Craig Jenkins Author Archive
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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. album review
    Sam Smith Toes the Line on GloriaThe singer’s new album is sharp, occasionally cringe-y, and full of heartfelt schmaltz.
  2. a long talk
    The John Cale ChallengeThe prolific singer and producer could have made things easier on himself — but easy “is not very interesting.”
  3. don’t bless this mess
    Let’s Not Do This AgainToo many musicians spent the year gleefully abandoning their better judgment.
  4. album review
    SZA Wants It AllSOS processes loss and success and pain and desire from the middle of millions of ogling eyes.
  5. best of 2022
    The Best Albums of 2022The question of how to find peace hung heavily over the year’s most impactful records.
  6. silver & gold
    ’Tis the Season for SufjanThe singer-songwriter on what he’s learned about the holidays after releasing 100 Christmas songs.
  7. chat room
    Fousheé Is Done Sulking and Wants to Rage“I would encourage people to stop being a bitch,” says the newly Grammy-nominated artist. “Embrace different. Be a part of the renaissance.”
  8. album review
    Our LossDrake’s new album, billed as a collaboration with 21 Savage, renews his interest in bars but also excitable, chauvinistic cruelty.
  9. remembrance
    Takeoff Was the GlueIt’s beyond shocking seeing tragedy strike a group that forced fair-weather listeners and staunch old-heads alike to appreciate the craft.
  10. song review
    Rihanna’s Return Is a Careful Balancing Act“Lift Me Up” is closer to a prayer than a proper comeback single.
  11. the sounds of horror
    John Carpenter Has Only One Criteria for a Film ScoreThe horror master on synths, getting paid, and (not) sharing his Kurt Russell stories.
  12. album review
    Midnights’ Moonlit LessonsTaylor Swift’s tenth album reveals a simpler fantasy: the desire to be truly free.
  13. album review
    Lil Baby Knows Exactly What You Want From HimOn It’s Only Me, the rap star is successful enough to take chances but understands his appeal too well to stray from the script.
  14. a long talk
    The Jon Brion MethodThe super-producer has spent 30 years perfecting the art of collaboration with everyone from Beyoncé to Elliott Smith.
  15. a long talk
    Danger Mouse Has the Cheat CodesExploring 20 years of hits, surprises, and DOOM stories with the elusive producer.
  16. review
    Kid Cudi’s Entergalactic Is Pretty, Affecting, and a Little Too SmoothThe new album and Netflix project hit their marks but will make you pine for something stranger.
  17. a long talk
    Life, Death, and Titus AndronicusFrontman Patrick Stickles used his band’s new album to process loss. Now he just needs to get their van fixed.
  18. album review
    It’s Cam’ron’s HarlemU Wasn’t There, his new album with A-Trak, feels like an uptown therapy session.
  19. album review
    Ari Lennox Knows Exactly What She WantsOn a/s/l, you can try your luck with the singer, but you might get your feelings hurt.
  20. a long talk
    Genuinely John DarnielleThe Mountain Goats’ frontman on keeping the faith, loving the occult, and sad songwriting.
  21. album review
    Megan Thee Stallion Takes Control of Her News CycleTraumazine is a reminder there’s a human on the other side of the headlines.
  22. a long talk
    TDE President Punch: ‘I Understand the Backlash’But he’d still like to correct the record on long-awaited albums from SZA, ScHoolboy Q, and Jay Rock.
  23. album review
    Beyoncé’s Sequined RevolutionRenaissance, a love letter to Black queer innovators, comes at a precarious moment in history.
  24. superlatives
    Usher on His Most Enduring and Misunderstood Music“It’s a sore spot for me. I ain’t even lying.”
  25. album review
    Lizzo Is Hedging Her BetsSpecial seems invested in uplifting everyone in earshot but anxious to secure its slice of the pop radio market share.
  26. a long talk
    ‘Geminis Create Change’Steve Lacy used to be afraid of rock stardom. His new album helped fix that.
  27. urgent reconsideration
    Atlanta Season Three Was a Bad TripAfter a four-year break, Donald Glover’s FX series returned unsure of what it wanted to say. Four Vulture writers and critics try to make sense of it.
  28. album review
    Drake Is Still on VacationHonestly, Nevermind is frictionless — a geographical shift ushered in as comfortingly as possible.
  29. primers
    Rock and Roll Starts With Sister Rosetta TharpeA new Elvis biopic attempts to show her legacy. Here’s just a fraction of it.
  30. album review
    Post Malone Is Going Through ChangesTwelve Carat Toothache dreams of a future where Post Malone can discuss what’s on his mind instead of what may be coursing through his bloodstream.
  31. album review
    Wilco Attempts to Let GoImmediacy is the point with Cruel Country, but a bit of polish might have smoothed the rougher edges.
  32. album review
    Harry Styles, Work in ProgressStyles is still figuring out where his art needs to go — and how much to tell us about the life he leads outside it.
  33. a long talk
    The Humble HitmakerThe Neptunes’ Chad Hugo helped define a new era of music. Don’t expect it to go to his head.
  34. album review
    How Does That Make You Feel, Kendrick?Whatever your problem, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers wants you to talk it through.
  35. album review
    The Smile’s A Light For Attracting Attention Peers Into an Ugly FutureThe Radiohead side project lingers in the space between roiling rage and burnout.
  36. album review
    Arcade Fire’s WE Is a Smart ResetThe new album feels like a calculated retrenchment, a heaping pile of everything you want from Arcade Fire.
  37. album review
    The Improbable Return of Black StarIt’s been 24 years since Yasiin Bey and Talib Kweli released an album together. Was it worth the wait?
  38. album review
    The Astounding Consistency of FutureLike a Gulfstream or a Cartier, a new Future album offers careful variation on a winning concept.
  39. superlatives
    Pusha T on His Best, Realest, and Most Influential Work“I am trying to be the Martin Scorsese of street rap.”
  40. exit review
    Black-ish Was No Televised RevolutionThe show always aimed for the third rail, but it played it safe more often than not.
  41. stand-up
    Bill Maher’s Alternate RealityThe comedian’s older material was informed by grounded self-awareness. Not so much in #Adulting.
  42. album review
    Vince Staples Is Showing America What It Refuses to SeeDeath is the only certainty on Ramona Park Broke My Heart.
  43. remembrance
    Taylor Hawkins Saw It AllThe longtime Foo Fighters member was far more than just a drummer.
  44. album review
    The Complicated Evolution of RosalíaRosalía does not have to change the world. But if she was trying to, she’s missed a few spots.
  45. album review
    Lil Durk Is Trying to Build Something NewDurk’s 7220 ponders the emotional fallout of a year of big achievements and crushing lows.
  46. album review
    Kanye Is Running on EmptyAnger is the root of Donda 2, but the record doesn’t try to frame the experience in a manner that makes it accessible to non-billionaires.
  47. review
    The Kanye You Thought You KnewJeen-Yuhs is the quintessential visual document of Ye’s career. It’s also an unnervingly neat read.
  48. remembrances
    Betty Davis Freaked ItThe Queen of Funk was eternally misunderstood in her boundary-breaking.
  49. review
    The Twin Ballads of Earl Sweatshirt and SabaBoth SICK! and Few Good Things catch their respective artists at unnerving crossroads.
  50. q&a
    Chillin Island Is a State of MindThe rap whisperers — Ashok “Dapwell” Kondabolu, Alec “Despot” Reinstein, and Aleksey “Lakutis” Weintraub — bring their longtime radio show to HBO.
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