From the Archives: John Kordosh (2004)

The Zen of John Kordosh: Inside the Hallowed Halls of ’80s Creem By Anthe Rhodes (May 2004) John Kordosh can blindside anyone with science or pop culture. He was Creem‘s quick-witted everyman who went willingly into those good and not so good nights with the full gamut of musicians. Kordosh, however, has followed a completely different career path than his counterparts. Starting out as a chemist for Dow … Continue reading From the Archives: John Kordosh (2004)

From the Archives: Kandia Crazy Horse (2003)

Kandia Crazy Horse Rips it Up By Scott Woods (November 2003) Kandia Crazy Horse is the Editor of the upcoming music tome, Rip It Up: The Black Experience in Rock ‘n Roll, which will be published by Palgrave at the end of 2003. I recently sent her a bunch of questions about the book and a few about herself as well.   Scott:   How are you doing, … Continue reading From the Archives: Kandia Crazy Horse (2003)

Interview with Raul Sandelin (dir. A Box Full of Rocks)

Because he’s so closely identified with Creem magazine and Detroit on the one hand, and New York City and post-punk on the other, it’s easy to forget that Lester Bangs’s roots lie somewhere else entirely, in the small-ish (current population less than 100,000) town of El Cajon, CA, just outside of San Diego. Raul Sandelin’s feature-length documentary, A Box Full of Rocks: The El Cajon … Continue reading Interview with Raul Sandelin (dir. A Box Full of Rocks)

Carl Wilson Talks About Love (Not the Arthur Lee-led outfit)

MT: After release the book took on a life of its own, in terms of publicity and reach. Did that surprise you? CW: People have been wonderfully nice. But that’s always the hope. I would call it more of a relief and a pleasure than a surprise – if nothing like that had happened, it would have been a disappointment. I think the surprise is … Continue reading Carl Wilson Talks About Love (Not the Arthur Lee-led outfit)

Quote of the Day (3/11/14)

“I think maybe I feel a little out of place in the critic’s world because a) I’m a scientist and, b) I’m damn handsome. I would have enjoyed being a medical researcher, I think. It’s a good thing I can’t go back in time, because I have about 89 careers I’d like to try.” – John Kordosh, interview in rockcritics.com, 2004 (still on the to-be-imported … Continue reading Quote of the Day (3/11/14)

Pet Shop Boys, Critically (6)

The Status of the Gay Question: Phil Dellio’s 1988 Interview with Neil and Chris of the Pet Shop Boys (audio) Getting this interview transcribed—or, even better, digitized and posted—was something Scott and I first discussed a few years ago, but there wasn’t any real context for doing so at the time. I wasn’t even sure I could still find the cassette where it resided—I knew … Continue reading Pet Shop Boys, Critically (6)

From the Archives: Steven Rosen (2003)

Steven Rosen gets his byline on By Steven Ward (September 2003) Veteran rock writer Steven Rosen has been traveling with musicians and profiling them–mostly guitarists–since the early ’70s. He has written for just about every rock publication under the sun. Here, Rosen reflects on five magazines that stand out to him. Rolling Stone Maybe the crowning jewel in my literary kingdom. I pitched them a story on Bad … Continue reading From the Archives: Steven Rosen (2003)

From the Archives: Michael Erlewine (2003)

All Music Guy, Michael Erlewine By Barbara Flaska (July 2003)  If you’re at all curious about music and have access to the Internet, chances are good you’ve already encountered the All Music Guide, the free online music database that provides both record reviews and artist biographies for countless thousands of records and artists. Now meet Michael Erlewine, the man behind that vision. Michael Erlewine’s had an … Continue reading From the Archives: Michael Erlewine (2003)

From the Archives: Steve Jones (2003)

Critiquing the critics: Steve Jones on the value of rock journalism By Simon Warner (February 2003) In late 2002, a new volume appeared on the shelves–the first coordinated attempt to gather a group of serious essays on popular music journalism, an area that has excited millions of us as readers but one that has only now, somewhat belatedly, begun to attract the close attention of the … Continue reading From the Archives: Steve Jones (2003)

From the Archives: Ben Ratliff (2003)

Waking up to what’s possible: Ben Ratliff By Steven Ward (2003) Ben Ratliff is one of “those” music critics. You know the ones I’m talking about. The ones who can show you something brand new about an artist you’ve loved your whole life. The ones who can define the cultural status of a musician with one well written sentence. The ones who can write about … Continue reading From the Archives: Ben Ratliff (2003)