Articles
When I’m not obsessing over the career of Jeff Goldblum, I also write any number of news articles, features, profiles and cultural criticism. These days, I do it for The Washington Post. Before that, I wrote for anyone who would have me, including Esquire, GQ, Time, Southern Living and a variety of other extremely kind publications that gave me money for words. Here are a few of my favorite pieces.
Spotify backlash offers rare insight into reeling music industry — and struggles of working musicians
THE WASHINGTON POST | Feb. 14, 2022
“So often, we need someone more powerful, someone people actually listen to, to open the door,” Arie said in an interview. So, “when Neil Young opened the door, I walked through, too.”
Leaving, though, proved difficult.
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THE WASHINGTON POST | Dec. 6, 2021
The Washington Post spoke to more than a dozen songwriters about their reactions to the series about the iconic quartet, the viral moment when McCartney writes the backbone of “Get Back” in minutes, and the sometimes smooth, sometimes arduous process of how to craft a song in the first place. Here’s what they had to say.
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Here’s why deep down we like rewatching the same old movies and shows — especially during the pandemic
THE WASHINGTON POST | Feb. 18, 2021
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The handwarming story of how Bernie Sanders got his inauguration mittens
THE WASHINGTON POST | Jan. 20, 2021
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QAnon is tearing families apart
THE WASHINGTON POST | Oct. 12, 2020
But Jacob, who grew up in the United States, told The Washington Post that he has cut all contact with his mother now that she’s become an ardent believer of the QAnon conspiracy theories.
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Charli D’Amelio is TikTok’s biggest star. She has no idea why.
THE WASHINGTON POST | May 26, 2020
The young people of Ohio weren’t physically distancing, and Gov. Mike DeWine needed to do something.
“Young people think they’re pretty invincible. That just goes with the age,” DeWine said. They are “the hardest demographic to reach … You’ve got to have the right messenger.”
But who? The Republican governor is 73 years old. As the pandemic swept the country in late March, he needed Charli D’Amelio — even if he didn’t yet know who she was.
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The joys — and challenges — of adapting Stephen King for the screen
THE WASHINGTON POST | March 9, 2020
Most Stephen King fans know his work exists in two worlds. First, there’s the page, where images of psychotic, otherworldly clowns, reanimated pet corpses, the ghosts of murdered young girls and haunted cars are injected into our imagination. Then there’s the screen, where we actually see them.
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The missing Oscars
THE WASHINGTON POST | September 25, 2019
Peter O’Toole never won an Oscar. Nor did Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant or Vincent Price. That, right there, should tell you how flawed the awards have been, despite the best intentions of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. As we barrel toward awards season and its annual slate of serious awards-bait films, we decided to remind you of 37 living actors you probably thought already had statues at home — and the roles they should have won them for …
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After 16 years, the Hold Steady is changing the ‘business of being a band’
THE WASHINGTON POST | August 29, 2019
The Hold Steady, an old-school rock-and-roll outfit once dubbed “America’s best bar band,” was falling into the kind of unofficial hiatus that can settle upon a band after a decade of relentless touring when they fielded an unusual request: Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern wanted to book them for four straight nights.
Even considering their obsessive cult following, that felt a little excessive. However, every night they played, the club was packed, recalled frontman Craig Finn. Similar extended stints in Brooklyn and Chicago also did well. It took a couple of years, but eventually, the band realized it might have a new touring model on its hands …