Beyond Category: How Three Music Writers Navigate a Genre-Fluid World
Description
Michelle Zeto, Geoffrey Himes, and Rob Shepherd have each built careers in music journalism and broadcasting. They discuss how genre categories shape both criticism and listening, the difference between being a savant and a polymath, and whether the post-genre world is liberating or limiting. The conversation explores the role of critics as translators, the rise of playlist culture, and why attention spans may not be as new a problem as we think.
In this episode, we explore:
- How musicians themselves often resist the "jazz" label—and what that means for writers
- Why shorter attention spans might not be the crisis we think
- The tension between consumer advisor and cultural translator
- What human curation offers that algorithms can't
- Whether broad knowledge serves critics better than deep specialization
Learn more about our guests:
- Michelle Zeto and "Jammin' Jazz"
- Geoffrey Himes and "Hard Rain and Pink Cadillacs"
- Rob Shepherd and PostGenre.org
Our host:
And our organization, the Jazz Journalists Association.
The Jazz Omnibus is on sale now at 25% off. This 600-page anthology features 21st-century photos and writings by JJA members. Details at: bit.ly/jja25
If you're a media-maker working in jazz, the JJA is offering first-time members a special rate of $50. Join a community of colleagues telling all the stories of jazz. Sign up at members.jazzjournalists.org/join
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For more from the Jazz Journalists Association, go to JJANews.org.
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