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Craig Jenkins

Music Critic
See all their articles from across New York Magazine
@CraigSJ
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Craig Jenkins is a critic who writes about music and television and comedy and video games. He was a 2021 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Criticism.

  1. radio vulture
    Concert Review: Kevin Abstract Re-creates the Inclusive Prom You Never HadIt felt like something was reclaimed. This ragtag band of friends of different sexual orientations and ethnicities is America, too.
  2. radio vulture
    Nicki Minaj’s New Tracks Are More Than Just a Response to Remy MaThey’re her first major singles since The Pinkprint, and a show of unity for the Young Money crew.
  3. radio vulture
    50 Song Memoir Is the Best Magnetic Fields Album in a Long TimeIt doesn’t quite top 69 Love Songs, but it’s close.
  4. radio vulture
    Ed Sheeran Hasn’t Learned Any New Tricks on DivideThere have always been three kinds of Ed Sheeran songs, and, well, there still are.
  5. radio vulture
    Lorde Plays It Safe With Her New Single ‘Green Light’The song is quality radio fare that’s perhaps too faithful to the style of its predecessors.
  6. radio vulture
    Dirty Projectors and Little Big Town Make Their Breakup AlbumsIf Dirty Projectors lashes out from the heartsickness of a bad split, the new Little Big Town album offers strength in the resolve to move past it.
  7. radio vulture
    Jidenna’s The Chief Is Smart, Fun, and All Over the PlaceIt’s a trip through rap, R&B, rock, reggae, and dancehall that feels like a function of an artist’s genuine widespread interests.
  8. radio vulture
    Katy Perry Is a Little Late to the ‘Purposeful Pop’ PartyKaty Perry just coined a name for something her peers have already been doing for a while now.
  9. radio vulture
    Rap Is Less Homophobic Than Ever, But It Has a Long Way to GoSome say we’re a more accepting community now, but I think we’ve been tricked by an illusion of progress we haven’t quite made yet.
  10. radio vulture
    The Grammys Got It Wrong, AgainBeyoncé gave us one of 2016’s most indelible cultural artifacts. But Adele is catnip for voters more musically conservative than the general public.
  11. super bowl li
    Lady Gaga Mixed Subversiveness With Her Hits During the Super Bowl Halftime ShowThe performance was a medley that appeared to stick to the hits while sprinkling in social commentary so subtle that conservatives failed to catch on.
  12. Sampha’s Haunting Album Process Is Grief Writ Large, and BeautifullyThe artist’s first solo record is haunted by realities of loss and mortality. There’s no neat resolution to the personal unrest coursing through it.
  13. radio vulture
    Migos Finds Its Purpose on Culture This is what rap sounds like now.
  14. radio vulture
    Gorillaz’s New Single Drops the Cartoon Act“Hallelujah Money” drops the Saturday-morning pep to deliver a poignant political message on inauguration’s eve.
  15. radio vulture
    The xx Embraces Modern Pop (Kind of) on I See YouI See You finds the xx communing with modern music rather than providing shelter from it as they have in their previous work.
  16. radio vulture
    Ed Sheeran’s New Tracks Are Stuck in 2015“Castle” and “Shape” seem to be playing catch-up.
  17. chat room
    El-P on Run the Jewels 3 and That Apocalypse He’s Been Warning Us About“I like the fact that me and Mike can kinda be assholes and also be good at the same time when we write these lyrics.”
  18. most anticipated of 2017
    The 37 Albums We’re Ready to Stream on Loop in 2017The conversation starts and ends with Taylor Swift, but there’s room for everyone from Beck to Little Big Town, too.
  19. obits
    George Michael Sang About Freedom But Was Never Really FreeHis was a story of the deceit of appearances, of pain hiding behind bleach-blonde hair and a platinum smile.
  20. radio vulture
    Review: Jeremih and Chance’s Merry ChristmasAt its best, Lil’ Mama feels less like Christmas music and more like a fun, low-stakes love letter to both artists’ place of birth. 
  21. radio vulture
    J. Cole’s 4 Your Eyez Only Is His Best and Most Mature AlbumThere’s no dreck like “Cole heating up like leftover lasagna.”
  22. radio vulture
    Childish Gambino’s “Awaken, My Love!” Is the Best P-Funk Album in YearsThis is, without a doubt, the most accomplished batch of songs of Donald Glover’s musical career.
  23. grammys 2017
    2017 Grammy Nominations: The Snubs and SurprisesIt’s just not Drake’s year … again.
  24. year in culture 2016
    The 10 Best Songs of 2016No. 1: Frank Ocean.
  25. year in culture 2016
    The 15 Best Albums of 2016No. 1: Blond(e).
  26. radio vulture
    Review: Hamilton Mixtape Reinvigorates HamiltonThe collection is both a no-brainer and a rarity in rap.
  27. radio vulture
    Album Review: Miranda Lambert’s WingsWhat sets it apart from your run-of-the-mill breakup record is the attention to the behavioral manifestations of heartbreak along with an adult acceptance of responsibility.
  28. radio vulture
    Album Review: Bruno Mars’s 24K MagicBut 24K Magic’s most fascinating moments are ones where it wanders back to the present.
  29. radio vulture
    Album Review: Metallica’s HardwiredIt’s too soon to call Hardwired the best Metallica release since the “Black Album,” but …
  30. radio vulture
    A Tribe Called Quest Is Back in Top Form on We Got It From HereATCQ is back to acknowledge that everything’s gone to hell right now, but 2016 isn’t black America’s first rodeo.
  31. radio vulture
    Leonard Cohen Proved It’s Never Too Late to Figure Out What You’re Here ForHe lived on his own timeline and terms, and he stared at death so sternly in his work that it’s impossible to imagine he was unprepared.
  32. chat room
    Jeezy on Trap or Die 3“We’re always depending on politicians and these magical people to come around and fix things for us. We gotta govern and fix things ourselves.”
  33. radio vulture
    The 2016 CMAs Were Quietly PoliticalThis year’s CMAs were a more delicate balancing act than other shows of its nature care to offer.
  34. radio vulture
    Lil Wayne’s Black Lives Matter Comments Were a Betrayal of His FansIt’s poor role-modeling. It isolates artist from audience.
  35. still the 80s
    The 50 Best Modern Songs That Sound Like the 1980sMusicians are embracing the sounds of that decade in the same way other artists repurposed the blues, classic ‘60s rock, and ‘70s punk.
  36. radio vulture
    Let’s Not Go Back to the Good Old Days of Real Rap BeefDrake’s vicious shot at Kid Cudi’s mental health may be a tactical error. 
  37. radio vulture
    Album Review: Lady Gaga’s JoanneLady Gaga does not deal in subtleties.
  38. radio vulture
    M83 Make the Case for Their Underrated New Album at Terminal 5Seriously, it’s better than you remember.
  39. radio vulture
    It Doesn’t Matter Whether Bob Dylan Is a Songwriter or a PoetHe’s both at once, and the Nobel Prize prompts a useful conversation.
  40. radio vulture
    Mike Kinsella on American Football’s New Album“People send me these memes they make on the internet of how sad I am, and I’m like, ‘I’m literally just watching sports with friends right now at a bar.’”
  41. Kid Cudi Started an Important Conversation About Rap and Mental HealthCudi is a valuable figure in rap because he forces conversations about mental health from both sides of the struggle.
  42. radio vulture
    Album Review: Solange’s A Seat at the TableSolange Knowles is an R&B historian as much as she is an artist.
  43. radio vulture
    Did New York Really Need Another Music Festival?The hard cement of Citi Field’s parking lot beats Randall’s Island’s mud.
  44. chat room
    Mac Miller on The Divine Feminine“Me, I like to build a planet. Every project is its own planet.”
  45. radio vulture
    The Weeknd’s ‘Starboy’ Plays It Safe for the Charts“Starboy” is solid and very likely a hit, but the singer’s coasting on autopilot.
  46. radio vulture
    Watch the Video for Kevin Abstract’s ‘Empty’It’s Kevin’s directorial debut.
  47. Wilco’s Schmilco Is Sad, Quiet, Risky, and GreatSchmilco bleeds sadness.
  48. radio vulture
    Lady Gaga’s ‘Perfect Illusion’ Is a Shrewd, Catchy Return to FormShe’s ready to storm the charts again.
  49. radio vulture
    Album Reviews: Travis Scott and Isaiah RashadBirds in the Trap and The Sun’s Tirade illustrate the opposing ends of the spectrum of pill-era hip-hop hedonism.
  50. song of summer 2016
    The Song of Summer Is DeadDrake is the closest thing we have to a winner.
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