READ IT AT BILLBOARD (in print too)
I went to the gym with Jason Derulo and all I got was… oh, right, a delightfully silly Billboard cover story about fitness fanaticism, fake romance, and pop fandom. Also, the quotes from the Game might be my favorite part of the entire article. Shout out lava cakes everywhere.
READ IT AT BILLBOARD (in print too)
I also spoke with Meghan Trainor in honor of the 2015 Billboard Music Awards. She passes on advice from Ariana Grande, and recalls her first brush with Bey. Photo by Smallz + Raskind.
I went big for this, taking on 30 of the 300 albums. Click through this hulking document for my posts on (in alphabetical order, no spoilers): Arcade Fire, At the Drive-In, Beastie Boys, Beck, Belle & Sebastian, Björk, Bright Eyes, Broken Social Scene, Clipse, Cloud Nothings, Dirty Projectors, the Flaming Lips, the Fugees, Frank Ocean, GZA, Interpol, Jimmy Eat World, Justin Timberlake, the Microphones, My Bloody Valentine, Neutral Milk Hotel, Pixies, Portishead, the Postal Service, Radiohead, TV on the Radio, the Unicorns, Vampire Weekend, the xx, and Wilco. So many of my all-time favorites in here, and so many I’d never had the chance to write about.
READ IT AT BILLBOARD (in print too)
Not a euphemism. Not in the least. The Fall Out Boy bassist shared a few awards show memories (shout out Wavves and Kanye) ahead of the BBMAs. Photo by Brigitte Sire.
READ IT AT LOS ANGELES MAGAZINE (mostly in print)
Well, you’ll have to track down the issue to read both of my contributions to Los Angeles Mag’s booze-soaked new issue, but it’s worth it to be able to — ahem — tap into the liquid knowledge of so many professional drunks journalists. You can peep my Best Beer Shops in the greater L.A. area online. The one that’s only in print: DIY must-makes for home barkeepers, featuring expert advice from Miracle Mile Bitters Co., Pickled by Hattie, and Bäco Mercat chef Josef Centeno.
READ IT AT BILLBOARD (in print too)
That dude that sings in a grizzled old voice about “Budapest” is actually a baby-faced youth only just old enough to drink in America. Good thing he’s from England. Photo by Amanda Friedman.
This one’s, ahem, a Labour of Love if you will (shout out UB40). It went live a few days after my D’Angelo review, and I was too embarrassed to post these two side by side. Four months later, I’m into it. Like so many lefty caucasians raised in 420-friendly families, I ingested a lot of reggae as a yout’ and, for a brief high school moment, thought I’d found saviors in 311 and Sublime. I still bump a lot of Jamaican roots, but the time has come to give dap to the odd phenomena of blond dreadlocks and fake patois (shout out Das Racist), plus the restless audio hybridizing of the ’90s. This list goes back to the very birth of white reggae in 1965, and ends in 2014 with that most irie and unexpected of recent hits, “Rude.” Peep it on SPIN.* Continue reading
Photog Wilson Lee and I hit Coachella 2015 for SPIN, and all we got were three manic daily diaries about Steely Dan melodics solos, run-ins with Rihanna, and heaping piles of hash browns. Plus, a bunch of fantastic photos and some floor drugs. Check it all out:
Never enough Coachella. Here are a few pieces I did for StubHub. They’re made for their music news app (peep it here), hence the minimal site. FKA twigs live photo by Wilson Lee for SPIN.
READ IT AT LOS ANGELES MAGAZINE (in print too)
Coachella is right around the corner and good grub awaits. I talked to Short Order chef Christian Page and Sweet Clementine’s pops boss Layne Eiler about the relatively fresh phenomenon of fine dining and epicurean snacks coming to a music festival near you. If you’re actually going to Coachella (I am), look for the next hot Buzz Bite while some band plays in the background. :/
Chris Writes Things 