Stephen Thomas Erlewine

I interviewed the great Neil Sedaka 10 yrs ago. He was fun. He said Barry Gibb encouraged him to smoke weed to 'open up my mind creatively and take away my inhibitions'. He gamely gave it go but a joint wasn't Neil's speed. 'I'm a boozer. Give me a vodka and a glass of wine at dinner and I'm fine.'

I can’t count the number of times I’ve been told “my body, my choice” when trying to get the kids into the bath.

Neil Sedaka: 14 Essential Songs

I selected 14 essential Neil Sedaka songs for the New York Times, balancing his effervescent early hits with his lush '70s comeback.

I did have “Little Brother” on my shortlist!

I try not to complain about the exclusion of favorite songs from lists like this, especially when they’re assembled by someone as thoughtful and knowledgeable as Tom. And this is a terrific list, but really: you need to hear “Little Brother” sometime, because that is some sublimely messed-up shit.

It’s an absolute classic.

It’s not one of those lyrics I’ve analyzed too much, but it sometimes plays to me like all the colloquial “little girl” lyrics of the 50s-60s

Neil Sedaka: 14 Essential Songs

I selected 14 essential Neil Sedaka songs for the New York Times, balancing his effervescent early hits with his lush '70s comeback.

Neil Sedaka, songwriter and hitmaker over multiple generations, dies at 86 The chipper melodicist was also known for a catalog of '70s hits hits including "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" and "Laughter in the Rain."

Farewell to Neil Sedaka, the consummate pop songwriter and showman responsible for the enduring hits “Breaking Up is Hard to Do” and “Love Will Keep Us Together.” My obit for the LA Times: www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame 2026 Nominees My thoughts on the 17 acts on this year's ballot

My thoughts on the 17 nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026.

A new wrinkle this year: voters MUST vote for seven nominees. In previous years, it was fine to stop at, say, three.

And that's funny, because my appreciation of Tom Jones has increased dramatically in the last year. They do share a certain sense of showmanship that's appealing.

I think that's fair, and I do think I was perhaps a bit dismissive (couldn't resist having his entry rhyme with Hill's). There are times where his cartoonishness delights me, then there are times that it drives me batty.

The divide between rock as music and rock as cultural force is a fascinating one.

Great band, I'd happily vote for them if they were on the ballot.

Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame 2026 Nominees My thoughts on the 17 acts on this year's ballot

My thoughts on the 17 nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026.

Reviews: The Paranoid Style, U2, Charli xcx, Eric Church Plus Billy Steinberg, Ratboys, Velocity Girl

My latest newsletter: reviews of excellent new LPs from The Paranoid Style and Charli xcx, an admirable one from U2, live Eric Church, Ratboys and a salute to the late Billy Steinberg.

As somebody who always has had a soft spot for record biz exploitation, I have found the streaming era disheartening. There's a world of difference between rip-offs and cash-ins and colorless algorithms.

It's such a wild, messy body of work, probably because the members never could quite agree with what the band should be.

The stretch between The M.I.U. Album and Stars and Stripes is rough.

Bet you can’t remember the Christopher Guest-directed “audio play” of The Coward Brothers tale that accompanied its release, either.

Thanks for the tip

Stopped clock etc.

Reviews: The Paranoid Style, U2, Charli xcx, Eric Church Plus Billy Steinberg, Ratboys, Velocity Girl

My latest newsletter: reviews of excellent new LPs from The Paranoid Style and Charli xcx, an admirable one from U2, live Eric Church, Ratboys and a salute to the late Billy Steinberg.

Jackson Browne detected a naive elitism among Crosby & friends. "the prevailing philosophy in his circle was this. They all had boats, and they all had this really ideal life---they were hippies w/ dough. And they were always talking about how if things got tough politically or whatever, they would just leave. They were sailing off into an ethereal future that doesn't really exist without a lot of work & a lot of support from other people"

Slick: "Wooden Ships was from a very young and idealistic POV. 'oh after the bomb i'm gonna sail away on my wooden sailboat and go eat berries on this goddamned island' sure you are, you and all your radiated friends that are turning green"

the techbro dream of sailing away/isolating from a world falling apart is a variation on an old hippie one; see Jackson Browne & Grace Slick's memories of David Crosby

The Messthetics / James Brandon Lewis: Deface the Currency Read Stephen Thomas Erlewine’s review of the album.

Over at @pitchfork.com, I review Deface the Currency, the exhilarating new album by The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis.

Thanks! And the correction process has already started.

The Messthetics / James Brandon Lewis: Deface the Currency Read Stephen Thomas Erlewine’s review of the album.

Over at @pitchfork.com, I review Deface the Currency, the exhilarating new album by The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis.

Depends on the rock band, I suppose. Those factors absolutely do have an effect on her ticket sales and I'm interested in the idea of how much Perry's uncoolness comes from inevitable demographic shift and how much from shakiness of the music.

Possbily...but she probably would've had a fighting chance if she had made better records. Absolutely wild that she hasn't had a Top Ten hit in nearly a decade.