Some #longreads as you once again ignore the Grammys…

While lately most of their interviews have been rather serious, this week Run The Jewels have some fun talking to the AV Club about their love of Steven Seagal movies.  If you prefer analysis of their music instead, Stereogum has a piece discussing the significance of male friendship to their latest album.

There’s a reason that when watching the OutKast reunion this year that Andre 3000 didn’t feel like being there, and that was confirmed in his interview with FADER where discusses the specifics of his “selling out.”

If you’re looking for a gift for a music-loving friend, you might want to check out the book Check the Technique, which does us all a service by diving behind the scenes to provide us with information behind some of hip-hop’s classic albums.  The Atlantic interviews author Brian Coleman about both volumes.

Proving that just about every album gets the 20-year treatment, Stereogum has a piece on Bush’s debut Sixteen Stone.  While admittedly it was one of my first albums, it’s not exactly a landmark record, but the evolution of its reception makes the essay worth reading.

And finally, most of our Foo Fighters coverage has revolved around Dave Grohl, but this time it’s Pat Smear getting the spotlight.  Pat talks to Diffuser about the making of Sonic Highways and how he ended up becoming a part of Nirvana, as well as his unique take on guitars.  Though the introduction mentions only two of the legendary bands of which he was a member, rest assured, Pat does talk about his time in the Germs for a bit.