Music
The Invisible Work of Mothers in Music: I spoke with Charlotte Adigéry, Raquel Berrios, Meg Remy, Rico Nasty, Margo Price, Corin Tucker, and Sharon Van Etten about the tough and rewarding realities of being a working musician and a mother. (Pitchfork, May 2023)
Björk Thinks There’s Something Fishy About Aquaculture in Iceland: Björk spoke with me about her single “Oral” with Rosalía and how she was using the song to draw attention to environmental crises caused by commercial salmon fishing in her home country. (Pitchfork, November 2023)
Meet Arranger Rob Moose, the Violinist Pulling the Strings in Indie Rock and Pop: Rob Moose went in with me on a deep dive about his career as one a uniquely in-demand working violinist. (Pitchfork, January 2024)
The Weather Station Battles Climate-Change Anxiety, One Song at a Time: Tamara Lindeman, who’s made records for more than a decade as the Weather Station, shared the processes and personal awakenings that led to her masterful album Ignorance. (Pitchfork, January 2021)
In 9 to 5, Dolly Parton Gets to the Grit of Working Life: An assessment of how Dolly Parton’s big-screen breakthrough connected her climb to superstardom with common struggles for women in the workplace. (Pitchfork, February 2021)
Meet the Man Who Used Kraftwerk, Fela Kuti, and Other Fascinating Music to Try to Lure Aliens to Earth: John Shepherd discussed the radio station he ran as an extraterrestrial invitation. (Pitchfork, August 2020)
Goldman Thibodeaux & the Lawtell Playboys Are Among the Last Practitioners of “La La” Music: A look at a rare strain of pre-zydeco music from Louisiana. (Bandcamp Daily, July 2020)
A Major Music Distributor Has Stifled Vinyl Sales for Record Stores and Indie Labels, Sources Say: A huge backlog at one distributor is making life difficult for indie retailers, labels, and artists—and some say it’s threatening their livelihoods. (Pitchfork, December 2019)
Laurie Anderson Confronts Mortality on Songs from the Bardo: An all-time great spoke with me about love, death, cynicism, and kindness. (Bandcamp Daily, October 2019)
5 Songs That Took on Tyranny Around the World, and the Stories Behind Them: I dug into the back stories of a few songs from Smithsonian Folkways’ fantastic box set, The Social Power of Music (Pitchfork, April 2019)
Alan Lomax's Timeless American Recordings Find a New Audience: The Alan Lomax Archive has put up some of Lomax's essential work on Bandcamp. How can that move give the music a new life? (Bandcamp Daily, July 2017)
Fifteen Years Later, Bluegrass Is Still Reeling From O Brother, Where Art Thou?: I took a look at the enduring influence of the Coen Brothers' hit movie on the worlds of folk and bluegrass music. (INDY Week, September 2016)
Hell is Hot: How the Squirrel Nut Zippers Accidentally Sold a Million Records: A long, deep oral history of Hot, the Squirrel Nut Zippers LP that unexpectedly launched the band to national fame. (INDY Week, August 2016)
Miscellaneous
A Forgotten Handmaid's Tale Movie Filmed in Durham Is the Missing Link Between Classic Novel and Hulu Hit: I went on an archive dive to learn about the 1990 adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale, and learned a lot about the production's sometimes scandalous stay in Durham. (INDY Week, May 2017)
How the Durham Bulls Caught Up With the City’s Love of Local Food: Not just hot dogs! (INDY Week, June 2018)
I Used to Hate How I Looked in Clothes. Then I Learned to Make Them Speak My Truth. On sequins and self-loathing. (INDY Week, November 2018)
Louis C.K.’s Surprise Cary Set Was Too Boring to Be Shocking: My thoughts on seeing Louis C.K. perform at a new comedy club in Cary. (INDY Week, January 2019)