#166: The Woes Of Waiting
The Woes Of Waiting
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 *Rolling Stone editor Angie Martoccio, music scholar Richie Unterberger, and managing editor of EDM Maniac Harry Levin. Plus! Reading recommendations and much more! But first…*
The Dream
Source
Reading List
- Chris Richards embraces nostalgia
- Ryan Clarke chats with Edward George about the Strangeness of Dub project
- Tim Dillinger celebrates Women’s History Month
- Nina Corcoran explores the rise of techno in ultra-violent video games
- Jamie Ludwig reports on the proposed fee hikes on US visas
- Timothy McKenry asks, “Why do we not explore new music as we get older?”
- Nyshka Chandran details AI’s arrival into the world of sound wellness
- The Cadence explains why regulators will never engage with the music streaming debate
- Eli Enis on navigating canceled bands
- Spencer Kornhaber says the pulse of pop music is changing
Lede Of The Week
- “One of the most popular songs in the world right now presents a musical riddle: Are you supposed to dance or nap?” - Spencer Kornhaber
Q&A: Angie Martoccio
Angie Martoccio is associate managing editor at Rolling Stone. She’s been at the magazine for many years, working her way up from her start as Jann Wenner’s executive assistant. “I was legitimately awful at basic assistant tasks like microwaving salmon and scheduling doctor’s appointments,” she explains. “But I loved working for Jann, a total legend.” In this excerpt from our interview, Angie walks through her current day-to-day.
Like everyone in media, my hours are chaotic and unpredictable. But typically: I run two editor’s meetings at 10am and 5pm every day, where I go through each section to determine what content is coming and when. I’ll also curate the homepage, send out newsletters, and publish archival content that never made it onto the site. For the rest of the day I’m in writing mode, conducting interviews, listening to new music, and hoping no one important dies.
What's one tip that you'd give a music journalist starting out right now?
I was really afraid to be persistent and annoying with pitches. Don’t be. Annoying people get bylines.
Read the full interview with Angie here.
A Cause Worth Supporting
From Angie Martoccio:
I regret to inform you that I am a cat person. Beth Stern has dedicated her life to rescuing, fostering, and facilitating adoptions for thousands of cats and kittens—including black cats, who are adopted a lot less than others. Read my interview with her about it, and donate here.
Check out all of the causes highlighted by folks I’ve interviewed.
Is This… Actually True?
Source
Podcasts!
- Resident Advisor explores women’s rights in Iran
- Her Music Acadmeia talks with Dr. Kyra Gaunt about the games Black girls play
- K-Pop Dreaming celebrates the pioneers of modern K-pop
- The First Ever Podcast chats with Rob Harvilla
- Jason P. Frank wonders: “Do we need poptimism?” on Pop Pantheon
Q&A: Richie Unterberger
Richie Unterberger is the author of numerous rock history books, including volumes on the Beatles, the Who, the Velvet Underground, and 1960s folk-rock. He teaches courses on rock and soul music history at several San Francisco Bay Area colleges. His most recent book, published by Taschen in 2022, is San Francisco: Portrait of a City. In this excerpt from our interview, Richie offers a tip for music journalists starting out right now.
I’m sure you hear snarky answers to this along the lines of: “Don’t do it.” But here’s my one tip, and one that I see given surprisingly infrequently. Write about what you like the most. Tips like “don’t call the main editor, call the managing editor,” “go to the office to pitch in person so they know who you are,” or “study the publications/trends to see what they want/need the most” might be useful for some writers. But I don’t think they’ll make for a very satisfying career if that’s the focus, or if the concentration is more on getting work of any kind than the work you want.
Maybe more importantly, if you write about what you like the most, that enthusiasm and passion will carry through to your writing, and make readers and editors want to read your work more. Also, if you have a thirst for knowing more about and writing about what you like the most, you should develop expertise that will hopefully also help you stand out to editors and publishers if you can write well.
Read the full interview with Richie here.
A Cause Worth Supporting
From Richie Unterberger:
I am a great believer in the value of public/noncommercial radio, and any good one, especially serving your particular community, is worth supporting. My favorite one in my region is San Francisco’s KALW.
Check out all of the causes highlighted by folks I’ve interviewed.
Stuff You Gotta Watch
Stuff You Gotta Watch celebrates music journalism in video form. This week’s column is by Ana Leorne.
The tale is as dizzying and fleeting as the venue itself: In the spring of 1977, college buddies Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager opened a discothèque in Midtown Manhattan, promptly cultivating a hedonistic, celebrity-laden extravaganza of sex, drugs, and disco. However, after numerous scandals that included cocaine busts, tax evasion, and more, Studio 54 would eventually close its doors in early 1980, precipitating the end of an era that was both overwhelmingly influential and shockingly short.
Matt Tyrnauer's documentary explores what went on during those 33 months of excess by granting us a privileged look at the rise and fall of legendary New York club Studio 54. Through astonishing behind-the-scenes footage and a candid narrative led by Schrager, the film showcases how the club not only helped reinvent the jet set paradigm but also instigated the thorough and complete revival of a city that, in the late 70s, was considered broken, ungovernable, and decadent. Joining the party are the invaluable testimonies of those who witnessed the last days of disco, such as Nile Rodgers, promoter Carmen D'Alessio, makeup artist Sandy Linter, and journalist Bob Colacello.
Bits, Bobs
- Fanzine Hemorrhage is exploring sub-underground music fanzines from the 1960s to the present
- Jaime Brooks has launched a newsletter
- March Fadness is underway
- The New York Times is launching a music newsletter
- JazzTimes is under new management
Get In Line!
Source
Trivia Time
What is the name of Richie Unterberger’s first book?
Q&A: Harry Levin
Harry Levin is the managing editor of EDM Maniac and a freelance journalist with bylines in outlets like Billboard, Beatportal, and more. He also runs the newsletter Writer’s Brain. In this excerpt from our interview, Harry explains how he organizes his work.
Everything is in Google Sheets. I have a color-coded list, and every assignment has its own item in the list that includes the publication, the assignment itself, the next step for that assignment, the due date, and any other necessary information.
Those items are listed in the order I handle them and/or organized by color. In general, there are three colors: yellow, red, and blue. Yellow means it’s an assignment that is in progress. Those are usually at the top of the list because there is a hard deadline. Red means it’s an assignment I have yet to start. These assignments are usually attached to making time to write pitches. They are generally in the middle of the list. Blue means it’s an assignment that is waiting on a reply. Every freelance journalist knows the woes of waiting for an editor to get back to you. Seeing the item on my to-do list in blue provides the relief of, at least for the time being, the assignment being out of my hands (except for maybe a follow up).
It can be nerve-wracking waiting for a response as well, but I specifically choose the cool color blue for those items to remind myself that I don’t have to think too much about the assignment in question. Just have to be patient.
Read the full interview with Harry here.
A Cause Worth Supporting
From Harry Levin:
Please donate to the Center For Human Rights in Iran. There are almost 88 million people living in Iran and 8 million in the diaspora, all of whom are threatened in one way or another by the fascist and despotic rule of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Since the murder of Mahsa Amini in September of 2022 Iranian women are leading a global movement that has real potential to challenge the IRI, and we can all do our part to help.
Check out all of the causes highlighted by folks I’ve interviewed.
Academic Stuff
- New issues: Journal of the Royal Musical Association and Voice and Speech Review
- Call for Papers: Listening to the Archive: Artistic Uses of Sonic Remnants [Abstract due: May 1]
- Call for Papers: Popular Music and Wellbeing Conference [Abstract due May 20]
- Call for Papers: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Musical Time
- Call for Papers: Diversity of Music Heritage [Abstracts due March 31]
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
Richie Unterberger’s first book was Unknown Legends of Rock’n’Roll, published in 1998.
A Final Note
Thanks for reading! I make playlists from time to time. Check them out if you're interested. 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 Twitter, it’s @JournalismMusic. Until next time...