Charting a New Repertory for Guitar

In this article, reporter Allan Kozinn profiles guitar virtuoso John Williams, focusing on a review of a recent performance, and using that as a platform for discussing the state of classical guitar music in general.

Kozinn begins his piece with a startling statement lede that may not be as enthralling to the reader as he intended it to be- "Guitarists seem to be navigating a minor repertory crisis these days."  Probably startling in the sense that most people are not aware of this "minor crisis" in the classical guitar community, but not the catastrophic event of the day either.  Chances are only a person with significant interest in the topic (a guitarist, or a classical music aficionado for example) would continue reading.

Nevertheless, as a beat piece Kozinn's article does not have to lure all readers, it can cater to the niche crowd of enthusiasts, which it does rather nicely.  As a guitarist myself, I found his article both enjoyable and imformative.

Kozinn briefly names a few legendary classical guitarists and their contributions to the music before settling on his main topic, a recent performance by John Williams at Zankel Hall.  He points out that Williams is setting a new standard for classical guitarists by continuing to write his own new works, thereby expanding the repertoire of his genre.  This brings the reader back to the predicament Kozinn presented in his lede- the lack of new repertory for new players- and therefore nicely ties the story together.

Marketing as Backbeat at Indie Music Fesitival

NY Times reporter Ben Sisario begins his article on consumerism with the forbidden question lede- "How much branding is too much?"  But the real question is, does it work?  My answer is- not really.  Granted, it doesn't weigh the article down to the degree that I stopped reading halfway through, but I don't think it was the best choice for this article.  The setting of the article is fantastic: a hip indie music concert in Texas that attracts performers and fans from around the country, why not a scene-setter lede?  Or to keep things simple, I think a basic news lede would also have been better.

But nevertheless, Sisario's lede does serve as a microcosm of the article as a whole, which questions whether advertising at the South by Southwest Music Festival has become excessive.  Sisario interviewed a range of characters: from company executives to ordinary fans, each with a small facet of the story to tell.  Put together, the reader gets the big picture, as well as the range of opinions.

Sisario uses opinionated quotes as anchors for the article, while he interlaces his own observations between them.  He also provides semantic information: certain performers, locations, ticket prices, etc.  

Most of the article leans in favor of less marketing and advertisement at venues like the South by Southwest Festival, but for the ending Sisario cleverly supplies an opposing opinion, provided by twenty-six year old Amber Zook.  Zook plays devil's advocate by pointing out that the more advertising that companies are allowed to do, the cheaper it is for an ordinary music fan to attend the festival.  In fact in some cases, stuff becomes free if enough marketing is involved.  This is a great end to a good article- it applies counterbalance to the piece, and it leaves the reader with more to think about.

Unleashing the Ferocious Power of a Hurricane Inside a Cramped Space

This article by reporter Jon Caramanica profiles a young, upcoming singer named Holly Miranda- first by reviewing a recent proformance, and then by reviewing her soon-to-be-released sophmore album.

Caramanica uses a scene-setter lede to take us inside "Zebulon", the small Brooklyn cafe where Ms. Miranda last performed.  He goes beyond the visual, letting us know what it was like to be there, in order to tell the reader more than a simple photograph would.  He describes the mood of the audience, the lighting, and the cramped but cozy feeling you might associate with a small urban cafe.

Caramanica then spends much of the article describing Miranda's music.  This is never any easy task- describing with words what a certain song sounds like, and Caramanica primarily does this in by far the easiest way possible, which is draw comparisions.  In one sentence alone, Miranda is compared to Feist, Cat Power, and Norah Jones, all well-known female artists.

However, like many music critics, Caramanica also attempts to find his own adjectives to describe the sounds he's hearing.  This can often be very hit or miss, depending on how much the words make sense to the reader from a musical standpoint, and how abstract the description becomes.  Here's an example from the article: "Ms. Miranda's voice was smoky and laserlike..."  

"Smoky" is a pretty safe choice, it being a favorite among all critics, whether describing vocals, cheese, wine, or atmosphere.  "Laserlike" is a little bit out of there, and Caramanica is taking a gamble by hoping that the word will conjure up the same meaning for his readers as it did for him when he was listening to Ms. Miranda sing.  Personally, it doesn't do anything for me.

Phish Returns to Feed Its Hungry Fans

Reporter Seth Schiesel begins his article on the triumphant return of jam-band Phish with a great roundup lede, which compares the excited crowd at the concert with sports fans and supporters at political rallies.  This technique tells the reader something about the magnitude of the crowd that a simple head count would not: its energy, and the emotional excitement that permeated Hampton Coliseum that night.

At no point in the article does Schiesel actually get into specifics about the band, whether its the reasons behind their decision to reunite, the instruments they plan to use on this tour, or the songs they plan to perform.  Instead, he chooses to focus the article on the people who were there watching the event unfold- the piece is filled with interesting quotes about the atmosphere, anticipation, and most interesting of all- the "what I had to do to get here" stories from the most devoted Phish fans.

By doing this, Schiesel adheres to one of the most important rules for writing good journalism- stories are interesting because of the people involved in them, and the best stories are about people and their personal experiences.  A diehard Phish fan might love a story about the specific gear that guitarist Trey Anastasio uses to create his sound, but everybody loves a story about diehard Phish fans.

Speaking of which, the amount of money that these people paid to get into this concert was ridiculous.  The sums some of these diehards shelled out is mind-boggling to the average person, which is what makes the article so interesting to read about.  Its hard to imagine how devoted these fans are- who pay around a thousand dollars for a ticket that started at the box office at fifty dollars.  This is a great example of how interesting people can make for interesting journalism.  It may not be the most provocative or thought-provoking piece the Times has produced, but its a highly enjoyable read.

A Garage Rocker Gives Songwriting a Spin in a Solo Debut

This article by Nate Chinen profiles Dan Auerbach of grungy blues band the Black Keys, particularly the guitarist/singer's new solo project and album "Keep It Hide".

Chinen begins the article with a scene-setter lede, taking us through the opening moments of a recent Black Keys show, an event readers are more likely to be familiar with, since the Black Keys have been around for a few years now.  By keeping his readers in familiar territory before launching into Auerbach's new project, Chinen creates a nice segway to lead his readers onto the real news of the article.

He then goes on to contrast the Black Keys music with Auerbach's new project, so that fans of Auerbach's old music will know what to expect from his solo record.  The story is peppered with quotes from Auerbach, which means Chinen was able to interview the musician, and he adds that Auerbach's bandmate from the Black Keys, drummer Pat Carney, declined an interview for the story.  The fact that somebody declines an interview can sometimes be a story in itself, if for example the Black Keys had a nasty breakup.  This is not the case in this story however, so Carney's reason for declining remains a mystery.