Truthful speaking would be a simple way to tell the truth, if the truth were simple and could be told.

28 January 2008

Music Critics

If anyone here reads Pitchfork Media then they know how pompous those guys who review music have become. But you know what? They're not the worst. That title goes to...

...Robert Christgau.

Seriously: I just read his top 50 of 2007, which he wrote for Rolling Stone (oh, whatever happened to that magazine?) and included on the list are Britnay Spears, Linkin Park, Fall Out Boy, The Smashing Pumpkins, Lil Wayne . . . I could go on and though there are acts like MIA and Wilco and LCD Soundsystem and The Apples in Stereo and Imperial Teen and Spoon, you can't really expect that to be justified Robert Christgau. Let's not forget that he called Yankee Hotel Foxtrot a bomb. Do you even listen to music anymore? Have you opened up beyond what Rolling Stone tells you? It's pretty sad that you make Pitchfork look modest and humble.

2 comments:

Bradley Sroka said...

Rolling Stone's Top 50 is compiled by a committee of their regular album reviewers. Christgau is a senior editor, but he did not write the list. His top 10 ballot for the 2007 Pazz and Jop Critics Poll is available at the Village Voice. A larger Top 30 is available at Slate.com. These are significantly different than the RS Top 50. Rest assured that he does still listen to music. Do you?

Ian said...

Rolling Stones top 50 list is always stupid, so that isn't a surprise.

As for Christgau, he's a passable if slightly clueless music critic (he only heard about Lil' Wayne from Sasha Frere-Jones New Yorker article? What does this guy do all day?)

His top albums of 07 list was fine, but stupid. Soulja Boy but no Kanye West? MIA made the best album of the year? Please.