I’m having a busy week on MusicRadar! They had already assigned me the Kraftwerk column, but then Doechii won her Grammy, and like everyone, I got all fired up about her. So I convinced my editor to publish my take on Doechii’s breathtakingly great performance of “Boiled Peanuts” and “Denial is a River” on Colbert. …
Tag Archives: MusicRadar
Fahren fahren fahren auf der Autobahn
My latest assignment from MusicRadar was to look at “Autobahn” by Kraftwerk. My studies of electronic music history have seriously neglected these guys, so it was nice to have a reason to dig into their music.
New MusicRadar column on Music For Airports
Like all nerds, I revere Brian Eno. When MusicRadar asked for a column about him, I jumped on it. They wanted something about his generative music, and Music For Airports was the obvious choice.
MusicRadar column on one of Bob Dylan’s greatest hits
To tie in with the new Dylan movie, MusicRadar asked me to analyze “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright.” My first choice would have been “It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)”, my favorite Dylan song and one of my favorite songs by anyone ever, but I was happy to go with their request too, it’s a …
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In defense of “Wonderful Christmastime”
New on MusicRadar, I take a mostly sympathetic look at Paul McCartney’s omnipresent and divisive earworm. I don’t generally like Christmas music, but this song is so goofy and odd that I can’t help but find it endearing. The main problem with it is that the tempo is too fast and the feel is too …
A general theory of pop smashes
My latest MusicRadar column advances the theory that to be a truly generation-spanning pop colossus, a song has to be at least a little bit weird and annoying. This was a tricky thing to write, because I wasn’t looking for “popular songs that I personally find annoying.” That would be easy, I find most popular …
Anyway, here’s Wonderwall
When MusicRadar assigned me to write about Oasis, I was not overjoyed. I figured I would start with the Wonderwall meme and go from there. Once you move past the joke, though, it becomes an interesting question: why did this seemingly unremarkable song become such a standard for amateur guitarists?
MusicRadar column on “Lilac Wine” by Jeff Buckley
My latest MusicRadar assignment was to pick something from Jeff Buckley’s Grace to write about. I chose the weird old showtune. The column was mainly an excuse to meditate on the difference between classical timekeeping (expressive, rubato) and pop/rock timekeeping (metronomic and steady). I also got into Buckley’s complex gender presentation.
MusicRadar column on three songs from Brat by Charli XCX
I have now written three MusicRadar columns in a row on current pop smashes by women. This wasn’t planned; it’s just the way the songs of the summer have played out. I didn’t know much about Charli XCX before I wrote this, beyond the fact that she sang some hooks on some radio hits. I’m …
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New MusicRadar column about Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!”
This one was assigned by my editor, and I went into the song more or less cold. I ended up liking the song, though maybe that’s because so many of my students adore Chappell Roan and I was inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt. Or maybe she’s just good! Anyway, as the …
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