Sasha Frere-Jones
Encyclopedia
Sasha 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
. He has been on the staff of The New Yorker
since 2004.
, the elder child of Elizabeth Frere and the late Robin C. Jones. His younger brother, Tobias Frere-Jones
, is co-founder of the prominent typeface design company Hoefler & Frere-Jones
, and is on the faculty of the Yale School of Art
. Tobias and Alexander both legally changed their surnames from Jones to Frere-Jones in 1981.
He is a grandson of Alexander Stuart Frere, the former chairman of the board of William Heinemann Ltd, the British publishing house, and a great-grandson of the novelist Edgar Wallace
, who wrote many popular pulp novels, though he is best known for writing the story for the film King Kong. (C. Merrian Cooper wrote the screenplay.)
In 1983, Frere-Jones played Capulet in a St. Ann's production of "Romeo and Juliet" directed by Nancy Fales Garrett. Mia Sara played Juliet. In 1984, Frere-Jones's "We Three Kings" was one of ten plays chosen for the Young Playwrights Festival. The original reading starred John Pankow
and Željko Ivanek
. The final production at the Public Theater
starred Adam Klugman, Jack Klugman
's son. His follow-up play, "Jump Down Turn Around," was performed at St. Ann's and starred Frere-Jones and actor Josh Hamilton.
for three years but did not graduate. He subsequently attended the Tisch School of the Arts
at NYU, concentrating on Dramatic Writing, then transferred to Columbia University
in 1991. He graduated from the Columbia School of General Studies with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology in 1993.
with Clem Waldmann. They played their first live show in 1991, and spent the following eight years touring across the United States and Europe, opening for bands like Stereolab
and Tortoise
.
.http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/03/08/040308crmu_music He followed in the footsteps of the magazine's past critics Ellen Willis, Mark Moses, Elizabeth Wurtzel, and Nick Hornby. He has covered lesser-known acts like Arcade Fire, Joanna Newsom
, Grizzly Bear
, Manu Chao
, and Bon Iver
, as well as established successes like Neil Diamond
, Mariah Carey
, Wu-Tang Clan
, Lil Wayne
, and Prince
. Three essays originally published in the magazine have appeared in Da Capo
's Best Music Writing anthologies.
On October 22, 2007, The New Yorker published “A Paler Shade of White”, an essay in which Frere-Jones examined the changing role of race in pop, specifically indie rock and hip-hop of the last two decades. The piece proved to be controversial, eliciting responses from Playboy
, The Village Voice
, Slate
, and Simon Reynolds
, among dozens of other news outlets and blogs. The New Yorker received more mail about “A Paler Shade of White” than it did for any other essay since “Escaping Picasso,”Adam Gopnik
’s December 16, 1996 essay about Pablo Picasso
. Frere-Jones also appears in the 2009 documentary Strange Powers
, by Kerthy Fix and Gail O'Hara, about Stephin Merritt and his band, the Magnetic Fields, in which he further discusses his ideas of race in pop music.
In 2008, Frere-Jones was named one of the top 30 critics in the world by Intelligent Life, the lifestyle publication from The Economist
.
On May 9, 2009, The New Yorker published his first profile, of British pop singer Lily Allen
.
At the end of 2009, he helped bring mainstream attention to then-unsigned indie rock band Sleigh Bells
when he wrote that "After shows at Le Poisson Rouge and Public Assembly, I knew they were my favorite band in New York."
. Sleigh Bells
Polish music festival 'Unsound
', New York, 4-14 February 2011 British dubstep duo Nero
Deadmau5
Bands The Black Angels
and Black Mountain
on tour
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, music critic, and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. He has written for Pretty Decorating, ego trip
Ego trip (magazine)
ego trip was the name of a hip hop magazine started in New York City in 1994. It lasted four years and 13 issues and distinguished itself based on its irreverence and defiant attitude, eventually adopting the tagline, "the arrogant voice of musical truth."-Description:The roots of the publication...
, Hit It And Quit It, Mean, Slant, The New York Post, The Wire
The Wire (magazine)
The Wire is a British avant garde music magazine, founded in 1982 by jazz promoter Anthony Wood and journalist Chrissie Murray. The magazine initially concentrated on contemporary jazz and improvised music, but branched out in the early 1990s to various types of experimental music...
, The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
, Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
, Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
, and The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. He has been on the staff of The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
since 2004.
Background
He was born Alexander Roger Wallace Jones on January 31, 1967, in ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, the elder child of Elizabeth Frere and the late Robin C. Jones. His younger brother, Tobias Frere-Jones
Tobias Frere-Jones
Tobias Frere-Jones is a prolific type designer who works in New York City with fellow type designer Jonathan Hoefler at Hoefler & Frere-Jones, a type foundry in lower Manhattan...
, is co-founder of the prominent typeface design company Hoefler & Frere-Jones
Hoefler & Frere-Jones
Hoefler & Frere-Jones is an influential type foundry in New York City, run by designers Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones. With both their similarities and their likings it was only a matter of time that both their paths would come across and would have became business partners. Both Hoefler...
, and is on the faculty of the Yale School of Art
Yale School of Art
The Yale School of Art is one of twelve constituent schools of Yale University. It is a professional art school, granting only Masters of Fine Arts degrees to those completing studies in graphic design, painting/printmaking, photography, or sculpture....
. Tobias and Alexander both legally changed their surnames from Jones to Frere-Jones in 1981.
He is a grandson of Alexander Stuart Frere, the former chairman of the board of William Heinemann Ltd, the British publishing house, and a great-grandson of the novelist Edgar Wallace
Edgar Wallace
Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace was an English crime writer, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and playwright, who wrote 175 novels, 24 plays, and numerous articles in newspapers and journals....
, who wrote many popular pulp novels, though he is best known for writing the story for the film King Kong. (C. Merrian Cooper wrote the screenplay.)
In 1983, Frere-Jones played Capulet in a St. Ann's production of "Romeo and Juliet" directed by Nancy Fales Garrett. Mia Sara played Juliet. In 1984, Frere-Jones's "We Three Kings" was one of ten plays chosen for the Young Playwrights Festival. The original reading starred John Pankow
John Pankow
John Pankow is an American film and stage actor. He is perhaps best known for a supporting role on the sitcom Mad About You .-Early life:...
and Željko Ivanek
Željko Ivanek
Željko Ivanek is an Emmy award-winning Slovenian American actor best known for his role as Ray Fiske on Damages. He is also known for playing Blake Sterling on short-lived NBC series The Event and Emile Danko on Heroes....
. The final production at the Public Theater
Public Theater
The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as The Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers. It is headquartered at 425 Lafayette Street in the former Astor Library in the East Village...
starred Adam Klugman, Jack Klugman
Jack Klugman
Jacob Joachim "Jack" Klugman is an American stage, film and television actor known for his roles in sitcoms, movies, and television and on Broadway...
's son. His follow-up play, "Jump Down Turn Around," was performed at St. Ann's and starred Frere-Jones and actor Josh Hamilton.
Education
Frere-Jones attended the Saint Ann's School in Brooklyn from 1972 to 1984. He won an award from the Young Playwrights Festival in 1983 for his play “We Three Kings.” After graduating from St. Ann’s in 1984, Frere-Jones attended Brown UniversityBrown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
for three years but did not graduate. He subsequently attended the Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts is one of the 15 schools that make up New York University ....
at NYU, concentrating on Dramatic Writing, then transferred to Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1991. He graduated from the Columbia School of General Studies with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology in 1993.
Personal life
In 1994, he married lawyer Deborah Holmes, with whom he has two sons. They divorced in 2006.Music
Frere-Jones plays bass, guitar, and various electronics. He founded the band Dolores during his time at Brown. The band made two full-length tapes: one in 1987 and one in 1990. After moving to New York in 1988, the band played for two years before breaking up. (Their only recordings during this period were two contributions to a compilation on Fang Records called “Live At The Knitting Factory.) In 1990, Frere-Jones co-founded the instrumental, two-bass rhythm band UiUi (band)
Ui is an American post-rock/funk band based in New York City, which started in 1990. The group was started by Sasha Frere-Jones and Clem Waldmann. Wilbo Wright joined the group in 1993. The group's songs are often described as "bass-heavy", as the band frequently uses two bass guitars. Other...
with Clem Waldmann. They played their first live show in 1991, and spent the following eight years touring across the United States and Europe, opening for bands like Stereolab
Stereolab
Stereolab are an alternative music band formed in 1990 in London, England. The band originally comprised songwriting team Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier , both of whom remained at the helm across many lineup changes...
and Tortoise
Tortoise
Tortoises are a family of land-dwelling reptiles of the order of turtles . Like their marine cousins, the sea turtles, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell. The top part of the shell is the carapace, the underside is the plastron, and the two are connected by the bridge. The tortoise...
.
The New Yorker
Frere-Jones debuted as The New Yorker’s pop critic on March 8, 2004 with “Let’s Go Swimming” an essay on Arthur RussellArthur Russell
Arthur Russell may refer to:* Arthur Russell, 2nd Baron Ampthill , Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India* Arthur Russell , British athlete...
.http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/03/08/040308crmu_music He followed in the footsteps of the magazine's past critics Ellen Willis, Mark Moses, Elizabeth Wurtzel, and Nick Hornby. He has covered lesser-known acts like Arcade Fire, Joanna Newsom
Joanna Newsom
Joanna Newsom is an American harpist, pianist and singer-songwriter from Nevada City, California.- Early life :Newsom grew up in the small town of Nevada City, California...
, Grizzly Bear
Grizzly Bear
The grizzly bear , also known as the silvertip bear, the grizzly, or the North American brown bear, is a subspecies of brown bear that generally lives in the uplands of western North America...
, Manu Chao
Manu Chao
Manu Chao , is a French singer of Spanish roots . He sings in French, Spanish, English, Italian, Galician, Arabic and Portuguese and occasionally in other languages...
, and Bon Iver
Bon Iver
Bon Iver is a Grammy nominated folk band founded in 2007 by American indie folk singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. It includes Michael Noyce, Sean Carey, and Matthew McCaughan. Vernon released Bon Iver's debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago independently in July 2007. The majority of that album was...
, as well as established successes like Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
, Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
, Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
The Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group from Staten Island that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group...
, Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...
, and Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
. Three essays originally published in the magazine have appeared in Da Capo
Da capo
Da Capo is a musical term in Italian, meaning from the beginning . It is often abbreviated D.C. It is a composer or publisher's directive to repeat the previous part of music, often used to save space. In small pieces this might be the same thing as a repeat, but in larger works D.C...
's Best Music Writing anthologies.
On October 22, 2007, The New Yorker published “A Paler Shade of White”, an essay in which Frere-Jones examined the changing role of race in pop, specifically indie rock and hip-hop of the last two decades. The piece proved to be controversial, eliciting responses from Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
, The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
, Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
, and Simon Reynolds
Simon Reynolds
Simon 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...
, among dozens of other news outlets and blogs. The New Yorker received more mail about “A Paler Shade of White” than it did for any other essay since “Escaping Picasso,”Adam Gopnik
Adam Gopnik
Adam Gopnik, is an American writer, essayist and commentator. He is best known as a staff writer for The New Yorker—to which he has contributed non-fiction, fiction, memoir and criticism—and as the author of the essay collection Paris to the Moon, an account of five years that Gopnik, his wife...
’s December 16, 1996 essay about Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
. Frere-Jones also appears in the 2009 documentary Strange Powers
Strange Powers
Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields is a 2010 American documentary film by Kerthy Fix and Gail O'Hara that documents the work and life of the American cult songwriter, Stephin Merritt and his primary group.-Film info:...
, by Kerthy Fix and Gail O'Hara, about Stephin Merritt and his band, the Magnetic Fields, in which he further discusses his ideas of race in pop music.
In 2008, Frere-Jones was named one of the top 30 critics in the world by Intelligent Life, the lifestyle publication from The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
.
On May 9, 2009, The New Yorker published his first profile, of British pop singer Lily Allen
Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Cooper , better known as Lily Allen, is an English recording artist and fashion designer. She is the daughter of actor and musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. In her teenage years, her musical tastes evolved from glam rock to alternative...
.
At the end of 2009, he helped bring mainstream attention to then-unsigned indie rock band Sleigh Bells
Sleigh Bells
Sleigh Bells is an American noise pop music duo. The group released their debut album, Treats, on May 11, 2010.-History:Based in Brooklyn, New York, Sleigh Bells is composed of Derek E. Miller and Alexis Krauss...
when he wrote that "After shows at Le Poisson Rouge and Public Assembly, I knew they were my favorite band in New York."
Articles
"Pink's progress." Reviews music of Justin Vernon and band Bon IverBon Iver
Bon Iver is a Grammy nominated folk band founded in 2007 by American indie folk singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. It includes Michael Noyce, Sean Carey, and Matthew McCaughan. Vernon released Bon Iver's debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago independently in July 2007. The majority of that album was...
. Sleigh Bells
Sleigh Bells
Sleigh Bells is an American noise pop music duo. The group released their debut album, Treats, on May 11, 2010.-History:Based in Brooklyn, New York, Sleigh Bells is composed of Derek E. Miller and Alexis Krauss...
Polish music festival 'Unsound
Unsound festival
Unsound Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Kraków, Poland, dealing with evolving and mutating forms of music, as well as related visual arts....
', New York, 4-14 February 2011 British dubstep duo Nero
Nero (band)
Nero are an electronic music act from London, England consisting of Daniel Stephens and Joe Ray. Alana Watson provides vocals on many of the duo's songs, though she is not officially a band member. On 6 December 2010, Nero were announced as nominees for the BBC's Sound of 2011 poll.-History:Nero...
Deadmau5
Deadmau5
Joel Thomas Zimmerman , better known by his stage name deadmau5 , is a Canadian progressive, electro, and house producer based in Toronto...
Bands The Black Angels
The Black Angels (band)
- History :Formed in May 2004, the band's name derives from the Velvet Underground song "The Black Angel's Death Song".In 2005, the Black Angels were featured on a dual-disc compilation album of psychedelic music called Psychedelica Vol.1 from Northern Star Records...
and Black Mountain
Black Mountain (band)
Black Mountain is a Canadian rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia. The band is composed of Stephen McBean, Amber Webber, Matt Camirand, Jeremy Schmidt and Joshua Wells.-Overview:...
on tour