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Liam Gowing on Muck Rack

Liam Gowing

(He/Him)
Shanghai Shi
As seen in: Yahoo Singapore, Los Angeles Times, Paste, The A.V. Club, SPIN, LA Weekly, Buzz Bands LA
Covers:  Arts and entertainment, music and culture, tourism and travel, recreation and adventure, politics and international relations.

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Liam Gowing’s Biography

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A dual US/EU citizen born in Dallas, Texas and a graduate of the Honors Program at UCLA with a B.A. in political science, Liam Gowing began his journalism career as a freelancer for LA Weekly (2002-2004) and SPIN Magazine (2004 to 2010), for which he wrote the ASME Best-Profile-Award-nominated expose "Mr. Misery" on the death of acclaimed singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. He continued as the first LA City Editor for the A.V. Club (2006-2007) then migrated to the staff of the Los Angeles Times (2…

Liam Gowing’s Journalist Portfolio

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Op-Ed: Millions are locked down in Shanghai because of 'zero COVID' protocols. Something needs to...

Op-Ed: Millions are locked down in Shanghai because of 'zero COVID' protocols. Something needs to...

In January 2020, as the normally joyous Chinese Lunar New Year arrived, things looked bleak in Shanghai. COVI…

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China's Lockdowns Matter to the West

China's Lockdowns Matter to the West

This edition of Up for Debate, a newsletter by Conor Friedersdorf, excerpts Liam Gowing's op-ed on the dracon…

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Op-Ed: Millions are locked down in Shanghai because of 'zero COVID' protocols. Something needs to...

Op-Ed: Millions are locked down in Shanghai because of 'zero COVID' protocols. Something needs to...

In January 2020, as the normally joyous Chinese Lunar New Year arrived, things looked bleak in Shanghai. COVI…

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Elliott Smith: ‘Mr. Misery’ Revisited, Years After The Singer-Songwriter’s Controversial Death

Elliott Smith: ‘Mr. Misery’ Revisited, Years After The Singer-Songwriter’s Controversial Death

In the December 2004 issue of SPIN, we published Los Angeles journalist/musician Liam Gowing’s detailed, empa…

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Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp a dream-come-true vacation

Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp a dream-come-true vacation

The feeling of dread was overwhelming as I rendezvoused with my band and noted the absence of our foremost me…

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Interview: Brian Wilson

Interview: Brian Wilson

Hailed as one of the greatest albums of all time upon its 1966 release and battling it out with The Beatles' …

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Articles

Op-Ed: Millions are locked down in Shanghai because of 'zero COVID' protocols. Something needs to change

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By Liam Gowing
| Yahoo Singapore Verified
Deliverymen wearing protective suits carry bags of food at the gate of a residential community in Shanghai, China, on Monday. Many residents in the city of 26 million have been confined to their homes for up to three weeks as China maintains its "zero-COVID" strategy of handling outbreaks with strict isolation and mass testing. (Associated Press) In January 2020, as the normally joyous Chinese Lunar New Year arrived, things looked bleak in Shanghai. COVID-19, then a complete unknown, was spreading.
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Liam Gowing - LA Weekly

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By Liam Gowing
| LA Weekly Verified
From the classic guitar-rock of Alaska! to the au courant synth-pop of ’80s revivalists Metric, from the uplifting psychedelic chorales of the Polyphonic Spree to the somber balladry of Acetone, from the gentle folk of Patrick Park to the bombastic edge of And You Will Know Us by the Trail...
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'Mr. Misery' Revisited, Years After the Singer-Songwriter's Controversial Death

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By Liam Gowing
| SPIN Verified
In the December 2004 issue of SPIN, we published Los Angeles journalist/musician Liam Gowing’s detailed, empathetic look at the last years of Elliott Smith’s life and the circumstances that led up to the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter’s apparent suicide. “Mr. Misery” was difficult to read, a tremendous challenge to edit and fact-check, and one of the most remarkably intimate pieces in the magazine’s history.
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See all 25 licensed articles (69 Total)

Interview

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Have you ever used a typewriter?

Is this a trick to get me to divulge my age?

Who's your favorite fictional journalist?

Clark Kent?

What's the best pitch you ever got?

In 2008, a publicist offered me the chance to fly to Haiti with the Marley family in order to set a record for world's biggest drum circle.