So Long, Robert Christgau

[Robert de St. Loup]

From today's NYT:

September 1, 2006
Village Voice Dismisses 8, Including Senior Arts Editors

By MOTOKO RICH
In a move that decimated the senior ranks of its arts staff, The Village Voice, the New York alternative weekly, yesterday dismissed eight people, including Robert Christgau, a senior editor and longtime pop music critic who had been at the paper on and off since 1969.
In a statement released yesterday, Village Voice Media described the layoffs as an effort “to reconfigure the editorial department to place an emphasis on writers as opposed to editors.” The company added, “Painful though they may be in the short term, these moves are consistent with long-range efforts to position The Voice as an integral journalistic force in New York City.”
Michael Lacey, executive editor of Village Voice Media, which is based in Phoenix and owns a string of weeklies around the country, did not return calls seeking further comment. Ward Harkavy, interim editor in chief of The Voice, said that the duties of those laid off “will be distributed, just as they are at many publications, among current local staff. We are obviously editing our own stories.”
The dismissals continue the unstinting turmoil that has plagued The Voice since October, when New Times Media announced its merger with Village Voice Media and assumed the Voice name. Judith Miszner, the paper’s publisher, left in January, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Sydney Schanberg left in February, citing his objections to new management. Not including yesterday’s layoffs, nearly 20 people have either been dismissed or left voluntarily since the merger.
The paper has had three editors in the past year. Don Forst resigned in December. Doug Simmons, his replacement, was fired in March after a reporter admitted fabricating details of a story. In June, Village Voice Media announced it was hiring Erik Wemple, editor of Washington City Paper, but Mr. Wemple resigned two weeks later. In August, The Voice announced that David Blum, a New York journalist, would assume the editor in chief’s job later this month.
In an interview, Tom Robbins, a longtime reporter and union steward at The Voice, said: “We’ve been looking forward to this new editor coming on and then all of a sudden we get hit with these very deep cuts and firings, including people like Bob Christgau, who helped put The Voice on the map. It cuts the heart right out of the paper.”
Reached by telephone yesterday, Mr. Blum said the decisions to lay off the eight employees, including the theater editor Jorge Morales and the dance editor Elizabeth Zimmer, “were made by Village Voice Media before I was hired.” He added that because he was not assuming his duties until Sept. 12, “it wouldn’t have been appropriate for me to weigh in on these decisions before I even took over the job.”
Since New Times Media took over the paper, Voice staff members have feared that the new management intended to centralize arts coverage and use writers and editors from various Voice Media papers to fill the local pages.
Mr. Blum said “no one has said anything to me about the arts coverage emanating from anywhere but from within The Voice and its staff and its writers, and that’s how I plan to do it.”
He added, “Having said that, I welcome the input of Michael Lacey and the parent company because I think they put out terrific newspapers and are journalists who are committed to the same type of coverage that I am.”
Ed Park, a senior editor in charge of the books section who said he learned by telephone on Wednesday that he was being let go, said he was “shocked and insulted” by the firings. But, he said, “I could see that this was coming,” in part because of talk of centralized arts coverage. He added that Village Voice management had an “attitude of disdain for what I thought were the strong points of The Voice. It was a swaggering attitude that their chain of papers were so good and The Voice was an embarrassment and we have to get up to their level somehow.”
In addition to the five senior editors in charge of arts coverage, The Voice also laid off three members of its design staff, including Minh Uong, the art director.
In its statement yesterday, Village Voice Media management said that the company had “already increased its arts coverage,” citing an expanded calendar selection, the hiring of a staff film reviewer and “a larger theater section that features more reviews,” despite the fact that it had laid off Mr. Morales, the theater editor.
Mr. Christgau, 64, who noted that he had forged the paper’s style of music criticism, with its “serious consideration of popular music at a critical level,” said in a phone interview that before he learned he had lost his job, he had begun organizing the paper’s Christmas consumer review.
“I was really thinking about what I was going to do. I wasn’t planning on going anywhere,” he said. “I was doing my job.”

[Gary Sisco]

VV lost its cred long ago. It's been sliding for years. Canning people who once helped make its bones certainly won't help but it's not a surprise, either.

[Jon Abbey]

all true, Gary, but Christgau should have been fired at least 20 years ago or otherwise stopped from writing about music, he's an embarrassment to the profession.

[John L]

I never understood what the big deal was about Christgau. I have never liked much of anything that I've ever read by him, and his unwarranted attacks on some artists and writers I have found upsetting. I try to read as little Christgau as possible.

[Gary Sisco]

I think he did write past his time, since his was a pop watch, after all.

On the other hand, he was the only established critic hip enough to American music's real lights to have consistently placed Michael Hurley up there where he belongs, so he's okay in my book, regardless, for that.

The paper has become an embarrassment to itself, though, really. The writing's been on the wall a long time, now.

[Captain Hate]

Originally Posted by John L

I never understood what the big deal was about Christgau. I have never liked much of anything that I've ever read by him, and his unwarranted attacks on some artists and writers I have found upsetting. I try to read as little Christgau as possible.

I've never understood his recent appeal (particularly with the web available) but a friend of mine used to slavishly read his stuff; this will be a very sad event for him. Btw, who are some of the musicians and writers he teed off on?

[Jon Abbey]

Originally Posted by Gary Sisco

On the other hand, he was the only established critic hip enough to American music's real lights to have consistently placed Michael Hurley up there where he belongs, so he's okay in my book, regardless, for that.

well, a rare exception there. even in the seventies, he ignored and/or dismissed essential bands like Funkadelic and Can. don't let the door hit you on the way out, self-proclaimed Dean.

[letchhausen]

So what do people think of this move in general? Good, bad, indifferent?

[Jon Abbey]

the Voice has been pretty dreadful in terms of music coverage for at least 15 or 20 years now. both Time Out New York (a direct competitor) and the NY Times (an indirect competitor, but still with a big focus on local events) have far surpassed them in recent years. most concerts/records I care about aren't even mentioned with one-line descriptions in the weekly listings, let alone anything more in-depth, and if they are, the pieces are generally so stylistically up their own ass that it's hard to take anything out of them. so my take is that it really can't get worse than it's been.

[Dr Dave]

I am predisposed to favor ol' Bob. Christgau got behind some friends of mine, they were from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and they were a band called The West Philadelphia Speedboys, and as Christgau pointed out, they were neither boys nor speedy. In the way long ago, I had a band with their onetime lead guitarist, the brilliant but unstable Tommy Sheehan. For about a year, we made magic. Then he had a breakdown, and that was that.

Christgau was capable of being titanically wrong-headed (his review of Hendrix at Monterey Pop is a fine example) but you got to hand it to him, he wrote from the heart.

[John L]

Originally Posted by Captain Hate

I've never understood his recent appeal (particularly with the web available) but a friend of mine used to slavishly read his stuff; this will be a very sad event for him. Btw, who are some of the musicians and writers he teed off on?

As an example, the last Christgau piece that I read was a Village Voice review of Peter Guralnick's new biography of Sam Cooke. Whatever you think of the book, Guralnick put a tremendous amount of serious research into it. It is the most comprehensive book on Sam Cooke that we will ever see.

Christgau cuts into Guralnick for not making a convincing case of Sam Cooke's greatness. In fact, that was not the point of the book at all. The book was written under the assumption that Sam Cooke's greatness is a given (which is good enough for most of us), and concentrated on the details of his career and life. But Christgau lets us know that he is not convinced at all, and that he doesn't believe that Sam Cooke belongs in the Pantheon with Al Green, Aretha Franklin and bla, bla, bla. In other words, the book sucks because Cooke apparently does not deserve a biography like this.

Then he cuts into Peter Guralnick for being a naive white boy who let himself get suckered into believing what white record producers and managers were telling him about Sam Cooke. He accuses Guralnick of relying primarily on interviews with white people when in fact the opposite is true. The most extensive and important interviews in the book come from members of Sam Cooke's family, in addition to Lou Rawls, J.W. Alexander, and Bumps Blackwell. But Christgau wants to leave no doubt in the review that his understanding of racism in the music industry is on a completely different level than that of Guralnick.

This review is typical Christgau. It works better than a finger down the throat if you want to vomit.

I seem to also recall a characterization of Johnnie Taylor as an insignificant one-hit wonder (Who's Making Love) who was never able to distinguish himself otherwise, either vocally or stylistically. Sure, opinions are opinions. But stupidity is also stupidity. (The Rolling Stone Record Guide is full of unbelievable one liners like this from Christgau.)

[Root Doctor]

Christgau is no Peter Guralnick, not even within shouting distance. I'd take him over Dave Marsh in a heartbeat, though.

His best reviews manage to capture the essence of a record in a sentence or two. Unfortunately, it's been several decades since he was able to do this.

Jon, Christgau was on the George Clinton train pretty much from the start (I think he's measured praise of the Westbound stuff is right on the money), but he did overlook Can, largely due to his indifference to anything even remotely progrockish.

[John L]

Originally Posted by Root Doctor

Christgau is no Peter Guralnick, not even within shouting distance. I'd take him over Dave Marsh in a heartbeat, though.

You may have a point there. I can recall an argument between Christgau and Marsh when Robert Cray first came on the scene. Marsh contended that Cray's middle class Seattle background is already three strikes against him as a blues artist. Christgau at least disagreed.

[Jon Abbey]

Originally Posted by Root Doctor

Jon, Christgau was on the George Clinton train pretty much from the start (I think his measured praise of the Westbound stuff is right on the money)

well, I have more respect for you than for the alleged "Dean", but you're both way off on this one. his insulting review of their first record:

Funkadelic [Westbound, 1970]
Q (side one, cut one): "Mommy, What's a Funkadelic?" A: Someone from Carolina who encountered eternity on LSD and vowed to contain it in a groove. Q (side two, cut four): "What Is Soul?" A: A ham hock in your corn flakes. You get high marks for your questions, guys. C+

he figured it out almost a decade later by One Nation Under a Groove, big deal. their first record remains probably their strongest statement.

as he seemed to do all too often, the raw power of a band's early work is dismissed/insulted, just as too often later, past-the-prime releases are raved about (not that One Nation is that, it's great, but no one has ever melded rock and funk like Funkadelic did on those first three Westbounds). the dude gave an A- to the most recent Rolling Stones record, although at least he led that one with "I'm not to be trusted". nope, you're certainly not. good luck with your web site.

[Root Doctor]

Originally Posted by Jon Abbey

well, I have more respect for you than for the alleged "Dean", but you're both way off on this one. his insulting review of their first record:

Funkadelic [Westbound, 1970]
Q (side one, cut one): "Mommy, What's a Funkadelic?" A: Someone from Carolina who encountered eternity on LSD and vowed to contain it in a groove. Q (side two, cut four): "What Is Soul?" A: A ham hock in your corn flakes. You get high marks for your questions, guys. C+

he figured it out almost a decade later by One Nation Under a Groove, big deal. their first record remains probably their strongest statement.

as he seemed to do all too often, the raw power of a band's early work is dismissed/insulted, just as too often later, past-the-prime releases are raved about (not that One Nation is that, it's great, but no one has ever melded rock and funk like Funkadelic did on those first three Westbounds). the dude gave an A- to the most recent Rolling Stones record, although at least he led that one with "I'm not to be trusted". nope, you're certainly not. good luck with your web site.

I was thinking more of his reviews of "Maggot Brain" and "America Eats Its Young," records I love but feel are more exploratory than fully realized. The review you quote points out all of Christgau's limitations: excessively arch at the expense of actually telling you something.

I can't imagine even listening to the new Stones record, let alone reviewing it and giving it high marks.

[Jon Abbey]

yeah, America Eats Its Young isn't very good, but the first three (Funkadelic, Free Your Mind..., and Maggot Brain) are pretty amazing, with the first being the most consistent and the other two having some mind-melting tracks, all three are essential for any self-respecting collection, IMO.

[Root Doctor]

Originally Posted by Jon Abbey

yeah, America Eats Its Young isn't very good, but the first three (Funkadelic, Free Your Mind..., and Maggot Brain) are pretty amazing, with the first being the most consistent and the other two having some mind-melting tracks, all three are essential for any self-respecting collection, IMO.

I'll have to drag them out of my vinyl vault and give them a spin. Over the last few years, my default Clinton disc has been this:

[hearsay]

His recent cover feature where he went to 30 shows in 30 days was just dreadful, practically unreadable. I was amazed at how poorly written that was, I wonder if that had anything do with his firing.

[Root Doctor]

I was browsing through his '70s guide last night and was struck by how feeble many of the reviews seem in retrospect, even those I held in some regard when I was in my early twenties. As Tommy Duncan once sang, time changes everything.

[Jon Abbey]

I was into that seventies guide in college also, but yeah, his legacy of actual insightfulness is minimal. even the records he championed were generally being championed by everyone else, with the Michael Hurley disc/s Gary cited one of the very few exceptions.

[jazzy mary]

Originally Posted by Root Doctor

I'll have to drag them out of my vinyl vault and give them a spin. Over the last few years, my default Clinton disc has been this:

My girls and I are seeing George Clinton (for the first time) on Sunday at B.B. Kings in NYC!!

[ribot_for_president]

After hearing Giddins speak so highly of him I was pretty shocked when I actually read Christgau for the first time. Here's a recent, and to me, baffling, Christgau blurb re Dylan's new piece of crap - "Startling. Radiates the observant calm of old masters who have seen enough life to be ready for anything -- Yeats, Matisse, Sonny Rollins."

I must have listened to a different set, bc other than a brief revival with Time Out of Mind its been all downhill for a while now.

[steve(thelil)]

I loved his capsule reviews in the 70's and 80's.

[HenryMc]

You guys should LOVE Christgau. In many ways he was like most of the people who post here. Passionate and willing to make a point but at times woefully ignorant and dismissive of that which he didn't like or care for. Look in the mirror. (To be fair I only read excerpts of his stuff and compiled essays in a book in the 70s when I was a kid)

[wesbound]

Christgau was overrated, but won't have a hard time getting another job.

[Gary Sisco]

Once in the early 90s he was reviewing a REM release, where he said when he wanted to hear songs about the big questions (life and death and so forth) he'd turn to Michael Hurley rather than Michael Stipe.

I wrote him a note telling him the Hurley was sounding better than ever. Cristgau wrote back asking about recent releases but he wasn't interested because Hurley didn't have a label at the time (or still) and was self-releasing. Shows how much things have changed in favor of artists in the intervening years. Who with any pretense to having his feet on earth today would ignore someone they respect because of not having a label? And actually, Hurley's self-releases have brought him more money by far than any label release ever did.

[Robert de St. Loup]

Originally Posted by wesbound

Christgau was overrated, but won't have a hard time getting another job.

I'm thinking NPR. His smug brand of know-it-allness would be perfect.