Ken Tucker
Ken Tucker reviews rock, country, hip-hop and pop music for Fresh Air. He is a cultural critic who has been the editor-at-large at Entertainment Weekly, and a film critic for New York Magazine. His work has won two National Magazine Awards and two ASCAP-Deems Taylor Awards. He has written book reviews for The New York Times Book Review and other publications.
Tucker is the author of Scarface Nation: The Ultimate Gangster Movie and Kissing Bill O'Reilly, Roasting Miss Piggy: 100 Things to Love and Hate About Television.
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The second album by the California-based singer features an optimism often associated with West Coast pop. Critic Ken Tucker says Little World creates an "alternate universe of the sunniest sounds."
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Lambert's new release features 24 songs on 2 CDs. Critic Ken Tucker calls The Weight of These Wings a collection that "keeps on giving the deeper you get into it."
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Mid-Thirties Single Scene, the new album by the Australian group Scott and Charlene's Wedding, describes the thoughts and actions of a character who has just turned 34. Critic Ken Tucker has a review.
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The 82-year-old songwriter mixes serious contemplation with mordant humor on his new album. Critic Ken Tucker says You Want It Darker features some of Cohen's simplest, most effective lyrics.
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Best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead, Weir goes solo on his new album, which was inspired by his time working as a ranch hand in Wyoming as a teen. Critic Ken Tucker has a review.
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Dacus mixes plainspoken language with rock-music instrumentation on her debut album. Critic Ken Tucker says the singer-songwriter's vulnerability goes against the grain of much current pop music.
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Though Olsen sets pain and frustration to music in her latest album, critic Ken Tucker says it's clear that the singer is "very much in control of her emotions and her life."
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Waldon puts a distinctive spin on classic country with her new album. Critic Ken Tucker calls her singing, which avoids excessive emotion or embellishment, "the musical version of hard-boiled prose."
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A new drama series on Netflix chronicles the rise of early hip-hop music in the late '70s. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the show's soundtrack is dense, complex and delightful.
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The singer-songwriter began performing at age 14 in a band with her sisters and her father. Critic Ken Tucker says the songs on Loveless' latest solo album, Real, have a "tough edge."