Jordan Blum

Jordan Blum

Jordan Blum resides in Philadelphia, holds an MFA in Fiction, and teaches at several colleges and universities around the area. He’s also the founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Bookends Review, an independent online creative arts journal. He’s the author of two books—Jethro Tull: Every Album, Every Song and Dream Theater: Every Album, Every Song­—that are a part of Sonicbond Publishing’s On Track series. Beyond that, he’s an Associate Editor at PopMatters and a contributor to PROG and more.

Jordan's Articles

For The Record: Inside Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Masterpiece ‘Stadium Arcadium’ At 15

For The Record: Inside Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Masterpiece ‘Stadium Arcadium’ At 15

By the mid-2000s, Red Hot Chili Peppers (RHCP) were deservedly enjoying the most commercially and creatively successful period of their 20-year career. After all, they'd triumphed over their tumultuous and tragic early years—which, however, musically venerated and influential, included multiple lineup changes and bouts with drug abuse—to achieve massive artistic and mainstream prosperity via Californication (1999) and By the Way…

Actor/Director Alex Winter Talks New Frank Zappa Documentary, ‘Zappa’: “It Was The Full Complexity Of The Man I Wanted To Show”

Actor/Director Alex Winter Talks New Frank Zappa Documentary, ‘Zappa’: “It Was The Full Complexity Of The Man I Wanted To Show”

Few 20th-century musicians have amassed as unique and influential a catalog as two-time GRAMMY winner Frank Zappa. Between the late 1960s and the early 1990s, Zappa's multifaceted artistry knew no bounds. He was a one-of-a-kind musical genius whose attitude and approach rubbed off on countless creative followers. Of course, he was far more than that, too. As the recent documentary…

Didn’t Cha Know?: 20 Years of Erykah Badu’s ‘Mama’s Gun’

Didn’t Cha Know?: 20 Years of Erykah Badu’s ‘Mama’s Gun’

Erykah Badu was a force to be reckoned with throughout the late '90s and early 2000s. Her 1997 debut album, Baduizm, which was directly influenced by Brandy's self-titled first record, was immensely confident, enjoyable and successful. Its fusion of vintage and modernized styles—R&B, soul, jazz, hip-hop and traditional African music—earned Badu comparisons to Billie Holiday, Mary J. Blige, Lauryn Hill,…

Looking Back In Appreciation: 25 Years Of Oasis’ ‘(What’s The Story) Morning Glory?’

Looking Back In Appreciation: 25 Years Of Oasis’ ‘(What’s The Story) Morning Glory?’

Rightly considered one of the eminent forces of 1990s Britpop, Manchester troupe Oasis found sizable acclaim and attention with 1994's Definitely Maybe. Like Radiohead’s Pablo Honey the year before, though, it was a strong but noticeably raucous and rudimentary debut. That said, there was enough potential to assume that its follow-up would feature more refined arrangements, production and songwriting. Fortunately, 1995's…

It’s The One: 45 Years Of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born To Run’

It’s The One: 45 Years Of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born To Run’

With their first two LPs—Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. and The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle, both from 1973—Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band cemented themselves as masters of both contemplative singer/songwriter elegance and triumphant orchestral rowdiness. Despite the mostly positive critical praise they garnered, however, neither record reaped the financial success and mainstream devotion the…

These Dreams Are Forever: 10 Years Of Janelle Monáe’s ‘The ArchAndroid’

These Dreams Are Forever: 10 Years Of Janelle Monáe’s ‘The ArchAndroid’

Over the past 15 years, Afrofuturist artist and activist Janelle Monáe has arguably become the Renassiance woman of modern popular culture. After all, she’s achieved a virtually matchless amount of professional success and eclecticism in several fields, such as acting, business and fashion. Clearly, she's a multitalented tour-de-force whose ambitions, skills and perseverance know no bounds. That said, while those ancillary achievements…

Assistance

Helping music people find healing, hope, and stability in times of need
Donate