Watch This NYT "Music Critic" Embarrass Himself...AGAIN
The New York Times recently released a list of the 30 greatest living American songwriters, compiled by a panel of five critics and an editor. The video dissects the panel’s composition—Harvard, Yale, Princeton alumni with degrees in English, American studies, film, and journalism—none of which are music‑focused, raising questions about their authority to rank songcraft. The critics defended a narrow, romanticized view of songwriting as the work of a solitary, often white, guitar‑wielding troubadour, while dismissing broader genres and collaborative practices. Their selections, which included Lionel Richie, Young Thug, Bad Bunny and others, omitted many fan‑favorite names, prompting roughly 6,000 online comments demanding explanations for the exclusions. John Carmonica’s description of the “heroic white man with a guitar” and his justification for leaving Billy Joel off the list illustrate the panel’s ideological bias. The video creator, a master’s‑trained jazz musician from the New England Conservatory, contrasts his practical training with the critics’ literary backgrounds, calling the list “ridiculous.” The episode highlights a credibility gap in mainstream cultural criticism: when editorial panels lack subject‑matter expertise, their judgments can appear out‑of‑touch, potentially eroding trust in legacy media’s cultural authority.
How Tigran Hamasyan Combines Metal, Polyrhythms and 3,500-Year-Old Folk Music
In a candid interview, pianist‑composer Tigran Hamasyan explains how he fuses 3,500‑year‑old Armenian folk traditions with modern metal and intricate polyrhythms, creating a sound that defies conventional jazz categories. He traces his musical DNA to a household saturated with Led...
Did Geese REALLY Game The System?
The video dissects a Wired magazine story that branded Brooklyn indie rockers Geese as an "industry plant" after their rapid rise in 2025. The piece highlights the band’s partnership with Chaotic Good Projects, a digital marketing firm accused of using...
The Spotify Top 10 Got Even Worse
In the latest episode of his “Spotify Top 10” series, Rick Biato breaks down the current U.S. chart, noting a steep decline in artistic ambition. Biato points out that the majority of the list—songs like Malcolm Todd’s “Earrings” and Don Toiver’s...
The Bruce Hornsby Interview
The conversation with Bruce Hornsby centers on his latest release, Indigo Park, his 26th studio album, and the 40‑year milestone since his debut in 1986. Hornsby reflects on a career that has spanned from the analog era of tape‑based recording to...
The Mystery Chord That Made Toto’s “Africa” A Mega-Hit
The video dissects the “mystery chord” that gives Toto’s 1982 hit “Africa” its unforgettable verse hook, focusing on a specific voicing that most listeners never notice. Rick Bato identifies the chord as an E major 7 sus 2 over G♯ (functionally B major over G♯) with...
The Most Important Life Lesson My Dad Ever Taught Me
The video recounts a formative summer when the narrator’s father took an eleven‑year‑old on daily trips to a rural New York golf course. Rather than focusing on the sport itself, the father used the outings as a covert apprenticeship in...
Why I Didn't Release This Part Of The Flea Interview
In an unreleased segment of a November interview, Flea discusses the creation of his first solo trumpet album, a project that debuted last Friday and diverges sharply from his Red Hot Chili Peppers work. He recounts a two‑year daily‑practice regimen that...
The New Musical Dark Ages Are Here
The video revisits the 1973 double‑LP set “Superstars of the 70s,” a Warner‑owned compilation that gathered 49 tracks from artists ranging from Alice Cooper to Led Zeppelin. By walking through the original tracklist, the host argues the set functions as a time capsule...
The Charlie Puth Interview
The interview centers on Charlie Puth’s musical upbringing, his rare perfect‑pitch ability, and the creative process behind his forthcoming fourth album, “Whatever’s Clever.” He recounts discovering perfect pitch at age twelve by memorizing an entire church mass and explains how...
Puscifer: The Story Behind The Coolest Record of 2026
The video features an in‑depth interview with Puscifer co‑founders Maynard James Keenan and Matt Mitchell about their newly released fifth album, Normal Isn’t, which the host describes as the coolest record of 2026. The duo explains that the songwriting hinges on...
Jack Gardiner Talks Like A Beatle, But SHREDS Like A Samurai
In a candid interview, guitarist Jack Gardiner discusses his evolution from a YouTube‑centric collaborator to releasing original solo material, marking a pivotal shift in his career. Gardiner traces his musical DNA to a childhood in Liverpool’s Anfield district, where a bass‑playing...
Please STOP Sending Me This
The video chronicles the creator’s sudden flood of emails—about 25 per day—regarding an obscure Canadian group called Anene Deathwin. After a decade of YouTube content, the host admits he never heard of the band until a viral KEXP clip sparked...
How AI Will Fail Like The Music Industry
The episode draws a parallel between the looming trajectory of artificial intelligence and the music industry’s collapse in the early 2000s. It argues that AI’s rapid democratization, fueled by open‑source models, could repeat the same disruptive pattern that undermined traditional...
Music Theory For Songwriters - 30 Minute Full Lesson
The live stream is a 30‑minute music‑theory lesson aimed at songwriters, walking through chord‑progression fundamentals in the key of A major and using John Lennon’s “I’m the Walrus” as a practical case study. The instructor also promotes a bundled “Songwriters...