Dear All Shook Down readers,

I’m all shook down to be the new editor for this blog.

No, that sounds dumb. Let me try again:

Yo, All Shook Down readerz,

Whaddup? Howzit? Guess what?! I’m the new editor 4 this blog! Like, OMG!

Ugh, nope. Last try:

Hey, readers,

As you probably have been able to surmise by now, I’m the new editor for All Shook Down. And I suck at introductions. I guess I’m just not used to writing about myself. I mean, sure, there was that time when I wrote about wearing pasties at Electric Daisy Carnival, or that other time when I wrote about hanging out with Lil Debbie backstage before one of her shows, but those stories weren’t really about me. And this, apparently, is. Or, at least that’s what it’s supposed to be about.

So, here goes.

(Insert self-aggrandizing, cliche here): I’ve always wanted to be a writer. In Kindergarten, I wrote fantasy tales about trolls and kings and gold (or rather, I dictated the stories to my mother). I wanted to be “the female Dr. Seuss” in first grade, but then swapped that for novelist in fifth grade, and journalist by high school. Like everyone else in SF Weekly’s newsroom (or so I assume, since this is my first day here and I don’t really know anyone), I wrote for my high school and college newspapers and majored in English. When I graduated, I became an intern for The Los Angeles Times, where I wrote about whales and weird New Age medical experiments for the health and science section. After that, I moved to Oahu where I was a reporter for Honolulu Weekly, an alt weekly that, sadly, no longer exists. Then I went to graduate school at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, then I was a freelancer for a few years (for LA Weekly, Noisey, Miami New Times, East Bay Express, and Complex, to name a few), and, well, now I’m here, sitting at my new desk in my new semi-cubicle. (Cue: “Started From The Bottom” or “We Made It” now).

But enough about me. That’s not why you guys are here. You’re here to read about good music, epic tunes, and rad jams. And don’t worry, I gotchu. Though I’ve spent pretty much the bulk of my life writing (seriously, it’s, like, my only skillset), fortunately, I’ve done one other thing as well, and that’s been listen to music. To say that I love all genres would be an over-statement — sorry, country, metal, and Taylor Swift  — but, I do have a broad appreciation for various sounds.

You might notice more rap, hip-hop, and R&B coverage now that I’m taking the reigns, as well as more random shit and weird crap, too, because I like that kind of stuff. I promise to keep coverage broad and inclusive, and to utilize my super sleuth skills as a reporter to give you the DL on the DL. In other words, I’ll trudge through the underground scene and journey deep into the depths of the Internet combing for new, awesome music, so that you don’t have to.

I can’t promise that you’ll always like the music I cover, but I can promise you this: reading this blog will make you cooler. You're welcome.

Love,