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Evan Sawdey
Image: Evan Sawdey
PopMatters Interviews Editor

Evan Sawdey began contributing to PopMatters in late 2005 after contributing for years to his college newspaper The Knox Student.  Evan became the Associate Interviews Editor for PopMatters in the summer of 2008, and then the full Interviews Editor a year after that.  Since joining, Evan’s work has been quoted/featured in a wide array of publications including SLUG Magazine, The Metro (U.K.), the Gulf Times, Soundvenue Magazine (Denmark), and multiple national newspapers.  Evan has been a guest on WNYC’s Soundcheck (an NPR affiliate), was the Executive Producer for the Good With Words: A Tribute to Benjamin Durdle album (available for free at GoodWithWordsAlbum.com), and wrote the liner notes for the 2011 re-release of Andre Cymone’s hit 1985 album A.C. (Big Break Records) as well as the re-release of the JoBoxers’ 1983 debut album Like Gangbusters (Hot Shot Records).  He is a current member of The Recording Academy. He resides in Chicago, Illinois.  You can follow him @SawdEye should you be so inclined.


Features

Wednesday, October 19 2011

20 Questions: Shudder to Think's Craig Wedren

Former Shudder to Think frontman Craig Wedren tells us about his uber-ambitious multi-media album project and we're surprised to also find out about his affinity for the "amoral but ultimately just" Willy Wonka...


Monday, October 10 2011

I Do It For Music, I Do It For Love: PopMatters Meets The Gift

PopMatters traveled all the way to Spain to find out what was so unique about The Gift, one of Portugal's most famous acts, now attempting to break through to America. These are the wonderful results ...


Tuesday, September 20 2011

"I Cherish the F--k Ups As Much As the Triumphs": An Interview with Patton Oswalt

With a Showtime special behind him and his new album out now, Patton Oswalt speaks to PopMatters and manages to fit in The New Yorker, Penthouse, and Acme Novelty Library in a single sentence.


Monday, July 25 2011

20 Questions: Cassettes Won't Listen

Let's be honest: guys who used to work for Def Jux records don't usually get cease-and-desist letters from Kevin Spacey. Yet this is just one facet of the ever-fascinating life of Jason Drake, and it makes for one hell of a 20 Questions.


Tuesday, July 19 2011

20 Questions: The Wombats

David Tennant's a fan. They, meanwhile, are apprently big (big) fans of Patrick Stewart. In short, meet the Wombats: one of the smartest, funniest, poppiest bands out there today ...


Columns

Monday, October 18 2010

The 24-hour News Cycle Rhetoric Yields to Something Far More Human in 'The Promise: President Obama'

This book works because it doesn't skimp on details: the reason behind every major Obama Year One decision is explained, and the result is fascinating. If only Alter toned down the declarative statements...


Reviews

Tuesday, January 17 2012

Warts and All: Mike Doughty's 'The Book of Drugs'

Former Soul Coughing frontman Mike Doughty's new memoir is unflinching, hilarious and honest, but not without its flaws. That said, it's still one of the best books you'll read this year.


Wednesday, January 11 2012

30 Rock is Finally Back on Track with '30 Rock: Season Five'

"Never thought I'd feel sorry for a guy with a tattoo of a leprechaun vomiting on a book." And with that, 30 Rock begins a small and welcome renaissance ...


Friday, December 2 2011

Queen: Queen 40 Limited Edition Collector's Box Set Volumes 2 & 3

Queen's last 10 albums (1977-1995) are given an exhaustive reissue treatment, replete with incredible bonus EPs for each album, but the honest-to-goodness truth is that some of those latter-day albums do not hold up as well as we hoped they would ... .


Monday, November 7 2011

'The Walking Dead: Complete First Season' When Featurettes Are More Plentiful Than Brains

Come for the brains, stay for the special features ...


Monday, October 24 2011

Coldplay: Mylo Xyloto

The big-budget sequel to the Technicolor Viva la Vida is multi-textured, arena-ready...and boring as hell.


Dodos: No Color [8.Apr.11]
Robyn: Body Talk [23.Nov.10]
Star Trek (2009) [21.Jan.10]
Shakira: She Wolf [24.Nov.09]
Weezer: Raditude [2.Nov.09]
White Denim: Fits [20.Oct.09]
Kleerup: Kleerup [24.Jul.09]
Oneida: Rated O [14.Jul.09]
Kinky: Barracuda [25.Feb.09]
Pink: Funhouse [5.Nov.08]
Doomsday [18.Aug.08]
Spa: Spa [21.Apr.08]
Kylie Minogue: X [1.Apr.08]
Kelis: The Hits [20.Mar.08]
Joshua [30.Jan.08]
The Nines [28.Jan.08]
Gorillaz: D-Sides [28.Nov.07]
Josh Small: Tall [21.Sep.07]
Monument: Decades [31.Aug.07]
Justice: Cross [2.Jul.07]
Cosm: 6 Song EP [30.May.07]
The Bad Plus: Prog [29.May.07]
Gus Gus: Forever [22.Mar.07]
Kinky: Reina [18.Oct.06]
DJ Olive: Heaps As [21.Jul.06]

Blogs

Tuesday, January 31 2012

20 Questions: Phantogram

The sample-based electro-rock sound of Phantogram is undeniably unique, as the duo's latest mini-LP Nightlife demonstrates, but when answering PM's 20 Questions, Josh Carter reveals to us a rather strong affinity for the works of Charlie Kaufman, a desire to travel through dimensions, and lists no more than 15 different discs that could potentially qualify as "the greatest album ever" in his mind.


Tuesday, January 3 2012

20 Questions: Pyyramids

What happens when you combine one member of He Say She Say and one of the pop masterminds behind OK Go? You get PYYRAMIDS, and a delightfully warm 20 Questions feature as well.


Tuesday, December 13 2011

Bubbling Under the 75 Best Albums of 2011: Shelby Lynne

This week we presented our Best 75 Albums of 2011. Here are several more just bubbling under the top 75...


Wednesday, November 30 2011

My Top 5: Hurricane Bells

After soundtracking a bit of Twilight: New Moon and releasing a lovely new record earlier this year, Hurricane Bells' Steve Schiltz takes us through his top five favorite albums of all-time, all while wondering why more kids don't love the Edge . . .


Tuesday, November 15 2011

20 Questions: Radiation City

Mixing '50s doo-wop vocals with modern indie rock -- and then releasing their debut album on cassette only--has certainly made Radiation City stand out in the crowd. A love for Barney's Version, OutKast, and borrowing turntables from the '40s makes us love the group even more.


20 Questions: Mr. Gnome (Sound Affects) [1.Nov.11]
20 Questions: Casiokids' Omar E. Johnsen (Sound Affects) [11.Oct.11]
20 Questions: JD Souther (Sound Affects) [20.Sep.11]
20 Questions: Parachute (Sound Affects) [13.Sep.11]
20 Questions: Wax (Sound Affects) [8.Sep.11]
20 Questions: Planningtorock (Sound Affects) [2.Aug.11]
20 Questions: The Globes (Sound Affects) [14.Jun.11]
20 Questions: Fredrik (Sound Affects) [7.Jun.11]
"Sympathy For Delicious" Star Responds to PopMatters (Short Ends and Leader) [29.Apr.11]
20 Questions: LMFAO (Bamboozle Festival) (Sound Affects) [8.Apr.11]
20 Questions: Ben + Vesper (Sound Affects) [29.Mar.11]
20 Questions: Ima Robot (Sound Affects) [22.Feb.11]
20 Questions: Say Hi (Sound Affects) [17.Feb.11]
Track Review: Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" (Sound Affects) [15.Feb.11]
The Greatest Movie Trailer of All Time? (Short Ends and Leader) [28.Jan.11]
20 Questions: Common Grackle (Sound Affects) [18.Jan.11]
20 Questions: Tom Zé (Sound Affects) [14.Dec.10]
20 Questions: Lana Mir (Sound Affects) [15.Sep.10]
20 Questions: Mice Parade (Sound Affects) [7.Sep.10]
20 Questions: River City Extension (Sound Affects) [24.Aug.10]
20 Questions: Tokyo Police Club (Sound Affects) [10.Aug.10]
20 Questions: Microtia (Sound Affects) [26.Jul.10]
20 Questions: Justin Currie (Sound Affects) [21.Jun.10]
20 Questions: Christy & Emily (Sound Affects) [18.Jun.10]
20 Questions: Casiokids (Sound Affects) [15.Jun.10]
20 Questions: Angus and Julia Stone (Sound Affects) [3.Jun.10]
20 Questions: Kerretta (Sound Affects) [2.Jun.10]
20 Questions: 30db (Sound Affects) [27.May.10]
20 Questions: The Wave Pictures (Sound Affects) [21.May.10]
20 Questions: Matt Pond PA (Sound Affects) [13.May.10]
20 Questions: Patrick & Eugene (Sound Affects) [15.Mar.10]
20 Questions: Pinback's Zach Smith (Sound Affects) [10.Mar.10]
20 Questions: Ben Frost (Sound Affects) [23.Feb.10]
20 Questions: Nouvelle Vague (Sound Affects) [21.Jan.10]
20 Questions: Still Life Still (Sound Affects) [17.Jan.10]
Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records (Consuming Consumables) [24.Nov.09]
Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" Video: WTF? (Mixed Media) [12.Nov.09]
Spaced: The Complete Series (Consuming Consumables) [12.Dec.08]
Top 5 Videos of 2008: Evan Sawdey (Mixed Media) [11.Dec.08]
The Big Lebowski: 10th Anniversary Edition (Consuming Consumables) [3.Dec.08]
Breakdancing Demons Make My Day (Sound Affects) [10.Oct.08]
Mindless violence or something deeper? (Sound Affects) [4.May.08]
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