Rob Harvilla
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Rob Harvilla | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | Ohio University |
| Occupations | Rock critic, editor, journalist |
| Employer | The Ringer |
| Known for | 60 Songs That Explain the '90s |
Rob Harvilla is an American rock critic, editor, and journalist. He is a senior staff writer at The Ringer and the host of the podcast 60 Songs That Explain the '90s, a long-running series that began in 2020 and later expanded beyond its original 60-song premise.[1][2]
In 2023, Harvilla published a book based on the podcast, also titled 60 Songs That Explain the '90s.[2][3]
Harvilla grew up in Medina, Ohio, and has described the music of the 1990s as central to his teenage and college years in Northeast Ohio.[4]
Harvilla attended Ohio University and graduated in 2000 with a degree in magazine journalism.[5]
Career
After college, Harvilla worked in alternative-weekly journalism; he has been associated with Columbus, Ohio's now-defunct alt-weekly The Other Paper and the San Francisco Bay Area's East Bay Express.[6]
Harvilla served as music editor at The Village Voice in the late 2000s and early 2010s and was publicly identified as the paper's music editor in contemporaneous coverage of its annual critics' poll, Pazz & Jop.[7][8]
In 2011, Harvilla joined the music-streaming service Rhapsody as senior managing editor.[6] He later wrote and edited for publications including Spin and Deadspin.[9][10]
Harvilla has been a senior staff writer at The Ringer and has also served as a culture editor at Deadspin.[1][11]
Harvilla has described They Might Be Giants as his "favorite band of all time".[12]
60 Songs That Explain the '90s
60 Songs That Explain the '90s launched in October 2020, beginning with an episode on Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know".[13] The show expanded beyond its initial planned endpoint, growing to 120 songs and continuing for multiple years.[2][4] Guests on the podcast have included Courtney Love, Chuck Klosterman, Bill Simmons, and Hanif Abdurraqib.
By March 2024, The Ringer described the project as spanning 120 songs, and compiled a complete episode catalog to mark the end of its initial chapter.[14]