#191: Ego Clouds
Ego Clouds
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. And if you're not already subscribed to the newsletter, you can do so at musicjournalisminsider.com.
Today in the newsletter: Interviews with editor Dimas Sanfiorenzo and freelance journalists Nicolas-Tyrell Scott and Bob Ruggiero. Plus! Reading recommendations, a largely wordless music documentary, and much more! But first…
Point
Source
Reading List
- John Jeremiah Sullivan celebrated a lost musician of the Harlem Renaissance
- Raymond Roker documented his trip to the 18th Annual Archives Bazaar
- Ciaran Thapar wrote about music in Southall
- Michelle Santiago Cortés asked journalists about the state of music criticism
- Noah Shachtman took a look at where Rolling Stone is going
- Matt Daniels and Michelle McGhee charted the evolution of music genres
- Rachel Cholst looked at how music festivals can be made safer for diverse musicians
- Nina Corcoran reported on merch cuts at venues
- Shawn Reynaldo spoke with Anti-Matter’s Norman Brannon
- Althea Legaspi hosted a roundtable about breaking through rock journalism’s boys’ club
Lede Of The Week
“Please allow this Asian American music writer to articulate this at the level it deserves: Egregious racism and misogyny have a long history in rock & roll — from those on the industry side who have appropriated Black artists’ work to those at the top of the publications who dictated what has been featured. The gatekeepers have always been a boys’ club — specifically a white boys’ club.” - Althea Legaspi
Q&A: Dimas Sanfiorenzo
Dimas Sanfiorenzo is a journalist and editor. He’s written for Vibe, BET, BBC, and more. Most recently, however, he worked for Okayplayer and Okayafrica as the editorial director of both brands. In this excerpt from our interview, Dimas explains what he’d like to see more of in music journalism.
Just better reporting. It feels like there's a real reset in media happening. It's scary, but resets often lead to good things. The era of getting fat off of aggregated hits, SEO lists, and puff interviews is gone; most of that will be AI-driven content within the next couple of years. But there is always going to be a market for information that other people don't have, whether it's unique, interesting opinions or reported information. When music journalism was at its peak—whenever that was—it was because outlets were offering access to someone the audience couldn’t engage with. Artists can mostly do that themselves now. So where does that leave journalists?
Young reporters and writers should be thinking in terms of what value they can provide. Can you find scoops? Can you provide legitimately interesting ideas and perspectives with nuance and care? Can you become an authoritative figure in the space? What are the ways you can put the reader on? All of that starts with reporting.
What would you like to see less of in music journalism right now?
I feel like the Q&A is mostly dead. I haven't read a good music interview in forever and mostly stopped commissioning them at my old gig. I mean, editors for the big pubs will still assign these, but most just read like a coordinated dance, where the interviewee, interviewer, and reader all know the steps. A great Q&A can be life-changing. But talent rarely gives you the access you need for a great one anymore. And most culture writers are 1099 and don't have the weight of a publication behind them, so loyalties end up being more with the publicist (who is getting you the shitty access) rather than a publication's readership.
In general—because I see journalists talk about this often—I would like writers to stop complaining about access and look at ways to take power without. Using all the information you have, what are the ways you can become an advocate for your audience or the community?
A Cause Worth Supporting
From Dimas Sanfiorenzo:
I can’t stop thinking about what’s happening in Palestine right now. From my understanding, getting direct aid right now will be challenging but here is a list of on the ground organizations to support.
Check out all of the causes highlighted by folks I’ve interviewed.
Counterpoint
Source
Podcasts!
- Black Bubblegum explored sexual presentation in music
- Not a Diving welcomed Martyn to talk creativity, Bandcamp, and more
- ODB: A Son Unique and Songs of Our Lives have launched
- Sam Sanders said goodbye to Into It
- Fly Fidelity spoke with Elliott Wilson
The First Ever Music Journalism Insider Giveaway!
Rob Harvilla’s excellent 60 Songs That Explain the ’90s podcast has become a book! To celebrate, Rob is giving copies away to three lucky newsletter readers. To be in the running, reply to this email with the name of the song that was the focus of Rob’s first podcast episode. I’ll then randomly select three winners from folks who respond within 48 hours.
Q&A: Nicolas-Tyrell Scott
Nicolas-Tyrell Scott is a culture and music journalist, speaker, critic, and curator. He’s had bylines in HYPEBEAST, NME, Paper, and more. He’s also the host of the Town Hall conversations at ICA London. In this excerpt from our interview, Nicolas-Tyrell explains how his approach to his work has changed over the past few years.
I think it's changed in a lot of ways, I remember being so eager a few years ago to prove myself, whereas now it's not about proving my worth, I'm sure of that now and know what I bring to the table, in abundance, it's letting the right opportunities align. I'm finding that more editors/businesses/individuals are seeking me out now and that's a sign of building out good, solid, credible beats, as well as writing about what I love.
I'm not afraid of having direct conversations about things I may not agree with editorially. It's always, always good to be receptive to feedback and not let ego cloud you from becoming better, but sometimes, there are fundamentals that you can challenge. I love an editor that I can build a great working relationship with. At the end of the day, it's about the final product and that being as good as it can be. If we're both feeding into that collective goal and we can feel that, that's amazing.
My mind is open to so much more, wider forms of writing, speaking, and podcasts. I want to use my other skills like speaking and strategy and I'm so glad that God and my abilities are leading me to these terrains. What's for you will find you, or you'll reach out once you find it and evolve.
Stuff You Gotta Watch
Stuff You Gotta Watch celebrates music journalism in video form. This week’s column is by Garth Cartwright.
As an introduction to Europe’s largest minority, the people often called “gypsies,” Latcho Drom, from 1993, is an enchanting, impressionistic documentary—and arguably the most beautiful music documentary ever filmed. Following the migrations of the Roma peoples and their music making from Rajasthan to Andalusia, the narrative is told by musical interludes featuring leading artists.
In Romania, the dozen-strong string ensemble Taraf de Haidouks play on the street (and later won hipster attention after being championed by Johnny Depp). In Spain, Remedios Amaya sings a powerful flamenco after families are evicted by the local government. In Turkey, the sequence is filmed in Istanbul’s Sulukule’s neighborhood, long famous for its Roma musicians yet destroyed by Erdogan’s government in 2009 (so as to develop the land).
Beautifully shot by French director Tony Gatlif, Latcho Drom (“safe journey” in Romany) doesn't offer commentary or analysis, simply presenting these forever persecuted nomads who make exceptional music. For a film that barely deals in the spoken word, Latcho Drom conveys a very concrete sense of historical reality. And the fact that the film exists at all, flouting genres and national barriers, is of no small political importance.
Pivoting To Video
- 12Tone explored what makes heavy metal heavy
- The Punk Rock MBA pondered the death of indie rock
- Broey Deschanel wondered whether film critics are a dying breed
- DW History and Culture explained why so many songs pay homage to Berlin
- Alfo Media celebrated the importance of bridges in music
Trivia Time
When Guardian music writers were asked to compile their top 5 favorite albums (not “best albums”) in 2011, what album topped the list?
Bits, Bobs
- Nick Kelly, Sandra Butler-Truesdale, and Dusty Street have passed away
- 404 Media reported on Bandcamp Daily editorial director J. Edward Keyes’ anti-union social media posts
- Uproxx is gearing up for its annual music critics poll
- The 2023 ASCAP Foundation Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Awards were announced
- 33 1/3 books celebrated its 20th anniversary
OK!
Source
Q&A: Bob Ruggiero
Bob Ruggiero is a freelance music journalist who has been writing for Houston Press since 1997. His new book is The Classic Rock Bob Reader: Selected Interviews 1989-2023, which brings together 130 musician interviews conducted over the past 35 years. In this excerpt from our interview, Bob explains why he decided to put the book together.
I was thinking about how many interviews I had done over the years for so many publications and websites, that it would be cool and interesting to bring together the best of them in one book. I wanted a summation of my writing career to date. And I know that in every piece I asked questions and got answers from the musicians that I had not seen anywhere else.
What's one tip that you'd give someone looking to write a music book right now?
Find a subject who has not already been written about endlessly. I have a personal library of about 1,000 music biographies, autobiographies, and themed books (including over 150 just about the Beatles). But there are so many bands and performers that don’t even have one book about them, and I would love to read them myself! (This was a primary reason I decided to write my first book about WAR).
A Cause Worth Supporting
From Bob Ruggiero:
Sweet Relief is an organization and fund that offers financial assistance specifically to musicians and music industry professionals who are struggling to make ends meet while dealing with abrupt or long-standing personal crises and problems.
Check out all of the causes highlighted by folks I’ve interviewed.
Academic Stuff
- New issues: Music and the Moving Image, Riffs, Popular Music, Music and the Moving Image, Journal of Singing, Studies in Musical Theatre, Ethnomusicology, Early Music History, and Philosophy of Music Education Review
- Lachi has published a paper about accessibility for those with vision loss
- Call for Papers: Research Convention for the Night Time Economy Summit 2024 [Deadline: November 28]
- Registration is open for Film Music Between the Movies and the Concert Hall
- Call for Proposals: Music, Media, and Narrative in the Streaming Age [Abstracts due December 1]
The Closing Credits
Thanks for reading! In case you’ve missed any special features, I’ve published a number of them in the newsletter, including articles about music journalism history, what music journalism will be like in 2221, and much more. You can check out all of that here.
I also do a recurring column in the newsletter called Notes On Process. The premise is simple: I share a Google Doc with a music journalist where we go into depth on one of their pieces. It hopefully provides an insight into how music writers do their work. You can check out all editions of Notes On Process here.
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Trivia Time Answer
None: the list idea was dropped as there were too few albums with multiple votes. (Four albums, however, received the highest tally of three votes each: Joy Division’s Closer, Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks, Radiohead’s Kid A, and The Velvet Underground & Nico.)
Some Final Notes
Thanks for reading! And thanks to James Lamont for their Trivia Time question. I make playlists every single week. Check them here! And full disclosure: my day job is at uDiscover Music, a branded content online magazine owned by Universal Music. This newsletter is not affiliated or sponsored in any way by Universal, and any links that relate to the work of my department will be clearly marked.
Feel free to reach out to me via email at music.journalism.insider@gmail.com. On X, it’s @JournalismMusic. Until next time...