A series of interesting conversations with interesting people.
David Turner’s passion for criticism started in middle school, where he would read as many game reviews as he could get his hands on. He transitioned from reading to writing and by his second year in college was tapped by Pitchfork to write for the site and the rest is history. We caught up with David to find out how one of the most up-and-coming cultural critics in the U.S. finds his material, manages his day-to-day, and what’s he’s been reading and listening to lately.
You are a culture writer and contribute to MTV News, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, The Guardian…the list goes on! How do you manage your day-to-day / what does a typical day look like for you?
I usually wake up between 6–7am, which I’ve learned at least among writers feels kind of early, but at least for myself is honestly kind of late, cause in high school I’d wake up at 5:30am with no problem. I start my day writing and editing my work, shower, go back to editing / writing, usually realize I should probably eat lunch about 2pm, do that then get back to work. Then my afternoons are typically spent pitching, reading, and organizing work, cause I know I don’t write well in the afternoon.
In addition to your reported work you also write music and fashion reviews. Tell us, how did you get into the world of music and fashion critique? And what, in your opinion, makes someone qualified to be a critic?
Oddly enough that is where I started off, when I did my first review for Pitchfork back in 2012. I grew up reading tons of video game reviews in middle school, then found Pitchfork at the start of high school and it quickly became by go-to music bible. So, when I was in my second year of college and got an email from Mark Richardson about writing for the site, I honestly thought I made it. The idea of writing a review for Pitchfork was always my goal, but I imagined it happening well after school, not barely a year into it.
I wish I had a stronger answer about the qualifications of one to be a critic. Honestly, I just think of Armond White’s quote from the Slashfilm Podcast:
“You guys might have perhaps come across something I wrote/said somewhere, where I said that I think no one should be allowed to make a movie before they’re 40, although there are obviously a whole lot of exceptions to that. We’d have no Citizen Kane if that were so. But I kind of feel that way, and I certainly feel that way about criticism. I think really, there should be no film critics — okay, let’s change the age — there should be no film critics younger than 30. Because before that you don’t know enough about art, you don’t know enough about life. And I repeat to you, I started out as a young person interested in writing about film, but really really really, I know more now than I knew then.”
I often think of that quote and I hope that maybe in five years I’ll have something worthwhile to say and till then I’m just working out a lot of bad ideas.
Building off of that, did you have a moment when you first thought, “Hey, this is something I can do for a living?”
O god, I haven’t had that thought at all. No, I mean I’m doing it right now and that is amazing, but I’m not sure I ever thought of it as a thing I can do for a living. I guess that is why I always keep insane track of personal finances and every few months double guess what I’m doing. To more directly answer the question, I’ll let y’all know the day I have the thought.
Pop culture is a broad medium that never stops moving. How do you keep up with it all? And how do you decide what is worthy of covering?
Instagram. I primarily stick to music and fashion, but even in that lens it’s mostly music with fashion popping up when something really catches my attention or there is some trend I must follow — i.e. cutting my jeans last summer. That is why I always go to Instagram, because with the addition of stories it is almost the perfect window into someone’s real and fabricated lives.
You have a professional obligation to be, at the very least, familiar with an exorbitant amount of music. What does that process look like for you?
I’m never not listening to music. I wake up and turn on music, I go to sleep listening to music, honestly the only time I’m not listening to music is when I turn on podcasts and when walking in the street, and even then I keep my ears open for music coming out cars and windows. More specifically I go through Soundcloud rap constantly, EDM on Spotify, random southern rap stations that broadcast online, and of course whatever indie rock is happening on Bandcamp. I’d like to think I have a wide range of interests, but it’s impossible to really know everything going on in so many different scenes that it is kind of a fun neverending game of catch up.
Do you actively seek out new music or does it come to you? What was the last thing you listened to that blew you away?
I’m always seeking out new music, a lot does come to me, but honestly I wish I had more time to listen to that stuff, cause just opening Soundcloud can keep me busy all day. The last thing that blew me away was probably Slowdive’s latest album Slowdive. I feel a bit dumb in that one, because I knew the band, but never really listened and certainly got them confused with Ride, but Slowdive is one of my favorite records so far this year.
Your opinion has weight. How did you build that influence? And what type of impact to you hope to have with your work?
Does it? I certainly don’t think it does, or if it does I’m sure it’s outweighed by some kid with a really good Spotify playlist or something. Honestly the impact that I want to have varies piece to piece. Some pieces I just want someone to discover a cool song or act, where others I hope someone gets the feeling I get when reading a great piece of learning something new each line and it building to tell an interesting story. I’m not sure any of my work’s done that, but always striving for it.
What are your go-to places — sites, apps, people, etc — for finding new stories to read and watch in Pocket?
This is so boring, but I’m at this point addicted to the New York Times app and the New Yorker, also I love the Charlotte Observer reporter Ely Portillo, who covers real estate in Charlotte, my hometown.
If you had the chance to escape and read all of your current Pocket saves where would you go to do it?
O god, I hate vacation and escaping away, and anything involved with removing one’s self from the world. I guess, I wouldn’t mind going back home to North Carolina for a little bit. Maybe L.A. would be nice, but I love New York City, so I maybe someone could let me crash at their rich friend’s apartment in Williamsburg so I can catch up on some Kelefa Sanneh articles I missed.
Follow what David is reading and finding interesting on Pocket here and writing about here.
