Jordan Kessler

New York

Journalist at PopMatters

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Articles

Telling His Story: An Interview with Bernie Taupin

Sep 12, 2023 | tinyurl.com | Jordan Kessler |Bernie Taupin

SCATTERSHOT: Life, Music, Elton, and Me Hachette Bernie Taupin has written the lyrics to some of the biggest hits of the rock era, but his story hasn’t been as visible as that of his creative partner, Elton John.
Revisiting 'Magic and Loss'

Jun 21, 2023 | tinyurl.com | Jordan Kessler |Lou Reed

Rock songs usually address topics like sex, love, drugs, and rebellion. Rarely are they about mortality, and when they do address people’s deaths, they’re often dramatic, violent ones (think “Leader of the Pack” or “Creeping Death”). Rock is often the music of endless youth, and illness couldn’t be much further from its lyrical wheelhouse. Lou Reed attracted notice for his songs about sexual behaviors and drug habits (“Venus in Furs”, “Heroin”, and “The Kids”).
‘Sink: A Memoir’ Shuns Respectability Politics, PopMatters

Apr 27, 2023 | tinyurl.com | Luis Aguasvivas |Jordan Kessler |Ana Yorke |Jacob Austin

Everyone tells Joey that he “ain’t got no heart”, and he somewhat agrees. Sink: A Memoir written by award-winning writer Joseph Earl Thomas is an unusual coming-of-age tale. The protagonist, the aforementioned Joey—Thomas as a child – undergoes a transformation. Externally he physically grows to be the tallest kid in class, a noticeable change akin to when the Pokémon he loves evolve. Internally the transformation is much more subtle.
Summer 2023 European Music Festivals Promise Exciting Mix of Genres

Apr 27, 2023 | tinyurl.com | Ana Yorke |Jordan Kessler |Jacob Austin

With the dread of the COVID-19 pandemic and mass performance cancelations behind us (hopefully forever), music festivals across the (North)Western hemisphere have had all hands on deck for media exposure and prime slots on our Instagram and TikTok feeds for months already. Among the usual narratives of art, “freedom”, and “joy”, another trend has solidified in the post-pandemic reality: proliferation and franchising.
The 100 Best Albums of the 2000s

Apr 27, 2023 | tinyurl.com | Jordan Kessler |Jacob Austin

100. Gnarls Barkley – St. Elsewhere [Downtown]It begins with the click of a film reel. Then, it explodes into a manic gospel circus fronted by a multi-octave ringmaster. Two minutes later, 2006’s most infectious single cuts through the cacophony. In case you slept through 2006, that album is St. Elsewhere, and that song is “Crazy” by Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo, aka Gnarls Barkley. Who knew that existentialism with a go-go beat could be so catchy?
D’Artagnan' Is an Honourable Iteration

Apr 26, 2023 | tinyurl.com | Paul Risker |Jordan Kessler |Mark Reynolds |Martin Bourboulon

In 2002, on the bicentenary of French writer Alexandre Dumas’ birth, his ashes were re-interred at the mausoleum of the Panthéon, Paris. Then President Jacques Chirac played tribute to this giant of French literature, whose prolific oeuvre includes, The Three Musketeers (Les Trois Mousquetaires, 1844), Twenty Years After (Vingt ans après, 1845), The Man in the Iron Mask (L’Homme au Masque de Fer), and The Count of Monte Cristo (Le Comte de Monte-Cristo, 1844-1846).
Stand in the Joy (Album Review)

Apr 20, 2023 | tinyurl.com | Steve Horowitz |Jordan Kessler |Ana Yorke |Jacob Austin

Stand in the JoySix ShooterWilliam Prince makes sincere, heartfelt music that touches one’s soul. His rich baritone voice captures the spiritual feelings embedded in our connections to each other and our yearnings for a higher power. Prince writes in plain language about the quotidian experiences that reveal the transcendent spirits in the everyday miracles of existence, such as falling in love, being young and innocent, the bonds that tie us together, and more.
Dindin (Album Review)

Apr 20, 2023 | tinyurl.com | Marty Lipp |Christian John Wikane |Jedd Beaudoin |Jordan Kessler

One of the surprising characteristics of African popular music is how sweet and uplifting much of it is in stark contrast to the difficult circumstances from which it sometimes arises. One strand of that long history is Kimi Djabaté, a multi-instrumentalist born and raised in the West African country of Guinea-Bissou. A musical prodigy on the wooden xylophone-like balafon, Djabaté was sometimes forced by his family to perform to earn money, so he could not just be a kid like other children.
The Quintessential Frenchness of Drama 'One Fine Morning'

Apr 20, 2023 | tinyurl.com | Paul Risker |Christian John Wikane |Jedd Beaudoin |Jordan Kessler

Possessing a familiar French charm, Mia Hansen-Løve’s tender Parisian drama, One Fine Morning (Un beau matin) is an inoffensive and modest pleasure. The story, more plot-driven than narrative, centres on the hectic life of Sandra (Léa Seydoux), a young, widowed mother who works as a translator while caring for her daughter and her elderly father.
Being (Album Review)

Apr 17, 2023 | tinyurl.com | Adriane Pontecorvo |Jordan Kessler |Ana Yorke |Jacob Austin

Never one to shy away from innovation, superstar Baaba Maal braids together driving beats, sublime Fulani folk, and electropop energy on his new album, Being, a fresh release from a consummate professional pushing the musical envelope. Often cited as a paradigm shifter in the worldbeat realm, Maal is irreducible to any genre in Being. He is equally a writer, producer, and performer, facilitating conversations between pasts, presents, futures, and many places.