On that Awl piece about Rivers Cuomo and Pinkerton
The piece starts out with this: Before we begin, let us be clear: We speak not of the Rivers Cuomo that was, nor of the Rivers Cuomo that is, nor yet of the Rivers that shall be. We speak, now, of the Platonic ideal of a Rivers Cuomo: The Rivers
A quick story about 17 year old me meeting Rufus Wainwright
A publicist invited me to Rufus Wainwright’s semi-secret show earlier this month, and I was so excited I sent her this unnecessary Rufus Wainwright anecdote: When I was 17 he came to perform at a club attached to a hotel in Tucson, Arizona, opening for Lisa Loeb. I was
I was a pre-teen monster
I’m going down to the Bell House tomorrow to help prep for the Rarities From The State show, where cast members David Wain, Michael Showalter, and Michael Ian Black will show old show clips. Thing is, The State had a huge effect on my formative years. Without the State
A few recent work related things: ABC, Sound Of The City, Stereogum, Spin
I’ve gotten really bad (for whom, for what?) at posting recent work and clips and stuff, so I’m going to try to do this on a weekly basis. So, this week. I subbed for ABC’s Dan Harris over at his weekly online indie rock interview show, Amplified.
How I judge music
Pitchfork’s internal editing system lets me see my past review scores all in one place. Since I don’t review stuff very often for them, I was a little surprised to see the numbers all in one place like that. It turns out I’m a high grader. Or
How to record and transcribe interviews quickly and cheaply
I like finding computer-based ways to do my job cheaper and faster. Most of these methods are to cover up for my natural procrastination: using hotkeys, text inserters, autoresponders, and capture tools helps make up for the time I spent Googling “child riding boa constrictor.” I really, really love finding
What's going on in Austin?
Three years ago, which was about five months into my “professional” music writing career, I personally put a manila folder of clips into Rob Tannenbaum’s inter-office mailbox at Blender. A few days later he emailed me some nice comments, and also a little critique: You’re writing within the
Changing the song
About six months ago someone asked a question on Metafilter that made me feel 200% closer to a normal person. The question was basically of the “So, does this happen to anyone else?” variety, but it was so random and so precise that it got tons of responses: When I
Anoop Desai can be as nasty as he wants to be
Yesterday I skipped having drinks out with Mark to watch the Wildcard episode of American Idol. We have a DVR, which I’ve used to postpone the Grammys, the Superbowl, and the Presidential debates, but I’m so obsessed with the show right now that I have to see it
Input vs. Output
I'm [https://jessicasuarez.com/dropcap] a couple months into my column, talking to bands about recording for Stereogum. I enjoy hearing about their process, and what it takes them to physically start producing stuff. I want to know because it’s something that I struggle with a lot.
