Matt Compton » Music

Another well-earned Pulitzer

Matt Compton — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:40:30 +0000

Looking over the list of journalism winners, I see that the Gene Weingarten’s Washington Post story Pearls Before Breakfast won an award for feature writing. This fantastic piece details an experiment arranged by the paper during the morning rush hour at L’Enfant Plaza last January:

No one knew it, but the fiddler standing against a bare wall outside the Metro in an indoor arcade at the top of the escalators was one of the finest classical musicians in the world, playing some of the most elegant music ever written on one of the most valuable violins ever made. His performance was arranged by The Washington Post as an experiment in context, perception and priorities — as well as an unblinking assessment of public taste: In a banal setting at an inconvenient time, would beauty transcend?

Fascination of the moment

Matt Compton — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 19:26:13 +0000

One month in, and I’m still absolutely enthralled by The Avett Brothers.

That is all.

Favorite Songs of 2007

Matt Compton — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 22:56:16 +0000

1) Arcade Fire — Intervention

2) The National — Fake Empire

3) Bruce Springsteen — Radio Nowhere

4) Spoon — The Underdog

5) Jay Z — Blue Magic

6) Kanye West — Flashing Lights

7) Feist — 1, 2, 3, 4

8 ) Kings of Leon — Fans

9) Rihanna — Umbrella

10) Amy Winehouse — Rehab

11) Wilco — On and On and On and On

12) Modest Mouse — Parting of the Sensory

13) Arctic Monkeys — 505

14) Avett Brothers — Die Die Die

15) White Stripes — You Don’t Know What Love Is

Favorite Albums of 2007

Matt Compton — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:48:33 +0000

‘Tis the season for year end lists. I’m going to start rolling out mine over the next few weeks. If I have any readers, please feel free to debate in the comments.

1. The Arcade Fire – Neon Bible

2. The National – Boxer

3. Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

4. The Avett Brothers – Emotionalism

5. Jay-Z – American Gangster

6. Bruce Springsteen – Magic

7. Wilco – Sky Blue Sky

8. Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare

9. Kanye West – Graduation

10. Kings of Leon – Because of the Times

11. The New Pornographers – Challengers

12. Explosions in the Sky – All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone

13. Amy Winehouse – Back to Black

14. The Shins – Wincing the Night Away

15. Feist – The Reminder

(Deserving further listening: LCD Soundsystem — Sound of Silver, MIA — Kala, The Good, The Bad & The Queen — The Good, The Bad & The Queen)