Alan Light (born August 4, 1966) is an American

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

who has been a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...

for ''

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

'' and the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

for ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down producti ...

,'' '' Spin,'' and ''Tracks''.http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2003/11/18/new_music_magazines_grown_up_appeal_could_be_a_hit/

Early life

Light grew up in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, where he attended Cincinnati Country Day School. His mother was a dance reviewer for the local newspaper. His father, Dr. Irwin Light, was a neotologist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. He graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1988, majoring in

American Studies American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, history, society, and culture. It traditionally incorporates literary criticism, historiography and critical theory. Sch ...

, and wrote his senior thesis on ''

Licensed to Ill ''Licensed to Ill'' is the debut studio album by American rap rock group Beastie Boys. It was released on November 15, 1986, by Def Jam and Columbia Records, and became the first rap LP to top the '' Billboard'' album chart. It is one of Columbi ...

'' by the

Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...

Career

Light had been an intern at ''Rolling Stone'' during their 20th anniversary year while still a student. He later joined the staff as a fact checker in 1989, becoming a senior writer in 1990. In 1993, he became the founding music editor of ''Vibe'' magazine, becoming editor-in-chief in 1994. In 1999 he became editor-in-chief for ''Spin'' magazine. He left ''Spin'' in March 2002 and founded the music magazine ''Tracks'' in 2003. He then worked as music reviewer on radio station

WFUV WFUV (90.7 FM) is a non–commercial radio station licensed to New York, New York. The station is owned by Fordham University, with studios on its Bronx campus and its antenna atop nearby Montefiore Medical Center. WFUV first went on the air ...

, and served as music correspondent on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

show ''

Weekend America ''Weekend America'' was a weekly public radio program dealing with news, popular culture, the arts and more. The program was produced for American Public Media and hosted by John Moe in Saint Paul, Minnesota. ''Weekend America'' launched Saturd ...

''. He writes regularly for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Light has worked as consultant for the

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music an ...

. He was a judge for the 4th Annual Independent Music Awards in 2005, and subsequently for the 11th, 12th and 13th Annual Independent Music Awards. Starting in October 2016 Light is one of the mainstay hosts of the newly created Volume music talk channel on

Sirius XM 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 Sat ...

on the afternoon show Debatable. Light has also been involved in assisting homeless people with the

Housing Works Housing Works is a New York City-based non-profit fighting AIDS and homelessness. The charity is well known for its entrepreneurial businesses including a chain of thrift shops, which supports efforts to end AIDS and homelessness where they ...

AIDS charity. After publication of his 2012 book '' The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley & the Unlikely Ascent of 'Hallelujah,'' Light served as consulting producer for the 2022 film '' Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song''.

Selected bibliography

*''Tupac Amaru Shakur: 1971–1996'' (with

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

), 1998 *''The Vibe History of Hip Hop'', 1999 *''The Skills to Pay the Bills: The Story of the Beastie Boys'', 2006 *''My Cross To Bear'' (by

Gregg Allman Gregory LeNoir Allman (December 8, 1947 – May 27, 2017) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was known for performing in the Allman Brothers Band. Allman grew up with an interest in rhythm and blues music, and the Allman Br ...

, with Alan Light), 2012 *'' The Holy or the Broken – Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of 'Hallelujah''', 2012 *''Let's Go Crazy: Prince and the Making of Purple Rain'', 2014

References

External links

Alan Light – Official Publisher Page – Simon & Schuster
{{DEFAULTSORT:Light, Alan Living people American magazine editors American music critics Place of birth missing (living people) American music journalists Yale University alumni Writers from Cincinnati 1966 births Journalists from Ohio 20th-century American journalists American male journalists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American male writers WFUV people Rolling Stone people