Bijan Stephen

https://t.co/IpF3zWHdCt / writer @compulsiongames, music critic @thenation, playing characters on @funcityventures

Articles

The Introspective Club Hits of Jamie xx

Jan 16, 2025 | thenation.com | Bijan Stephen

Books & the Arts / January 16, 2025 A Holy Space The introspective club hits of Jamie xx. The Introspective Club Hits of Jamie xx With In Waves, Jamie xx—whose real name is James Smith—has perfected what he explored in In Colour: an album full of searching tunes that can double as dance songs. Ad Policy Jamie XX performing in London in 2024. (Joseph Okpako / WireImage) This article appears in the February 2025 issue. I always seem to be listening to Jamie xx just before bad news.
Questlove’s Personal History of Hip-Hop

Aug 27, 2024 | thenation.com | Bijan Stephen

The Nation WeeklyFridays. A weekly digest of the best of our coverage. By signing up, you confirm that you are over the age of 16 and agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You may unsubscribe or adjust your preferences at any time. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sometimes those details help his larger story, as when Questlove recounts the legendary 1995 Source Awards, which he attended with the Roots.
The Late, Great Style of Philip Glass

Jun 4, 2024 | thenation.com | Bijan Stephen

Dear reader,I hope you enjoyed the article you just read. It’s just one of the many deeply-reported and boundary-pushing stories we publish everyday at The Nation. In a time of continued erosion of our fundamental rights and urgent global struggles for peace, independent journalism is now more vital than ever. As a Nation reader, you are likely an engaged progressive who is passionate about bold ideas. I know I can count on you to help sustain our mission-driven journalism.
The Many Evolutions of Kid Cudi

Apr 9, 2024 | thenation.com | Bijan Stephen

The Nation WeeklyFridays. A weekly digest of the best of our coverage. By signing up, you confirm that you are over the age of 16 and agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You may unsubscribe or adjust your preferences at any time. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Lyrically, it’s as if you added salt to a recipe that called for sugar. The rest of the song is weighed down by Cudi’s singing, which feels oddly leaden and overproduced.
The Era of Nicki Minaj

Feb 20, 2024 | thenation.com | Bijan Stephen

Books & the Arts / The era of Nicki Minaj. How the queen of rap revolutionized American music. Ad PolicyThis article appears in the February 2024 issue. We’ve come a long way since the first Pink Friday. Released in 2010, the album cemented Nicki Minaj’s status as one of the brightest stars of her generation of rappers and launched her to global stardom.
lateral thinking with withered technology

Jan 26, 2024 | newsletter.bijanstephen.blog | Bijan Stephen

I've been thinking about Gunpei Yokoi a lot lately. Before his tragic death in 1997, Yokoi was a game designer at Nintendo — one of the first, in fact. For them, he created the Game & Watch, the Virtual Boy, and the original Game Boy; over in games, he produced games like Kid Icarus and Metroid. He even trained up Shigeru Miyamoto in game design, when they worked together on Donkey Kong.
back in the trenches

Jan 4, 2024 | newsletter.bijanstephen.blog | Bijan Stephen

You know, I'd forgotten what it was like to be a freelancer. I realize now I was spoiled by warm, unhealthy embrace of some years of Salaried Labor (though, I should note, I was freelancing that entire time). It's just different here on the other side, man, where you're only paid for the work you do — and not necessarily for the time you put in. The other thing I don't think I'd quite realized is that there aren't really that many jobs I want on offer anymore.
Difficult Terrain, a 4-player TTRPG in 52 cards (playtest version)

Sep 27, 2023 | bijanstephen.itch.io | Bijan Stephen

Difficult Terrain, a 4-player TTRPG in 52 cards (playtest version)The beta ruleset for Difficult Terrain. It'll probably change. If you play it, let me know what you think? DownloadClick download now to get access to the following files:
It Happened To Me: I got laid off

Sep 25, 2023 | bijan.substack.com | Bijan Stephen

Esteemed readers, Hello. As the title says: I got laid off. It’s not a great time, of course, but honestly — is there ever a good time to lose your job? No. Well, maybe, but more on that in a second. Thanks for reading You've Run Out of Complimentary Articles! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. For those who might not know: I was, for a couple years, a podcast host and editor. It was a great job.
Crime Online - Dissent Magazine

Sep 5, 2023 | dissentmagazine.org | Bijan Stephen |Angus Burgin |Victoria Baena |Rich Yeselson

Crime Online The majority of property crimes now occur online. Our legal system hasn’t caught up. &squarf; Fall 2023 Fancy Bear Goes Phishing: The Dark History of the Information Age, in Five Extraordinary Hacksby Scott J. ShapiroFarrar, Straus and Giroux, 2023, 432 pp. Crime has decreased significantly in the United States since the 1990s. Today, Americans are much less likely to become victims of burglary, theft, arson, and vandalism. But as everyone has moved online, so has crime.