List of writers on popular music
Encyclopedia
This is a list of writers on popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
- Harry AllenHarry AllenHarry Bernard Allen was one of the United Kingdom's last official executioners, officiating between 1941 and 1964. He was chief executioner at 29 executions and acted as assistant executioner at 53 others at prisons in London, Manchester and Leeds. He was for 14 years an assistant executioner,...
- Hilton AlsHilton AlsHilton Als is an American writer and theater critic who writes for The New Yorker magazine.Als is a former staff writer for The Village Voice and former editor-at-large at Vibe magazine....
- Gina ArnoldGina arnoldGina Arnold is a rock critic whose articles have appeared in Spin, Rolling Stone and various free weeklies.She grew up in Palo Alto, California...
- Lester BangsLester BangsLeslie Conway "Lester" Bangs was an American music journalist, author and musician. He wrote for Creem and Rolling Stone magazines, and was known for his leading influence in rock 'n' roll criticism....
- J. Bennett
- Nick ToczekNick ToczekNick Toczek is a British writer and performer working variously as poet, journalist, magician, vocalist, lyricist and radio broadcaster. He was raised in Bradford and then took a degree in Industrial Metallurgy at Birmingham University where he began reading and publishing his poetry...
- Garry BushellGarry BushellGarry Bushell is an English newspaper columnist, rock music journalist, television presenter, author and political activist. Bushell also sings in the Oi! band The Gonads and manages the New York City Oi! band Maninblack. Bushell's recurring themes are comedy, country and class...
- Bart BullBart BullBart Bull is an American writer, reporter, author, columnist, and critic.-Background:Born in Seattle, Washington, Bull grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. He dropped out of high school in order to write a novel, and then returned briefly, leaving again without graduating. He was married to...
- Jeff ChangJeff ChangJeff Chang is a Taiwanese male singer, who performs sentimental Mandarin pop ballads.Chang was born in Yunlin, Taiwan. He started off his showbiz career by winning a singing competition while in college...
- Robert ChristgauRobert ChristgauRobert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
- Ta-Nehisi CoatesTa-Nehisi CoatesTa-Nehisi Coates is a senior editor for The Atlantic and blogs on its website. Coates has worked for The Village Voice, Washington City Paper, and Time. He has contributed to The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, The Washington Monthly, O, and other publications...
- Alice EcholsAlice EcholsAlice Echols is a cultural critic and historian. A specialist of the 1960s, Echols is Professor of English, Gender Studies and History at the University of Southern California.-Education:Echols received her Bachelor's degree from Macalester College in 1973...
- Mick FarrenMick FarrenMichael Anthony 'Mick' Farren is an English journalist, author and singer associated with counterculture and the UK Underground.-Music:...
- Wendy FonarowWendy FonarowWendy Fonarow aka "the indie professor" is an anthropology professor at Glendale College, writer and music industry professional. She is best known for the book Empire of Dirt, and for her column Ask the Indie Professor in The Guardian....
- Sasha Frere-JonesSasha Frere-JonesSasha Frere-Jones is an American writer, music critic, and musician. He has written for Pretty Decorating, ego trip, Hit It And Quit It, Mean, Slant, The New York Post, The Wire, The Village Voice, Slate, Spin, and The New York Times...
- Simon FrithSimon FrithSimon Frith is a British sociologist, and former rock critic, who specializes in popular music culture. He is currently Tovey Chair of Music at University of Edinburgh.-Background:...
- Donna GainesDonna GainesDonna Gaines is a sociologist, journalist, and social worker in the United States. She is best known for her work on youth suicide, and popular culture.-Expertise:...
- Charlie GillettCharlie GillettCharlie Gillett , was a British radio presenter, musicologist and writer, mainly on rock and roll and other forms of popular music...
- Nelson GeorgeNelson GeorgeNelson George is an African American author, columnist, music and culture critic, journalist, and filmmaker. He has been nominated twice for the National Book Critics Circle Award....
- Peter GuralnickPeter GuralnickPeter Guralnick is an American music critic, writer on music, and historian of US American popular music, who is also active as an author and screenwriter. He has been married for over 45 years to Alexandra...
- dream hamptonDream hamptondream hampton is a hip-hop journalist, cultural critic, and filmmaker.-Life and career:...
- Keith HarrisKeith HarrisKeith Harris is an English ventriloquist, who is known for his television show , audio recordings, and club appearances with his puppets Orville the Duck and Cuddles the Monkey...
- Martin JamesMartin JamesMartin James is an English former professional football player.-Preston North End:Martin joined Preston as an apprentice in July 1987, turning pro two years later. He was, along with Lee Cartwright, Lee Ashcroft and Adrian Hughes, a product of the Preston North End youth system of the late 1980s...
- Nick KentNick KentNick Kent is a British rock critic and musician.-Career:Along with writers including Paul Morley, Charles Shaar Murray and Danny Baker, Nick Kent is seen as one of the most important and influential UK music journalists of the 1970s. He wrote for the British music publication New Musical Express,...
- Chuck KlostermanChuck KlostermanCharles John "Chuck" Klosterman is an American author and essayist who has written for The New York Times Magazine, The Believer, and The Washington Post, and has written books focusing on American popular culture....
- Maura JohnstonMaura JohnstonMaura Johnston is a writer, editor and music critic who is currently the music editor for The Village Voice.She has instructed a course entitled "Writing about Popular Music" at New York University since 2010....
- Jon LandauJon LandauJon Landau is an American music critic, manager and record producer, most known for his association in all three capacities with Bruce Springsteen.He is currently the head of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame....
- Minna LedermanMinna LedermanMinna Lederman Daniel was a music writer and editor of the magazine Modern Music for more than 20 years.-Life:Minna Lederman was born in Manhattan and studied music, dance and drama as a child...
- Alan LightAlan LightAlan Light is an American journalist who has been a rock critic for Rolling Stone and the editor-in-chief for both VIBE and Spin....
- Greil MarcusGreil MarcusGreil Marcus is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a much broader framework of culture and politics than is customary in pop music journalism.-Life and career:Marcus was born in San Francisco...
- Dave MarshDave MarshDave Marsh is an American music critic, author, editor and radio talk show host. He was a formative editor of Creem magazine, has written for various publications such as Newsday, The Village Voice, and Rolling Stone, and has published numerous books about music and musicians, mostly focused on...
- Legs McNeilLegs McNeilRoderick Edward "Legs" McNeil is a writer and rock music historian. He is the co-founder and a writer for Punk Magazine; he is also a former senior editor at Spin Magazine, and the founder and editor of Nerve magazine .- Punk Magazine:At the age of 18, McNeil gathered with two high school...
- Richard MeltzerRichard MeltzerRichard Meltzer was one of the earliest rock music critics. His first book, The Aesthetics of Rock, evolved out of his undergraduate studies in philosophy at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and graduate studies at Yale University...
- Sia MichelSia MichelSia Michel is the deputy editor of Arts & Leisure at The New York Times. She was previously the pop music editor for the Times....
- Jeffrey MorganJeffrey MorganJeffrey Morgan is a Canadian writer, musician, photographer, and poet who lives in Toronto, Ontario. Morgan is best known for being the authorized biographer of both Alice Cooper and The Stooges.-CREEM:...
- Charles Shaar MurrayCharles Shaar MurrayCharles Shaar Murray is an English music journalist. His first experience in journalism came 1970 when he was asked to contribute to the satirical magazine Oz...
- Noel Murray
- Paul NelsonPaul NelsonPaul Nelson may refer to:*Paul Nelson , rock critic who worked for Rolling Stone*Paul R. Nelson, 2006 Republican nominee for Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district*Paul Nelson...
- Lucy O'BrienLucy O'BrienLucy O'Brien is an author and journalist whose work focuses on women in music.-Early musical and writing career:...
- Amy PhillipsAmy PhillipsAmy Phillips is a British actress. She is best known for her role as Jessica Arnold in the BBC school drama, Grange Hill, in which she acted between 1994 and 1998....
- Ann PowersAnn PowersAnn Powers is an American writer and pop music critic.Powers has been writing about popular music and society since the early 1980s...
- Nathan RabinNathan RabinNathan Rabin is an American film and music critic. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Rabin was the first head writer for The A.V. Club, a position he continues to hold today....
- Simon ReynoldsSimon ReynoldsSimon Reynolds is an English music critic who is well-known for his writings on electronic dance music and for coining the term "post-rock". Besides electronic dance music, Reynolds has written about a wide range of artists and musical genres, and has written books on post-punk and rock...
- John RockwellJohn RockwellJohn Rockwell is a music critic, editor, and dance critic. He studied at Phillips Academy, Harvard, the University of Munich, and the University of California, Berkeley, earning a Ph.D. in German culture....
- Jody RosenJody RosenJody Rosen is an American journalist and author. He is the music critic for the online magazine Slate, and the author of White Christmas: The Story of an American Song....
- Jon SavageJon SavageJon Savage , real name Jonathon Sage, is a Cambridge-educated writer, broadcaster and music journalist, best known for his award winning history of the Sex Pistols and punk music, England's Dreaming, published in 1991.-Career:...
- Kelefa SannehKelefa SannehKelefa T. Sanneh is an American journalist and music critic. From 2000 to 2008, he wrote for the New York Times, covering the rock 'n' roll, hip-hop, and pop music scenes...
- Jane ScottJane ScottJane Scott was an influential rock critic for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio. During her career she covered every major rock concert in Cleveland and was on a first name basis with many stars...
- Rob SheffieldRob SheffieldRob Sheffield is an American music journalist and author. He is currently a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, writing music reviews and essays on pop culture. Prior to that, he was a contributing editor at Blender before the print version of the magazine folded in 2009, and at Spin...
- George Starostin
- Alan K. StoutAlan K. StoutAlan K. Stout is a rock music journalist based out of Northeastern Pennsylvania who has written extensively for the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader and The Weekender, a popular arts and entertainment paper also published in Wilkes-Barre. He was voted Northeastern Pennsylvania's "Favorite Newspaper...
- Sylvie SimmonsSylvie SimmonsSylvie Simmons is a London-born music journalist, named as a "principal player" in Paul Gorman's book on the history of the rock music press In Their Own Write...
- Neil StraussNeil StraussNeil Darrow Strauss , also known by the pen names Style and Chris Powles, is an American and Kittitian author, journalist and ghostwriter...
- Greg TateGreg TateGreg Tate is an American author, focusing on African-American cultural theory and writing. He was acknowledged by The Source magazine as one of the 'Godfathers of Hip-hop Journalism'....
- Everett TrueEverett TrueFor the cartoon character, see The Outbursts of Everett True.Everett True is a British music journalist, who grew up in Chelmsford, Essex...
- ToureTouréTouré is an American novelist, essayist, music journalist, cultural critic, and television personality based in New York City. He is the host of Fuse's Hiphop Shop and On The Record...
- Ellen WillisEllen WillisEllen Jane Willis was an American left-wing political essayist, journalist, activist and pop music critic.-Biography:...
- Jeff WeissJeff WeissJeffrey Weiss is an American playwright and actor on Broadway. Weiss grew up in Allentown, PA, in a Lutheran family of Pennsylvania Dutch descent. In 1992, Weiss' play Hot Keys won an Obie award. His nephew is actor Jonathan Taylor Thomas...
- Douglas WolkDouglas WolkDouglas Wolk is a Portland, Oregon-based author and critic. He has written about comics and popular music for publications including The New York Times, Rolling Stone, The Washington Post, The Nation, The New Republic, Salon.com, Pitchfork Media, and The Believer...
- Writer ShajiWriter ShajiWriter Shaji is one of the foremost writers on popular music in India with an astounding feel and understanding of music in its every form. His writings on music are from the perspective of a tasteful and interested listener. His articles are the attempts to connect music with the incidents and...