MICHAELANGELO MATOS was born and raised in Minneapolis. A former staff writer at Seattle Weekly, he has written extensively for Minneapolis/St. Paul's City Pages, Village Voice, Spin, Nerve.com, Time Out New York, Urb, Stereo-Type, Chicago Reader, Baltimore City Paper, and Creative Loafing Atlanta. He currently lives in Seattle.
[M]y favorite bit of new Prince product isn't the fine Musicology
but Michaelangelo Matos' 121-page treatment of Sign as part of
Continuum's new 33 1/3 series, in which various writers tackle
individual albums in long form...Matos identifies the factors that
make Sign of particular relevance...
*The Memphis Flyer, 6/12/2004*
I consider it among the three of four best records I've every
heard, which is why my favorite bit of new Prince product isn't the
fine musicology but Michaelangelo Matos' 121-page treatment of Sign
as part of Continuum's new 33 1/3 series, in which various writers
tackle individual albums in long form. I know [Matos] well enough
to know that he holds Sign O' the Times in the same esteem as I,
but I don't know him well enough to have prepared me for the shock
of recognition that came from the first of the four ‘sides' his
Sign book is divided into. The rest of Matos fine little book steps
back for a more critical take on both the album and Prince's career
in toto. Matos identifies the factors that make Sign of particular
relevance.
*The Memphis Flyer, 6/12/04*
Both a student and a fan of Prince, Matos integrates the
particulars of Prince's rise to fame--including the release of the
double LP Sign 'O' the Times--with an endearing and at times
hilarious telling of his own coming of age in the suburbs of
Prince's Minneapolis.
*Mark Baumgarten, Willamette Week, 1/5/05*
Refreshingly, Michaelangelo Matos's gift is to confound his
readers, forcing them to rethink '80s pop politics without getting
overly political... Matos critiques from two standpoints-the
13-year old kid and the 29-year old Rolling Stone contributor and
Seattle Weekly editor-with a pure love for Sign and pop music in
general. Rather than becoming an energy-draining exegesis, his
exploration breathes unexpected life into the record. It's inspired
me to drop into Amoeba Music and re-taste Sign, too.
*San Francisco Bay Guardian, 5/19/04*
In a series heavy with autobiographical reminiscences and
statements about the power of music on adolescents, few 33 1/3
books manage to wring so much meaning and critical weight from a
life’s story. Michaelangelo Matos describes his upbringing in the
Twin Cities during the 1980s and how his love of Prince’s
double-album masterpiece was fueled by hometown pride … these early
pages form the foundation on which his arguments rest, making this
the rare book where you get to know both the author and the critic
intimately.
*Pitchfork*
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