Liner Notes: Beyond the Byline

In this informal conversation, contributors will take us behind the scenes of how "Liner Notes: A Critic's Notebook" came to life.
About this Event

, a special-issue publication from Critical Minded, brings together critics and cultural journalists to examine the past, present, and future of pop music criticism. Drawing on their experiences producing the publication, panelists will consider what Liner Notes reveals about the state of cultural journalism today, what lessons can be drawn from the process, and what it will take to build a future for criticism that values both the work and the people who make it possible. In this informal conversation, contributors will take us behind the scenes of the editorial decisions that brought the magazine to life, unpacking both the stories and perspectives we felt were important to foreground and any challenges and unexpected discoveries that emerged throughout the process. 

Panelists: 

Sidney Madden is an award-winning music journalist, host, critic and producer. She believes that honest cultural conversation can lead to lasting cultural change and strives to create work that backs up that belief. That's led her to deliver coverage everywhere from the tour bus of Kendrick Lamar, the greenroom of Cardi B and backstage at #Beychella to inside Pr*son walls, public protests and high-profile trials. She is the producer of viral NPR Music Tiny Desk Concerts ranging from Jorja Smith to Young Thug. She is the co-creator and co-host of the acclaimed podcast Louder Than A Riot, an investigative series about the collision of rhyme and punishment. She is the producer and director of And Counting, the independent documentary about Black women being disproportionately pushed out of America’s workforce.

Sid’s work can be found via NPR, NBC, PBS, BBC, Caribbean Collective, Complex, Critical Minded, EBONY, VIBE and more, as well as her own newsletter, sub_stance. She exists mostly everywhere online (bird app, clock app, camera app etc) as @sid_madden.

Atoosa Moinzadeh is a cultural worker based in New York City by way of Seattle. As a writer, editor and photographer, Atoosa's work is often biographic and archival in nature, and centers on the stories and movements in contemporary music, fashion, and art. For over a decade, she has worked in service of contextualizing and advancing the material conditions of workers and artists alike. Atoosa's journalism has been featured in publications like BRICK Magazine, The New York Times, Pitchfork, VICE, NYLON, Brooklyn Magazine, Office Magazine, Bandcamp Daily and W Magazine.

Tatiana Lee Rodriguez is a writer, journalist and critic born, raised, and based in Chicago. Their career formed in the queer underground, where they performed original raps at local clubs, leading to them being scouted for a Starz writers' room and joining the WGA. Since then, they’ve supported the Programming team at the Chicago Latino Film Festival and co-founded Pest Control Magazine, an independent arts and literary publication. They later wrote and produced "De la morera," a short film set in Humboldt Park, for Full Spectrum Features’ Community Storytellers Program, and served on its curatorial board to select the following year’s round of South and Westside filmmaking grantees. Tati has been a music critic for four years, with bylines published in Pitchfork, Resident Advisor, Complex, and Critical Minded. Notable work includes assisting Rolling Stone’s 2023 Karol G cover story, Bad Bunny’s DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS review, and RaiNao’s Marcriá review.  

Moderator: Shamira Ibrahim is a Brooklyn-based culture writer and editor whose work explores the intersections of identity and popular culture. Her writing has appeared in New York Magazine, Essence, The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Baffler, and Harper’s Bazaar, among other publications. She currently serves as a regional editor at Africa Is a Country and contributes to Acacia Magazine. She is a founding member of the New Eyes Collective, a collective of Black cultural critics, and serves on Critical Minded’s advisory council. She was also the lead editor of Liner Notes: A Critic’s Notebook, a special-issue publication from Critical Minded examining the past, present, and future of pop music criticism.