David Hajdu

David Hajdu is the music critic of The Nation and a professor at Columbia University.

National Endowment cuts

Who Needs the NEA and NEH? Who Needs the NEA and NEH?

What is really lost when we cut public funds for the arts and humanities.

Apr 7, 2017 / David Hajdu

Chuck Berry’s Poetry Endures

Chuck Berry’s Poetry Endures Chuck Berry’s Poetry Endures

Berry was a highly original and influential guitarist and as great a songwriter as rock ’n’ roll has ever produced.

Mar 20, 2017 / David Hajdu

Keith Jarrett performing

Keith Jarrett: In Search of Inspiration Keith Jarrett: In Search of Inspiration

To the degree that there was spontaneity in his latest concert, it was spontaneous regurgitation.

Mar 1, 2017 / David Hajdu

The Ten Best Albums of 2016

The Ten Best Albums of 2016 The Ten Best Albums of 2016

As the business of recorded music roils, the making of music rolls on.

Dec 14, 2016 / David Hajdu

Bruce Springsteen’s Redemption Song

Bruce Springsteen’s Redemption Song Bruce Springsteen’s Redemption Song

The musician delivers a flawed but exquisitely moving and detailed new memoir.

Dec 1, 2016 / Books & the Arts / David Hajdu

Darcy James Argue’s Terrific Thrill

Darcy James Argue’s Terrific Thrill Darcy James Argue’s Terrific Thrill

A staggeringly ambitious album explores the themes of cultural paranoia and false truth.

Nov 25, 2016 / David Hajdu

Bob Dylan, Nobel Laureate in Ashtray-Binding

Bob Dylan, Nobel Laureate in Ashtray-Binding Bob Dylan, Nobel Laureate in Ashtray-Binding

The poetry in Dylan’s music has always been something different from the language on the page that we associate with poets.

Oct 13, 2016 / David Hajdu

Starr and Minaj

Pop Progress: From the Beatles to Nicki Minaj Pop Progress: From the Beatles to Nicki Minaj

Popular music still works as a place where young people can try out notions that challenge ideas dear to their parents.

Oct 3, 2016 / David Hajdu

The Virtue of Patience

The Virtue of Patience The Virtue of Patience

It has taken a lifetime of reading, writing, and drawing for Daniel Clowes to achieve the creative maturity on display in his new book.

Sep 8, 2016 / Books & the Arts / David Hajdu

Katy Perry at the DNC

Hit Machine Hit Machine

It’s unclear what the Clinton campaign thought they could gain by association with Katy Perry on the DNC’s biggest night.

Jul 29, 2016 / David Hajdu

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