Rob Tannenbaum
Rob Tannenbaum has written for GQ, New York, the New York Times Magazine, Details, Rolling Stone, Spin, the Village Voice, the New York Observer, Harper’s Bazaar, George, Premiere, and Playboy. He was the music editor of Blender.
95 articles
List of articles in the library
Wire Train: Plato Would Have Hated Them
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Boston Rock, 21 February 1984
A LONG, LONG time ago — even before Chuck Berry was born — a guy named Plato announced to everyone within earshot that if he ...
The Beach Boys, Culture Club: Steve Levine's Cross-Cultural New Age
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Musician, November 1984
It's a Clean Machine, Very Clean: The Digital Powerhouse Behind Queen George's Platinum Throne ...
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Musician, June 1985
Pop Royalty's First-Call Bassist Is Into More Than Keeping Time. ...
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Musician, June 1985
"SINCE I'M A songwriter," Joan Armatrading explains, "I'd like to think I can write lots of different things. I suppose that can confuse people." ...
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Musician, July 1985
AS JOY DIVISION, they ignited a trend of anguished confession that turned punk's Angry Young Men in Leather to post-punk's Sad Young Men in Analysis. ...
Billy Idol: Steve Stevens: The Idolmaker
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Musician, July 1985
Billy Idol's Six-Strinq Sidekick Fortifies the Image with Proto-Punk Musical Muscle. ...
John Cage, Brian Eno: John Cage & Brian Eno: A Meeting of Sound Minds
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Musician, September 1985
BRIAN ENO is waiting in the calm, green courtyard between his apartment and studio, just a short distance from London's trend-setting King's Road. Under the ...
The Style Council: Internationalists (Geffen)
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Musician, September 1985
LEADING THE Jam, Paul Weller was usually eloquent about the ineloquence of youth. Now he's an adult, and he's learned all about monetarism (it's bad) ...
Joan Armatrading, Jimmy Page, Paul Young: Pino Palladino Doesn't Fret
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Musician, October 1985
Paul Young's Bassist Shines Through The Screaming Hordes ...
Billy Idol, The Psychedelic Furs, Donna Summer: Reel American: Keith Forsey's Disco Snarl
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Musician, November 1985
From Donna Summer to Billy Idol, from Psy-Furs to Simple Minds, the union of style and raunch. ...
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 7 November 1985
NONA HENDRYX emerged from post-LaBelle limbo as a member of Talking Heads' big Remain in Light band. On The Heat, her fourth solo album, she ...
Giorgio Moroder, Ray Parker Jr., Tina Turner: Soundtracks Thrived in Summer of '85
Report by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 21 November 1985
Arranged marriages between movies and rock & roll produced spectacular results ...
Fela Kuti: Zombie, No Agreement, Shuffering And Shmlling (Celluloid)
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 13 March 1986
ALTHOUGH HE is virtually unknown in the United States, Fela Kuti of Nigeria is the most dangerous musician in the world. For two decades, Fela ...
Robert Palmer, The Power Station: Robert Palmer's Power Outage
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Musician, April 1986
The Power Station and Palmer's Latest LP Are Both "Heavy Metal Funk". Which Came First? ...
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 10 April 1986
IF FALCO had disappeared after his 1981 hit 'Der Kommissar', future archivists could have memorialized the Austrian singer on some Eurotrosh Volume II compilation, and ...
Wally Badarou, Marianne Faithfull, Grace Jones, Level 42: Wally Badarou's All-World Keyboards
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Musician, May 1986
The Synthesizer Star of Compass Point on Getting and Keeping International Feel ...
A Flock of Seagulls: Dream Come True (Arista)
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 5 June 1986
AFTER THEIR 1982 debut became one of that year's most popular albums, A Flock of Seagulls found itself unable to expand on its kinetic, reductive ...
Brian Eno: More Blank Than Frank (Jem)
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 5 June 1986
AFTER BRIAN Eno left Roxy Music in 1973, he made four prophetic rock albums that incorporated unbalanced rhythms, random synthesizer noises, minimalist drones and whimsical, ...
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Musician, July 1986
"Flute and harp add sweetness to a song; better than either, a sweet voice." (Ecclesiasticus 40:21) ...
Van Morrison: The Pier, New York NY
Live Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 28 August 1986
STUBBORN SOUL: VAN MORRISON'S ERRATIC SHOW ...
Paul Simon: Graceland (Warner Bros.)
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 23 October 1986
IN HIS TYPICALLY understated way, Paul Simon has been an ardent musical explorer since he went solo in 1972. His songs have incorporated almost every ...
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Musician, December 1986
"THERE'S A lot of pollution out there," says Daniel Lanois, drinking tea in the gazebo of his Santa Monica hotel one September morning, before continuing ...
Billy Idol: Whiplash Smile (Chrysalis)
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 4 December 1986
Billy Idol's only human ...
Report and Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 18 December 1986
A year after The New York Times ran its obit, country music is stronger than ever, thanks to artists like Steve Earle, Dwight Yoakam and ...
The Beastie Boys, Run-DMC: Beastie Boys: Ritz, New York NY
Live Review by Rob Tannenbaum, New Musical Express, 17 January 1987
BUILDING THE PERFECT JERKS! ...
Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Paul Simon: UN Group Attacks Paul Simon
Report by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 12 February 1987
Says Graceland broke cultural boycott of South Africa ...
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 26 March 1987
NOT THAT long ago, XTC was a nearly perfect band. It corrupted its bountiful hooks with unsettling harmonies and rhythms and rocked hard enough to ...
The Beastie Boys, Oran "Juice" Jones, Run-DMC, Slayer: Def Jam: Baaad Company
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, New Musical Express, 9 May 1987
With their label gone mega, and even greater triumphs planned, Def Jam mainmen RICK RUBIN and RUSSELL SIMMONS currently combine the Midas touch with the ...
Level 42: Running in the Family (Polydor)
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 18 June 1987
AFTER SEVERAL albums of funk-fusion flash, Level 42 harnessed its considerable instrumental ability on World Machine, as sleek and agreeable a digital-era pop record as ...
The Neville Brothers: Funky but Chic
Profile and Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 2 July 1987
Lots of people have heard of the Neville Brothers. Now the Nevilles want lots of peopleto hear their music. ...
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 13 August 1987
AFTER INITIATING one of the most successful publicity juggernauts of the decade, Boy George had a hard time adjusting to the consequences of fame. The ...
Danny Wilson: Meet Danny Wilson (Virgin)
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 10 September 1987
"HERE'S SOME summer music for an angel," sings Gary Clark in 'You Remain an Angel', and what follows is not the Beach Boys' sandy harmonies ...
Def Leppard unleashes Hysteria
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 10 September 1987
DEF LEPPARD'S album Pyromania, released in 1983, sold 6 million copies in the U.S. alone. It's no surprise, then, that people ask Def Leppard bassist ...
Curiosity Killed The Cat: New Faces: England's Latest Curiosity
Profile and Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 24 September 1987
Teen heartthrobs Curiosity Killed the Cat try to conquer America ...
Reba McEntire: The Last One To Know (MCA)
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 3 December 1987
AS COUNTRY music's most popular female singer, Reba McEntire deserves a lot of credit for aiding the new-traditionalist revival in Nashville. But tagging McEntire as ...
George Michael: Artist or Airhead?
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Musician, January 1988
IS IT TIME TO TAKE WHAM!'S ARCHITECT SERIOUSLY? ...
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Musician, March 1988
STING'S BRING On the Night was a big-budget home movie by a talented musician convinced that every breath he takes deserves to be documented. It ...
Casual Gods, Jerry Harrison: Jerry Harrison: From Talking Head to head God
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 5 May 1988
Just how casual is Jerry Harrison's solo career? ...
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts: Up Your Alley (Blackheart/CBS Associated) ***
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 11 August 1988
THOUGH COARSE stomps like 'Bad Reputation' and 'Cherry Bomb' have established Joan Jett as an eternal teen rebel who loves rock & roll for its ...
Sade: Stronger Than Pride (Epic) **½
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 11 August 1988
LIKE WALLY Pipp, who took a day off from the Yankee lineup and was permanently replaced by Lou Gehrig, Sade has risked usurpation by more ...
Jim Dickinson, Steve Earle, R.E.M., U2: Memphis: A Legendary Music City is on the Rebound
Report by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 8 September 1988
Keith Richards, U2 and R.E.M. have recorded there, but the city's future hinges on its home-grown talent ...
Bruce Hornsby's Southern Comforts
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 22 September 1988
Rock's other Bruce is a home-town boy — that's just the way he is ...
Kingdom Come: For the members of Kingdom Come, the song remains the same
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 22 September 1988
A group of heavy-metal copycats just can't get the Led out ...
Kip Hanrahan, Hal Willner: Kip Hanrahan and Hal Willner: Rock's renegade producers
Profile and Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 17 November 1988
Kip Hanrahan and Hal Willner make records that challenge the traditional notion of a producer's role ...
Pop Will Eat Itself: Box Frenzy (Rough Trade)
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 17 November 1988
HERE COMES trouble. Perhaps the first hint of fallout from the Beastie Boys' bratty attitude and timely, surreal raps, Pop Will Eat Itself has recorded ...
Guns N' Roses: The Hard Truth About Guns N' Roses
Special Feature by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 17 November 1988
Finally, some bad boys who are good ...
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Musician, December 1988
"IT'S KIND of a body, these last two albums," John Hiatt says. He's explaining why his recent concerts include only material from Slow Turning and ...
Voice of the Beehive: Let It Bee (PolyGram)
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 12 January 1989
THE BONANZA of new female talent in rock continues. Voice of the Beehive is a five-piece band led by sisters Tracey Bryn and Melissa Brooke, ...
Steve Earle: Copperhead Road (Uni) *** ½
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 26 January 1989
IN 1986 AND 1987, Steve Earle made two great records — Guitar Town and Exit 0 — on which he established a vivid Southern-working-class identity ...
Bon Jovi, Gorky Park: Bon Jovi
Report and Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 9 February 1989
THE AMBASSADORS OF LITE-METAL MUSIC HEAD OUT TO EXPORT NEW JERSEY TO RUSSIA AND THE REST OF THE WORLD ...
Harry Connick Jr.: The Entertainer
Profile and Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 23 March 1989
New Orleans jazz pianist Harry Connick brings mission to his music ...
The Beat, Fine Young Cannibals: Chewing the Fat with the Fine Young Cannibals
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 20 April 1989
A FEW WEEKS before the release of The Raw and the Cooked, Fine Young Cannibals' new album, Roland Gift and Andy Cox are in New ...
Profile and Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 1 June 1989
L.A. rapper Tone-Lōc takes his success in stride — like everything else in his life ...
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 29 June 1989
AT A TIME when most prominent black groups are, like Public Enemy, Living Colour and De La Soul, post-hip-hop upstarts, Andrew Roachford is a determinedly ...
Youssou N'Dour: Can Youssou N'Dour Score?
Profile and Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 13 July 1989
With a little help from Peter Gabriel, Senegal's top artist looks to the West ...
Neneh Cherry: Raw Like Sushi (Virgin) ***½
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 10 August 1989
TALK ABOUT a sign of the times: Earlier in the decade, Neneh Cherry was a peripheral member of the postpunk warriors the Slits, then played ...
Bobby Brown, New Edition: Bobby Brown's Uneasy Passage
Profile and Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 7 September 1989
Will the Jack of Swim be the next King of Soul? ...
Moe Tucker: Maureen Tucker: Life in Exile After Abdication (50 Skidillion Watts)
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 5 October 1989
MAUREEN TUCKER was the Ringo Starr of the Velvet Underground — an unschooled drummer whose hard, unadorned, idiosyncratic style was an irreplaceable element of the ...
Bruce Springsteen: Springsteen Goes It Alone
Report by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 11 January 1990
Rocker will search for a new direction without the E Street Band ...
Mariah Carey: Building the Perfect Diva
Report and Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 23 August 1990
Mariah Carey had a hit LP and a Top Ten single, but whose 'Vision' is it? ...
Metallica: Elektra: a Label Celebrates its Heritage
Report and Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 1 November 1990
Forty years of Elektra music, from Josh White and Tom Paxton to Metallica and the Cure ...
KRS-One, N.W.A, Public Enemy, Run-DMC: In Rap's Hometown, an Icy Reception
Report by Rob Tannenbaum, The New York Times, 28 April 1991
THE MARQUEE'S experiment with rap concerts didn't last long. The small club, in the Chelsea section of Manhattan, usually presents alternative-rock bands. But after the ...
Londonbeat: Fine Young Cannibalization?
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 30 May 1991
Londonbeat hits Number One with a familiar-sounding song ...
Pet Shop Boys: Radio City Music Hall, New York NY
Live Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 30 May 1991
UNLESS ELVIS Presley reappears in Las Vegas, the curiosity and expectations that preceded the Pet Shop Boys' first American tour are unlikely to be equaled ...
Geto Boys: We Can't Be Stopped (Def American) **½
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 5 September 1991
IT'S A FAMILIAR debate: conservative guardians call the Geto Boys' music obscene, while liberal watchdogs accuse them of glorifying violence against women and degrading the ...
Report by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 19 September 1991
Inside the world of headbangers in New York and Los Angeles ...
Billy Bragg: Don't Try This at Home (Elektra)
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 31 October 1991
ALTHOUGH BILLY Bragg is often a great songwriter, it's no surprise that his socialist-propaganda ditties haven't converted young Americans to the teachings of Marx and ...
Mariah Carey: Emotions (Columbia) **
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 14 November 1991
A ROOKIE success as spectacular as Mariah Carey's tends to spark a backlash, and Carey was derided by skeptics who saw that Columbia Records had ...
Profile and Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 28 November 1991
Or will success drive the British singer 'Crazy'? ...
Garth Brooks: Country's New Gold Rush
Report and Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 16 April 1992
With Garth Brooks leading the way, Nashville is booming ...
Cypress Hill: The Disciples of Pot
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 28 May 1992
Cypress Hill says marijuana's getting a bad rap ...
Juliana Hatfield: Hey Babe (Mammoth)
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 9 July 1992
JULIANA HATFIELD is not the first writer to depict romance as a covert war between supposed allies. A previous generation of singer-songwriters, notably Joni Mitchell ...
Billy Ray Cyrus: The Man Who Would Be King of Country
Profile and Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 6 August 1992
Billy Ray Cyrus scored with Some Gave All ...
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Details, November 1992
The godfather of art rock and ambience discusses his sex drive, U2's sense of humor, and the future of music as we know it. ...
George Jones: Tramps, New York NY
Live Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 7 January 1993
OVERWHELMED BY the adoring crowd that greeted his first New York show in thirteen years, George Jones blinked in disbelief and said shyly, "We may ...
Live Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 13 May 1993
RUN-D.M.C. holds a fistful of rap firsts — Top Five single, million-selling album, Rolling Stone cover — so it's hardly surprising that it's now the ...
Giant Sand: Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ
Live Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 5 August 1993
CHAOS IS A constant menace in giant Sand's music. For a few years, it overwhelmed Howe Gelb's writing — he'd launch a song with a ...
Jackson Browne: The Return of the Pretender
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, GQ, November 1993
The politics on Jackson Browne's new album are strictly interpersonal. ...
Pet Shop Boys: Q&A: Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 9 December 1993
NEIL TENNANT calls from his country house in Sussex, England. "'Country house' sounds like I've got 30 acres," he says. "It's a little Georgian house, ...
Anthrax, Garth Brooks, Gin Blossoms, KISS, The Lemonheads, Toad the Wet Sprocket: Kiss Off
Report and Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, GQ, January 1994
As the nation turns its lonely eyes to the Seventies for inspiration, they alight fondly on Kiss, who were stupider and crasser than anyone — ...
Body Count, Ice-T: Ice-T: Sold on Ice
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, GQ, March 1994
Never at a loss for words, gangsta rapper Ice-T has taken the literary plunge and produced a provocative manifesto, modestly titled The Ice Opinion ...
Cassandra Wilson: A Diva's Progress
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, GQ, July 1994
When jazz singer Cassandra Wilson gave in to her secret taste for pop music, she seduced a whole new audience ...
Liz Phair: Sexual Perversity in Chicago
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Details, July 1994
Where and when did you write the famous line "I want to be your blowjob queen"? ...
Profile and Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Details, December 1994
Meet the Chicago band that's knocking us out with their American Thighs. Veruca Salt have a great debut album and a horde of A&R men ...
Ben Folds Five: Ben Folds Thrives
Profile and Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Details, April 1997
BILLY JOEL MEETS HOLE: ARMED WITH PUNK ATTITUDE AND A TASTE FOR SHOW TUNES, BEN FOLDS FIVE IS MAKING THE PIANO HIP AGAIN ...
The Beastie Boys, Beck, Hanson, The Rolling Stones: The Dust Brothers: Brothers of Invention
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Details, August 1997
They pulled poetry out of Beck. They wrung gold out of Hanson. Now they're remaking the Rolling Stones. Rob Tannenbaum meets the Dust Brothers. ...
Randy Newman: Q&A: Randy Newman
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 19 August 1999
BEFORE ICE Cube, before Eric Bogosian, before Chris Rock, before the country was close to ready, Randy Newman wrote and sang thorny portraits of racists, ...
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Blender, July 2003
Alt-queen Liz Phair wants stardom. And your "hot, white cum", too. Goodness! ...
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Blender, November 2005
TELL US ABOUT YOUR SELF-PORTRAIT. WHO IS PRINCESS SCRIBBLY? ...
Liz Phair: Who Does Liz Phair Think She Is?
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Blender, November 2005
TELL US ABOUT YOUR SELF-PORTRAIT. WHO IS PRINCESS SCRIBBLY? ...
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 10 May 2012
Scotsmen craft art pop full of hooks, wit and weirdness. ...
Tyler, The Creator: Q&A: Tyler, the Creator
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 11 April 2013
The Odd Future leader on homophobia, Miley Cyrus and why Tumblr is "sad". ...
Robin Thicke: Blurred Lines (StarTrak/Interscope)
Review by Rob Tannenbaum, Rolling Stone, 1 August 2013
The George Clooney of club jams calls in a crack squad of hitmakers for laid-back, top-shelf pop. ...
Stephen Malkmus Doesn't Think He Was a Jerk
Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, The New York Times, 14 May 2018
"I HATE BEING TAN," Stephen Malkmus said almost immediately, standing in the lobby of a Midtown hotel. His olive complexion, the unwanted result of a ...
Roxy Music's For Your Pleasure
Retrospective by Rob Tannenbaum, Pitchfork, 13 October 2019
Each Sunday, Pitchfork takes an in-depth look at a significant album from the past, and any record not in our archives is eligible. Today, we ...
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