Favorite Stories of 2015

Paul Adler, “From Cocaine Disco to Electronic Dance: the Loaded Legacy of Casablanca Records” (Cuepoint, January 2015)

Despite their now-broken business model, Medium still generates great tech and science content plus enjoyable narratives like this. Thought that rock & roll was the only haven for excess in the ’70s? This dance empire surely was too, and it came crashing down as spectacularly as it rose. It was home to not only disco icons Donna Summer and the Village People, but also to the mighty P-Funk empire and a not-so-little New York act called Kiss, not to mention a mountain of coke. But it was all taken down after the “disco sucks” backlash and the fiasco of the Kiss solo albums.

Dee Barnes, “This Is Bigger Than Me and Bigger Than Hip-Hop” (Gawker, August 2015)

Anyone who liked the N.W.A. biopic should take a wide-eyed look at this article, which details just some of the story scrubbed out the film. Barnes’ connection with the group has been known for a while, but it was definitely worth hearing again. Despite anger from others, she does accept Dr. Dre’s public apology for assaulting her, even if Apple pushed him to do it. This piece looks at the situation and all its implications: “This is about respect and awareness... Women survivors of violence are expected neither to be seen nor heard... No one wants to see their heroes criticized. And if they are African American, the community at large becomes suspicious of an underlying motive to tear down a successful black man.”

Nate Chan, “Gang Starr -”Mass Appeal” | Magnum Opus” (Complex, June 2015)

An expert mini-documentary detailing how two non-Gothamites helped define the sound for New York in the late ‘80s and the subsequent decades. Also see this fine episode in the “Opus” series on Nelly’s Country Grammar.

Aimee Cliff, “How Pop Songs Connect In A Hyper-Connected World” (Fader, October 2015)

An impressive breakdown of two of the most unavoidable videos of the year (Drake (“Hotine Bling“) and Adele (“Hello“)). Cliff breaks down how the former connects by making his work viral and social media-friendly, while the latter uses nostalgia. Also see Cliff’s rejoinder against Billboard’s male-dominated Power 100 list, “How Can We Change the Face of Power in the Music Industry?”

Matt Daniels, “The Most Timeless Songs of All Time” (Polygraph, August 2015)

Along with the expert number crunching and dazzling interactive graphics that would make Upshot or FiveThirtyEight jealous, you get some fascinating analysis as Daniels plows through Billboard and Spotify data, figuring out where everyone from Etta James to Daft Punk fit in. And as for perspective, “Accolades, Grammys, and cultural dominance mean nothing to future generations...” and “the artists who have cult followings and underground appeal: it’s a signal for some undefined musical quality that’s impossible for a hit song to replicate.” And what’s the prime example of a truly timeless song? A: “No Diggity” by Blackstreet.

Emilie Friedlander, “The World Doesn’t Need More Female Music Critics” (Fader, June 2015)

Starting off as a riff on Anwen Crawford’s piece in The New Yorker “The World Needs Female Rock Critics” (which is also worth your time), Friedlander’s provocatively-titled piece makes the wise and worthwhile argument that we all need to first appreciate the great women writers who are out there already. In case any editors out there are wondering where to find them, she cites the wonderful “Binders Full of Women Writers” Facebook group and includes a Google Spreadsheet at the end where other women writers can add their names and contact info. At the time of this writing, it’s up to 265 entries.

Eriq Gardner, “Aretha Franklin Judge Shows No R.E.S.P.E.C.T. for First Amendment (Analysis)” (Hollywood Reporter, September 2015)

The mother of all divas can still stir people at age 73 (as she proved recently at the Kennedy Center) but that doesn’t always mean that she’s always on the side of the angels. Re’s attempt to block a documentary she’s in – but doesn’t hold rights to – raises some serious legal issues about the over-reach of artist’s rights and sets a dangerous precedent, just like the “Blurred Lines” case.

Meaghan Garvey, “The Evolution of Playing Music In Your Car” (Complex, February 2015)

Great idea for an article, isn’t it? From hi-fi to FM to cassettes to 8-track tapes to CD’s to MP3 players to satellite radio to streaming services to smartphones/apps, you get to relive this important part of music history and how we experienced a lot of the music we loved... or hated.

Sasha Geffen, “The Sun Kil Moon Problem” (Consequence of Sound, June 2015)

Any of us who are Sun Kil Moon fans (hand raised here) have to live with the fact that Mr. Kozelek can be a jerk, especially on stage. Green takes him to task for berating women at shows and wonders what the right response from promoters and fans should be.

Marc Hogan, “Have We Reached Peak Vinyl?” (Stereogum, July 2015)

Subtitle: “Some worry the format’s nearly decade-long revival is a bubble about to burst.” Even with the format making a comeback among hipsters, collectors and audiophiles, vinyl faces many issues, including production problems, production delays, a lack of manufacturing plants and price increases. Nevertheless, some indie labels remain bullish about the format.

Patterson Hood, “The South’s Heritage Is So Much More Than a Flag” (New York Times, July 2015)

In the wake of the Charleston church shooting in June and the resulting controversy over the Confederate Flag, there are few people who could make a better case for the complex, contradictory nature of Southern culture than the Drive-By Truckers’ frontman. Patterson is the son of a Muscle Shoals band fixture and was born in the same town as blues/jazz avatar W.C. Handy, only a few miles away from where Sun Records founder Sam Phillips was born. While he’s proud of his Southern musical heritage, he’s not blind to the horrible, murderous racist history that came behind it too (his great-great-grandfather fought in the Confederacy).

Jessica Hopper, “Gals/other marginalized folks: what was your 1st brush (in music industry, journalism, scene) w/ idea that you didn’t “count”?” (Twitter, August 2015)

After one of the best music books of the year (The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic), Hopper further proves her mettle by starting with a loaded question on Twitter and evolving it into a fascinating, extended conversation, showing the power of that medium that few have mastered, drawing input from other exceptional writers and artists.

Sarah Jaffe, “Why Feminism Needs Punk” (Dissent, Spring 2015)

Detailing Slits co-founder/guitarist Viv Albertine’s book Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys: A Memoir, Jaffe explores the changes not just of being a girl in a boy’s domain but also how to live a consistently rebellious life after you stop doing music. In so doing, Jaffe makes the point that Albertine shouldn’t just be an inspiration to young girls and would-be musicians: “Feminism today could use a punk moment. It has become buttoned-up and sanitized, in thrall to capitalist ideals of success and the endless rehashing of narrow debates.”

Maura Johnston, “Wimpy White Dudes With Guitars Ruined American Idol” (The Concourse, May 2015)

For any of us who didn’t like American Idol but were fascinated by its power, Johnston guides us through its decline, bit by bit. Even past the whole premise of the show, she’s right to say that the clichéd male divas, questionable judges, questionable winners and competition via YouTube sank the show. Then again, even a ratings bonanza like this is bound to get stale after a while.

Peter Kafka, “Adele Owned Last Week, but a Guy You’ve Never Heard Of Owns Pop Music. Here’s How He Did It” (Re/Code, November 2015)

The guy noted in the title is Max Martin, a Swedish producer/songwriter who started churning out hits for Britney and the ‘90s boy-bands but whose singles continue to rule supreme in a post-iTunes era.

Dan Kopf, “The Death of One-Hit Wonders” (Priceonomics, May 2015)

“In Data We Trust” is the motto for the site and this proves they ain’t kidding. Based on charts and graphs, we see that the ironically temporary mainstays of the music biz are indeed slowly disappearing. It really does seem like it’s the end of several eras: “It feels like our culture is losing a particularly pleasurable phenomenon. By their very nature, one-hit wonders are bound to the time period in which they experience success.”

Evelyn McDonnell, “Statement on “The Lost Girls”” (Populism Blog, July 2015)

After the explosive Huffington Post expose on the Runways by Jason Cherkis, McDonnell (who had recently come out with the Runways bio Queens of Noise) interjects. At first, you might think she’s being defensive, especially since the original article seems to cover things left out of her book, but we soon see that she adds some necessary context here. Fox’s story is horrifying, but it’s not a new one. McDonnell takes Cherkis to task for not contacting her for the story (and making her sound like she had defended Fowley), not to mention lying to his sources and outing the victim. Is McDonnell right? Read both stories and decide for yourself.

Laura Snapes, “How Arctic Monkeys’ debut single changed the music industry and ‘killed the NME’” (Guardian, October 2015)

For anyone who’s not an Anglophile, the premise here might seem crazy but it’s the truth, plus it’s tech history and music history too. In the U.S., the Monkeys seemed to flash and disappear with their first record but they’re still royalty in the UK and their promo campaign initially came about all from their own viral efforts, cutting out the taste masters and gate-keepers like NME.

James Stafford, “Will the Grammy for Record of the Year be ‘The Record of the Year’?” (Diffuser, February 2015)

Many Grammy categories are a joke, but for music fans who do watch the ceremony and like to handicap their favorite acts, you’re always left wondering the hell they’re talking about with “Record of The Year” (vs. “Song of the Year”). So... “the Record of the Year does not need to be a single, nor does it need to sell well or even make the charts. All that matters is ‘artistic and technical achievement.’” And as Stafford reminds us, in Grammy history, many of the greatest records that had the most influence aren’t necessary the ones that get the nod. Then again, hindsight’s 20/20, right?

Katherine St. Asaph, “protips for thinkpieces, pt. 2” (Tumblr, October 2015)

Coming off of an Awl piece about why guys are bothered/confused by Joanna Newsom, St. Asaph has a bone to pick with the original article’s critique. Why can’t a writer compare a woman artist to another woman without coming off as sexist? When that happens “it removes from the critical conversation those whose primary reference points for music are women, who unsurprisingly tend to be... other women” and “it removes female artists from the critical conversation.” All of which makes you wonder how much good that kind of PC-think actually does when it’s applied all the time.

Allison Stewart, “Alternative nation’s last stand: Lollapalooza 1995, an oral history” (Washington Post, August 2015)

Strange to think that it’s so distant now, but the pioneering music festival broke and created so many rules that they’re ingrained in the touring market now to the extent that it’s hard to appreciate. Seeming to be a communal paradise of the alt-nation and the genres surrounding it, here’s where it came crashing down thanks to egos and fatigue. Along with the Lolla honchos, we hear the story from Sonic Youth, Jesus Lizard, Pavement, Hole, Sinead O’Connor (who left the tour) and Cypress Hill. There are arrests, band rivalries, sucky shows, line-up changes and more.

James Trew, “How Casio accidentally started reggae’s digital revolution” (Engadget, December 2015)

The fascinating story of how a goofy, cheapo little plastic toy-like keyboard created history not only in reggae but also in hip hop and beyond. The bouncy little rhythm is so cheesy and simple that you’re sure you’ve heard it dozens of times (and you probably have). What’s more, it took Casio decades to realize they had stumbled upon a goldmine with this tiny preset.

Jeff Weiss, “Ready To Die: Three Days of Drugs and Disintegration With the Grateful Dead” (Noisey, August 2015)

It was a dizzying year for Deadheads. Nothing really captured the messy, odd vibe of their Chicago bow-out better than this extended report (a drug-fueled piece of New Journalism that Dr. Gonzo would appreciate), which includes the author’s culture blooming into a Deadhead (years after Garcia died) leading up to the bizarre, time-wrapped spectacle of the Deadheads gathering for one last massive tailgate at the “Fare Thee Well” shows.

Robin Yassin-Kassab, “The Sound and the Fury: How Syria’s Rappers, Rockers and Writers Fought Back” (Guardian, November 2015)

In the wake of a horrifying civil war that has pit a murderous regime against a bastardized and blood-thirsty Islamic cult, the Syrian people who chose to stay in their country have struggled to maintain their lives by creating their own little communities which are under constant threat. Here, the stories come from a number of artists that ultimately left Syria and tell their story from overseas as they watch others jockey for position in their native land.

Annie Zaleski, ““You are not welcome here”: At concerts and music festivals, fans with disabilities are too often shut out, endangered and ignored” (Salon, July 2015)

It’s not quite as bad as she makes it out in the title, but Zaleski (who has cerebral palsy) does highlight plenty of short-comings she’s seen and heard about in the States, which is far behind Europe in providing equal access at shows. In fact, she has some pretty touching and moving stories to share of venues helping her enjoy the show, just as anyone else at a concert can and should. Also see her “Sell your records, sell your soul?: How I learned to stop hoarding and embrace the cloud” feature from earlier in the year.

Further Reading

Kate Beaudoin, “Loving Fall Out Boy Is the Most Rock and Roll Thing I’ve Ever Done” (Mic, January 2015)

William Doyle, “Brian Eno’s Another Green World, Revisited By East India Youth” (The Q’uietus, December 2015)

Jason Fine, “Brian Wilson’s Better Days” (Rolling Stone, June 2015)

Ann Powers, “Digital Underground” (NPR, June 2015)

Clayton Purdom, “God bless Tom DeLonge, the wandering ghost of ‘90s mall-punk” (AV Club, January 2015)

David Ramsey, “Prayers For Richard” (Oxford American, December 2015)

Leo Sacks, “Bill Withers: A Voice of Experience” (Offbeat, October 2015)

Jeffrey St. Clair, “The Buddha of the Blues” (Counterpunch, June 2015)

Anastacia Tsioulcas, “Why Is ‘Billboard’ Asking Industry Execs If They Believe Kesha?” (NPR, August 2015)

Lindsay Zoladz, “Lady Gaga Goes To the Middle” (Vulture, October 2015)

And just a couple more from RBMA editor Todd L. Burns

As always, Jason has done a wonderfully comprehensive job in outlining the year in music journalism. Here are six personal favorites of mine that he didn’t include.

Jon Caramanica, “Can the Weeknd Turn Himself Into the Biggest Pop Star in the World?” (New York Times, July 2015) - The first large-scale profile of the Canadian singer by one of the best music writers in the world

Aaron Coultate, “Honest Jon's: London Is The Place For Me” (Resident Advisor, May 2015 ) – An in-depth exploration of the low-profile UK institution

Charlie Deitch, “At 78 and with myriad health issues, surf-rock legend Dick Dale plays through the pain” (Pittsburgh City Paper, July 2015) - An extreme story of what happens when rock & rollers get old and still want to rock

Meaghan Garvey, “I’m Breaking Up with Drake” (Pitchfork, August 2015) - One of the best personal essays of the year

Jordan Kisner, “Rain Is Sizzling Bacon, Cars Are Lions Roaring: The Art Of Sound In Movies” (The Guardian, July 2015) - Uncovering a type of music-making that is often forgotten but utterly essential

Lauren Martin, “The VICE Oral History of Dubstep” (VICE, May 2015) - My RBMA colleague’s exhaustive and revealing look at arguably the last electronic music-altering genre to emerge from the UK