Chris Richards
@chrisrichards.bsky.social
đ€ 25910
đ„ 388
đ 267
Reccos/rants/prayers/curses at thefutureisourstomake.substack.com
pinned post!
Iâve been laid off by The Washington Post Serving as this newspaperâs pop music critic for the past 16-plus years has been my privilege, my joy Endless solidarity to my righteous colleagues, endless gratitude to our faithful readers
7 days ago
55
685
124
reposted by
Chris Richards
John Williams
about 13 hours ago
"It is a sign of a fatally limited imagination to assume that we can only ever desire the pittance to which we are currently reconciled."
www.newyorker.com/books/page-t...
loading . . .
The End of Books Coverage at the Washington Post
Becca Rothfeld, a former critic at the Washington Post, on the death of the paperâs books section.
https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-death-of-book-world
0
42
16
New newsletter from my new life First piece Subscribe for free Thank you THE FUTURE IS OURS TO MAKE
add a skeleton here at some point
1 day ago
1
13
4
The message I took from last nightâs BAD BUNNY performance: we continue
open.substack.com/pub/thefutur...
loading . . .
An end zone dance in the shape of infinity
Notes on Bad Bunnyâs halftime show in the middle of a national crisis
https://open.substack.com/pub/thefutureisourstomake/p/an-end-zone-dance-in-the-shape-of?r=7evfuk&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
1 day ago
0
18
4
If it clarifies what was lost this week: Philip Kennicott and Monica Hesse remain as arts critics at The Washington Post Eliminated: art critic arts editor arts/film editor classical critic pop critic television critic theater critic all editors/reporters in Book World including two book critics
3 days ago
6
87
45
Iâve been laid off by The Washington Post Serving as this newspaperâs pop music critic for the past 16-plus years has been my privilege, my joy Endless solidarity to my righteous colleagues, endless gratitude to our faithful readers
7 days ago
55
685
124
When the world outside THE GRAMMYS is too loud to ignore:
wapo.st/4qcNw7q
loading . . .
Column | The most important sound at this yearâs Grammys? Free speech.
With trophies in hand, Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish and SZA spoke out against ICE during an awards show where the musical performances felt secondary.
https://wapo.st/4qcNw7q
9 days ago
0
20
2
reposted by
Chris Richards
Travis M Andrews
9 days ago
BREAKING: Trump plans to close Kennedy Center for about two years, starting in July Follow
@janaykingsberry.bsky.social
's and my coverage here. The piece will be continually updated:
www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...
loading . . .
Trump plans to close Kennedy Center for about two years, starting in July
President Donald Trump said Sunday that the Kennedy Center could temporarily close for roughly two years to undergo construction.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/02/01/kennedy-center-trump-closure-construction/
17
48
19
A new record by NICE BREEZE is stuck on my turntable for the following reasons
wapo.st/3YL6VkF
loading . . .
Review | Nice Breeze is taking its lo-fi sound to new heights
On its terrific vinyl debut, âEverything Disappears, the D.C. indie trio sounds messy and mannered, hungry and wise.
https://wapo.st/3YL6VkF
about 1 month ago
0
15
2
âKeep Your Ear to the Ground,â the amazing new history of D.C. punk zines by our comrade John Davis, is now available direct through Dischord
dischord.com/band/john-da...
about 1 month ago
0
35
8
I write for readers and will email you anything I write for the newspaper, just ask
about 1 month ago
1
25
2
I donât listen AI-GENERATED POP MUSIC because I have control over what I listen to
wapo.st/49eOEAP
loading . . .
Column | My year of not listening to AI-generated pop music
Because it isnât music. And resistance is easy.
https://wapo.st/49eOEAP
about 1 month ago
1
24
4
New NIONTAY reminds us that December is when the best rappers donât care about making the yearâs best rap album
wapo.st/4pRuyUh
loading . . .
Column | December brings great rap albums. Accept the gifts.
The holidays are the perfect time listen to new hip-hop. On his latest, Niontay shows why.
https://wapo.st/4pRuyUh
about 2 months ago
1
10
2
In THE D.C. SCENE, yesterdayâs music still sounds like tomorrow Here are five amazing records that got remastered, resurfaced and/or reissued in 2025
wapo.st/4aWEGXh
loading . . .
5 recordings from D.C. artists that make yesterday sound like tomorrow
Remastered and resurfaced music from Bad Brains, Bratmobile, Danny Gatton, Glo-Worm and Music Inc. are among the yearâs best reissues.
https://wapo.st/4aWEGXh
about 2 months ago
0
24
12
Here are my TOP TEN ALBUMS of 2025
wapo.st/4a2eWIL
loading . . .
Column | The top 10 albums of 2025
The yearâs best albums include ambitious pop from RosalĂa and Addison Rae, inventive rap from Playboi Carti and Bruiser Wolf, and more.
https://wapo.st/4a2eWIL
2 months ago
2
19
3
1:02:57 âWe gotta feed Ross a snackâ
2 months ago
1
3
2
It feels better to wonder if GEESE are important than to know it
wapo.st/3XdmAsc
loading . . .
Column | Geese is the best new band youâre sick of hearing good things about
For the acclaimed young New York quartet, rock and hype feel tightly intertwined.
https://wapo.st/3XdmAsc
3 months ago
3
23
7
In his recently anthologized DESCENES and DISCORDS fanzines, Howard Wuelfing captured the harDCore scene in its predawn light
wapo.st/4obgyTD
loading . . .
Howard Wuelfing chronicled the dawn of D.C. punk. The stories still echo.
A hefty new double anthology of the rock writerâs Descenes and Discords fanzines captures the start of a scene â locally and nationally.
https://wapo.st/4obgyTD
3 months ago
0
15
0
Last night, PLAYBOI CARTI gave one of the greatest arena performances Iâve ever seen â even if I could barely see it
wapo.st/43vhET0
loading . . .
Review | Playboi Carti might be the greatest vanishing act rap has ever seen
On his current arena tour, the Atlanta rap visionary practically disappears into a swirl of thick fog, big noise and deep meaning.
https://wapo.st/43vhET0
3 months ago
1
6
1
Spoke with the terrific ABE MAMET about making quiet jazz in world that keeps getting louder and louder
wapo.st/4hWfmCn
loading . . .
Abe Mamet is making quiet music for a noisy world
In his dynamic Septet, the rising composer and improviser is exploring the idea of doing less with more.
https://wapo.st/4hWfmCn
3 months ago
0
5
0
If youâve already figured out that the promise of AI is nothing more than a corporate attack on human curiosity, contemplation, critical thinking and free will, ROSALĂAâs âLuxâ will sound like a new kind of feel-good music.
wapo.st/47XrLS2
loading . . .
Review | RosalĂaâs âLuxâ is taking prestige pop to new levels
RosalĂaâs new album, âLux,â wants to blow your mind. Give it your undivided attention instead.
https://wapo.st/47XrLS2
3 months ago
0
13
0
Is this strange, unfamiliar sensation upon learning that half of the GRAMMY NOMINEES for album of the year make rap music⊠optimism?
wapo.st/47MeNGv
loading . . .
Column | Musicâs biggest night is finally changing its tune on rap
Kendrick Lamar leads the list of new Grammy Award nominees. Will rap music finally rule on musicâs biggest night?
https://wapo.st/47MeNGv
3 months ago
0
6
1
If you want to improve your life, spend some time with this absolutely terrific piece by
@davesheinin.bsky.social
who gets behind the damn piano to show us how iconic sports theme music works
wapo.st/480klhN
loading . . .
The 10 best sports theme songs of all time â and what makes them great
Our list of the greatest sports theme music includes John Teshâs iconic âRoundball Rock,â several dark riffs on football and a whole lot of nostalgia.
https://wapo.st/480klhN
3 months ago
1
10
3
The rock-and-roll biopic remains a cursed proposition but I felt like âSPRINGSTEEN: DELIVER ME FROM NOWHEREâ made a few nudges in the direction of progress
wapo.st/4ql7Gx4
loading . . .
Review | This Springsteen movie doesnât live up to the album that inspired it
The rock-and-roll biopic is a cursed form. âSpringsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhereâ is an attempt to make a few fixes.
https://wapo.st/4ql7Gx4
4 months ago
0
5
0
âWhat a teen girl goes through is what a teen girl wants to hearâ â BRI3 on rap music as truth-telling/truth-receiving
wapo.st/4oGojC3
loading . . .
Bri3 is turning teenage intuition into rainbow-bright rap music
The rising Waldorf phenom wants her listeners to feel good. Itâs working.
https://wapo.st/4oGojC3
4 months ago
0
1
0
DâANGELO
wapo.st/3KSHRUU
loading . . .
Column | DâAngelo showed us what the 21st century should sound like
His visionary R&B music â from âBrown Sugarâ to âVoodooâ to âBlack Messiahâ â rearranged our ideas about timelessness.
https://wapo.st/3KSHRUU
4 months ago
0
48
8
Talking about the weather with the great RAFIQ BHATIA
wapo.st/3Wi4BjT
loading . . .
Rafiq Bhatiaâs idea of jazz has grown into a force of nature
The guitaristâs immersive new album, âEnvironments,â channels the unknowability of the outside world.
https://wapo.st/3Wi4BjT
4 months ago
2
5
0
I love how these excellent newish books by/about SWIZ, HUGGY BEAR and BILLY CHILDISH tell bigger, broader punk rock truths
wapo.st/3IUxejM
loading . . .
Review | Punkâs next frontier: Revolutionizing the rock-and-roll memoir?
Exciting new books from punk heroes Huggy Bear, Swiz and Billy Childish might be reinventing the form.
https://wapo.st/3IUxejM
4 months ago
0
8
0
Mixed feelings about TAYLOR SWIFTâs mixed feelings
wapo.st/4mLaosQ
loading . . .
Review | Taylor Swift returns with an album of mixed emotions â and mixed results
âThe Life of a Showgirlâ wants to feel good, but other feelings keep getting in the way.
https://wapo.st/4mLaosQ
4 months ago
0
8
1
DOGO DU TOGO AND THE ALAGAA BEAT BAND can take you there (even when itâs hard to come here)
wapo.st/4nzgTQM
loading . . .
Dogo du Togo and the Alagaa Beat Band want to transport you
Though a travel ban has made things difficult for the Togolese group and its D.C. bandleader, the music remains.
https://wapo.st/4nzgTQM
4 months ago
0
4
0
I have seen ADDISON RAE in concert and the dream is real is the dream
wapo.st/4haGKfD
loading . . .
Review | Addison Rae stepped into reality and became the perfect pop star
In concert, the former TikTok sensation wants to show us what dreams are made of.
https://wapo.st/4haGKfD
4 months ago
0
5
0
THE D.C. CANON!
wapo.st/3IkMbM1
loading . . .
The 101 greatest movies, songs, books, artworks (and more!) about Washington, D.C.
Introducing the D.C. Canon, starring Chuck Brown, Olivia Pope, George Washington, Leonardo da Vinci, Duke Ellington, Rites of Spring and â who could forget? â Gort.
https://wapo.st/3IkMbM1
5 months ago
0
14
5
Itâs been a legit joy to watch EL COUSTEAU grow up/level up
wapo.st/4gm40qo
loading . . .
Review | El Cousteau grew up to become your favorite rapperâs favorite rapper
Earl Sweatshirt and A$AP Rocky want to rap with him. On his sharp new album, âDirty Harry 2,â the stylish D.C. native shows why.
https://wapo.st/4gm40qo
5 months ago
0
3
0
This OASIS reunion packs the life-affirming power of 10,000 karaoke nights but if youâre reticent to sing along, I invite you to join me in pondering the meaning of Liam Gallagherâs slouch
wapo.st/4g0rGAl
loading . . .
Review | Oasis is back. And this time, the whole world is singing along.
Oasis, the reunited Brit-pop act, finally sounds like the classic rock band it always wanted to be.
https://wapo.st/4g0rGAl
5 months ago
1
15
4
This new SABRINA CARPENTER is a gas (and maybe a new kind of pop album, too)
wapo.st/4p0niFK
loading . . .
Review | Is Sabrina Carpenter the funniest pop singer alive?
âManâs Best Friendâ is a pop album that feels as zesty, clever and cathartic as stand-up comedy.
https://wapo.st/4p0niFK
6 months ago
1
7
0
I like traditionalism when, instead of taking us back, it brings good things from the past into the now â which is why I like the music of ZACH TOP
wapo.st/45VcIap
loading . . .
Review | Zach Top is making a new kind of old-school country music
Like Randy Travis and Keith Whitley before him, the rising young singer knows how to make lifeâs heaviness feel light.
https://wapo.st/45VcIap
6 months ago
0
3
0
TikTok is a funnel and SOMBR is a sound
wapo.st/47bHNc9
6 months ago
0
5
0
NOURISHED BY TIME says âwe donât have to be so averageâ
wapo.st/4lOdMmr
loading . . .
Review | Nourished by Time isnât your everyday R&B singer
The Baltimore singer-songwriterâs new album, âThe Passionate Ones,â reminds us that âwe donât have to be so average.â
https://wapo.st/4lOdMmr
6 months ago
0
3
0
New signs were up this afternoon and bands were playing
add a skeleton here at some point
6 months ago
51
2356
606
This summer, the hazy punk of INTERMISSION sounds like a reminder that the algorithm has never been your friend
wapo.st/46tdtcC
loading . . .
Review | Intermission is the best new punk band youâve never heard
Intermission is the kind of punk band the algorithm could never help you find. But the groupâs debut album, âPower Corrupts,â is one of the yearâs best.
https://wapo.st/46tdtcC
7 months ago
1
19
5
I love how harDCore keeps changing shape, which means I love how the straight edge screamo of EXPIRATION DATE pushes toward shapelessness
wapo.st/44IKvEm
loading . . .
Expiration Date pushes the sound of screamo into the unknown
The searing Maryland quintet finishes its first tour at 618 DC on Tuesday, July 29.
https://wapo.st/44IKvEm
7 months ago
0
8
0
OZZY OSBOURNE
wapo.st/4f0sjcF
loading . . .
Column | Ozzy Osbourneâs fame never felt as big as his music
Before he was a pioneering reality television star, he was a pioneering heavy metal singer. But Ozzy Osbourneâs music has always felt bigger than his celebrity.
https://wapo.st/4f0sjcF
7 months ago
1
17
3
WHEN WILL THEY LEARN THAT LOVE IS THE POWER SUPREME?
wapo.st/4eZLHGW
loading . . .
Column | Why the Silver Surfer is the superhero for our cosmically fraught times
The Silver Surfer is back. But long before âThe Fantastic Four: First Steps,â the most intriguing hero in comics history was predicting the doomscroll.
https://wapo.st/4eZLHGW
7 months ago
3
30
7
This is how it felt to see BEYONCĂ in D.C. on the Fourth of July
wapo.st/4eKxQ79
loading . . .
Review | Beyoncé's Fourth of July concert was an ode to an unfinished America
Beyonceâs spectacular Cowboy Carter tour finds the superstar reclaiming the futurism that her Grammy-winning album lacked.
https://wapo.st/4eKxQ79
7 months ago
1
6
0
The music of HEATHER STEBBINS reminds us that all the layers of our lives overlap in the right-now
www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...
loading . . .
Heather Stebbins is making music from sounds inside her home and her head
The adventurous Washington, D.C.-based composer performs at Rhizome on Sunday.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/2025/06/25/heather-stebbins-concert-dc/
8 months ago
1
3
2
We can watch Robert Altmanâs NASHVILLE for another 50 years and thereâll still be more to see and hear
wapo.st/40i28rM
loading . . .
Column | Robert Altmanâs âNashvilleâ made a noise louder than country music
Director Robert Altmanâs 1975 opus âNashvilleâ is an ensemble comedy that feels more vibrantly vivid and noisily prescient than ever.
https://wapo.st/40i28rM
8 months ago
0
8
0
Feels weird wanting more from BENSON BOONE when heâs so clearly giving it everything heâs got
wapo.st/440tX92
loading . . .
Review | Benson Boone sings as if he has something to prove but nothing to say
Benson Boone is a pop phenomenon with a big mustache and an even bigger voice. Why doesnât his music feel like a bigger deal?
https://wapo.st/440tX92
8 months ago
0
6
0
BRIAN WILSON
wapo.st/4mWgtnp
loading . . .
Column | Brian Wilsonâs musical imagination was truly oceanic
Beach Boys bandleader Brian Wilson was a songwriting giant whose musical imagination felt deeper than the ocean and brighter than the sun.
https://wapo.st/4mWgtnp
8 months ago
0
31
7
SLY STONE
wapo.st/45W4xMm
loading . . .
Column | The musical world that Sly Stone made for us still spins
Mixing styles at a critical moment in American history, Sly Stone helped create the musical world we live in today.
https://wapo.st/45W4xMm
8 months ago
0
6
0
Last nightâs finale set from DOECHII at WorldPride was a double reminder that rap music synchronizes minds and that the streets belong to the people
wapo.st/43AMgTv
loading . . .
Review | Doechiiâs closing WorldPride set ended a tense weekend on a high note
As rap star Doechii brought this yearâs WorldPride festivities in Washington to a whirlwind close, fans rapped along in what felt like an expression of unity.
https://wapo.st/43AMgTv
8 months ago
0
41
5
I was surprised by how much I love this new ADDISON RAE album until I realized why I shouldnât be
wapo.st/4dVDtz4
loading . . .
Review | Addison Rae is making the pivot from influencer to pop star look easy
The debut album from TikTok phenom Addison Rae sounds like one of the yearâs best. Should we be surprised?
https://wapo.st/4dVDtz4
8 months ago
0
1
0
Load more
feeds!
log in