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What is this kind of journalism called?

MetroStyles

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I guess it's kind of like an op ed. I am looking for biographies/reviews/etc. that not only cover the factual, but add color and cultural context in an non-partisan yet opinionated way. I want the color more than I want the facts. Examples would include certain types of music reviews, and the Free Darko book (excerpts here - skim the Kobe one to see what I mean). To me it is so much more interesting to read about a subject, person, or event with through the voice of a trustworthy, well-spoken, and intelligent guru who can put it all into context and add emotion to the topic rather than keeping it cold, hard, and only focused on facts. Is there a name for this kind of journalism? Are there places where I can find biographies of this sort but not for NBA players? Thanks.
 

oman

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have you read the hunter s thompson articles about jean-claude killy and muhammad ali? that would be a good start

of course, most people are so overwhelmingly awed by thompson's style that they start to imitate his "voice", and of course their work ends up being completely derivative rubbish
 

MetroStyles

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Originally Posted by oman
have you read the hunter s thompson articles about jean-claude killy and muhammad ali? that would be a good start of course, most people are so overwhelmingly awed by thompson's style that they start to imitate his "voice", and of course their work ends up being completely derivative rubbish
Yes I've read some of Thompson - and while that is definitely of a similar ilk, I feel it is slightly different. I may be wrong though. I think Gonzo journalism is more in the 1st person, whereas what I am looking for is still the 3rd person, impersonal but at the same time colorful, type of commentary.
 

oman

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yeah im not talking about fear and loathing, im talking about his bio-articles

i can think of no better use of "colour" than what he wrote about jean-claude killy and muhammad ali - incredibly deep/personal snapshots of very famous people that went far beyond what everyone already knew (or thought they knew)
 

Hombre Secreto

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Originally Posted by MetroStyles
Yes I've read some of Thompson - and while that is definitely of a similar ilk, I feel it is slightly different. I may be wrong though. I think Gonzo journalism is more in the 1st person, whereas what I am looking for is still the 3rd person, impersonal but at the same time colorful, type of commentary.

Something like "War" by Sebastian Junger?
 

milosz

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various nonfiction from Norman Mailer, Joan Didion and Joyce Carol Oates would probably fit your bill
 

MetroStyles

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Originally Posted by Hombre Secreto
Something like "War" by Sebastian Junger?

Never heard of it, but a quick Amazon review intrigues me. Seems more of a piece based on interviews than a third party, external view. But yeah that's on the right path.
 

MetroStyles

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Originally Posted by Jekyll
Sounds like a variant of "New Journalism".
Yes! This might be it. I wiki'd the term and considering things like the Atlantic Monthly pop up, whose style I adore, I think this is on the money.
 

Hombre Secreto

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Originally Posted by MetroStyles
Never heard of it, but a quick Amazon review intrigues me. Seems more of a piece based on interviews than a third party, external view. But yeah that's on the right path.

You might want to also check out "The Lost City of Z" by David Grann.
 

milosz

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things I've read recently in this vein:
Generation Kill (Rolling Stone reporter embedded with recon Marines invading Iraq)
Jarhead (memoir of Marine basic and Desert Storm)
Making The Corps (Thomas Ricks follows a training platoon through Marine basic)
Fighter's Heart - Harvard boy travels around the world fighting (jujitsu, MMA, boxing, etc.)
 

MetroStyles

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Now that we've nailed down the genre, I am really interested in short profiles/bios/obituaries on people in this vein, again using the Free Darko book as a template. Anything from 2 to 20 pages on a person. Does any periodical/newspaper/journalist routinely pump these kinds of pieces out?
 

tagutcow

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Now that that mystery is solved, I was wondering if anyone here knows if the style of Americana story-song where a folkloric subject is sung about in a tenor-range sprechstimme has a name. Examples include "The Devil Went Down To Georgia", the theme song to the SNL parody ad "Big Red", and Johnny Cash's "A Boy Named Sue".

THADVANCEANKS
 

milosz

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Originally Posted by MetroStyles
Now that we've nailed down the genre, I am really interested in short profiles/bios/obituaries on people in this vein, again using the Free Darko book as a template. Anything from 2 to 20 pages on a person. Does any periodical/newspaper/journalist routinely pump these kinds of pieces out?

The New Yorker and Harper's maybe
 

milosz

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The guy who wrote Black Hawk Down usually writes for The Atlantic these days, I think
 

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