Dropping the Needle

On writing for the website of famed music critic Anthony Fantano.

The New York Times calls Anthony Fantano “The Only Music Critic Who Matters (if You’re Under 25).” Sure, there are several others I can name besides him — Robert Christgau, Lester Bangs, Ellen Willis — but, in today’s world, Fantano has hit a level of unparalleled ubiquity for music lovers of my generation. If you’re the type of person who curates a vinyl collection, and you’ve mentioned that Tame Impala is just one guy to a hapless buddy, you’re aware of Fantano’s empire with over three million subscribers, The Needle Drop. Hell, you may even watch him as he awards your favorite new record a light-to-decent 7/10.

Fantano has the clout that he does because of YouTube. The Needle Drop began around 2009, just as people were starting to think that there was potential for YouTube to host careers. He put out videos on a relentless basis after cutting his teeth through NPR, and he went up, and up, and up, bringing the oft-written art of critiquing music to phone screens. His scores began to carry the weight that those of tastemakers Pitchfork used to command. Rappers took notice. So did the old guard. A Fantano 10/10, which he’s hesitant to dole out, became coveted.

Photo of Fantano by Jillian Freyer

When he decided that the website supplement to his YouTube conglomerate needed a revival, courtesy of Lambgoat Media, I applied to act as a writer, just as things were getting started in the late summer of 2024. What do you know? I got the okay.

While the site has a lot of contributors, I would call myself one of the dozen or so who writes the most. Almost always, it’s writing news, so there’s little to no room for personal voice, and certainly no ability to review music like Fantano. The money is there, but not the point, just like it is with plenty of freelance writing. (During my first month, I made $0.10. Not a typo. Thankfully, it’s been exponential growth since then.)

My position is something of a door-opener. When I say that I write for Needle Drop, people’s eyebrows raise. Even though most of the gig lacks glitz, I can agree with the arched brows when, for example, I speak to Fantano on his secondary YouTube channel.

Along with some of my colleagues, I wrote stuff for a listicle on albums turning 20 in 2025 — blurbs about Swedish metal band Opeth’s Ghost Reveries and Nine Inch Nails’ With Teeth. Fantano wanted to do a video with a few of the writers who worked on the feature. Would I speak about Opeth, the more obscure of my two choices, pretty please?

Sure.

If a writer like me asks to do a more opinionated piece — say, an editorial, an interview, something of that nature — Fantano (through one of the few editors involved) might say yes. I’ve written three concert reviews, conducted two interviews, and one retrospective to date. Chances are high that more will follow!

I feel fortunate regarding every aspect of this ongoing tenure. My fellow writers are some of the coolest people ever. My concert write-ups cover three very different acts (Tyler, the Creator, Nine Inch Nails, and AVTT/PTTN), and my two interviews are with musicians I hold on a high pedestal (The Melvins’ King Buzzo and Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson).

I’m not about to tell you that I’m BFFs with Fantano, or that I’m some lodestar for his legacy. What I’ll admit is that, as a music nerd, there is no other place I’d rather be starting my career.

It’s also cool when things like this happen…