Kieran Press-Reynolds Is Mapping the Brainrot Continuum

A conversation with the NYC-based writer and proud zoomer, who shares his thoughts on Gen Z's relationship with music and details his own penchant for trawling the weirdest corners of the internet.

Gen Z does not have a great reputation. That’s not necessarily their fault, but it definitely doesn’t help that they’ve come of age during such a tumultuous moment in human history. With the world reeling from political and social strife, looming environmental catastrophe, seemingly endless wars, the rise of the far-right, growing wealth inequality and the aftereffects of the pandemic, at least some of humanity’s collective frustration and anxiety has been dumped in the laps of zoomers, who’ve had virtually every aspect of their behavior picked apart and put under the microscope.

When it comes to music, the assessments have been particularly harsh, with Gen Z frequently being depicted as a cohort of internet-addled, streaming-addicted drones who don’t buy music, don’t go to clubs, don’t read music journalism, don’t care about local scenes and are more interested in forming parasocial relationships with artists via social media than engaging with said artists’ actual work. Blame for the influencerization of music culture—and, honestly, pretty much everything else—is routinely assigned to zoomers, who are also chastised for refusing to preserve the pillars and infrastructure of the independent music culture established by their predecessors.

Is there some truth to these accusations? Absolutely, and some of them have been explored right here at First Floor. But Gen Z, like all generations, can’t truly be summed up by stereotypes alone, and considering the long history of aging music fans proclaiming that “the kids are doing it wrong,” a more nuanced analysis is in order. Unfortunately, it’s difficult for that analysis to take place when so few zoomers have been given an opportunity to speak for themselves—outside of social media, that is. Within the confines of established music and culture publications, there simply aren’t that many prominent young voices, and while that has more to do with the poor health of those publications (and cultural journalism in general) than some sort of systemic anti-youth bias, it’s created a situation in which few of the conversations about what Gen Z is up to are being led by zoomers themselves.

That makes someone like Kieran Press-Reynolds a real anomaly. Though he’s only 25 years old, he’s already racked up bylines at outlets like The New York Times, GQ, Dazed, Vulture, i-D NPR, The Face and a litany of other esteemed publications. Currently, he’s a contributing writer at Pitchfork, where he authors the essential Rabbit Holed column, and he’s also part of the editorial team at the influential blog No Bells. In fairness, journalism runs in his family, as both of his parents, Joy Press and Simon Reynolds, are acclaimed scribes. (The latter was actually interviewed by First Floor back in 2023.)

Press-Reynolds openly acknowledges the privilege of growing up in that sort of household, but as a writer, he’s rather quickly carved out a lane that’s distinctly his own. Diving headfirst into some of the strangest corners of internet culture, his work then documents his findings for the masses, including many readers who are likely befuddled by the artists, sounds, styles and very online vocabulary that frequently populate his writing. (Social media posts about his writing is routinely greeted with confused comments from millennials and Gen Xers who say things like, “I have absolutely no idea what he’s talking about,” or “This made me feel very old.”) Unburdened by traditional notions of good taste and unafraid of exploring (and exposing) insurgent right-wing trends, a lot of what he writes about may not be beloved by tastemaker types, but is arguably far more “underground” and subversive than much of what’s being championed by even the independent music press.

Although Press-Reynolds is by no means the only working Gen Z music journalist, he’s undeniably one of the most prominent, and I figured he’d have plenty of thoughts about the current state of music culture—and his generation’s place in it. We dug into that over the course of a long call last weekend, and while some older readers might expect a young writer to brashly shrug off all of the sharp critiques being thrown at his age group, Press-Reynolds actually shares many of those same concerns, citing his worries about everything from the hollowing out of music journalism to the deleterious effects of social media, streaming and AI on the culture. Granted, his conclusions about what those things mean for the future of music doesn’t always line up with the narratives being trotted out by his elders, but as someone who’s on the ground and involved in emerging scenes, both online and IRL, his observations and insights merit serious consideration.

Along the way, we did discuss his upbringing—including what it’s like to be a music journalism “nepo baby”—and how he’s navigated a field that’s widely considered to be in serious trouble. But much of our discussion focused on the big picture, and even as we explored all of the things that are wrong with music and the industry these days, Press-Reynolds’ outlook remained resolutely positive. Amid all the doom and chaos, he’s still finding a lot of weird and innovative bits of music and culture, and with so much of it unfolding outside the usual hype circuit, he’s genuinely excited to take stock of what’s going on and help spread the word.