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Bio
A native of McNairy County, Tennessee, Stephen Deusner studied fiction writing at Rhodes College (B.A. 1996) before devoting his efforts to nonfiction and criticism. He has written about music, film, books, and Southern culture for 20 years, and his work appears in the New York Times, Uncut, No Depression, Pitchfork, the Bluegrass Situation, Bandcamp Daily, and American Songwriter, among other print and online publications. He currently lives in Bloomington, Indiana.
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Books
Where the Devil Don’t Stay: Traveling the South with the Drive-By Truckers (University of Texas Press, American Music Series, 2021)
Garth Brooks In… The Life of Chris Gaines (Bloomsbury Academic, 33 1/3 series, fall 2024)
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Drive-By Truckers Coverage (selected)
Drive-By Truckers: The Long Haul (feature, Spin, June 2022)
The Key to the Longevity of the Drive-By Truckers (guest column, Washington Post, September 26, 2021)
Mike Cooley, Patterson Hood & Jason Isbell: Live at the Shoals Theatre, June 15, 2014 (album review, Uncut, July 2021)
Drive-By Truckers: The New OK (album review, Pitchfork, December 21, 2020)
Jason Isbell: Soul Survivor (feature, Uncut, June 2020)
Drive-By Truckers: Thoughts and Prayers (feature, Uncut, February 2020)
Drive-By Truckers’ Pizza Deliverance Turns 20 (Stereogum, May 10, 2019)
Adam’s House Cat: Town Burned Down (album review, Uncut, November 2018?)
Jason Isbell: Something More Than Free (album review, Pitchfork, July 14, 2015)
Jason Isbell: Southeastern (album review, Pitchfork, July 11, 2013)
Jason Isbell (interview, CMT Edge, June 17, 2013)
Story in Song: Jason Isbell (feature, Memphis Flyer, December 20, 2012)
Drive-By Truckers: Ugly Buildings, Whores & Politicians: Greatest Hits 1998-2009 (album review, Pitchfork, August 24, 2011)
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit: Here We Rest (album review, Pitchfork, April 11, 2011)
Drive-By Truckers: Go-Go Boots (album review, Pitchfork, February 18, 2011)
The Drive-By Truckers Are Not Making This Up (feature, Village Voice, March 16, 2010)
Drive-By Truckers: The Fine Print (album review, Pitchfork, August 31, 2009)
Drive-By Truckers: Live from Austin, TX (album review, Pitchfork, July 16, 2009)
Patterson Hood: Murdering Oscar (And Other Love Songs) (album review, Washington Post Express, June 22, 2009)
Reality on the Rise: Drive-By Truckers (feature, Washington Post Express, February 18, 2009)
Drive-By Truckers: Brighter Than Creation’s Dark (album review, Paste, January 18, 2008)
Jason Isbell: Sirens of the Ditch (Pitchfork, July 11, 2007)
Drive-By Truckers: A Blessing and a Curse (album review, Pitchfork, April 17, 2006)
Drive-By Truckers: Gangstabilly/Pizza Deliverance (album review, Pitchfork, February 14, 2005)
Drive-By Truckers: The Dirty South (album review, Pitchfork, August 31, 2004)
Patterson Hood: Killers & Stars (album review, Pitchfork, May 9, 2004)
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Liner Notes
The International Submarine Band: Safe at Home (Sundazed, 2021)
Pylon Box (New West Records, 2020)
The Glands: I Can See My House from Here box set (New West Records, 2018)
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Feature-Length Articles and Cover Stories (selected)
Joan Shelley & Nathan Salsburg (Uncut, forthcoming)
Jack White (Nashvillian cover story, September 2022)
Andrew Leahey (East Nashvillian cover story, Summer 2022)
SG Goodman (New York Times, June 1, 2022)
Black Keys: Keys to the Highway (Uncut, June 2022)
Bob Dylan: Talkin’ New York City Blues (Uncut, May 2022)
Yasmin Williams: After the Storm (Uncut, January 2022)
Bruce Springsteen: Reasons to Believe (Uncut cover story, Jan 2022)
Kacey Musgraves: Golden Years (Uncut, October 2021)
HC McEntire (Uncut, October 2020)
Kacey Musgraves (Uncut, October 2021)
Leon Bridges (Uncut, September 2021)
Inside the Vault: Prince’s Legendary Lost Albums (Uncut, July 2021)
Wide Open Skies: Ambient Americana (Uncut, feature and CD liner notes, May 2021)
Stevie Wonder, Higher Ground (Uncut, February 2021)
Premature Evaluation: Neil Young, Homegrown (Stereogum, June 12, 2020)
Lucinda Williams: “I’ve been misunderstood for so long” (Uncut, May 2020)
Warren Zevon’s Life’ll Kill Ya Turns 20 (Stereogum, January 24, 2020)
Bonnie Prince Billy: Of Love and Horror (Uncut, December 2019)
Wilco: Bittersweet Symphonies and companion CD and liner notes, Wilcovered (Uncut, November 2019)
Bon Iver: “Something’s Happening … I’m Happy Again” (Uncut, October 2019)
Singing to Live: Inuit Musicians in Nunavut Draw upon Tradition for Modern Survival (No Depression, Fall 2019)
Tales from the Riverbank: Joan Shelley (Uncut, September 2019)
The Dixie Chicks’ Fly Turns 20 (Stereogum, August 30, 2019)
Jake Xerxes Fussell: What in the Natural World (Uncut, July 2019)
Strand of Oaks: Shot of Joy (American Songwriter, May/June 2019)
Olivia Tremor Control’s Black Foliage: Animation Music Volume One Turns 20 (Stereogum, March 22, 2019)
I Am Shelby Lynne Turns 20 (Stereogum, April 19, 2019)
How Andrew Bird Assembled “My Finest Work Yet” (Bluegrass Situation, April 12, 2019)
Lambchop: Nashville Skyline (Uncut, March 2019)
Bon Iver’s Blood Bank Turns 10 (Stereogum, January 18, 2019)
Stephen Malkmus: Gold Sound (Uncut, January 2019)
“You Make Me Feel…”: Aretha Franklin, 1942–2018 (Uncut, November 2018)
The Story of Outlaw Country in 13 Songs (Pitchfork, October 29, 2018)
Mercury Rev’s Deserter’s Songs Turns 20 (Stereogum, September 27, 2018)
Cowboy Junkies: Everything Unsure, Everything Unstable (Bluegrass Situation, July 5, 2018)
Neko Case: “I’m an Agent of the Natural World” (Uncut, July 2018)
What Exactly Makes a Country Outlaw? (Pitchfork, June 5, 2018)
John Prine, “I Know Less Now than I Did 45 Years Ago…” (Uncut, May 2018)
Back Road into Town: Rick Hall (Uncut, April 2018)
Robert Plant: Man of the World (American Songwriter cover story, April/May 2018)
“Cocaine & Rhinestones” is the Country Podcast You Need to Hear to Believe (Pitchfork, March 12, 2018)
Artist to Watch: Haley Heynderickx (Stereogum, January 16, 2018)
Bruce Springsteen: New York City Serenade (Uncut cover story, January 2018)
Fight to Be Free: Tom Petty obituary (Uncut, December 2017)
Bound for Glory: Woody Guthrie (Uncut, November 2017)
Beck: Where It’s At? (Uncut, November 2017)
An American Boy: Remembering Tom Petty (Stereogum, October 3, 2017)
The Dream Syndicate: Requiem for a Dream (Uncut, October 2017)
The Holes Are All That’s Real: Colter Wall (American Songwriter, September/October 2017)
“Tell Me That Your Sweet Love Hasn’t Died”: Elvis Presley (Uncut, September 2017)
14 Essential Paisley Underground Songs (Stereogum, August 24, 2017)
Gregg Allman 1947–1967 (Uncut, August 2017)
Chuck Berry’s Last Ride (American Songwriter cover story, July/August 2017)
Fleet Foxes: Crazy Like a Fox (Uncut, June 2017)
Married to the Muse: John Mellencamp (American Songwriter cover story, May/June 2017)
Go Your Own Way: Buckingham McVie (Uncut cover story, May 2017)
Sound Vibrations: How a small label in Indiana changed the world (No Depression, Spring 2017)
There Was No Girl As Bold As You: The Overlooked Legacy Of Natalie Merchant And 10,000 Maniacs (Stereogum, March 22, 2017)
We’re all livin’ on a prayer: How a hair band anthem from the least cool '80s rockers became a classic (Salon, February 18, 2017)
Ultimate Playlist: 34 Essential Glam Rock Songs (Stereogum, January 5, 2017)
Sweet Shoals Music: Muscle Shoals, Alabama (Uncut, November 2016)
The Price Is Right: Margo Price (Uncut, October 2016)
Subliminal Seduction: How Two Memphis Soul Men Defined R&B in the 1960s and Beyond (American Songwriter cover story, August 2016)
Hard Times in Olde England: English Folk Music in the 21st Century (No Depression, Summer 2016)
Per Chants to Dream: How Evensong Almost Conquered the Charts (Stereogum, May 18, 2016)
Party Off, Garth: The Short Life and Long Death of Chris Gaines (Stereogum, May 17, 2016)
Take This Hammer, Blow Your Kazoo: Skiffle in the 1950s & Beyond (Bluegrass Situation, May 16, 2016)
Various Artists: A Tribute to ‘90s Tribute Albums (Stereogum, May 16, 2016)
Adventurous Listening: The World According to Dust-to-Digital (Bluegrass Situation, January 27, 2016)
Pavement: Captains of Industry (American Songwriter, November/December 2015)
Weezer is the absolute worst: Is Rivers Cuomo just trolling us all? (Salon, October 26, 2015)
The Story Behind the Best Worst Soundtrack to the Best Worst Movie Ever Made (Stereogum, September 24, 2015)
With Dance You Can Save the Community: The Enduring Inner City Utopia of Breakin’ (Pitchfork, September 9, 2015)
Beale Street Blues: The Main Street of Black America (Bluegrass Situation, August 26, 2015)
Picturing the History of American Popular Music (Bluegrass Situation, June 17, 2015)
Capturing the Blues: The Curious Story of Paramount Records (American Songwriter, May 2015)
Martin Aston: Facing the Other Way: The Story of 4AD (Pitchfork, December 12, 2013)
Bob Dylan’s unguarded moment: The glorious subversion of the new “Basement Tapes” box set (Salon, November 15, 2014)
Where the Creatures Meet: Harmony and Discord in Laurel Canyon (American Songwriter, November 2014)
Thurston Moore: Beneficent Energy (Paste, October 21, 2014)
A Deeper Well: The Music of the Carolinas (American Songwriter, September 2014)
Jenny Lewis: Still Searching (Paste cover story, July 22, 2014)
10 Essential Alt-Country Albums (CMT Edge, July 11, 2014)
Amy LaVere’s Life on the Run (Wondering Sound, June 18, 2014)
Documents: The Best (And Weirdest) R.E.M. Rarities (Pitchfork, June 17, 2014)
If You Can Make It There: 5 Legendary New York City Music Locales (American Songwriter, May 2014)
Black Joy on Television: The Cultural Legacy of Soul Train (Pitchfork, April 25, 2014)
Holly George-Warren: A Man Called Destruction: The Life and Music of Alex Chilton (Pitchfork, April 11, 2014)
Is There Anything Left to Say About Kurt Cobain’s Legacy? (Pitchfork, March 31, 2014)
Come Around Sundown: Country Music in the Crescent City (American Songwriter, March 2014)
To a Better Land: Uncle Tupelo and the Legacy of No Depression (American Songwriter, January 2014)
Peter Guralnick Gets Lost (Paste, December 12, 2013)
Revisiting the Strange and Wonderful Soundtrack to Robert Altman’s Nashville (Pitchfork, December 9, 2013)
Tony Joe White: Hoodoo Voodoo (American Songwriter, December 2013)
Lou Reed’s New York: Gritty, scary, seedy, human (Salon, October 28, 2013)
Ashley Monroe: When the Roses Bloom Again (American Songwriter, October 2013)
Louder Than Hell: The Oral History of the Oral History of Heavy Metal (Paste, September 6, 2013)
Van Dyke Parks: A Perpetual State of Wonder (Paste, August 5, 2013)
This Is Your Life: Greg Cartwright (eMusic, July 2, 2013)
“You Are My Sunshine”: How a maudlin song became a children’s classic (Salon, May 26, 2013)
Who Is… Hiss Golden Messenger? (eMusic, April 10, 2013)
Afterword: Jason Molina (Pitchfork, March 19, 2013)
Small and Mighty: Shovels & Rope (Memphis Flyer, February 7, 2013)
Unpacking the religious-to-roots music migration: Stephen Deusner and Jewly Hight (Nashville Scene, December 20, 2012)
Jon Stewart, capitalist stooge? (Salon, July 25, 2012)
Jim Dickinson: Dead but Not Gone (Paste, July 2, 2012)
Drive: Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings (Memphis Flyer, June 7, 2012)
Afterword: Levon Helm (Pitchfork, April 23, 2012)
Lambchop: Mixed Media (American Songwriter, March 2012)
Lana Del Rey and the new culture of failure (Salon, February 2, 2012)
The Boss Embraces Occupy (Salon, January 19, 2012)
The Reawakening of Bob Dylan (American Songwriter, January 2012)
Neutral Milk Hotel: The Enduring Mystery of Jeff Mangum (Paste cover story, December 21, 2011)
Hank Williams: Inside His Lost Notebooks (American Songwriter, November 2011)
Will a new Dylan emerge from Occupy Wall Street? (Salon, October 15, 2011)
The Mekons: A Care-Free History (Paste, September 21, 2011)
St. Vincent: Method Actor (American Songwriter, September 2011)
Steve Earle/Justin Townes Earle (cover story for American Songwriter, July/August 2011)
Afterword: Clarence Clemons (Pitchfork, June 23, 2011)
Amanda Shires: Mystery Girl (American Songwriter, June 2011)
Justin Townes Earle, Urban Cowboy (Village Voice, December 15, 2010)
What a Grind: Nick Cave (Memphis Flyer, November 18, 2010)
Green on Green: Soul Legend Al Green (Washington Post Express, March 10, 2010)
Afterword: Vic Chesnutt (Pitchfork, January 11, 2010)
Life's Work: Will Oldham (Memphis Flyer, June 4, 2009)
Lincoln Memorial Concert and Big Shoulders Ball (Pitchfork, January 21, 2009)
Hip-Hop Through the Lens of Portraiture (Paste, February 6, 2008)
Revival Meeting: Sharon Jones (Washington Post Express, January 17, 2008)
“Everything But Country” (Pitchfork, January 8, 2007)
For Whom Hell’s Bells Toll (Pitchfork, December 12, 2005)
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Album Reviews (selected)
Uncut (2016–present)
Steve Gunn: Other You (October 2021)
Yola: Stand for Myself (September 2021)
Faye Webster: I Know I’m Funny haha (August 2021)
Janet Simpson: Safe Distance (April 2021)
Farmer Dave & the Wizards of the West: Farmer Dave & the Wizards of the West (February 2021)
Kacy & Clayton & Marlon Williams: Plastic Bouquet (January 2021)
Prince: Sign O’ The Times (October 2020)
Jason Molina: Eight Gates (September 2020)
The Dream Syndicate: The Universe Inside (June 2020)
Allman Brothers Band: Trouble No More (April 2020)
Shannon Lay: August (September 2019)
Norma Tanega: Walkin’ My Cat Named Dog (September 2019)
Buddy & Julie Miller: Breakdown on 20th Avenue South (July 2019)
Ex Hex: It’s Real (April 2019)
Various: Gospel According to Malaco (March 2019)
Rosali: Trouble Anyway (January 2019)
Low: Double Negative (October 2018)
Buddy Guy: The Blues Is Alive And Well (August 2018)
Liz Phair: Girly-Sound to Guyville (June 2018)
Old Crow Medicine Show: Volunteer (May 2018)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Fever to Tell: Deluxe Edition (January 2018)
Bob Dylan: Trouble No More: The Bootleg Series Vol. 13/1979-1981 (January 2018)
The Replacements: For Sale: Live at Maxwell’s 1986 (November 2017)
Chris Hillman: Bidin’ My Time (October 2017)
Prince & the Revolution: Purple Rain (September 2017)
Dan Auerbach: Waiting on a Song (August 2017)
John Moreland: Big Bad Luv (June 2017)
Ella Fitzgerald: 100 Songs for a Centennial (May 2017)
New Pornographers: Whiteout Conditions (May 2017)
Rhiannon Giddens: Freedom Highway (lead review, March 2017)
Flaming Lips: Oczy Mlody (February 2017)
The Band: The Last Waltz: 40th Anniversary Edition (lead review, January 2017)
R.E.M.: Out of Time: 25th Anniversary Edition (December 2016)
Hiss Golden Messenger: Heart Like a Levee (November 2016)
Ray Charles: The Atlantic Years – In Mono (lead review, October 2016)
Lydia Loveless: Real (September 2016)
Sex Pistols: Live ’76 (August 2016)
Chris Robinson Brotherhood: Anyway You Love We Know How You Feel (July 2016)
Steve Gunn: Eyes on the Lines (June 2016)Pitchfork (2004–present)
James McMurtry: The Horses and the Hounds (August 25, 2021)
Various Artists: Country Funk Volume III (1975-1982) (August 7, 2021)
Shirley Collins: Crowlink EP (July 30, 2021)
Hiss Golden Messenger: Quietly Blowing It (June 20, 2021)
Phosphorescent: The BBC Sessions EP (June 22, 2021)
Various Artists: Get on Board the Soul Train: The Sound of Philadelphia International Records, Vol. 1 (June 2, 2021)
Lambchop: Showtunes (May 25, 2021)
Iron & Wine: Archive Series No. 5: Tallahassee Recordings (May 12, 2021)
Ashley Monroe: Rosegold (May 4, 2021)
Bill MacKay/Nathan Bowles: Keys (April 19, 2021)
Esther Rose: How Many Times (April 1, 2021)
Jimbo Mathus/Andrew Bird: These 13 (March 8, 2021)
Nancy Sinatra: Start Walkin’ 1965-1976 (February 8, 2021)
Steve Earle: J.T. (January 27, 2021)
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings: Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Rendition Was In) (December 3, 2020)
Wilco: Summerteeth (Deluxe Edition) (November 6, 2020)
Sturgill Simpson: Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 1: The Butcher Shoppe Sessions (October 24, 2020)
Kurt Vile: Speed, Sound, Lonely KV EP (October 7, 2020)
Daniel Romano: How Ill Thy World is Ordered (September 17, 2020)
Margo Price: That’s How Rumors Get Started (July 15, 2020)
My Morning Jacket: The Waterfall II (July 13, 2020)
James Elkington: Ever-Roving Eye (April 15, 2020)
Maria McKee: La Vita Nuova (March 14, 2020)
Bill Fay: Countless Branches (February 11, 2020)
Various Artists: Until the End of the World (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (December 9, 2019)
Tindersticks: No Treasure But Hop (December 5, 2019)
Red River Dialect: Abundance Welcoming Ghosts (October 4, 2019)
Patsy Cline: Sentimentally Yours (September 15 2019)
Tyler Childers: Country Squire (August 4, 2019)
Mort Garson: Mother Earth’s Plantasia (July 6, 2019)
Willie Nelson: Ride Me Back Home (June 25, 2019)
Calexico/Iron & Wine: Years to Burn (June 17, 2019)
Black Mountain: Destroyer (May 29, 2019)
Mavis Staples: We Get By (May 24, 2019)
Mekons: Deserted (April 6, 2019)
Various Artists: Cruising OST (March 30, 2019)
Nick Waterhouse: Nick Waterhouse (March 11, 2019)
Hayes Carll: What It Is (February 12, 2019)
Mercury Rev: Bobbie Gentry’s The Delta Sweete Revisited (February 8, 2019)
Steve Gunn: The Unseen in Between (January 25, 2019)
Scott Hirsch: Lost Time Behind the Moon (December 19, 2018)
The Spinanes: Manos (December 10, 2018)
Nathan Bowles: Plainly Mistaken (October 9, 2018)
Cecile McLorin Salvant: The Window (October 4, 2018)
Richard Thompson: 13 Rivers (September 22, 2018)
Swamp Dogg: Love, Loss, and Auto-Tune (September 10, 2018)
Iron & Wine: Weed Garden EP (August 31, 20198)
Lambchop: What Another Man Spills (August 11, 2018)
Various Artists: Paradise: The Sound of Ivor Raymonde (August 7, 2018)
T. Hardy Morris: Dude, The Obscure (July 10, 2018)
Chris Crofton: Hello It’s Me (June 30, 2018)
Simon & Garfunkel/Dave Grusin: The Graduate OST, (June 16, 2018)
Ashley Monroe: Sparrow, April 26, 2018
Anna & Elizabeth: The Invisible Comes to Us (April 14, 2018)
Lindi Ortega: Liberty (April 3, 2018)
Tom Waits: The Asylum Era (March 24, 2018)
Joan Baez: Whistle Down the Wind (March 10, 2018)
Stick in the Wheel: Follow Them True (February 1 2018)
Dommengang: Love Jail (January 30, 2018)
First Aid Kit: Ruins (January 19, 2018)
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Wrong Creatures (January 13, 2018)
Chris Stapleton: From A Room: Volume 1/Volume 2 (December 11, 2017)
Wilco: A.M./Being There (December 6, 2017)
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings: Soul of a Woman (November 24, 2017)
Mavis Staples: If All I Was Was Black (November 16, 2017)
Isaac Hayes: The Spirit of Memphis 1962-1976 (September 25, 2017)
Hiss Golden Messenger: Hallelujah Anyhow (September 21, 2017)
David Rawlings: Poor David’s Almanack (September 6, 2017)
Alex Chilton: A Man Called Destruction (August 29, 2017)
Cory Branan: Adios (April 8, 2017)
Alison Krauss: Windy City (February 25, 2017)
Strand of Oaks: Hard Love (February 23, 2017)
Loria McKenna: The Rifle & the Bird (July 28, 2016)
Will Butler: Friday Night (June 20, 2016)
Margo Price: Midwest Farmer’s Daughter (March 24, 2016)
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever: Talk Tight EP (March 21, 2016)
Craig Finn: Faith in the Future (September 8, 2015)
Various: Garden City Blues: Detroit’s Jumping Scene 1948-1960 (September 1, 2015)
Ashley Monroe: The Blade (July 21, 2015)
Various: Dylan, Cash, and the Nashville Cats: A New Music City (June 17, 2015)
Deslondes: The Deslondes (June 4, 2015)
Mavis Staples: Your Good Fortune EP (April 24, 2015)
Lead Belly: The Complete Smithsonian Folkways Collection (March 2, 2015)
Black Twig Pickers/Steve Gunn: Seasonal Hire (February 25, 2015)
Staple Singers: Freedom Highway Complete/Pops Staples: Don’t Lose This (February 17, 2015)
Bob Dylan: Shadows in the Night (February 3, 2015)
Pink Floyd: The Endless River (November 13, 2014)
Afghan Whigs: Gentlemen at 21 (November 6, 2014)
Marianne Faithfull: Give My Love to London (October 10, 2014)
Tweedy: Sukierae (September 17, 2014)
Hiss Golden Messenger: Lateness of Dancers (September 9, 2014)
Sinoia Caves: Beyond the Black Rainbow OST (September 3, 2014)
J Mascis: Tied to a Star (August 28, 2014)
Jenny Lewis: The Voyager (July 31, 2014)
Cocteau Twins: Blue Bell Knoll/Heaven or Las Vegas (July 26, 2014)
Various: Country Funk II (July 24, 2014)
Old 97s: Most Messed Up (June 27, 2014)
Sturgill Simpson: Metamodern Sounds in Country Music (May 16, 2014)
Songs: Ohia: Journey On: Collected Singles (April 23, 2014)
Hurray for the Riff Raff: Small Town Heroes (February 18, 2014)
Lydia Loveless: Somewhere Else (February 17, 2014)
Townes Van Zandt: reissues (July 2, 2013)
R.E.M.: Green: 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (May 14, 2013)
Sam Amidon: Bright Sunny South (May 13, 2013)
Hiss Golden Messenger: Haw (April 1, 2013)
Low: The Invisible Way (March 21, 2013)
R.E.M.: Document: 25th Anniversary Edition (September 25, 2012)
Various: Country Funk 1969-1975 (July 23, 2012)
Father John Misty: Fear Fun (May 14, 2012)
Lee Hazlewood: The LHI Years: Nudes, Singles & Backsides 1968-1971 (May 4, 2012)
Billy Bragg & Wilco: Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions (April 27, 2012)
Various: Listen, Whitey! The Sounds of Black Power 1967-1974 (March 27, 2012)
Louvin Brothers: Satan Is Real/Handpicked Songs 1955-1962 (November 29, 2011)
Bonnie “Prince” Billy: Wolfroy Goes to Town (October 12, 2011)
R.E.M.: Lifes Rich Pageant: 25th Anniversary Edition (July 13, 2011)
Mount Moriah: Mount Moriah (June 24, 2011)
Mickey Newbury: An American Trilogy (June 9, 2011)
Paul Simon: So Beautiful or So What (April 15, 2011)
Bob Dylan: In Concert: Brandeis University 1963 (April 12, 2011)
Simon & Garfunkel: Bridge Over Troubled Water (March 18, 2011)
Jayhawks: Hollywood Town Hall/Tomorrow the Green Grass (January 20, 2011)
Mavis Staples: You Are Not Alone (September 23, 2010)
Woody Guthrie: My Dusty Road (January 4, 2010)
Tom Waits: Glitter and Doom Live (November 23, 2009)
Avett Brothers: I and Love and You (October 2, 2009)
Megafaun: Gather, Form & Fly (July 24, 2009)
Jayhawks: Music from the North Country: The Jayhawks Anthology (July 13, 2009)
Big Star: #1 Record/Radio City (June 16, 2009)
Bloodkin: They Told Us We Would Rise Again (March 16, 2009)
Isaac Hayes: Black Moses/Juicy Fruit (March 4, 2009)
Neko Case: Middle Cyclone (March 3, 2009)
Otis Redding: Live in London and Paris (January 6, 2009)
R.E.M.: Murmur: Deluxe Edition (November 24, 2008)
Johnny Cash: At Folsom Prison: Legacy Edition (October 23, 2008)
Fleet Foxes: Fleet Foxes (June 6, 2008)
Bonnie “Prince” Billy: Lie Down in the Light (May 27, 2008)
Love: Forever Changes: Collector’s Edition (April 25, 2008)
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds: Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! (April 7, 2008)
Neko Case: reissues (November 9, 2007)
Various: The Oxford American Music Issue 2007 (October 19, 2007)
Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago (October 4, 2007)
Bruce Springsteen: Magic (October 3, 2007)
Magnolia Electric Co.: Sojourner (August 8, 2007)
Afghan Whigs: Unbreakable: A Retrospective (May 30, 2007)
National: Boxer (May 21, 2007)
Various: Stax 50th Anniversary Celebration (March 13, 2007)
Arcade Fire: Neon Bible (March 5, 2007)
Lucinda Williams: West (February 19, 2007)
Bob Wills & the Texas Playboys: Legends of Country Music (December 7, 2006)
Karen Dalton: In My Own Time (November 17, 2006)
Decemberists: The Crane Wife (October 3, 2006)
Sparklehorse: Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain (September 27, 2006)
Gram Parsons: The Reprise Sessions (June 29, 2006)
Band of Horses: Everything All the Time (March 19, 2006)
Merle Haggard: reissues (February 27, 2006)
Various: For a Decade of Sin: 11 Years of Bloodshot Records (November 7, 2005)
Band: A Musical History (October 25, 2005)
June Carter Cash: Keep On the Sunny Side: Her Life in Music (September 5, 2005)
Ramones: Weird Tales of the Ramones (August 7, 2005)
Sleater-Kinney: The Woods (May 24, 2005)
Okkervil River: Black Sheep Boy (April 14, 2005)
Decemberists: Picaresque (March 23, 2005)
Todd Snider: East Nashville Skyline (December 14, 2004)
R.E.M.: Around the Sun (October 4, 2004)
Steve Earle: The Revolution Starts… Now (August 30, 2004)
Vic Chesnutt: reissues (July 20, 2004)
Bobbie Gentry: Chickasaw County Child: The Artistry of Bobbie Gentry (May 6, 2004)
Lucero: That Much Further West (March 23, 2004)Paste (2004–2015)
Wilco: Star Wars (July 28, 2015)
Pixies: Indie Cindy (April 29, 2014)
Eminem: The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (November 5, 2013)
Waitresses: Just Desserts: The Complete Waitresses (October 22, 2013)
Otis Redding: The Complete Stax/Volt Singles Collection (July 23, 2013)
National: Trouble Will Find Me (May 21, 2013)
Vampire Weekend: Modern Vampires of the City (May 7, 2013)
Rolling Stones: GRRR! (December 11, 2012)
Jens Lekman: I Know What Love Isn’t (September 4, 2012)
Fiona Apple: The Idler Wheel… (June 19, 2012)
Trampled By Turtles: Stars and Satellites (April 11, 2012)
Bruce Springsteen: Wrecking Ball (March 6, 2012)
Lou Reed and Metallica: Lulu (November 1, 2011)
Mekons: Ancient & Modern (September 27, 2011)
Amy LaVere: Stranger Me (July 18, 2011)
Iggy Pop: Roadkill Rising… The Bootleg Collection 1977-2009 (May 18, 2011)
Robert Johnson: The Centennial Collection (May 2, 2011)
Aretha Franklin: Take a Look: Aretha Franklin Complete on Columbia (March 30, 2011)
Buddy Miller: The Majestic Silver Strings (March 3, 2011)
Destroyer: Kaputt (January 25, 2011)
Phosphorescent: Here’s to Taking It Easy (May 12, 2010)
Shelby Lynne: Tears, Lies & Alibis (April 23, 2010)
Booker T: Potato Hole (April 20, 2009)
Arcade Fire: Funeral (December 1, 2004)Washington Post Express (2007–2010)
Bruce Springsteen: Darkness on the Edge of Town (November 16, 2010)
Taylor Swift: Speak Now (October 26, 2010)
U.S. Senator Robert Byrd: Mountain Fiddler (July 26, 2010)
Bettye Lavette: Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook (May 24, 2010)
Janelle Monae: The ArchAndroid (May 17, 2010)
Judas Priest: British Steel: 30th Anniversary Edition (May 11, 2010)
Erykah Badu: New Amerykah Part Two (March 29, 2010)
Titus Andronicus: The Monitor (March 8, 2010)
Patty Griffin: Downtown Church (January 26, 2010)
drivin' n cryin': The Great American Bubble Factory (September 29, 2009)
Guy Clark: Somedays the Song Writes You (September 22, 2009)
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Interviews (selected)
Asleep At the Wheel (CMT Edge, March 5, 2015)
Bonnie “Prince” Billy (American Songwriter, May/June 2016)
Bottle Rockets (CMT Edge, December 3, 2013)
Joe Boyd (Pitchfork, June 12, 2007)
Charles Bradley (Paste, April 5, 2016)
Tom Brokaw (Washington Post Express, November 3, 2011)
Mel Brooks (Salon, November 14, 2012)
Joey Burns and Sam Beam (Bluegrass Situation, July 10, 2019)
Ken Burns (Washington Post Express, December 7, 2009)
John Cale (Salon, October 11, 2012)
Neko Case (Pitchfork, March 23, 2009)
Roseanne Cash (Bluegrass Situation, December 5–6, 2018)
Brandy Clark (Wondering Sound, November 19, 2013)
Judy Collins (Washington Post Express, September 8, 2011)
Wayne Coyne (Salon, January 21, 2017)
Ray Davies (Salon, November 9, 2013)
Joan Didion (Washington Post Express, November 9, 2011)
Fleet Foxes (Pitchfork, November 17, 2008)
John Fogerty (CMT Edge, June 24, 2013)
Art Garfunkel (Salon, October 1, 2015)
Peter Guralnick (American Songwriter, January 26, 2016)
Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell (Salon, May 15, 2015)
Joe Henry (Salon, October 11, 2011)
Chris Hillman (Stereogum, September 15, 2017)
Hiss Golden Messenger (Bluegrass Situation, October 17, 2019)
Jessica Hopper (Los Angeles Review of Books, June 15, 2015)
Lenny Kaye (Salon, November 29, 2015)
Amythyst Kiah (Bluegrass Situation, August 24, 2021)
Mark Knopfler (Salon, March 28, 2015)
Lambchop (Pitchfork, October 7, 2008)
Daniel Lanois (No Depression)
Bettye LaVette (Bluegrass Situation, August 21, 2020)
Lucero (CMT Edge, August 13, 2014)
David Lynch (Salon, August 6, 2013)
Natalie Maines (Paste, May 20, 2013)
Aimee Mann (Stereogum, March 6, 2017)
Greil Marcus (American Songwriter, October 14, 2015)
Steve Martin (CMT Edge, January 27, 2014)
Mavericks (CMT Edge, February 19, 2015)
Jessica Lea Mayfield (Stereogum, October 2, 2017)
Del McCoury (CMT Edge, September 25, 2013)
Lorena McKennitt (Bluegrass Situation, May 30, 2018)
F.J. McMahon (Bluegrass Situation, November 17, 2017)
John Mellencamp (Salon, June 8, 2013)
Anaïs Mitchell (Bluegrass Situation, January 27, 2020)
Thurston Moore (Salon, October 18, 2014)
National (Pitchfork, February 5, 2006; Pitchfork, June 7, 2010)
Conor Oberst & Phoebe Bridgers (Bluegrass Situation, January 24, 2019)
Sinead O’Connor (Salon, August 23, 2014)
Oderus of Gwar (Washington Post Express, December 20, 2012)
Old 97s (CMT Edge, May 2, 2014)
Angel Olsen (Wondering Sound, February 19, 2014)
Erlend Øye (Stereogum, April 30, 2021)
Robert Plant (Salon, December 13, 2014)
Bonnie Raitt (Salon, March 31, 2012)
Ranky Tanky (Bluegrass Situation, Aug 14, 2019)
Dave Rawlings (Bluegrass Situation, October 19, 2015)
R.E.M. (Pitchfork, March 24, 2008)
Robbie Robertson (CMT Edge, September 17, 2013)
Henry Rollins (Washington Post Express, February 10, 2011)
Linda Ronstadt (Salon, October 7, 2013)
Frank “Poncho” Sampedro (Stereogum March 17, 2021)
Rob Sheffield (Salon, June 28, 2016)
Joan Shelley (Stereogum, April 5, 2017)
Shovels & Rope (Bluegrass Situation, October 28, 2016)
Sturgill Simpson (CMT Edge, May 16, 2014)
Todd Snider (Salon, March 7, 2012)
Sparklehorse (Pitchfork, November 21, 2006)
Jon Spencer (Washington Post Express, October 4, 2012)
James Taylor (Salon, June 16, 2015)
Loudon Wainwright III (Washington Post Express, August 25, 2011)
Kurt Wagner (Salon, February 24, 2012; Stereogum, August 18, 2016)
Lucinda Williams (CMT Edge, January 20, 2014)
Kelly Willis (Bluegrass Situation, May 11, 2018)
Luke Winslow-King (CMT Edge, April 23, 2013)
Tommy Wiseau (Washington Post Express, June 9, 2010)
Lee Ann Womack (Bluegrass Situation, December 6, 2017)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Pitchfork, April 17, 2006)
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Bios and Press Materials (selected)
Mike Adams at His Honest Weight: Casino Drone (Joyful Noise)
Courtney Barnett: Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit (Mom + Pop)
Blind Boys of Alabama: I’ll Find a Way (Sony Masterworks)
Bully: Feels Like (Startime/Columbia)
T Bone Burnett: The Invisible Light: Spells (Verve Forecast)
Busman’s Holiday: Good Songs
Caamp: Lavender Days (Mom + Pop)
Ceramic Animal: Sweet Unknown (EasyEye Sound)
Madison Cunningham: Revealer (Verve)
Luther Dickinson: Blues and Ballads: A Folksinger's Songbook, Vol. 1 & 2 (New West)
Dungen: Allas Sak (Mexican Summer)
Joshua Hedley: Neon Blue (New West)
Hermanos Gutierrez: El Bueno y El Malo (EasyEye Sound)
Lilly Hiatt: Royal Blue (New West)
Jade Bird: Something American EP (Glassnote)
Julian Lage & Chris Eldridge: Mount Royal (Free Dirt)
Lone Bellow: Then Came the Morning (Descendant)
Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers: “The Long-Awaited Album” (Rounder)
Noam Pikelny: Universal Favorite (Rounder)
Joe Pug: Nation of Heart Revisited
Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats: Tearing at the Seams (Stax/Fantasy)
Sturgill Simpson: A Sailor’s Guide to Earth (Atlantic)
Sunny War: forthcoming
Sarah Watkins: Young in All the Wrong Ways (New West)
John Paul White: Beulah (Single Lock)
Whitney: Light Upon the Lake (Secretly Canadian)
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Uncut's Ultimate Music & Genre Guide Essays
Grateful Dead (2020) on In the Dark
Soft Rock (2019) on Billy Joel
2-Tone (2019) on Fun Boy Three
Elton John (2019) on Honky Chateau
Electronic Pop (2019) on Gary Numan; Depeche Mode
Singer-Songwriters (2019) on Nick Drake
Soul (2018) on Otis Redding
Deep Purple (2018) on Fireball
Led Zeppelin (2018) on Coda
Punk (2018) on Television
Bob Dylan and the Band (2018) on The Band’s solo albums
Black Sabbath (2018) on Ozzy in the 1980s
Britpop (2018) on The Verve
Yes (2018) on Drama
Glam Rock (2018) on T-Rex
Tom Petty (2018) on Echo; Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3
Bob Marley (2017) on The Wailing Wailers
Genesis (2017) on Phil Collins solo albums
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Book Chapters and Contributions
Mike Hilleary, On the Record: Music Journalists on their Lives, Craft, and Careers (University of Massachusetts Press, 2020): interview subject
Maria Ivey, All the Thyme in the World: A Collection of Recipes from the Grounded Music Industry (2020): fried chicken recipe
Charlotte Pence, The Poetics of American Song Lyrics (University of Mississippi Press, 2011): Essay, “Coming into Your Town: Okkervil River’s ‘Black’”
The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present (Touchstone, 2008): entries on various artists
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Book Reviews (selected)
The 33 Best 33 1/3 Books (Pitchfork, June 29, 2015)
John Szwed, Billie Holiday: The Musician & the Myth (Los Angeles Review of Books, May 12, 2015)
Greil Marcus, The History of Rock ’n’ Roll in Ten Songs (Los Angeles Review of Books, October 6, 2014)
Liel Leibowitz, A Broken Hallelujah: Rock & Roll, Redemption, and the Life of Leonard Cohen (Los Angeles Review of Books, July 1, 2014)
Joel Selvin, Here Comes the Night: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm & Blues (Los Angeles Review of Books, April 27, 2014)
Greg Kot, I’ll Take You There: Mavis Staples, the Staple Singers, and the March Up Freedom’s Highway (Los Angeles Review of Books, February 9, 2014)
Robert Hilburn, Johnny Cash (Los Angeles Review of Books, December 23, 2013)
Alan Greenberg, Love in Vain: A Vision of Robert Johnson (American Songwriter online, March 1, 2013)
Pete Townshend, Who I Am (Salon, October 19, 2012)
Preston Lauterbach, The Chitlin’ Circuit and the Road to Rock ’n’ Roll (Paste, November 7, 2011)
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Columns
Roots on Screen (Bluegrass Situation, 2019 to present)
O Brother, Where Art Thou? Created an Instant Audience for Old-Time Music (January 27, 2021)
Branford Marsalis Did a 1920s Deep Dive for 2020’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (December 23, 2020)
’70s Music Meets the White House in Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President (September 14, 2020)
Urban Cowboy at 40: How a Mechanical Bull Changed Mickey Gilley’s Life (August 12, 2020)
The Byrds’ Chris Hillman Reflects on Laurel Canyon and Why He Had to Leave (June 3, 2020)
The Righteous Gemstones Keep “Misbehavin'” (December 13, 2019)
Ten Years After Crazy Heart, Ryan Bingham Comes Around to “The Weary Kind” (September 19, 2019)
“The Rainbow Connection” at 40: Paul Williams Reflects on Kermit the Frog’s Banjo Classic (July 23, 2019)Canon Fodder (Bluegrass Situation, 2018 to 2019)
Mindy Smith: One Moment More (March 21, 2019)
Loretta Lynn: Van Lear Rose (February 7, 2019)
The Flying Burrito Brothers: The Gilded Palace of Sin (January 17, 2019)
Bob Dylan: Love And Theft (December 7, 2018)
Kate Bush: The Kick Inside (November 7, 2018)
Bonnie “Prince” Billy: I See a Darkness (October 5, 2018)
Aretha Franklin: Amazing Grace (September 11, 2018)
Fairport Convention: Liege and Lief (August 2, 2018)
k.d. lang: Ingénue (July 6, 2018)
Randy Newman: Good Old Boys (June 8, 2018)
The Beau Brummels: Bradley’s Barn (May 4, 2018)
Various Artists: Oh My Little Darling – Folk Song Types (April 6, 2018)
Tracy Chapman: Tracy Chapman (March 2, 2018)
Joni Mitchell: Court & Spark (February 9, 2018)
The Band: The Band (January 12, 2018)
Cowboy Junkies: The Trinity Session (October 6, 2017)
John Mellencamp: Lonesome Jubilee (August 11, 2017)
Lucinda Williams: Lucinda Williams (July 7, 2017)
John Hartford: Aereo-Plain (June 2, 2017)Deep Sh!t (Bluegrass Situation, 2016 to 2018)
Kaki King in Conversation with Dan Tyminski (January 5, 2018)
Hiss Golden Messenger in Conversation with the Weather Station (October 11, 2017)
Charlie Parr in Conversation with Gina Clowes (September 13, 2017)
Colin Meloy in Conversation with Olivia Chaney (June 28, 2017)
Molly Tuttle in Conversation with James Elkington (May 26, 2017)
Cory Branan in Conversation with Coco Hames (March 31, 2017)
Cahalen Morrison in Conversation with Jon Neufeld (February 22, 2017)
Sallie Ford in Conversation with Charlie Cunningham (January 27, 2017)
Lydia Loveless in Conversation with John Paul White (October 31, 2016)
Bryan Sutton in Conversation with Billy Strings (September 23, 2016)The Producers (Bluegrass Situation, 2016 to 2017)
Scott Bomar (May 5, 2017)
Andrija Tokic (April 7, 2017)
Gabe Witcher (April 6, 2017)
Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer (March 3, 2017)
Tamara Saviano (January 6, 2017)
Lari White (October 7, 2016)
Alison Brown (September 2, 2016)
Gary Paczosa (July 8, 2016)
John Leventhal (June 3, 2016)
Tucker Martine (May 11, 2016)
Joe Henry (April 1, 2016)
Buddy Miller (March 4, 2016)
Neilson Hubbard (February 5, 2016)
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Podcast, Radio, TV, and Web Appearances
For podcasts and events related to Where the Devil Don’t Stay, click here.
WHFB Bloomington: Roots for Breakfast, guest DJ (April 1, 2017)
New Hampshire Public Radio: The 33 Best 33 1/3 Books (August 13, 2015)
eMusic: weekly updated online country music radio station (eMusic, 2013 to 2014)
HuffPost Live: Lou Reed (October 28, 2013)
ABC World News Webcast: Music Review: Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (May 11, 2009)
ABC World News Webcast: Music Review: Neko Case, Middle Cyclone (March 2, 2009)
WNYC Soundcheck: Is Madonna Still Relevant? (June 27, 2006)
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Conference Papers and Public Lectures
“Drive-By Truckers, Buford Pusser & the Politics of Booze” (Museum of Pop Culture Pop Conference, Bad Behavior panel, Seattle, WA, April 22, 2017)
Suburbia introduction and public interview with director Penelope Spheeris (Indiana University Cinema, September 11, 2015)
“Piped in from Hell? Rock Music and Christian Anti-Rock Criticism During the Satanic Panic” (Festival of Faith & Music, Calvin College, MI, 2015)
“Why Should the Devil Have All the Roots Music?” (Festival of Faith & Music, Calvin College, MI, 2013)
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Teaching and Mentoring
In addition to serving as a guest lecturer and instructor for high school and college courses, I also consult on student projects, participate in informal Q&A sessions, and occasionally supervise internships.
Guest speaker: “Thinking, Writing & Talking about Music” (Freshman Seminar, Indiana University, August 5, 2021)
Guest speaker: “Women Musicians: Women in Country Music” (Indiana University undergraduate course, October 8, 2018)
Workshop: Critical Listening & Critical Writing (New Trier Literary Festival, New Trier High School, IL, November 3, 2017)
Panel: Media & Marketing (Music Industry Conference, Indiana University, November 15, 2014)
My Outlets
