#109: Marlon Brando In Frosted Pink Lipstick
Marlon Brando In Frosted Pink Lipstick
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 The Quietus co-founder John Doran; hip-hop and media scholar Eric Harvey; and Alyssa Favreau, author of a new 33 1/3 on Janelle Monáe. Plus! Saturday Night Live music intros, Kelefa Sanneh-palooza, and more! But first…
Amen
Source
Reading List
- Lauren Herstik explains how a group of lawyers broke news on Twitter during Britney Spears' legal proceedings [h/t MusicREDEF]
- Camille Squires goes deep on disco
- Nyshka Chandran presents an aural perspective on Islam and Hinduism [h/t Selected Works]
- Jake Kring-Schreifels has an oral history of That Thing You Do!
- L-FRESH The LION profiles hip-hop chronicler Simone Amelia Jordan
- Jake Blount replies to a recent article about “Afro-Americana”
- WordTips breaks down the numbers on which pop singer has the biggest vocabulary [h/t Ted Gioia]
- Jason Gross speaks with Egyptian music journalist Fady Adel
- Jessica M. Goldstein recounts how Kidz Bop has ruled the charts for decades
- Pitchfork rescored a number of reviews from their archive
Q&A: John Doran
John Doran is the co-founder and editor of The Quietus, one of the most essential music magazines in the world. I say essential because they cover things that few others do, and they cover it in a way that no one else does. This is a special interview, as John provided a funny, critical, and extremely personal 8k+ words in response to my questions. I'm very grateful that he took the time and energy to put all of it down. In this excerpt from the interview (which you should really go read in full!), John talks about three music journalism mentors who have made a difference in his life.
I probably wouldn’t have had the nerve to start planning The Quietus without having spent a few years hanging round with Simon Price first. Even just meeting this really imposing guy, who looked like a youthful Marlon Brando in frosted pink lipstick, a fake leopard skin coat and stack heel boots with what looked like bolts of lightning shooting out of his head, was impressive enough. You know, he used to walk around London in the late 80s with a plastic lobster on a bejewelled dog leash, in tribute to the French poet Gérard de Nerval, just deprogramming himself, absolving himself of the need to pay attention to what anyone else thought of him... in cultural terms at least. And the space that this kind of surreal, new romantic/glam discipline created allowed him to build up this grand universal theory of music that he still pretty much applies to everything to this day. It was eye-opening, like dropping acid, to hear him talk about this stuff at length. A heroic figure.
And then with someone like John Robb, the tireless voice of the spirit of punk rock in the UK, you have what I find is an incredibly inspiring figure. He’s 60 but he always looks really good, he’s always 100% on, 100% positive. A true evangelist. I remember once walking down by the pierhead in Liverpool with my family and running into John who was having his photograph taken by a giant brass statue of Billy Fury, the sun was behind him and momentarily I couldn’t tell them apart. A monumental guy.
Another person who made a deep impact on me was Michael Hann. Not only did he give me my first work on The Guardian (writing a column on Middle Eastern and North African music) despite me having given him very good reason not to employ me when I was still drinking and sometimes quite childishly obnoxious and self-sabotaging, but he did my website a massive favour. When he left his position as The Guardian’s music editor, he told me he was worried about going straight into the much more solitary role of freelancer, so he came and worked in our office for free one day a week for a year. I don’t think people realise how despondent Luke and I become sometimes, just trying to keep the show on the road, how ostracized we can feel, so having him come to us was an incredible shot in the arm.
Read the full interview with John here.
A Cause Worth Supporting
From John Doran:
If anyone’s not aware of the great work Abortion Without Borders / Abortion Support Network do, you can find out more and donate here. They provide information, support, accommodation etc. for women from countries including Ireland, Northern Ireland, Malta and Poland who need to travel to access abortion services.
Check out all of the causes highlighted by folks I’ve interviewed.
Amen
Source
Q&A: Eric Harvey
Eric Harvey is Associate Professor in the School of Communications at Grand Valley State University. (He's also published widely in places like Pitchfork, Slate, and the LA Times.) His new book is Who Got the Camera?: A History of Rap and Reality. As he explains, the book "re-tells the 'gangsta rap' story within the context of the tabloid culture that was re-defining journalism, entertainment, and politics between 1986 and 1996. It’s a cultural history of the first era of 'reality entertainment' told mostly through rap." In this excerpt from the interview, Eric explains the hardest part about writing the book.
It was writing a book about Black popular culture as a white man from the midwest. I’m not worried at all about facts and history, I came of age during the era, and I always stand by my critical work, but there were moments when I had to check myself, my privilege, and my distance from the lived experiences of others. I wanted to make abundantly clear, as I do in the preface, that I was approaching this topic from the outside in—as a consumer, fan, and critic—and not the other way around. I consider myself an expert on this particular era of Black popular culture, and I think my book productively re-frames “gangsta” rap in its full mass-media context, but I also of course have zero idea of what it’s like to go through life as a Black person, let alone how these records affect Black people. So, like all white people writing about Black culture, I strove to keep my work aligned with the historical truths as I see them, but not to speculate any further than the literature and historical record allowed.
Read the full interview with Eric here.
Kelefa Sanneh Corner
- The Guardian has an excerpt from Kelefa's new book, centered on hip-hop
- Kelefa discussed the book on WTF with Marc Maron
- Jack Hamilton has a review of the book
- Kelefa's most famous article, "The Rap Against Rockism," is still worth a read
Trivia Time
While working at a Boston record store, Kelefa spent an entire 9-to-5 day putting price tags on what album?
Podcasts!
- Jim DeRogatis and Troy Closson guested on Popcast to discuss reporting on R. Kelly
- Hanif Abdurraqib guides It's Been a Minute through the world of Soul Train
- Mimi The Music Blogger joined the latest episode of Rhymes Like Dimes
- LOUD: The History of Reggaeton wrapped up its run
- Tressie McMillan Cottom talked about Dolly Parton and more on Call & Response
Stuff You Gotta Watch
Stuff You Gotta Watch celebrates music journalism in video form. This week’s column is by Dave Maher.
Here’s how director Andrew Porter describes The DJ Is Here on Vimeo: “A ‘ghostly’ portrait of disk jockey Rene Sanchez. An ex trucker who finds solace by playing roller disco music for free at a local park in upstate, New York.” The seven-minute short blew up on Reddit twice, 15 months apart. The first time was March 22, 2020, and it’s precisely the kind of feel-good human interest story to garner thousands of upvotes in early quarantine.
Long, slow, panning shots show Sanchez sitting at his big PA, staring into the middle distance and smiling sheepishly to camera over an ambient soundtrack. He describes his glory days rollerskating, growing up to become a semi-truck driver, and the accident that put him on his ass for two years. Then, one day, he went to the park at lunch to play tunes like Nu Shooz’ “I Can’t Wait” and Mariah Carey’s “Someday” off his computer louder than he could at home. And he kept going. He talks about DJing as therapy and service, and, in a roundabout way, escape. “I’m glad I could take you back to a better time in your life,” he recalls telling one grateful parkgoer.
Sanchez cuts a solitary figure, even amidst kids’ parties, dogs frolicking, and families gathering. His eyes are nervous as he scans the scene in front of him. But why does he stay apart? Porter never shows us. Instead, he relies on the same instincts that inspire him to describe his own film as “ghostly” in quotes. He increases Sanchez’s disconnection by relegating all of his words to voiceover. Ultimately, it’s a portrait that obscures rather than reveals.
Bits, Bobs
- Mic has relaunched
- Mark Duplass once tried to make a screenplay involving Pitchfork
- Mark Yarm posted a page from Blender, in which the now-defunct magazine did its own rescoring
- Rolling Stone rescinded Kate Lindsay's job offer because of her support of unions
- All Access Triple A editor John Schoenberger is retiring
- Twitch had a massive data leak this week
- Joe Banks posted a "Top 100 Albums of All-Time" list published by Kerrang! in 1981
SNL Hosts Introducing Musical Guests Twitter Is Great
- Ruth Gordon with an inclusive introduction to Chuck Berry
- Hard to believe Adrien Brody has gotten a job, ever, after this
- Roma Downey introducing Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott, Timbaland, and Magoo
- Laura Leighton is now destined to be a reaction video for anything bad
- Bill Russell is now destined to be a reaction video for anything bad related to Chicago
Excited To Read It... But Just For The Articles
Source
Q&A: Alyssa Favreau
Alyssa Favreau is a Tiohtià:ke/Montreal-based writer and production editor at the McGill-Queen's University Press. Her new book is a 33 1/3 volume on Janelle Monáe’s The ArchAndroid. Alyssa wrote a thesis on Octavia Butler’s science fiction, so she was uniquely primed to unpack parts of the album. In this excerpt from our interview, she explains her approach to the book.
The ArchAndroid is a science fiction concept album that tells the story of Cindi Mayweather, an android from 28th century Metropolis who is on the run for the crime of loving a human, and destined to become the messiah known as the ArchAndroid. Because of my background I wanted to treat the album like a literary document, like a text to be analyzed. It’s a rich album that brings together a lot of genres, references, and storytelling conventions. There’s a lot there to sink your teeth into, and the album really rewards repeat listens. The ArchAndroid was a joy to write about, to really get into its story, its significance, and its genius.
Read the full interview with Alyssa here.
Academic Stuff
- New issues: Popular Music and Society, Contemporary Music Review, Tempo, and SMT-V
- Call for Papers: M/C Journal is planning an issue on cities (Article deadline: April 15, 2022)
- Katherine Brucher has been named the incoming editor of Ethnomusicology
- Call for Proposals: Riffs is creating a new issue based around "otobiographies" as "a posthumous collaboration with Jacques Derrida" (Deadline: October 31)
- Call for Pitches: Project Spectrum zine (Deadline: October 14)
- Registration is now open for Hip-Hop Transcultural: Constructing and Contesting Identity, Space, and Place in the Americas and beyond
- Call for Proposals: Pantheon Hip Hop Studies Conference (Deadline: October 15)
The Closing Credits
Thanks for reading! In case you’ve missed them, I’ve published a number of special features 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, including the latest one with Danyel Smith, here.
How Can I Support The Newsletter?
Here are three easy ways you can support the newsletter:
- Forward it to a friend
- Buy me a coffee
- Become an ongoing supporter of the newsletter
What sort of perks are there for ongoing supporters?
Insider Extra - An additional e-mail from me each week, usually featuring job listings, freelance calls, and more
How To Pitch Database - Access to a database with contact information and pitching info for hundreds of publications
Reading Recommendations - Access to a resource page collecting great pieces of music journalism, sourced from great music journalists
Advice - Access to a resource page devoted to collecting advice from journalists and editors on how to excel at music journalism
Interviews - Access to the hundreds of interviews that have appeared in the newsletter, with writers and editors from Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, the Guardian, and more
A Friendly Reminder
If you can’t afford to subscribe for access to ongoing supporter extras, no matter the reason, please hit me up at music.journalism.insider@gmail.com. I’ll be happy to give you a free one-year subscription to the newsletter. This offer is extended especially for college students and recent grads, but is open to anyone.
Trivia Time Answer
In Kelefa's interview with Marc Maron this week, he mentions that he spent an entire eight hour shift putting price tags on One Hot Minute by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
A Final Note
Thanks for reading! 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 Twitter, it’s @JournalismMusic. Until next time…