In the second installment of our interview series, journalist Alyssa Rosenberg was interviewed. Splitting duties for Government Executive magazine where she writes about the management of the federal government and The Atlantic where it's practically open season on anything and everything in the world of pop culture. Find out what her first hip-hop album was, what movie in 2009 was so great that she can't even decide where to begin as to why it was great and why she sees silver-screen potential in Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and more after the jump.
CRITIQULOUS: Writing about the federal government or writing about gangsters and giant robots; if you could only write about one subject for the rest of your life (this includes as a profession), which would you choose?
ALYSSA ROSENBERG: I hope I never have to choose to write about just one thing for the rest of my life! I realize that sounds like a cop-out, but it's true. I care a huge amount about popular culture, and I think it's much more important to understanding our society as a whole than we give it credit for. But I'm also curious about public policy. When I started writing about government management, I'll admit the subject wasn't a core interest of mine, but I've come to think that how the federal government works is absolutely crucial to the success or failure of a wide range of public policy issues. I suppose I'd like to keep seeking out underexplored topics, whether they're cultural issues or political ones.You write a lot about hip-hop/rap music. My very first hip-hop/rap CD was Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's "E 1999 Eternal." Do you remember what was yours?
I'm honestly not a huge album person. I think the first hip-hop album I bought was OutKast's Stankonia. Certainly, "Ms. Jackson" was the first hip-hop song I heard on the radio that really reached into my brain and woke me up to the possibility of the form.Even though 2009 is far from over, what are your favorite albums and movies so far? Any surprises for you in that you did not expect that you would enjoy it so much? And on the flipside of that question, was there something in movies or music that you were looking forward to but wound up being disappointed?
So far, my favorite movies this year have been "Coraline," for its stunning loveliness and prickly depiction of youth; "Duplicity", because I'm an enormous sucker for good writing; "The Hurt Locker," which is just extraordinary in every single respect, writing, cinematography, and particularly Jeremy Renner's acting; "Public Enemies," which is beautifully shot and acted--the shootout at Little Bohemia is the best use of digital filming I've seen ever, maybe; "District 9," which is astonishing in so many ways I don't know where to start; and "Where the Wild Things Are," which I was extremely nervous about but can't stop thinking about. I thought "Watchmen" was gorgeous, but very, very mixed in terms of acting. I'm not a Trekkie, but "Star Trek" is one of only a few movies I've seen twice this year, and I found it unexpectedly touching and mature. "Confessions of a Shopaholic" was an unexpectly bad waste of Isla Fisher's talents. "The International" was shockingly boring. I was very disappointed by "Ponyo," which I thought was one of Miyazaki's worst, most sentimental movies. And "Bruno" was shockingly bad, just a truly unimaginative piece of work.
Music-wise, like I said I'm not much of an album person. That said, I am somewhat mystified by the craze for Drake, whose flow seems somewhat slow and unimpressive to me. I was disappointed by Relapse, Eminem's new album, which I think shows signs of not moving on and up. I'm digging K'naan a lot. I've had fun with both Big Boi's "Ringtone" and the leaked bits of Andre 3000's "Lookin' 4 Ya," which I would really, really like to hear in full.Have you heard of the project that the band The Black Keys are doing with Q-Tip, Mos Def, RZA and others in hip-hop/rap called "Blakroc?" The very little tidbits of info they've released about it sounds really promising and I'm just curious as to what your thoughts are on it.
Nope. Haven't heard of it. Saw the Black Keys with Sleater-Kinney in 2003, and I thought they were very impressive, though.Is there any difficulty switching from writing about the government and politics in general to writing about mashup songs by Miley Cyrus and The Notorious BIG?
Not particularly. Both require some research and some reporting. Other than that, it's essentially the same skill set, applied to different subjects. When I cover news, there are some pretty set forms I use to tell stories and report, but when I blog and write about pop culture, I get to be a bit more free-form, and that's fun, but it's a bit more challenging to write without those convenient constraints.If you weren't a writer, you would be doing what?
I have absolutely no idea. Writing buddy comedies for Vince Vaughn and Peyton Manning to co-star in? I really think Manning has a future in movies, as long as he doesn't get brain injuries from playing football. In all seriousness, it took me a while to decide that writing was the thing I wanted to do, and I have a hard time imagining another job. I think I could be happy teaching.Anything you would like the readers to know about you? Upcoming projects that we should keep an eye for? Special talents? Favorite place(s) to eat in Washington D.C.?
I'm working on a couple of interviews with folks involved in "The Unusuals", this great, short-lived TV show about cops that starred Jeremy Renner and Amber Tamblyn. I'm afraid I don't have any particular special talents, unless baking perfect apple pies counts. And I'm a big fan of the brunch at Mixtec, a little family Mexican place at 18th and Columbia in DC.Thank you very much Alyssa for taking the time to be interviewed by Critiqulous. Don't forget to check out her works in The Atlantic, Government Executive and her own personal blog, Alyssa Rosenberg.
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