Thom Jurek

Thom Jurek

Staff writer Thom Jurek was born in 1958 and grew up in and around Detroit. He has been writing about music in one form or another since he was 15 years old (and has worked plenty of crummy jobs to boot). His work has appeared in magazines and journals including: Rolling Stone, Creem, Musician, Spin, Interview, Raygun, Sounds, The Canadian Journal of Political and Social Theory, NME, Launch, Motorbooty, Rock and Rap Confidential, The LA Reader, and The Dallas Observer. In addition, he is the author of two collections of poetry: DUB (In Camera, 1986) and Memory Bags in collaboration with the late French artist Jacques Karamanoukian (Ridgeway, 1995). His fiction has been anthologized in Long News for the Short Century, James O'Barr's Bone Saw and in Storming the Reality Studio: A Casebook on Cyberpunk and Postmodern Science Fiction (Duke University Press). He served as senior editor of Detroit's Metro Times from 1990-1996, and has been affiliated with All Music Guide either in a freelance or staff capacity since 1999. He is the proud father of two brilliant and wildly stylish daughters, Emma and Madelyn. Jurek believes that singer Joan Osborne is one of the most gifted vocalists of our time, but has yet to be recorded properly. His not-so-secret ambition is to co-produce (with Ms. Osborne) the album that proves it. He is currently at work on a novel, a new collection of poems, and is researching a cultural and critical biography of Miles Davis.

Musical FAQ

First Record Bought: December's Children (And Everybody's)
First Concert: The Rationals
Favorite Music Movie: MC5: A True Testimonial
Favorite Music Book: Hope I Die Before I Get Old
Favorite Songwriter: Smokey Robinson
Favorite Producer: Jerry Wexler
Favorite Arranger: Oliver Nelson
Favorite Record Label: Fat Possum
Favorite Music Writer: Meredith Ochs
~ Derek Winter, All Music Guide