Best Music Writing 2012

October 16, 2012 7:29 AM

What are the best pieces of music journalism/criticism that were written in 2012?

I have been pretty out of the music writing scene this year, and it looks like my usual go-to refresher Da Capo's Best Music Writing series, ain't coming out anytime soon.

Mainstream outlets are fine but I'm especially interested in examples of weird experimental stuff that pushes the boundaries of what music journalism can do, from blogs or other obscure sources and about subjects far outside the realm of pop. But most importantly I'm just looking for really good writing.

Self linking is also appreciated. If you're too embarrassed to hawk your shit memail me.

posted by Potomac Avenue to media & arts (7 answers total)

You can troll longform.org using the "music" tag. Some of the stuff is from earlier years, but most are from this year.
posted by ultraviolet catastrophe at 8:24 AM on October 16, 2012 [1 favorite]

Thanks but that's kind of "all of them". Do you have any favorites?
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:32 AM on October 16, 2012

I'm a New Yorker reader, so I've read all of those, and I can recommend the articles on K-Pop, Scooter Braun, Bruce Springsteen, and Odd Future that I saw on a quick scan. The New Yorker's not weird and experimental, but those articles definitely qualify as really good writing. Longform also adds Editor's Picks tags to the ones it thinks are especially good.
posted by ultraviolet catastrophe at 8:39 AM on October 16, 2012 [1 favorite]

I remember really enjoying this Huffington Post article from the summer;

The Awfulness of Classical Music Explained by Richard Dare
posted by mannequito at 11:18 AM on October 16, 2012 [1 favorite]

Perhaps the blog Pushing Ahead of the Dame? It is well written and researched -possibly even verging on wonkish. I'm not a huge Bowie fan but I still find it an enjoyable read. Here's a sample:

Nothing baffled Rodgers more than the fate of “Lucy Can’t Dance” (“a guaranteed number 1 record,” he later said. “Imagine Nile Rodgers and David Bowie come out with a song called ‘Lucy Can’t Dance’? I was already accepting my Grammy“). An easy choice for a lead-off single, “Lucy” instead was nearly shelved, Bowie only relenting by including it as a CD bonus track. Bowie’s never said why he did this. Perhaps the song’s cheery, trebly sound clashed with the rest of the album; perhaps he thought “Lucy” was such an earworm, such a piece of candyfloss, that it offered too easy a pleasure, that he would look ridiculous miming it on Top of the Pops.

posted by oneirodynia at 12:04 PM on October 16, 2012

Fuck a Sasha Frere Jones! Here are some of my mostly tumblr-based favourites:

- One Week One Band - list of bands covered so far. I am particularly partial to the week of Zach Lyon on Ke$ha and the week of RGR on blink 182. Some of the people affiliated with One Week One Band also do The Singles Jukebox, but it's kind of too quippy for me.
- Occupied Territories (k-pop)
- Spinning on Blackness, an essay about Frank Ocean
- There's also BIG GHOST CHRONICLES, but it blew up in 2011 so it probably doesn't count.
posted by dustyasymptotes at 6:45 PM on October 16, 2012

Now that's what I'm talkinbout. Thanks DustyA and all!
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:13 AM on October 17, 2012