Kurtis Loder (born May 5, 1945) is an American entertainment critic, author, columnist, and television personality. He served in the 1980s as

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...

at ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'', during a tenure that ''

Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, lang ...

'' later called "legendary". He has contributed to articles in ''

'', ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'', '' Details'', ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

'', and ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

''. He has also made cameos on several films and television series. He is best known for his role at ''

MTV News MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...

'' since the 1980s and for appearing in other MTV-related television specials.Running Away With the Circus
By Steven Ward
rockcriticsarchives.com
Retrieved December 13, 2008. He has hosted the

SiriusXM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sa ...

radio show ''True Stories'' since 2016.

Early life

Loder was born in

Ocean City, New Jersey Ocean City is a city in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the principal city of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Cape May County and is part of the Philadelphia- Wilmington- Camden, ...

."Kurt Loder Biography (1945–)"
Film Reference. Retrieved May 7, 2013. He graduated from

Ocean City High School Ocean City High School (OCHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Ocean City, in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Ocean C ...

in 1963. He spent two years in college "and just hated it." He was drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

and joined its journalism school.
"Kurt Loder – On Himself"
. Media Learner Service. Annenberg Media.
"Kurt Loder – On MTV"
. Media Learner Service. Annenberg Media.

. Media Learner Service. Annenberg Media.

. Media Learner Service. Annenberg Media. Retrieved December 13, 2008.

Career

Loder stated that he "just fell into" his field, elaborating that his "entire journalism background is four weeks... That's it. Nothing else. You can learn journalism in four weeks. It's not an overcomplicated thing. It's very simple." Loder lived in Europe for the next several years, doing what he later called "scandal sheet" "

yellow journalism Yellow journalism and yellow press are American terms for journalism and associated newspapers that present little or no legitimate, well-researched news while instead using eye-catching headlines for increased sales. Techniques may include ...

." He returned home to

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

at the end of 1972 and worked with a local newspaper and then an Ocean City-based magazine run by the sister of the city's famous writer

Gay Talese Gaetano "Gay" Talese (; born February 7, 1932) is an American writer. As a journalist for ''The New York Times'' and ''Esquire'' magazine during the 1960s, Talese helped to define contemporary literary journalism and is considered, along with ...

. He left in the summer of 1976 to work with a free

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...

rock weekly called ''Good Times''. He received about $200 a week. After meeting a fellow "music geek,"

David Fricke David Fricke is an American music journalist who serves as the senior editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, where he writes predominantly about rock music. One of the best known names in rock journalism, his career has spanned over 40 years. I ...

, "the two of us began driving into Manhattan virtually every night to wallow in the flourishing punk rock scene at CBGB's, Max's, etc. This was, fortunately, cool with the wives. I mean, we'd still be sitting upright at four in the morning through fist fights, mass nod-outs, and sets by bands with names like Blinding Headache, played to audiences of three people, of which we'd be two-thirds. I don't think I can quite convey how great days those were". They both joined ''

Circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...

'' in 1978 and moved to

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. Loder went on to become one of its official editors. The staff had a fun, relaxed atmosphere and considered the magazine to be second or third tier. Loder later said that "Whatever was said to be 'happening' in commercial pop music was... on the cover of Circus. Disco? Run with it. Shirtless teen popsters? Put 'em on the cover... a, shall we say, ardent enthusiasm for pix of nubile youths. Metal, of course, was really the mag's meat." He also remarked that "it was a foregone conclusion that writing of any technical ambition, about new acts of any real excitement or interest, would make it in the mag only by the sheerest accident." Loder briefly experimented with

inhalant Inhalants are a broad range of household and industrial chemicals whose volatile vapors or pressurized gases can be concentrated and breathed in via the nose or mouth to produce intoxication, in a manner not intended by the manufacturer. They ...

-based

drugs A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalati ...

at ''Circus''; he stopped after experiencing a "gushing"

nosebleed A nosebleed, also known as epistaxis, is bleeding from the nose. Blood can flow down into the stomach, and cause nausea and vomiting. In more severe cases, blood may come out of both nostrils. Rarely, bleeding may be so significant that low bl ...

without any feeling left in his face. Loder started a nine-year run at ''Rolling Stone'' in May 1979. RockCritics.com has called him "one of ''Rolling Stones most talented and prolific feature writers." While at ''Rolling Stone'', Loder co-authored singer Tina Turner's 1986 autobiography '' I, Tina''. He then contributed to the screenplay adaptation for the film ''

What's Love Got to Do with It What's Love Got to Do with It may refer to: *Tina Turner: ** "What's Love Got to Do with It" (song), a 1984 song by Tina Turner ** ''What's Love Got to Do with It'' (1993 film), a biographical film about Tina Turner ** ''What's Love Got to Do with ...

''. Loder joined MTV in 1987 as the host of their flagship music news program, ''The Week in Rock''. It was later expanded and renamed to ''

'' in which he was an anchor and correspondent. Loder was one of the first to break the news of

Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona ...

's death; he interrupted regular programming to inform viewers that Cobain was found dead. Loder authored a 1990 collection of his ''Rolling Stone'' work called ''Bat Chain Puller''. Loder has guest-starred as himself on ''

Kenan & Kel ''Kenan & Kel'' is an American buddy comedy sitcom created by Kim Bass. The show originally aired on the Nickelodeon network for four seasons, from July 15, 1996, to July 15, 2000. Set in Chicago, Illinois, the series follows mischievous Ken ...

'', The "

That '90s Show ''That '90s Show'' is an upcoming American television period teen sitcom set during the summer of 1995, featuring characters and locales which debuted in its predecessor, ''That '70s Show.'' It is set to premiere on Netflix on January 19, 2023. ...

" episode of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...

'', '' Girlfriends'', '' Duckman'', ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...

'', and ''

Portlandia ''Portlandia'' is an American sketch comedy television series starring Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, set in and around Portland, Oregon, and spoofing the city's reputation as a haven for eccentric hipsters. The show was produced by Br ...

''. He has appeared in several films. He was also parodied in the ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand ...

'' episode "

Timmy 2000 "Timmy 2000" (the third of four episodes titled after the "2000" fad) is the third episode and the 4th episode in production order of the fourth season of the American animated television series ''South Park'', and the 51st episode of the series o ...

". Kurt Loder is well known for his battle with palsy. In 2011, St. Martin's Press published Loder's ''The Good, the Bad and the Godawful: 21st-Century Movie Reviews'', which collected his film reviews from MTV.com and Reason.com. In 2016, Loder began hosting the music-based radio talk show ''True Stories'' on

Personal views

Politics

Loder identifies himself as a

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...

and summarizes his position as "

free love Free love is a social movement that accepts all forms of love. The movement's initial goal was to separate the state from sexual and romantic matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery. It stated that such issues were the concern ...

and

free market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...

s". He called former New York City Mayor

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a c ...

"a scary guy" and called it "amazing that people don't rise up with pitchforks." Loder opposed President George H. W. Bush in the 1992 election and he believes that ''MTV News'' played a small role in Bush's loss. Loder believes that his views came from his childhood experiences, saying:'You Can't Turn Back the Ocean'
By

Nick Gillespie Nicholas John Gillespie (; born August 7, 1963) is an American libertarian journalist who was editor-in-chief of ''Reason'' magazine from 2000 to 2008 and editor-in-chief of Reason.com and Reason TV from 2008 to 2017. Gillespie originally joined ...

. ''

''. February 2008.

I grew up on the Jersey Shore, on a little barrier island. The Atlantic Ocean was on one side, the bay was on the other. Everyone there hunted and fished and clammed and got crabs out of the bay. And one day my brother told me someone had come down from the Bureau of Petty Harassment or something and they measured the temperature of the water and had decided it was a little too warm and a certain type of bacteria might incubate in it and there was a chance that might harm the clams. And so, from now on, no one was supposed to take clams out of the bay anymore. Which everyone ignored. And no one died. That was before the government got tenacious about this stuff. So I thought that was pretty stupid right there.

In a 1989 live show, Loder saw

Skid Row A skid row or skid road is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people " on the skids". This specifically refers to poor or homeless, considered disreputable, downtrodden or fo ...

front man Sebastian Bach wearing a T-shirt reading the anti-gay slogan "AIDS Kills Fags Dead." Loder reacted with an article in which he stated, "In the land of homophobia, if

Axl Rose W. Axl Rose (born William Bruce Rose Jr.; born February 6, 1962) is an American musician. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, and has been the band's sole constant member since its incep ...

owns the restaurant and

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...

are the diners, we have a new busboy." Bach considered Loder's words "complete bullshit," saying that he had only used the shirt to dry himself off and strongly opposes the message on it, and later issued several public apologies. "SEBASTIAN BACH Says He Lied When He Said He'd Stopped Drinking"
. BlabberMouth.Net. October 21, 2006. Retrieved December 13, 2008. Loder was highly critical of

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism. Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ' ...

's documentary '' Sicko'', saying it was "heavily doctored."Loder, Kurt (June 29, 2007 )
"'Sicko': Heavily Doctored"

. He argued, "When governments attempt to regulate the balance between a limited supply of health care and an unlimited demand for it they're inevitably forced to ration treatment."

Media

Loder defines news as "anything that's interesting." He is critical of the idea of

new journalism New Journalism is a style of news writing and journalism, developed in the 1960s and 1970s, that uses literary techniques unconventional at the time. It is characterized by a subjective perspective, a literary style reminiscent of long-form non- ...

and argues that it has been used as a rhetorical shield for lazy journalism. He believes that new technology has fragmented

American culture The culture of the United States of America is primarily of Western, and European origin, yet its influences includes the cultures of Asian American, African American, Latin American, and Native American peoples and their cultures. The U ...

to the extent that no cinematic or musical success can unify it, as with past rock bands such as

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

. He also strongly supports copyright laws. He generally considers himself to be supportive of

new media New media describes communication technologies that enable or enhance interaction between users as well as interaction between users and content. In the middle of the 1990s, the phrase "new media" became widely used as part of a sales pitch for ...

despite his role at MTV, once joking, "MTV is part of Viacom, which controls Paramount, and so on and so forth. It's the evil empire." Loder's philosophy on the people he reports on is that:

You shouldn't make friends. It's not a good thing to be friends with people you're covering. There's just no point in doing it. It's tempting, but they're not going to consider you their friend anyway. They just know that you're somebody that can do something for them. So you shouldn't really flatter yourself that they want to be your buddy. They don't... They want you for some reason or other, and you just have to fend that off all the time. And you can't really cover people critically that you're friends with. How would that work? That would be bad. So you always have to keep that in mind.

References

External links

*
Loder's MTV Biography
* *
Kurt Loder – ''Swindle Magazine''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loder, Kurt 1945 births American film critics American libertarians American music journalists American television reporters and correspondents American male non-fiction writers Living people United States Army soldiers People from Ocean City, New Jersey Rolling Stone people MTV people