Robert Loss

Robert Loss is an assistant professor in the Writing, Literature, and Philosophy department at Columbus College of Art and Design (CCAD) in Columbus, Ohio. He is the author of Nothing Has Been Done Before: Seeking the New in 21st Century American Popular Music (Bloomsbury Academic, 2017). His music criticism and journalism have been published in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Public Books, and Ghettoblaster. Visit him at www.nothinghasbeendonebefore.com.
Eddie Cochran’s Working Class “Summertime Blues” Asks, This Is Living?

Eddie Cochran’s Working Class “Summertime Blues” Asks, This Is Living?

Ever get the feeling that the struggle to get by makes it impossible to have the energy or the time to storm the barricades? That's what American capitalism has achieved in 2018: maximum depression. And that's why Cochran's 1958 song of angst plays on to this day.

Here to Stay? The Neil Young Archives

Kanye West: The Iconoclast Gives In

Kanye West: The Iconoclast Gives In

How the allure of newness is leading Kanye West astray.

‘Wild Wild Country’ and the Inevitable Destruction of the American Frontier

‘Wild Wild Country’ and the Inevitable Destruction of the American Frontier

This Netflix documentary is a master class in xenophobia, Orientalism, and hysteria, and Bill Callahan's "Drover" becomes the sound of the hammer of judgment coming down.

Net Neutrality and the Music Ecosystem: Defending the Last Mile

Net Neutrality and the Music Ecosystem: Defending the Last Mile

"...when the history books get written about this era, they'll show that the music community recognized the potential impacts and were strong leaders." An interview with Kevin Erickson of Future of Music Coalition.

Protomartyr and the Paradise Papers of a Developing Nation

Protomartyr and the Paradise Papers of a Developing Nation

Protomartyr's story of the USA is the "Paradise Papers" of a country that officially considers itself a developed nation but in fact is developing in the wrong direction -- and everyone knows it.

The Next Hot Music Scene Can Be Found at Twin Peaks’ Bang Bang Bar

The Next Hot Music Scene Can Be Found at Twin Peaks’ Bang Bang Bar

One of the most heartening and compelling aspects of David Lynch's approach to this new season of Twin Peaks is his widened musical palette.
Being Human: Rag’n’Bone Man and the Authenticities of Voice

Being Human: Rag’n’Bone Man and the Authenticities of Voice

Human fits alongside the works of Alabama Shakes and Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, but can Rag'n'Bone Man's distinctive gospel-blues voice find a place on the American charts?
The Afghan Whigs’ Greg Dulli Talks About ‘In Spades’, Prince, and the Critical Beat

The Afghan Whigs’ Greg Dulli Talks About ‘In Spades’, Prince, and the Critical Beat

Greg Dulli tells PopMatters that "nothing's excluded when it comes time to write a song... I am absolutely omnivorous."
Algiers and the Political Structures of Noise

Algiers and the Political Structures of Noise

How can there be a political movement if we're unwilling to move? Algiers connects past and present for the sake of the future.
Chastity Belt’s ‘I Used to Spend So Much Time Alone’ and the Power of Termite Art

Chastity Belt’s ‘I Used to Spend So Much Time Alone’ and the Power of Termite Art

Chastity Belt's latest is a killer album, laid back but upbeat, honest and laser sharp, a highly unified piece of work by four people who know exactly what they want to say and how to say it.
Power Play: Brian Williams, Leonard Cohen, and “First We Take Manhattan”

Power Play: Brian Williams, Leonard Cohen, and “First We Take Manhattan”

In "First We Take Manhattan", Leonard Cohen recognized the shared appeal of extremism in politics and art as the allure of power.