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Stow your preconceived notions of what makes a pop star. These five young women of color broadcast a message of inclusion, plus have hit singles (“BO$$”, anyone?) and Barbie dolls made in their image. We met up in a Hollywood hotel, then at their dance rehearsals the next day.
Another “Tuesday Reviewsday” hit (pow pow) for KPCC’s Take Two show. This time: Howlin’ Rain’s Mansion Songs and Cotillon’s, er, Cotillon. Listen in via the player below:
Made it into Modern Farmer right before the big shakeup—my editor published this, and walked two days later. This piece is close to my heart, and not just because it features one of my favorite humans, William Ryan Fritch, plus two other dudes I deeply admire: the Books co-founder Nick Zammuto and Monome inventor Brian Crabtree. It’s about the collision of old world and new—the fact that modern technology affords us the opportunity to live off the grid. This means artists and aesthetes like these can set up shop in spaces far more conducive to inspiration than the urban environs. I hope this can evolve into a bigger project for me and photographer Nathaniel Wood, who shot Willow and Jaden Smith about an hour before we road-tripped in his Prius to the chicken-rich farmlands of Petaluma. (Sorry about the dog bite, buddy.) Continue reading
READ IT AT BILLBOARD (in print too)
I went deep with Patrick Stump, Pete Wentz, Joe Trohman, and Andy Hurley backstage at The Voice before (and after) they performed “Centuries” for the show. Fun fact: three out of four of these dudes were expecting babies while making the new album, American Beauty/American Psycho. Dads abound! Fall Out Boyz II Men, amirite? No? Fine. Photo by Chris Stanford.
Posterity Post: I wrote thousands of articles while on staff at SPIN and blogged none of them.
Last year we went deep on 1994 (remember my interview with Coolio?), starting with the music of the time. Now, I was 12 years old that year, so you’ll have to grant me some lenience when it comes to my posts on songs by Counting Crows and Toad the Wet Sprocket. Actually, I’ll die before I apologize for loving August and Everything After. Adam Duritz may be a ham today, but he saw straight into my soul then. I also wrote about Rage Against the Machine, Supergrass, Nick Cave, Portishead, Bush, Beastie Boys, Weezer, and Beck. Continue reading
Shirley Halperin and I talk about some of our favorite albums from 2014. My picks included righteous works by D’Angelo (also reviewed for SPIN), Doug Paisley, Angel Olsen, and Caribou.
Lest you think the header is negative, consider the times we live in. “Bleak and messy” should seem apt to anyone who’s following the news with any heart at all, and it’s a powerful piece of art that can channel the Now into its medium — especially if that work, this album, is 14 years in the making. You’ve been hearing the hype; now here’s some more to consider. More importantly, open your ears to D’Angelo’s Black Messiah. And make sure you’re reading along with the lyrics when you do. I unpacked what I could, but I’m still learning as I listen. Continue reading
It’s a special year-end list that makes room for Jessie Ware (above), Linkin Park, and Eric Church, and I’m happy to say I spilled positive ink on all three for Amazon’s Best of 2014 albums and songs roundup. Also held forth on such tuneful peeps as Sylvan Esso, Sam Smith, Bleachers, Little Dragon, Chromeo, the War on Drugs, Beck, Charli XCX, Alt-J, FKA Twigs, and ScHoolboy Q, to name a few. Visit Amazon to see what you missed, and why you should care.
Every few weeks, I pop into NPR member station KPCC for “Tuesday Reviewsday” on Take Two. This week it’s The London Sessions by Mary J. Blige and Geocidal from Mike Patton’s Tētēma.
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Look Ma, I’m a food blogger now. My most recent adventure for Los Angeles Mag grub hub “The Digest”: the fine folks over at LAX treated me and a bunch of other, ahem, tastemakers to a fine dining experience at, yes, the airport. Turns out writing about food involves binge-eating at high speeds. Also, tiny freaking cupcakes and Wayne Gretzky wine. All food porn photos by, well, me.
Chris Writes Things 