Wuddermarks: Five of Our Favorite 2017 Pieces Written for Outside Outlets

2017 was our first full calendar year as a professional writer. 

It was a busy one, but as any writer getting their free-lance hustle on knows, while being grateful for each opportunity, it could always be busier too ;) 

Today's episode of The Five Spot features "Five of Our Favorite 2017 Pieces Written for Outside Outlets".

Click the hyper-links under each header photo to take you out to any of the full articles.

Just so we couldn't be accused of playing favorites, each outlet was limited to one entry.

Albums We Adore: Neil Young's "Harvest" (1972)
Albumism
February 1st

Choosing one Albumism piece was probably the toughest call of all. Our 45th BDay salute to Exile on Main Street was (by our unofficial tally) the most clicked article on their site all year. The posthumous Chris Cornell tribute gave us a chance to revisit an alt/grunge/hard-rock icon of our youth, while also giving our friend Jenn Stoeck a chance to shine with her own postscript. We rang in New Year's 2017 week with Juice and The Doors, then moved on to musings on everything from the Beasties to Bjork, Kendrick to Whitney, and more.

Each were pleasures to write and relatively well-received.

But in revisiting them, we may have to co-sign our friend Bobby Whiz in declaring this, on Harvest by Neil Young, the best written one.

Photo: E.G. Quinn

Ann Hannigan Rhoads
Courier-Post (print obituary)
June 9th to June 11th

This was one I wish I never had to write, but was honored to do so at the same time.

Our extended Rhoads clan lost the matriarch of our family over the summer, a few months shy of age 99.

It's a loss we'll never be over, but each of us will forever be blessed to have known her.

This was also the only non-commercial, and also collaborative effort on the list, as my pregnant little sis provided the vital assist.
 

Unsung Heroes: E-Dubble
UGHH (Underground Hip-Hop) Magazine
August 7th

From a long life well-lived in my Nana, to bright lights cut short too soon.

This didn't run in the magazine until August, but I wrote it the night before my childhood friend Lag's final homecoming in the first weekend June, after spending the day with Cuz and Teef, two friends and musical peers of Philly MC/Producer E-Dubble, who passed in March. 

Shout-out to E-Dubble's girlfriend, Theresa Sanchez, part of my beloved Centre Street Crew Sanchez Clan, for arranging the meeting. 

Also, my condolences to Lateef White, aka Teef, who like me also lost a grandparent in 2017, his grandfather and first-ballot Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Fats Domino.

Photo Credit: Udo Spreitzenbarth

Beach Boy Mike Love Speaks to OCNJ Daily on Family Business, Endless Summers, Love for Ocean City and Live Music
OCNJ Daily
August 21st

I owe a debt of gratitude to Rich Manicelli at BRE Presents, Promoter Extraordinaire Bob Rose and Katie Altman over at ID PR in L.A. for their help in putting this summit together. Unlike last summer's Lucinda Williams convo, I recorded rather than took notes, which made things easier to recount when writing it up later. That left me with a priceless hour long discussion with a rock-and-roll legend for posterity, but also a lot of hand-wringing over how to edit it down. 

Illustration: @stayvers

The Best 36 RZA Songs, Ranked.
Mass Appeal
November 28th

Shout-out to my #ThatSite brethren, fellow Albumism staff member Jesse Ducker, along with his brother, Mass Appeal's Eric Ducker, for this last-minute Turkey Day Weekend placement.

It was one of three that I did for Mass Appeal's #WUTANGSGIVING celebration over the holidays. The first two were adding the text to pre-ranked lists on ODB and Raekwon, the orders of which were picked by the legendary Bönz Malone (trailblazing Golden Era hip-hop journalist first at Spin then later The Source, co-writer/co-star in Saul Williams' Slam feature-film, and supporting actor in the Eddie Murphy/Martin Lawrence comedy classic Life).

Here I chose the one where I did the ranking and the write-up, on the Clan's leader, The RZA.