TikTok and the Murder of Long-Form Music Writing
When it comes to music criticism, which version is real? The serious opus or the TikTok goofy snippet?
music criticism
Greil Marcus Tells His Stories About Others’ Stories
Greil Marcus talks with PopMatters about the art of listening not for what you want to hear, but for what is so richly there in others’ stories.
Greil Marcus’ Mystery Train Keeps on Rollin’
Certain books make you dream; Greil Marcus’ Mystery Train wakes you up to the blunt fact that you are alive and living in an ever-rollin’ mythology.
10 Brilliant Music Books on the Art & Industry
From rock to hip-hop to country to punk to emo, here’s a list of superb music books to deepen the education for you or the music lover in your life.
5 Great Books That Reinvent Music Criticism
This is by no means a comprehensive survey of contemporary music criticism, but these five books all point a way forward for the field.
The Best Books of 2024
PopMatters Best Books of 2024 include a broad range of nonfiction, many books on music, short fiction, a novel that turns a Mark Twain classic inside out, and much more.
Greil Marcus Explains Why Creativity Is Better Left Unexplained
In What Nails It Greil Marcus delivers a philosophical treatise wherein fact and fiction merge into poetic indeterminacy, like a nebulous 1960s garage rock tune.
Biography of ‘Rolling Stone’ Co-Founder Ralph J. Gleason Rocks and Swings
‘Rolling Stone’ co-founder Ralph J. Gleason predates that golden era of music journalism when Lester Bangs and Robert Christgau thrived.
Sasha Frere-Jones: Portrait of the Critic as a Young Man
Sasha Frere-Jones’ anti-memoir memoir, Earlier, moves around in time without clear logic, keeping things alive and even suspenseful, though somewhat cryptically.
James Baldwin Digs Into the Roots of American Music
James Baldwin’s writing about music illuminates the significance of racial slavery for all American music. Black American music can help America to move forward if used properly.
Bob Dylan’s ‘Visions of Johanna’: Same Song Different Readings
Bob Dylan’s 1966 song, “Visions of Johanna”, stirred Germaine Greer, Greil Marcus, and other notable critics to argue the song’s meaning and influences. Who is right?
The Unmentionable Whiteness of ‘Americanaland’
John Milward’s new history of Americana puts the mixed genre at the corner of country and rock while slighting race and the music’s Black roots and performers.