Andrew Chow

Bio

Andrew is a New York City journalist. He is a Harvard '14 graduate, was the Music Editor for the Harvard Crimson, and has been published in The New York Times, TV Guide Magazine, The Writer, and the Santiago Times. Things he likes: A Tribe Called Quest, Louie, Carmelo Anthony, all other things New York. @andrewRchow
The Defining Hip-Hop Album of 2014 Is Finally Here
By Andrew Chow
"I knew that when I set out to make this record id lose some people with the concept but i didn't do this shit to be crowd pleasing," Flying Lotus tweeted Tuesday. This was shortly after he released an amazing, totally alienating album that, with…
2014 Is the Year That Rock Came Back to Life
By Andrew Chow
Earlier this month, Gene Simmons took it upon himself to kill rock 'n' roll once and for all. "For performers who are also songwriters — the creators — for rock music, for soul, for the blues — it's finally dead. Rock is finally dead," the KISS…
One Festival Is Shattering Assumptions About 'Black Music'
By Andrew Chow
At first glance, the term "Afro-punk"” may seem like an oxymoron, a historical inaccuracy. The most famous bands in punk history, from the Ramones to the Sex Pistols to Black Flag, were made up of a particular subset of white culture, driven by…
Meet the Brilliant Young Man Bringing a New Kind of Blues to Life
By Andrew Chow
The first few seconds of Benjamin Booker's self-titled debut album sound like old-school blues guitar. "Violent Shiver" opens with bright, jagged strumming, slides down the neck, powerful if inelegant technique. You can hear Muddy Waters and B.B.…
Meet the Man Who's About to Save EDM From Itself
By Andrew Chow
One look at EDM festivals like Ultra or Tomorrowland and it's pretty easy to realize the scene is not exactly highbrow. Bros with tanks guzzling beers, women in pasties, flags, flowers, drugs, sweat, sex, overdoses — this is pure party music,…
This Is the Year That Jazz Reconquers the World
By Andrew Chow
The very first Newport Jazz Festival took place in 1954 and featured legends like Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, and Billie Holiday. These artists, combined with slightly later icons like Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and John…
Why Robyn Is Still the Undisputed Queen of the New Pop Music
By Andrew Chow
In 2011, Robyn became a meme. Although she'd been singing and performing since 1995, the Swedish pixie girl's biggest introduction to American audiences came by way of Saturday Night Live’s Taran Killam, who writhed and panted his way through…
The Worst Part of Robin Thicke's Controversial New Album: It's Not Just Creepy
By Andrew Chow
Robin Thicke has been in the news lately for being creepy, sexist and unfaithful. A little more than a week ago, he appeared bloodied and battered in the video for the single "Get Her Back," a plea for his estranged wife to return that featured a…
Incredible Footage of Michael Jackson's First TV Performance Reveals How His Career Began
By Andrew Chow
Five years ago, the King of Pop passed away in his Los Angeles home, causing such a massive outpouring of grief that it nearly broke the Internet. Since then, Michael Jackson has been prolific. He's had a Cirque de Soleil show, a video game and two…
14 Iconic Solos That Showcase Jazz Music's Incredible History
By Andrew Chow
In a recent study at Johns Hopkins, jazz musicians improvised with each other while sitting in MRI machines. No doubt many of them were used to playing in tight spaces, but this was, all the same, odd. What the study found, though, was even odder:…
The 9 Young Rappers Bringing West Coast Hip-Hop Back to Life
By Andrew Chow
Since the Beach Boys in the 1960s, musicians have been trying to explain what exactly is going on with the West Coast. When songs about sunshine and convertibles weren't cutting it anymore, Dre, Pac and Snoop stepped up and captured the soul of the…
This Is the Biggest Pop Star You've Probably Never Heard of
By Andrew Chow
Betty Who's rise to stardom is the sort of fame reserved only for the biggest stars of the 21st century. It's happening right now, it's almost entirely beyond her control and it's happening so fast you might not even have noticed it. When the…
Can You Name That Hip-Hop Song in 3 Seconds?
By Andrew Chow
Hip-hop may seem like a young genre, but it's really 30-plus years old. And in all those years it's created legions of fans who claim they're true fans, when in reality, they wouldn't know "H.A.M." from "C.R.E.A.M." So we're putting your knowledge…
The 17 Most Surprising No. 1 Songs of All Time
By Andrew Chow
When music lovers think of the top 40, they typically shudder. And when they hear what's topping those charts, they just might cry. No. 1 Billboard hits have a history of being predictable and inane. "Ice Ice Baby," for instance, has held music's…
What the Legends of Music Have to Say About Today's Stars
By Andrew Chow
It's a common theme of music in all periods of history: Older musicians can't stand modern music. Even back in the '50s, Frank Sinatra was calling Elvis and his rock and roll friends "cretinous goons" who were making "rancid-smelling aphrodisiac"…
This Is How This Week's Pop Hits Stack Up Against the Same Week In 2004
By Andrew Chow
Throughout history, people have claimed that music was better when they were younger, but we finally decided to put it to a scientific (who are we kidding) test. So we went back to the charts exactly 10 years ago this week and pitted 2004's best…
One Man Has Written Virtually Every Pop Song of the Last 10 Years
By Andrew Chow
In 2013, three songs dominated the pop charts: "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus, "Roar" by Katy Perry and "Timber" by Pitbull and Ke$ha. These songs were all huge hits, and they had one other thing in common: they were written by the same man. That…
Bruno Mars Got Upstaged at His Own Super Bowl
By Andrew Chow
When Bruno Mars closed Super Bowl night with the torch ballad that signified the peak of his career, there was almost no roar from the crowd. It was as if the entire audience was thinking, "What's that song called again?" That was more or less the…
"Thrift Shop" and "Royals" Are About the Exact Same Thing
By Andrew Chow
On Sunday night, the Recording Academy told us what we already knew: "Royals" and "Thrift Shop" were the songs of the year. What they didn't tell us, though, is that records have much more in common than their status as mega-hits. From late 2007…
6 Incredible Show-Stopping Performances From the 2014 Grammys
By Andrew Chow
The Grammys are often ridiculed for being out-of-touch and overly long. And while last night's show did run nearly four hours long, it was full of pleasant surprises, intriguing collaborations and flat-out incredible performances. Here are the best…