Ken Tucker
Ken Tucker reviews rock, country, hip-hop and pop music for Fresh Air. He is a cultural critic who has been the editor-at-large at Entertainment Weekly, and a film critic for New York Magazine. His work has won two National Magazine Awards and two ASCAP-Deems Taylor Awards. He has written book reviews for The New York Times Book Review and other publications.
Tucker is the author of Scarface Nation: The Ultimate Gangster Movie and Kissing Bill O'Reilly, Roasting Miss Piggy: 100 Things to Love and Hate About Television.
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Much of our image of Dylan derives from his early protest music, but Robert Polito's book makes the argument that the most recent 30 years of Dylan's career have been just as creative as the first 30. -
Thomas' April 23 death at age 71 brings to a close one of the most significant avant-garde experiments ever conducted within the confines of pop music. Rock critic Ken Tucker reflects on his legacy.
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Lamar's duet with SZA samples Luther Vandross' 1982 hit "If This World Were Mine." The song was written by Marvin Gaye, who himself recorded it in 1967 as a duet with Tammi Terrell.
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Rock critic Ken Tucker recommends three songs that are recent additions to his playlist: "Are You Even Real," by Swims; "Same Kind of Lonely," by Booker; and "big change," by Young.
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The rhythmic sense that made Ringo a great rock drummer guides his vocals here. The result is relaxed authority that usually only a genius like Willie Nelson or Ray Charles can make sound so easy.
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Rock critic Ken Tucker picks his favorite new Christmas songs, including "Christmas Time Rhyme," by Ben Folds; "Glow," by Little Big Town; and "Maybe this Christmas," by Jason Kelce and Stevie Nicks.
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Ken Tucker reviews Robert Hilburn's biography of Newman, A Few Words in Defense of Our Country. Plus, we listen back to a 1998 archival interview with the Grammy Award-winning artist.
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The recording sessions for Young's 1974 album were gloomy, drug-fueled affairs, but the end result proves that artists can make good work no matter how hemmed-in, churlish or depressed they may be.
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Though sales were lackluster, Too Much Too Soon captured the band's spirit. Less than a year after its release, the Dolls broke up in a combination of commercial failure and personal misbehavior.
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Fulfillingness’ First Finale won the Grammy for Best Album in 1975, yet today it feels underrated — perhaps because its overall tone was more meditative than the albums immediately preceding it.
