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. a long talk
    ‘It Was Always All Pedro’David Bazan had to reckon with Pedro the Lion — but really, himself — to arrive at the band’s future.
  2. album review
    The Weeknd Knows No BoundsDawn FM luxuriates in the joy Abel Tesfaye gets in throwing his loyal listeners for a loop.
  3. year in culture 2021
    All the Music I Didn’t Get to Write About This Year … Until NowIt’s impossible to cover everything, even in the calmest years. Here, New York music critic Craig Jenkins on more standout work of the last 12 months.
  4. best of 2021
    The Best Albums of 2021If you traveled off the beaten path, you came away with an embarrassment of music riches.
  5. review
    Who Really Benefits From This Elaborate Ye-Drake Reunion?It’s refreshing to have rap beef resolve without bloodshed or litigation, but hard to know where this truce goes from here.
  6. tv review
    Peter Jackson’s The Beatles: Get Back Accomplishes the UnthinkableIt rises to the unenviable task of offering new insights into one of the most documented music careers of all time.
  7. q&a
    There Is Nowhere Damon Albarn Can’t Create FromHis latest solo work is, in part, a dispatch from Iceland.
  8. album review
    30 Is Adele at Her All-Time BestThis is the music she should’ve been making all along.
  9. astroworld tragedy
    There Won’t Be Easy Answers for ThisThe potential for the Astroworld tragedy to get charged to the game is very real.
  10. q&a
    Wale on the Lost Art of Playing the Long Game“What is the upward trajectory in this space right now? I don’t feel like we really know for real.”
  11. in conversation
    Dave Grohl Has Seen Too MuchHe’s the most prolific rock star of the last 30 years. Somehow, we’re still getting to know him.
  12. album review
    Young Thug’s Punk Rebirth Isn’t Quite ThatNeither was Lil Wayne’s.
  13. superlatives
    The Best and Unforgettable of the Fugees, According to Pras“We’re Caribbean, Haitian, Brooklyn. That rice and beans, plantains, machetes. We’re coming with that vibe.”
  14. comedy review
    Dave Chappelle’s Endless Feedback LoopThe Closer proves the comedian is right about one thing: It’s time for a break.
  15. song review
    There Is Still Nothing Like New AdeleEven if “Easy on Me” resembles, on its surface, something old and familiar.
  16. q&a
    Low’s Never-ending ClimbThe veteran husband-and-wife slowcore band on new album Hey What, working with BJ Burton, and 30 years of rethinking sound.
  17. concert review
    Cozying Up to Coldplay Hits at the Apollo Is Only Half As Surreal As It SoundsThe performance was as loose and intimate as it gets for an arena juggernaut.
  18. album review
    Lil Nas X Deserves a Better IndustryBuried under all the frustrating discourse is Montero, a short, sweet album about learning to love yourself and demanding respect.
  19. album review
    Kacey Musgraves Further Divorces Expectation on star-crossedHer fifth album suggests the intention was never to leave country behind but rather to devise a more balanced and varied approach to it.
  20. a long talk
    How Colson Whitehead Pulled It OffHis new novel is Harlem Shuffle, a very New York story about life in the gray area between legitimacy and hustle.
  21. album review
    Everything Is Exactly the SameCertified Lover Boy is a patient trickle of Drake lore and fan service that could have come out as is at almost any point along the last decade.
  22. album review
    Kanye’s Power and Glory Finally Feel FiniteDonda’s messaging clashes as much as its music.
  23. album review
    Halsey’s Rock Album Is Perfect AlchemyIf I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power is proof Trent Reznor could have a pop career if he wanted. It’s also the best Halsey album.
  24. one great story
    The Reintroduction of Lorde, Reluctant RoyalSolar Power seems anxious to shatter our expectations, to communicate that Lorde isn’t and maybe never was the figure many assumed she was.
  25. essay
    The Smith Family Legacy Was Built for WillowWillow Smith is an oddity in music, and not just because of the pedigree.
  26. song review
    If Lizzo Still Makes You Uncomfortable, Oh WellLizzo and Cardi B use “Rumors” to remind the audience why they clap back as harshly and as routinely as they do.
  27. superlatives
    The Best and Worst of Hall & Oates, According to Daryl Hall“There are a lot of songs I would redo.”
  28. album review
    Billie Eilish Has Only Gone Quieter and More UnpredictableSo much of her sophomore album, Happier Than Ever, is a ruse.
  29. essay
    I Don’t See an End to ThisDaBaby’s vile remarks about gay sex and AIDS mixed with the furor over Lil Nas X’s “Industry Baby” have made for the eye of a perfect shitstorm.
  30. backstories
    Welcome 2 Prince’s AmericaAs told by the band who helped make the late legend’s “lost” album Welcome 2 America over a decade ago — never released until now.
  31. review
    We’re Still Getting Woodstock ’99 WrongHBO’s Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage documentary feels drunk on chaos.
  32. song review
    Pop Smoke’s Vision Remains Crystal Clear, Even When Others Are Seeing It Through“Tell the Vision,” featuring Kanye West and Pusha T, like most of Faith, refuses to let its somber circumstances weigh it down.
  33. album review
    Vince Staples’s Best Talent Remains Never Letting Us Get Too ComfortableOn his new self-titled album, once again, the rapper is fine with being misunderstood.
  34. superlatives
    The Best of R&B History, As Told By Its Architects Jimmy Jam and Terry LewisFrom Janet and Michael Jackson’s sibling rivalry, to Prince’s genius, to Bobby Brown rushing takes to head to the strip club, and so much more.
  35. comedy review
    I Think You Should Leave Remains Impressively UnpredictableNo sketch-comedy show embodies our Main Character Syndrome like Tim Robinson’s.
  36. album review
    Tyler, the Creator Has Come Full CircleThe disaffected, lanky teen from Bastard is made now, but Call Me If You Get Lost feels like there’s still a chip on his shoulder.
  37. album review
    Doja Cat Refuses to Be Dragged Down to EarthPlanet Her makes a case for Doja as our new ice-cool pop-queen supreme.
  38. extremely online
    Our Chemically Imbalanced Romance With Trisha PaytasI pressed play on Trigger Warning on a lark and enjoyed it at a time when the H3 extended universe seems fraught with disputes and news of lawsuits.
  39. album review
    We Weren’t Supposed to Hear Bo Burnham Like ThisIndependent of the Netflix special, the songs of Inside feel strangely vital.
  40. album review
    Sleater-Kinney Is Whatever Sleater-Kinney Says It IsPath of Wellness flouts the accepted wisdom about what happens to bands when the most beloved lineup changes.
  41. song review
    Lorde Has Risen But Only Halfway“Solar Power” feels more like a carefree vacation update than the blockbuster comeback we’ve been anticipating since the simpler times.
  42. a long talk
    It’s Peter Rosenberg’s Job to Be PolarizingThe HOT 97 host on his debut album and remaining one of hip-hop radio’s key voices, hate him or hate to love him.
  43. vulture lists
    All the Verzuz Battles, RankedFrom best to worst to absolutely doomed.
  44. album review
    DMX’s Exodus Isn’t a Final Word But a Striking Parting MessageIt was the groundwork for a new career path, not the unexpected end of the road.
  45. a long talk
    Just the Two of UsOn their new album, Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker recommit.
  46. album review
    Olivia Rodrigo Studied All the Right MovesAs her debut album Sour opens up, the Disney star’s varied talents begin to flower.
  47. radio vulture
    Mistrusting Joe BuddenIn hip-hop media, irreverence and toxicity go hand in hand.
  48. album review
    J. Cole and the Limitations of Millennial RapHe doesn’t have to attempt, and be good, at everything. He knows it, but he’ll never stop trying.
  49. comedy review
    That Damn Michael Che Has a Good Heart. But …The sketch-comedy show is fun when it’s not second-guessing and overthinking itself into a liberal fog.
  50. album review
    DJ Khaled Will Never Change. Why Should He?The garrulous personality, the faithful positivity, and the seemingly bottomless thirst for self-promotion have been there all along.
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