Tim Riley

Rock critic, professor and author

Tim Riley is the NPR rock critic, as well as the author of numerous books, including “Tell Me Why: A Beatles Commentary,” which was hailed by The New York Times for bringing “new insight to the act we’ve known for all these years.”

A Journalist-in-Residence at Emerson College in Boston, Riley uses his multi-media skills to explore the continuing free speech debate as it expands from cultural controversies (from 2 Live Crew and Robert Mapplethorpe to “wardrobe malfunctions” and Internet decency) to constitutionally protected civil liberties (unwarranted wire-tapping, Presidential propaganda, and abuse of military authority).

Currently, both right-wing and left-wing activists threaten First Amendment protections, whether it's attacking the NEA or PBS, or "politically correct" speech codes on college campuses. Riley examines how these issues relate to freedom and responsibility in American life, bringing an incisive critical perspective to the underlying class, race, and sexual orientation themes.

Riley has also written “Hard Rain: A Dylan Commentary,” “Madonna: Illustrated,” and the latest “Fever: How Rock'n'roll Transformed Gender In America,” which was widely covered on National Public Radio and hailed by the New York Observer. In the fall of 2010, Riley will release two new books: a biography of John Lennon and the Norton Rock Anthology.

Riley is also author of ‘blog riley’ at the prestigious ArtsJournal.com, and his commentaries are currently featured on NPR’s “Here and Now.” His byline has appeared in Slate, The Washington Post, Boston Magazine, and many other publications.