PS Picks: A Wild Interview With Quincy Jones—on Michael Jackson, Ray Charles, Taylor Swift, and More

PS Picks is a selection of the best things that the magazine’s staff and contributors are reading, watching, or otherwise paying attention to in the worlds of art, politics, and culture.
Quincy Jones speaks during Spotify's inaugural Secret Genius Awards.

This PS Pick originally appeared in The Lede, the weekly Pacific Standard email newsletter for premium members. The Lede gives premium members greater access to Pacific Standard stories, staff, and contributors in their inbox every week. While helping to support journalism in the public interest, members also receive a print magazine subscription, early access to feature stories, and access to an ad-free version of PSmag.com.

I first read Chris Heath’s interview with Quincy Jones in the print edition of the magazine, long before it was published to the site, and it was the rare piece that had me encouraging everyone I could find to go out and pick up a copy of GQ—now. There are plenty of other stories in this magazine worth reading, but Jones—on Taylor Swift, Ray Charles’ heroin use, Bill Cosby, Michael “Smelly” Jackson’s feud with Prince, and what Hitler’s Germany and Chicago in the 1930s have in common—is worth the sticker price alone. It’s the kind of interview that one can only give if they’ve lived a full life, and the kind one only gives when they no longer care what anybody thinks of the way they’ve lived it.

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