Charley Ruddell

Jan 9, 2024 | wbur.org | Charley Ruddell

Three years ago, I wrote the 2021 winter music guide, a compilation almost entirely influenced by the restrictions and varying relationships to the pandemic. And while it’s reassuring to be (mostly) out of the woods regarding the virus, much of the world is experiencing unrest. A lot of the art being created now reflects that. I rounded up an interesting selection for this guide with lots of variety.

Dec 18, 2023 | wbur.org | Charley Ruddell |Noah Schaffer |Karen Muller |Amelia Mason

What happens when you ask five music critics to write about their favorite local albums from 2023? You get range. As a critic, the year-end roundup can be intimidating; you feel you have to show balance, diversity and a sense of what’s likely to stand the test of time. Crowd-sourced lists like this one are freeing because it’s impossible to overthink them. This year-end round-up is no different: It is delightfully surprising, and surprisingly complete.

Sep 17, 2023 | wbur.org | Charley Ruddell

I was losing track of the summer months until I visited my mom the first weekend of September. I walked into the living room and saw a colorful line of gourds perched on the fireplace and a string of red and orange maple leaves draping the windows. It was then that I realized it was fall, not because of the chilly nights, the earthy smell in the air, the shorter days or the changing leaves. It was because of my mom's living room decorations, set out promptly on the first weekend of September.

Sep 6, 2023 | wbur.org | Charley Ruddell

“There’s no telling what we’ll do when we’re free.” If a single line of lyric could tell a story, that line from The Folk Implosion’s “Natural One” would tell the story of “Kids.” The song’s slinking bassline and boom-bap drums captured the wayward essence of director Larry Clark and writer Harmony Korine’s (“Gummo,” “Spring Breakers”) subversive 1995 film debut, its hip-hop backbone blending seamlessly with lo-fi textures and innovative instrumentation.

Aug 23, 2023 | wbur.org | Charley Ruddell

David Byrne posed a series of rhetorical questions in the song “Once in a Lifetime.” "Am I right, am I wrong?" "My God, what have I done?" By asking these questions, Byrne didn’t yield any answers, but instead spawned bigger questions for us to ponder: What is right, and what is wrong? What decisions have I made to end up where I am?