Tim Riley

Who is Tim Riley?

Tim Riley reviews pop and classical music for NPR, and has written for truthdig, the Huffington Post, the Washington Post, Slate.com and Salon.com. He was trained as a classical pianist at Oberlin College and Eastman School of Music.

Since 2009, he has taught digital journalism at Emerson College in Boston. Brown University sponsored Riley as Critic-In Residence in 2008, and his first book, Tell Me Why: A Beatles Commentary, which the New York Times said brought "new insight to the act we've known for all these years." His television appearances include Morning Joe, PBS NewsHour, CBS Morning and Evening News, MTV, and the History Channel.

Riley gave a keynote address at Beatles 2000, the first international academic conference in Jyvaskyla, Finland. Since then, he has given lectures on censorship in the arts and rock history. His current projects include the music metaportal Riley Rock Index.com, and a biography of John Lennon, which was included in Kirkus Review's list of the Best Nonfiction of 2011.