Hello Swell World! I’m a music and culture journalist. What would you like to talk about?
Hey, I'm Allyson McCabe, and I'm a music music culture journalism. You may have heard my stories on NPR or read them in the New York Times, Vulture, BBC Culture and other places. And you may have read my new book, Why Sinead O'Connor Matters. I've avoided social media because I make stories for humans, not algorithms. But I am intrigued by the idea of swell as a place where we can have real conversations. What would you most want to talk about?
phil spade
@Phil · 2:47
Hi, Allison. You know, I have to be honest, I was not aware of your book, but I just went to order it and I looked at the praise and reviews of your book and there was one in particular by Vernon Reed that really struck home with me. And I assume that's Vernon Reed, the guy who used to shred for Living Color, and he said that you had a willingness to reassess your own dismissal of Sinead's work as being too pop to take seriously
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 1:58
Hey, Allison, thanks so much for this offer. I was in the music business for 13 years as a touring musician very early, many years ago. And now I have a nephew and a first cousin, or a second cousin sorry. Both of whom I'm very connected to, who are touring musicians. Jeremy is with pigeons playing ping pongs. They tour about 200 days a year. And Dylan is the bass player of Dead Poet Society. They're always on tour
Swell Team
@Swell · 0:15
That's not a true reflection of the artist's respective value, just their market position. Aside from what I can do to support artists, as a fan and a journalist, I don't have a structural fix. But I'm curious if you or anyone else out there has any ideas
I think it's okay for journalists to be self critical and reflect on how we arrive at our assessments, rather than acting as though they come purely from a position of professional expertise. S in fact, I think it's necessary if you want to do the job well and honestly
J.L. Beasley
@Her_Sisu · 0:25
Hey, Allyson, this is JL. And everyone else probably has a really deep question, and I have just one that's simple. I heard NPR, and the only thing that came to my mind was NPR tiny desk. How does one get on the invite list or the notification list to be there in person?
Hey, JL. I actually get asked this question a lot. NPR distinguishes between music quote unquote news, which is stuff like an upcoming milestone anniversary of a significant event or a current shift in the way we make or consume music and other content that's more like album reviews or music discovery. My work for the news division appears on Morning Edition All Things Considered in Weekend Edition, whereas a different division called NPR Music handles tiny desk. It's a bit like the separation of church and state
Gary Brown
@garyplaysbone · 1:32
One example that comes to mind, Nora Jones became really popular overnight and had a jazzy voice and played jazz piano, as far as I'm concerned, seemed to be a jazz musician. And I'm just wondering because there's so many different genres even within jazz, but yeah, where do I find stuff you've written about or talked about in terms of jazz and pop culture?
I want to tell stories, and like you said, I want to tell stories for humans, because in addition to music, I want to write about movies, television. I want to bring my own unique perspective, my own voice to the projects that I undertake. And I don't know the path anymore because, like you said, you have avoided social media. I have grown up with social media. I graduated in high school from 2003. So I'm 38 years old
And I got the same concert because no set list is the same, no concert is the same. I can actually go back and listen to that specific concert, and if I want to, I can buy that recording, a professional recording of the live show, and I can stream it, but I can purchase it