READ IT AT LOS ANGELES MAGAZINE
Kendrick Lamar won a Pulitzer Prize for Music. I enjoy this news most as a slap in the face to the Grammys who’ve failed thrice over to give the man his Album of the Year due. So yes, of course Los Angeles should be proud that Lamar’s made history, but we should be a little embarrassed that our own institutions didn’t do nearly enough to help him get there (not that he needs it).
It was an honor and a responsibility to write about Kendrick Lamar’s incredible To Pimp a Butterfly. It’s a monumental work that’s owed much more than I could give, but helping to crown it SPIN’s Album of the Year is a good start. I spilled ink on four others that made the year’s 50 Best LPs: Deerhunter’s Fading Frontier at No. 7, Protomartyr’s The Agent Intellect at No. 20, Drake’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late at No. 23, and Blur’s Magic Whip at No. 37. Peep the whole list, which not only includes a ton of great music, but words by people I dig a whole lot.
It’s fun to peruse this list now that we’ve actually heard LPs like Kendrick Lamar’s powerful To Pimp a Butterfly and Björk’s vulnerable Vulnicura. Neither disappoints. Your move, Justin Bieber.
Howdy! We’re in Tennessee drinking Dickel and eating BBQ. Oh, and also covering this Holy Hillbilly and Hippie Fest called Bonnaroo. Check out the daily writeups over at SPIN, and live tweeting here. In the meantime, you can preview the magazine’s Top 20 Must-See Acts. See y’all on the other side!
Chris Writes Things 