Jim Malec is an American journalist and pop music critic known for writing about
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
.
Malec attended
State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
** Nation state, ...
, where he worked as an editor for the college's student newspaper and was involved in a censorship dispute regarding student free speech rights. He was named "Best Local Blogger About Country Music" by the ''
Nashville Scene
''Nashville Scene'' is an alternative newsweekly in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1989, became a part of Village Voice Media in 1999, and later joined the ranks of sixteen other publications after a merger of Village Voice Media with ...
'' in 2009, with the paper commenting that he is "rough on country music in the way that only a person who loves and thinks deeply about an art form can be."
Malec's work has appeared in ''
American Songwriter
''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee.
History
The ''American Songwri ...
'', ''
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...
'', ''
Westword
''Westword'' is a free digital and print media publication based in Denver, Colorado. ''Westword'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue circ ...
'' and other outlets, and he is a contributor to the Nashville Scene's annual country music critics poll.
Malec is noteworthy for his coverage of
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...
in the early stages of her career, referring to her as "a superstar in the making" in 2007.
His 2011 article "Taylor Swift: The Garden In The Machine"
chronicles Swift's move to Nashville and her integration into the Nashville songwriting community.
References
Living people
American music critics
Year of birth missing (living people)
{{US-music-journalist-stub