Tom Moon
Tom Moon has been writing about pop, rock, jazz, blues, hip-hop and the music of the world since 1983.
He is the author of the New York Times bestseller 1000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die (Workman Publishing), and a contributor to other books including The Final Four of Everything.
A saxophonist whose professional credits include stints on cruise ships and several tours with the Maynard Ferguson orchestra, Moon served as music critic at the Philadelphia Inquirer from 1988 until 2004. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GQ, Blender, Spin, Vibe, Harp and other publications, and has won several awards, including two ASCAP-Deems Taylor Music Journalism awards. He has contributed to NPR's All Things Considered since 1996.
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With this album, a London singer — a Prince favorite — and her versatile voice inch closer to mainstream pop. -
NPR's Tom Moon reviews the new album from pianist Robert Glasper, Covered.
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These taut, righteously furious, stone-simple songs fit together under a catchall concept about companies wielding extraordinary influence over our quality of life. -
When the great guitarist takes a solo, it's a swerving, cathartic, edge-of-the-seat experience. When he doesn't, the bliss persists, but in highly concentrated doses. -
On its fourth album, Dawes calls from deep inside the feedback loop of love's aftermath. Throughout All Your Favorite Bands, singer Taylor Goldsmith takes full advantage of the dramatic possibilities. -
The mostly instrumental supergroup's second album, Soul Food, is a rousing, thoroughly modern take on gospel. -
On their new album, the band's backing musicians match the intensity of lead singer Brittany Howard. -
Though the scenery of the American Southwest remains largely unchanged, the band's sense and understanding of it continues to deepen and grow. -
Each of Smith's records contains an abundance of small, perfectly formed gems. There are too many to pick from, but just about any would shine anew under this type of respectful reinterpretation. -
González's songs are slight little creations, with minimal words encapsulating big ideas and breezy pop melodies disguising weighty notions about life's endlessly refracting illusions.