Sasha Frere-Jones
The New Yorker
Lao People's Democratic Republic
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Past articles by Sasha:
How Odetta Revolutionized Folk Music
Sasha Frere-Jones reëvaluates the music and legacy of Odetta, a Black folk singer who helped shape musical pop culture in the twentieth century, even though her own recordings no longer sound like the popular music of today. → Read More
The Man Who Saw Through Himself
Sasha Frere-Jones writes about Michel Leiris, the French author and ethnologist known for his four-volume memoir “The Rules of the Game,” three volumes of which have been translated by Lydia Davis, as well as the recently translated “The Ribbon at Olympia’s Throat” and “Phantom Africa.” → Read More
Andy Gill and Gang of Four’s Dangerous Noise
There isn’t a single song in which the recalcitrant post-punk guitarist Andy Gill, who died on February 1st, plays like a person you could walk up and talk to. → Read More
The Chaos of Altamont and the Murder of Meredith Hunter
A lot has been written about the notorious Rolling Stones concert at Altamont, where dozens of people were beaten and a black teen was killed, but so much of the language around it has been passive, exonerating. → Read More
“Amy,” Back from Black
Amy Winehouse was wholly consumed by music. A new documentary about her life and death seems barely interested in it. → Read More
Imagine Dragons Playing Scrabble
The band listened to the new Drake album in a van and played board games at a jazz bar. → Read More
Composing for Hollywood - The New Yorker
Some of the year's best film scores, including those from “Inherent Vice,” “Selma,” “Under the Skin,” and “Birdman,” were not nominated for Oscars. → Read More
An Inescapable Voice on "Black Messiah" - The New Yorker
The singer Kendra Foster is a standout on D’Angelo’s widely praised new album. → Read More
Fade Out
Sasha Frere-Jones shares his favorite columns from his time at The New Yorker. → Read More
Fade Out - The New Yorker
Sasha Frere-Jones shares his favorite columns from his time at The New Yorker. → Read More
Why Christine McVie Came Back to Fleetwood Mac
“I missed the songs,” she said, to Rachel Syme. “And I missed the audience.” → Read More
The Sleater-Kinney Solution
For some fans, the band is proof that the dream of rock for and by women isn’t dead. Sasha Frere-Jones reviews the new album, “No Cities to Love.” → Read More
D’Angelo Reborn
Sasha Frere-Jones on D’Angelo’s new album. “Black Messiah” is an unexpected masterpiece, at the right time. → Read More
Music and 2014: Everyday Messiahs
I was bothered by how absent musicians have been from the public protests that have followed the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. → Read More
TV on the Radio’s “Seeds”
Sasha Frere-Jones on the new album: the group has the curiosity of Radiohead, but there is no “puffed-up rejection of being a live rock band.” → Read More
Parquet Courts and PC Worship at Webster Hall
Sasha Frere-Jones on two bands reviving the city’s rock scene. → Read More
The Brothers Who Built AC/DC - The New Yorker
Compact, charged, and focussed, AC/DC’s new album is as good as anything the band has produced since “Back in Black.” How did they do it without Malcolm Young? → Read More
Yo La Tengo’s Thirtieth Anniversary
Sasha Frere-Jones on the cool kids who refuse to act cooler than you, at Town Hall on Dec. 3 and 4. → Read More
The Swedish Invasion
Swedish influence is everywhere in pop music—even Taylor Swift’s new album. Sasha Frere-Jones on the rise of Swedepop. → Read More
Sleaford Mods, at the Wick
Sasha Frere-Jones writes that Sleaford Mods “is the musical equivalent of a hard, unfiltered spotlight: look at us and listen.” → Read More