NY Times Critics Unpack Their Controversial Songwriters List
6/3/202651 min
This week on the Track Star Podcast, we’re joined by New York Times music reporters Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli following the publication of the NYT’s “The 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters.” As the hosts of the popular music podcast “Popcast,” Jon and Joe are no strangers to passionate debate. Their work often explores contemporary music through both a critical and historical lens, helping listeners make sense of today’s artists in the broader context of popular music. Although we only have time to dive into a handful of names from the list, Jon and Joe unpack the thinking behind their selections, discuss the challenges of being music critics and reporters in the modern media landscape, and share what continues to inspire their curiosity about music far beyond their own tastes and expertise. This Episode’s Tracklist: 00:00 - Intro 1:03 - This Is What You Came For - Calvin Harris, Rihanna 10:26 - Digits - Young Thug 18:47 - I Don't Want to Miss a Thing - Aerosmith 27:19 - The Book of Love - The Magnetic Fields 32:23 - Obsesión - Aventura, Judy Santos 47:29 - The Rising - Bruce Springsteen
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJack Coyne· Host0:00
Before we start with the music, introduce yourselves.
Joe Coscarelli· Guest0:03
I'm Joe Coscarelli. I'm a culture reporter at The New York Times, and a host of Popcast with this guy.
Jon Caramanica· Guest0:09
I'm Jon Caramanica, pop music critic at The New York Times, co-host of Popcast.
Jack Coyne· Host0:13
We'll get into Popcast later on in the conversation and what you guys are doing there, but the big headline story of the moment right now, just came out this week, we have the magazine here. It's the 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters, which is why I'm wearing- [laughs] ... um, this American flag sweater today.
Jon Caramanica· Guest0:31
The, your stars and stripes don't add up to 30, though.
Jack Coyne· Host0:33
In honor of- So, how am I supposed to know which one is Young Thug?
Jon Caramanica· Guest0:36
[laughs] [laughs] [laughs] How am I supposed to know?
Jack Coyne· Host0:38
Obviously, the difficult part of this task is, uh, narrowing a list to 30.
Joe Coscarelli· Guest0:42
Sure.
Jon Caramanica· Guest0:43
Yeah.
Jack Coyne· Host0:43
Also, I'm curious c- coming up with the number 30 to begin with. But you talk about advocating for different types of voices- Yeah, sure ... and maybe unexpected voices, and that's part of this conversation.
Jon Caramanica· Guest0:51
Of course.
Jack Coyne· Host0:51
So let's just, like, go back to the beginning.
Joe Coscarelli· Guest0:53
Yep.
Jon Caramanica· Guest0:53
Yeah.
Jack Coyne· Host0:53
Uh, and let's listen to a song.
Joe Coscarelli· Guest0:55
Let's do it.
Jack Coyne· Host0:56
I'm curious if you guys can even guess where I'm gonna start. Probably not.
Joe Coscarelli· Guest0:59
I, I think you could start anywhere. I mean, are you gonna- I could start anywhere. Yeah. Just, just- Just, just hit us ... just, can I just- Skype, this is what you came for. This is a great one.
Rihanna· Soundbite1:07
Want you. Ooh, ooh, you.
Joe Coscarelli· Guest1:10
Okay, I really wanted to talk about this. I'm really glad you did this.
Rihanna· Soundbite1:13
You. Ooh, ooh.
Jack Coyne· Host1:15
Okay.
Joe Coscarelli· Guest1:16
I almost put this on my list.
Jack Coyne· Host1:17
Who wrote that song?
Joe Coscarelli· Guest1:18
Taylor fucking Swift.
Jack Coyne· Host1:19
Okay.
Joe Coscarelli· Guest1:20
That's Calvin Harris with Rihanna on the vocals, and I've always had a theory that in the little chopped up vocal hook, that you could still