Stephen Kearse
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kearse.bsky.social
Stephen Kearse
@kearse.bsky.social
Journalist, critic, and author of novels Liquid Snakes and In the Heat of the Light.

Noreasontopretend.com
Pinned
hi new followers. i write about music, books, and sometimes movies. I also write fiction, like this book. it's pretty good.

softskull.com/books/liquid...
Liquid Snakes
softskull.com
I reviewed Danny Brown's Stardust.

www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
'Stardust' Is Danny Brown-lite
Rapper Danny Brown mixes jarring beats and beaming gratitude on 'Stardust'
www.rollingstone.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:33 PM
a funny thing about writing: I can't remember anything I've written unless I'm drafting and repeat myself.

when that happens, a silent alarm trips and I instantly know I have to revise/rephrase/tweak.
November 7, 2025 at 1:15 PM
to my great annoyance and consternation, I am increasingly seeing "abundance" referred to as a movement
November 4, 2025 at 9:59 PM
would be cool for there to be a criterion closet series for music, based in like q-tip's record collection
November 1, 2025 at 3:08 PM
I reviewed the new Daniel Caesar

pitchfork.com/reviews/albu...
Daniel Caesar: Son of Spergy
Read Stephen Kearse’s review of the album.
pitchfork.com
October 29, 2025 at 11:16 AM
breaking longstanding neutrality, the xenomorph queen endorses cuomo
October 28, 2025 at 2:49 PM
a thoughtful look at the chris brown industrial complex

www.vulture.com/article/the-...
The Uncanceling of Chris Brown
The singer claims he’s been overlooked, but his blockbuster stadium tour suggests otherwise.
www.vulture.com
October 28, 2025 at 11:24 AM
"the album feels unbound, not simply because dance music is physically freeing, but because...Parks has activated some latent part of her style and sound, decompartmentalizing ideas and ideals that were once stored on separate drives; syncing them."

www.npr.org/2025/10/23/g...
In an era of techno-dystopia, Sudan Archives' 'The BPM' imagines a liberated future
On her stunning new album The BPM, the multi-instrumentalist Sudan Archives explores the freedom of augmented reality and technology through the sounds of club music.
www.npr.org
October 28, 2025 at 11:12 AM
hard to overstate how good The Boy Who Played the Harp is
October 28, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Reposted by Stephen Kearse
As the Trump administration pushes for the restoration of Confederate monuments, Kara Walker has turned one an undead centaur. My review of “Monuments,” an extraordinary show that juxtaposes the lies of the Lost Cause with the black histories they eclipse
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
October 24, 2025 at 6:36 PM
I wish all those bad rufo profiles would have mapped power the way this does

www.propublica.org/article/russ...
Russell Vought, Trump’s Shadow President
From the wholesale gutting of federal agencies to the ongoing government shutdown, Russell Vought has drawn the road map for Trump’s second term. Vought has consolidated power to an extent that inside...
www.propublica.org
October 23, 2025 at 1:04 PM
one of the weirdest vestiges (and evidence) of segregation is all the content that's basically like, "did you know [another race] also [does thing your race does]?"
October 22, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Reposted by Stephen Kearse
Tyler, the Creator spent his early years cultivating a fanbase of trolls. Last weekend, it came back to haunt him in a big way. How much reckoning will it take to shake it? Read Dylan's thoughts on the situation
Tyler, the Creator Brought This Reckoning on Himself
The California rapper-producer spent his early years cultivating a fanbase of trolls. How much reckoning will it take to shake it?
www.hearingthings.co
October 22, 2025 at 1:16 PM
"Accidental Nazi Tattoo" - Morgan Wallen ft. RMR & Brad Paisley (prod. Mike Dean)
October 21, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Reposted by Stephen Kearse
wrote about Kai Cenat's Mafiathon 3, its On The Radar-sponsored freestyle series, and unpacked some thoughts about the omnipresence of streaming culture at large for @hearingthingsco.bsky.social
To Live and Die by a Kai Cenat Stream
A breakdown and analysis of the hugely popular Twitch streamer’s Mafiathon series and his standing as one of rap’s favorite press stops
www.hearingthings.co
October 13, 2025 at 6:07 PM
of all the midwest foods to be exported out of the region, it's honestly very funny that pizza has been The One

pizza is midwest cuisine's sixth man at best
October 16, 2025 at 9:55 PM
formally requesting that Detroit gatekeep its pizza. the posers are besmirching your good name
October 16, 2025 at 9:49 PM
a small kindness is that you can run through d'angelo's discog multiple times in just a few hours
October 15, 2025 at 4:01 PM
I reviewed Amber Mark's Pretty Sweet

pitchfork.com/reviews/albu...
Amber Mark: Pretty Idea
Read Stephen Kearse’s review of the album.
pitchfork.com
October 15, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Reposted by Stephen Kearse
Samuel Please
October 14, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Reposted by Stephen Kearse
still proud of this piece, which attempts to complicate one of the things d'angelo was (unfairly) best known for
October 14, 2025 at 8:43 PM