#050: An Otherwise Mostly Entertaining Thing
I’m Todd L. Burns, and welcome to Music Journalism Insider, a newsletter about music journalism. I highlight some of the best stuff I hear, read, and watch every week; publish news about the industry; and interview writers, scholars, and editors about their work. My goal is to share knowledge, celebrate great work, and expand the idea of what music journalism is—and where it happens. Questions, comments, concerns? You can reach me anytime at music.journalism.insider@gmail.com.
Today in the newsletter: Interviews with former Pitchfork executive editor Matthew Schnipper, freelance writer Mina Tavakoli, Tone Glow editor-in-chief Joshua Minsoo Kim, and classical music evangelist Aubrey Bergauer. Plus: Reading recommendations, podcast recommendations, and a great documentary you need to check out! But first…
Panda Lamp Took Me A Sec
Reading List
A beautiful story about Jim White and his relationship with his daughter, written by Max Blau
NPR Music has published a massive project documenting “A Century of Black Music Against State Violence”
Mariana Timony has posted an excerpt from her upcoming book, The Book of Weird Girls
Ernest Wilkins and Dan Runcie swapped newsletters this week
Jim Allen interviews former Trouser Press editor Ira Robbins about his fiction writing
A reading list from Sun Ra’s 1971 UC Berkeley course, “The Black Man in the Cosmos” [h/t Jordannah Elizabeth]
Ben Westhoff is counting down the greatest rappers of all-time for his newsletter Drugs + Hip-Hop
Jack Riedy explores the difficult relationship indie musicians and labels have with streaming services
A DJ Screw reading list from Gino Sorcinelli
Q&A: Matthew Schnipper
Matthew Schnipper is the former executive editor of Pitchfork, former editor-in-chief of The FADER, and a former editor at The Verge and GQ. As you might expect from someone who's been an editor for so long, Matthew has been largely behind-the-scenes, working to amplify the voices of writers and getting their work to larger audiences. Of late, though, Matthew has been writing more and more—including this heartfelt essay about naming his son after Henry Rollins. In this excerpt from our interview, Matthew answers three of the usual questions I send to folks in a succinct and thoughtful way.
Where do you see music journalism headed?
Wherever Cat Zhang, Mina Tavakoli, Ben Dandrige-Lemco, Mankaprr Conteh, Hubert Adjei-Contoh, Arielle Gordon, Olivia Horn, and Jenzia Burgos want it to. They all think with their galaxy brains and write from their hearts. Read them!
What would you like to see more of in music journalism right now?
Diverse editors with strong senses of music history. Trust in the youngest writers and tastemakers. Better ways to highlight new ideas in music, even if they sometimes come with unpolished edges. More discussion about songs instead of albums. An interest in obscurer nooks of the past and present.
What would you like to see less of in music journalism right now?
Less groupthink about who and what to cover. Chris Richards at The Washington Post does an incredible job writing about, say, Lana Del Rey with the same rigor as he does an unknown artist. Alphonse Pierre at Pitchfork is never precious about sharing music he’s discovered days or even hours earlier. I do take into consideration that there are so few publications left that it makes sense that they all cover big releases by big artists, but it sometimes feels at the sake of curiosity.
Read the full interview with Matthew here.
Causes Worth Supporting
This week’s causes worth supporting come from No Depression editor Hilary Saunders.
Tiny Changes and Backline are my two new favorite music charities. They’re both committed to helping folks — Scottish youth and music industry professionals, respectively — with their mental health. Although they only started in the past year or so, I’m hopeful they’ll both continue to grow, provide resources to those in need, and help combat stigmas about mental illnesses.
My best friend, who is an immigration lawyer, told me about HIAS not too long after inauguration. Although it began in the 1800s as a resource for Jewish refugees, it has since grown into one of the leading nonprofits dedicated to helping anyone in need during our current immigration crisis. One of the principles of Judaism pertains to tikkun olam, or the notion of repairing the world. HIAS reminds me how these values can be integrated into meaningful work that benefits all people.
By the way: Hilary is currently looking for pitches for the next issue of No Depression. “The Winter 2020 issue is called ‘All Together Now’ and will focus on collaboration and community in roots music.”
A Simpler Time
Q&A: Mina Tavakoli
Mina Tavakoli is a freelance writer with bylines in Pitchfork, The Washington Post, The Creative Independent, and more. She’s one of the best new music writers I’ve come across in the past year or so, with an obvious gift for crafting language. In this excerpt from our interview, Mina talks about mentorship in the world of music journalism.
I hope that I can one day become a mentor to as many people as possible, because the idea of being one, and the blessing of having more than one, has been a gift beyond gifts. Writing can be a really solitary act, and being reminded somewhat routinely that there are other people who aspire to do this pretty decadent, largely self-indulgent, but otherwise mostly entertaining thing, is just the embodiment of empathy and generosity.
This is all to say, if there’s anyone interested in knowing more about this world, please get in touch with me. Particularly—especially, preferentially—writers of color who feel very strongly that they have an itch to scratch in this odious industry, who know that their words are worth it, and who think that what they have to say might be more interesting than what’s already been said. My power at present is pretty limited, but it’s just crucial to make sure that the meager spoils of an enterprise as fundamentally up-one’s-ass as music criticism get to be shared.
Read the full interview with Mina here.
Biz Round-Up
Okayplayer and OkayAfrica’s Abiola Oke has resigned after a number of women signed an open letter describing extensive abusive behavior by the CEO and publisher
Freelance writer Christine Kakaire has posted an open letter to commissioning editors of music and culture publications, written in “the direct aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, and the grief and turmoil that has since enveloped Black communities globally”
Stereogum is considering a crowdfunding campaign
Jezebel has published a piece reporting on the “toxic workplace” at Remezcla
Resident Advisor’s editors have published an extensive article detailing how their editorial team “will promote racial equity, now and in the future”
Stuff You Gotta Watch
Stuff You Gotta Watch celebrates music journalism in video form. This week’s column is by freelance writer Jesse Locke.
Alice Coltrane Black Journal Segment (National Museum of African American History & Culture; Directed by St. Claire Bourne)
This 16mm portrait of Alice Coltrane was filmed in 1970, three years after the death of her husband John. The presence of the jazz titan continued to loom large over Alice’s life at that time, which she shared with their four children in an idyllic Dix Hills, New York, home. As the harpist and pianist explained in a candid series of interviews, she did not wish to be defined as an extension of John’s music, but rather share it with his lingering spirit.
Following Alice through a series of vignettes, the 15-minute segment for the National Education Television program Black Journal presents her as both a passionate artist and compassionate parent. We see her strolling with her kids, cooking in concert with saxophonist Pharoah Sanders and drummer Rashied Ali, and practicing harp in a sequence that feels like the cover photo of A Monastic Trio come to life. The conversation that closes the moving mini-documentary includes Alice on the verge of a spiritual breakthrough, meditating for 20 hours straight to set her soul free forever.
Podcasts!
The CBC has launched a podcast called This Is Not a Drake Podcast; spoiler alert: it’s basically a Drake podcast
Kevin Lozano and Arjun Ram Srivatsa have started a new podcast called Diversity Hire about being POC in media
WBGO has launched a new podcast called Jazz United, hosted by Nate Chinen and Greg Bryant
Record Club is a new live storytelling podcast that focuses on a single album each episode
United States of Anxiety caught up with WQXR’s Terrance McKnight as he prepared a radio show celebrating Black classical music on Juneteenth
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Q&A: Joshua Minsoo Kim
Joshua Minsoo Kim is a freelance writer and the editor-in-chief of Tone Glow, a newsletter about experimental music new and old. Joshua has written for countless publications over the past few years, but has recently focused his work toward The Wire, Chicago Reader, and Bandcamp Daily. That focus has allowed Joshua time to build Tone Glow into one of the most exciting experimental music platforms around right now. In this excerpt from our interview, Joshua explains the elements that make up each issue of the newsletter.
There are three main features of a typical Tone Glow issue: an interview with an artist, always in Q&A format; the “Download Corner,” where three albums are uploaded in FLAC & MP3 with accompanying blurbs; and a writers panel, which finds my cast of brilliant writers tackling the same album and giving it a score between 0 and 10 (it is directly inspired by The Singles Jukebox). All three of these features exist for very specific reasons. I’ll lay them out below.
1) The Interview. I don’t really consider myself a writer; I’m a music fan who likes talking to people. Doing written-through interviews is terrifying for me (since I don’t consider myself a writer) but they also rub me the wrong way: why would I want someone to write a narrative about an artist? That feels like hand-holding, like feeding an audience specific ideas about an artist when that sort of thing can come very naturally from a normal Q&A conversation. I also like that I try to understand artists as people, asking them about things unrelated to music. There are a lot of personal stories an artist can share that will illuminate their work. And as a reader, there’s a subtle satisfaction that arises when you make sense of the invisible throughlines between their life and work.
2) The Download Corner. This is us trying to relive the glory days of blogspot blogs, but it’s also a way for Tone Glow to champion obscure and old music since that’s not something most publications regularly do. It’s also a way for us to provide some curation that Spotify never could. I hope that this section helps readers dig into more obscure music as well; music publications should really encourage readers to seek out non-canonical music on their own.
3) The Writers Panel. This exists because I wanted to do what The Singles Jukebox did for me: provide a space for growth. I specifically choose albums from different genres of music so that my writers have opportunities to tackle things they’re not familiar with. Scores are included for a specific reason: they’re hopefully seen as extensions of personal taste, as something subjective despite a hard number being present. The biggest failing of music publications is that reviews feel like the definitive opinion of a publication instead of the specific viewpoint of an individual person (this is because only one review per album is present, and because of the house styles for a lot of these websites—I understand these things are unavoidable, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true). For some Tone Glow issues, we’ve had nearly 20 writers tackling a single album. Reading those all at once, it’s impossible to see the writing as anything other than extremely personal responses to something.
Read the full interview with Joshua here.
Ten Lists From Ego Trip’s Book of Rap Lists
Ego Trip’s Book of Rap Lists is one of the funniest, smartest, and still-impressive books about hip-hop I’ve ever read. Aside from an incredibly unfortunate Russell Simmons list, this book—published in 1999—is an invaluable resource for anyone looking to learn about the history of the genre. Here are ten great lists to read in full when you buy or check out the book.
Songs By Common With Food Titles
Rap Logos Based on The Godfather
Rappers Who’ve Assisted The World’s Tallest Emcee (Shaq)
Inspectah Deck Picks His Favorite Professional Wrestlers Of All-Time
Hip-Hop’s Greatest Sweater References Of All-Time
Shit That Rappers Do That Gets On Fat Joe’s Nerves
Rappers Who Have At One Time Announced Their Retirements
Songs That End With Explosions
Rap Artists With The Same Names
Rappers Who Appeared On The Penultimate Episode Of The Arsenio Hall Show (May 26, 1994)
Something To Think About During Verzuz Tonight
Q&A: Aubrey Bergauer
Aubrey Bergauer is the founding executive director for the Center for Innovative Leadership at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Formerly, Aubrey was the California Symphony’s Executive Director. Her data-driven approach saw the symphony’s audience double in five years and its donor base nearly quadruple. She’s a tireless advocate for classical music. Next week, she’ll be hosting a free program “facilitating artist and administrator roundtable discussions discussing issues that are normally reserved for the bargaining table or behind closed doors.” You can check it out here. In this excerpt from our interview, Aubrey talks about what she’d like to see more of in music journalism
Inviting Black, brown, female, and other underrepresented writers to the table. The talent is there, and we have largely sidelined that talent, even if inadvertently. It’s so easy to go back to the familiar names in music journalism for every opportunity or assignment or pitch. I’m guilty of this too—it’s who we know and have been reading for years—and it takes a cognitive choice to say that there are new voices to be heard who bring new and different views and passions to their writing that we haven’t given the platform to before. There is space for all of this, but we have to actively choose it, not just like or hope to see it.
Read the full interview with Aubrey here.
Academic Stuff
A new issue of Metal Music Studies has been published
Call for Papers: The Progect Network for the Study of Progressive Rock is looking for submissions for a 2021 conference entitled Progressive Rock and Metal: Towards a Contemporary Understanding; email progectconference2021@gmail.com for more info
The first edition of the Popular Music Books in Process Series, featuring Shana Redmond and Gus Stadler in conversation, has been posted to YouTube
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The Closing Credits
Thanks for reading! Feel free to reach out to me via email at music.journalism.insider@gmail.com. On Twitter, it’s @JournalismMusic. Until next time…