Writing Portfolio
A collection of music journalism, cultural commentary, and editorial writing focused on storytelling, critical analysis, and underappreciated narratives. From deep dives into iconic artists and albums to curated rankings and reflective essays, this work explores the intersection of music, culture, and the human experience.
Critical Analysis
01 In Defense of The Eagles’
The Long Run
A defense of The Eagles’ The Long Run as a flawed, essential late-period masterpiece, tracing band tensions, creative ambition, and the album’s lasting place in 1970s rock history.
02 Cheap Trick: Why Aren’t They One of The Biggest Bands Ever?
Cheap Trick’s career raises the question of why a band with such identity, energy, and pop-rock brilliance never fully claimed the place in rock history their music seemed to promise.
03 In Defense of Van Halen’s “Van Hagar” Era
Reconsidering Van Halen’s Hagar years, this piece argues that the era brought renewed stability, commercial success, and a distinct creative identity too often overshadowed by loyalty to the band’s original lineup.
Features
01 John Mellencamp, Pink Houses, and America
John Mellencamp’s “Pink Houses” becomes a lens for examining the promises and contradictions of America, using vivid everyday characters to show how aspiration, disillusionment, and identity coexist.
02 Staying Human with Jon Batiste
Using performance as a vehicle for connection, optimism, and community, Jon Batiste comes into focus as an artist committed to bringing people together through shared human experience.
03 Cat Stevens T4TT2
A reconsideration of Tea for the Tillerman through its later reimagining, asking what happens when a songwriter revisits a defining work with decades of distance, reflection, and changed perspective.
04 Peter Frampton, Going Out Screaming
Peter Frampton’s painful farewell becomes a story of resilience, late-career renewal, and the physical toll that ultimately makes his goodbye unavoidable.
05 Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s Reunion
Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s reunion comes into focus as a story of rediscovered creative chemistry, showing how separation ultimately clarified the bond at the center of their greatest work.
06 Welcoming Back Steve Perry w/ Open Arms
A long-awaited return takes shape through renewed music, hard-won perspective, and a quieter artistic voice shaped by loss, distance, and endurance.
07 Boz Scaggs Gets Back to The Blues
Seasoned songwriter Boz Scaggs returns to his roots, revisiting the blues with the restraint, feeling, and lived-in perspective that have long set his work apart.
08 The Story of ELO and Out of the Blue
Electric Light Orchestra’s Out of the Blue is framed as a triumphant double album, born from writer’s block and bad weather, that turned creative uncertainty into one of the band’s defining achievements.
09 Rufus Wainwright andWant One
An ambitious, underrecognized album is revisited as a richly emotional work of orchestral grandeur, vulnerability, and songwriting craft that still stands among its artist’s most remarkable achievements.
10 Nick Lowe and his Old Magic
A long career comes into focus through reinvention, restraint, and late-blooming craft, showing how one songwriter aged into a warmer, wiser, and more enduring artistic identity.
12 Viva La Vida Retrospective
Time has only clarified the achievement of Viva La Vida, an album that captured Coldplay at their most adventurous and left behind one of the defining alternative-rock statements of its era.
13 The Resurrection of Michael McDonald
Changing tastes and younger listeners helped recast Michael McDonald’s legacy, turning a once-ridiculed voice into a respected influence whose style proved more enduring than many expected.
Rankings
01 Paul McCartney & Wings Albums
Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles band comes into focus through eight studio albums, tracing Wings from rough beginnings to commercial peak, lineup changes, and the release most often seen as its crowning achievement.
02 Annie Lennox’s Top 10 Songs
Few artists balanced theatrical vision, vocal power, and reinvention as completely as Annie Lennox, whose finest songs trace a career of bold style, emotional depth, and lasting pop significance.
03 James Bond Theme Songs
Across decades of Bond films, the theme song became one of the franchise’s defining signatures, reflecting changing pop styles while preserving the glamour, drama, and mystique at its core.
04 The Beach Boys Albums
From surf-pop beginnings to emotionally richer, more ambitious work, these ten albums chart the Beach Boys’ evolution and reveal the remarkable depth, variety, and staying power of their catalog.
05 Miami Vice Musical Guest Stars
Television and pop stardom collided memorably on Miami Vice, where musician guest stars brought added style, novelty, and era-defining presence to one of the 1980s’ most music-driven shows.
Commentary
01 Mr. Rogers and Growth
A reflective look at Mr. Rogers’ timeless lessons on growth, self-worth, adversity, and asking for help, showing why his message still resonates with children and adults today alike.
02 Music guide to Reykjavik
A music lover’s guide to Reykjavik, exploring the city’s vibrant live scene, creative energy, intimate venues, and cultural spirit that make Iceland’s capital a uniquely inspiring destination.
03 Hygge Sanctuary
Hygge becomes a practical guide to creating calm at home, using light, sound, scent, comfort, and simple rituals to build a more restorative everyday sanctuary.
04 W1A and the BBC
Satire and self-parody drive this look at W1A, a sharp BBC comedy that turns workplace chaos, institutional absurdity, and media self-awareness into one of the decade’s wittiest shows.
05 Springsteen on Broadway and Human Connection
Human connection stands at the center of Springsteen on Broadway, where stripped-down performance, storytelling, and vulnerability turn an intimate stage show into a meditation on empathy, memory, and shared experience.