An unexpected surprise: Da Capo’s annual Best Music Writing collection for 2011 is out, and that very well-liked open letter that I wrote to Nicki Minaj for this site — which I scrawled at two in the morning with a serious axe to grind — was shortlisted in the appendixes. That is meaningful to me!

It’s also somewhat coincidental, because I’ve been working on a longer piece about my “career” as a music writer, and this particular nod actually seems to validate one of the key precepts that I’ve been working with. I hope to post that soon so you’ll know what I’m talking about, but in the meantime, thanks to Daphne Carr and the BMW crew for the acknowledgment, and congratulations to everyone else who made it in the book.

Also, one my personal favorite writers, Michaelangelo Matos, painstakingly compiled a list of links to most of these pieces. Many of them are on Tumblr. Be sure to show them your love.