DIDJA HEAR? XGAU AXED!!

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THERE WILL BE TEARS IN THE BEERS TONIGHT

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

If this comes completely out of the blue, I apologize.

It is now official--Village Voice Media fired me today, "for
taste," which means (among other things) slightly sweeter
severance. This despite the support of new music editor Rob
Harvilla, who I like as a person and a writer. We both believed I
had won myself some kind of niche as gray eminence. So I was
surprised Tuesday when I was among the eight Voice employees
(five editorial, three art) who were instructed to bring their
union reps to a meeting with upper management today. But I
certainly wasn't shocked--my approach to music coverage has never
been much like that of the New Times papers,

Bless the union, my severance is substantial enough to give me
time to figure out what I'm doing next. In fact, having finished
all my freelance reviews yesterday, I don't have a single
assignment pending. So, since I have no intention of giving up
rock criticism, all reasonable offers entertained; my phone
number is in the book, as they used to say when there were books.
What I don't need is a vacation--the three of us just had a great
two and a half weeks, and Nina matriculated at BMCC yesterday.

No need to respond. Forward to whoever you will.

Love,

Bob Christgau

― not that guy who always posts drunk, Thursday, 31 August 2006 19:29 (eighteen years ago) link

― mitya (mitya), Thursday, 31 August 2006 19:44 (eighteen years ago) link

oh great, who's left? the new guy? witeboy-on-rap? chris ott?

― bohren un der club of gear, Thursday, 31 August 2006 20:07 (eighteen years ago) link

Make ILM paid-members-only, give free memberships to longtime posters, charge newcomers, use $$ to pay Xgau and Chuck to hang around ILM all day and talk about music.

HAHAHAHA!! Just kidding.

― I Am Curious (George) (Slight Return) (Rock Hardy), Thursday, 31 August 2006 20:24 (eighteen years ago) link

Xgau's already posting as "Louis Jagger"

― p@reene (Pareene), Thursday, 31 August 2006 21:35 (eighteen years ago) link

fired for taste. talk about faced.

― roxymuzak, Thursday, 31 August 2006 21:38 (eighteen years ago) link

http://robertchristgau.com/icon/x2.gif

― p@reene (Pareene), Thursday, 31 August 2006 21:55 (eighteen years ago) link

Xgau's already posting as "Louis Jagger"

I would buy him a case of beer if that were true.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 31 August 2006 21:55 (eighteen years ago) link

DEAR BOB DO U KNOW MYSQL KTHXBYE

― Nu-Edward III (edward iii), Friday, 1 September 2006 00:54 (eighteen years ago) link

he, he

― tehresa (tehresa), Friday, 1 September 2006 01:33 (eighteen years ago) link

The Dean is gone but he's not forgotten.

Haha, Edward!

― Ruud Haarvest (KenL), Friday, 1 September 2006 01:40 (eighteen years ago) link

If there's a P&J this year it needs to be utterly sabotaged by some sort of write-in campaign of some fashion. i mean fuck.

― sterl, Friday, 1 September 2006 02:11 (eighteen years ago) link

I think it's funny that this will be discussed here and not Olde ILX for the forseeable future.

Not surprising, I guess.

― sleeve (sleeve), Friday, 1 September 2006 02:37 (eighteen years ago) link

The firing, that is. If it's true.

― sleeve (sleeve), Friday, 1 September 2006 02:45 (eighteen years ago) link

From what we're hearing, the memo is posted on Voice office bulletin board, where someone has scrawled "LIES" across it.

(from Gawker, tho the statement hasn't actually been posted yet, unless my browser cache is fucking with me.)

― p@reene (Pareene), Friday, 1 September 2006 02:49 (eighteen years ago) link

"the memo" being the one from New Times about firing everyone.

― p@reene (Pareene), Friday, 1 September 2006 02:49 (eighteen years ago) link

The statement is up.

The Village Voice has undergone a staff restructuring intended to both
streamline its internal operations and to reconfigure the editorial
department to place an emphasis on writers as opposed to editors. This
involved the layoff of eight employees: five editorial employees and
three employees in the art department. Those layoffs took place today.
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.

As part of these efforts, the Voice has already increased its arts
coverage. Those additions include a greatly expanded calendar section,
the hiring of an additional full-time staff film reviewer, a larger
music section, the new art column "Best in Show" by R.C. Baker, and a
larger theater section that features more reviews and, for the first
time, complete and comprehensive theater listings. These steps will
culminate with the hiring of additional writers over and above existing
staff after the arrival of incoming editor-in-chief David Blum on
September 12.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 1 September 2006 04:34 (eighteen years ago) link

today's count:

XGAU 0, WOXY 0, BUSH'S OWNERSHIP SOCIETY 2

ps wtf is the fate of teh ilx

― RQ STRW, Friday, 1 September 2006 04:47 (eighteen years ago) link

Programming glitch that cropped up. Uberlords are aware of it but it might take a couple of days for resolution.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 1 September 2006 05:01 (eighteen years ago) link

Next up:

In an effort to concentrate on Presidential matters rather than congressional matters, we have restructured the governmental offices and fired George Bush.

― M Grout (Mark Grout), Friday, 1 September 2006 07:25 (eighteen years ago) link

Does this mean that Brian Dennehy gets to play Christgau in the upcoming TV movie?

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Friday, 1 September 2006 08:40 (eighteen years ago) link

Thurston Moore's 'Big Fuckin' Dick' not thought to be involved.

― much_aldo_about_nothing (much_aldo_about_nothing), Friday, 1 September 2006 08:56 (eighteen years ago) link

whatever you think of the guy's writing, he deserved a pension! devotes his working life to the publication and gets shitcanned a few years before retirement. it's just fucking sleazy, no class.

reconfigure the editorial
department to place an emphasis on writers as opposed to editors.

c'mon zgau churned copy like clockwork, even when he edited music.

― lovebug, Friday, 1 September 2006 10:23 (eighteen years ago) link

He thought he was the Dean Of Rock, turns out he was the Boxer The Horse Of Rock.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Friday, 1 September 2006 11:07 (eighteen years ago) link

c'mon zgau churned copy like clockwork, even when he edited music.

-- lovebug (writeco...), September 1st, 2006.

Yes, but when your title is editor your words cost more.

― Nu-Edward III (edward iii), Friday, 1 September 2006 12:27 (eighteen years ago) link

I KNEW THAT DISSING KING CRIMSON WAS GOING TO BITE HIM IN THE ASS LATER ONE

Srsly, who gives a shit about Christgau in 2006?

― ESTEBAN BUTTEZ IN THA HIZZOUSE, Friday, 1 September 2006 12:33 (eighteen years ago) link

my first reaction was "aw, we're missing out on a 500 post thread" on olde-ilx, but it seems many of his hardcore fanboys don't post much, or at all these days.

i'm sure the crusty geezer will land on his feet. but what will become of pazz & jop, is that owned by the voice???

― tammy tinnin, Friday, 1 September 2006 14:25 (eighteen years ago) link

Who else has been fired from Voice? Eppy lost his gig there, no?

― trees (trees), Friday, 1 September 2006 15:49 (eighteen years ago) link

xhuxk eppy?

― Ruud Haarvest (KenL), Friday, 1 September 2006 15:54 (eighteen years ago) link

http://www.france-echos.com/IMG/jpg/kaira014.jpg
http://watch.windsofchange.net/pics/2005/ra2860010462_o.jpg

― nuneb (nuneb), Friday, 1 September 2006 16:18 (eighteen years ago) link

I don't think Eppy ever had a job there, he just freelanced for them sometimes. I could be wrong, though.

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 1 September 2006 16:35 (eighteen years ago) link

(Unless, of course, you mean Chuck.)

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 1 September 2006 16:35 (eighteen years ago) link

But yeah, it looks like P&J is dead in the water unless one of them wants to revive it elsewhere.

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 1 September 2006 16:36 (eighteen years ago) link

If the ad space sold well, VV won't let it go, Xgau or no.

― I Am Curious (George) (Slight Return) (Rock Hardy), Friday, 1 September 2006 16:45 (eighteen years ago) link

i can foresee a situation where the voting bloc is cut down considerably, at least, because many people will take a stand and refuse to write for the village voice anymore (like m1cc!0) and they might decide to eliminate others just 'cuz.

― bohren un der club of gear, Friday, 1 September 2006 17:31 (eighteen years ago) link

OMG WHAT ARE YR 2006 PAZ & JOPP PIX?
(I KNO MIN3)

― OTMBOT (OTMBOT), Friday, 1 September 2006 22:07 (eighteen years ago) link

i wish old ilx were back up so we could link to the "parase a sentence" thread and remember the glory days.

― sterl, Saturday, 2 September 2006 01:01 (eighteen years ago) link

wot, this thread?

― stet (stet), Saturday, 2 September 2006 01:07 (eighteen years ago) link

the glory days are ahead of us. you know how it is in the rainforest, cut down one tree and two take its place? that's what mcdonald's says, anyway. so the rock critic will never die, he will multiply. why i bet pitchfork has spawned one hundred critics by its lonesome. and stylus is like the velvet underground. no one reads it, but everyone who does went out and formed a blog.

― bohren un der club of gear, Saturday, 2 September 2006 01:08 (eighteen years ago) link

three months pass...

Christgau referred to the new Merle Haggard/George Jones album as "Haggard/Jones" and at first I thought he meant Ted and Mike.

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 8 December 2006 19:36 (seventeen years ago) link

and stylus is like the velvet underground. no one reads it, but everyone who does went out and formed a blog.

tee hee!

― M@tt He1ges0n (Matt Helgeson), Friday, 8 December 2006 20:18 (seventeen years ago) link

Didja hear? Xgau hired!

http://music.msn.com/music/consumerguide

― Thus Sang Freud (Thus Sang Freud), Friday, 8 December 2006 20:31 (seventeen years ago) link

My reasons to read msn just went from 0 to 1.

― Hurting (A-Ron Hubbard), Friday, 8 December 2006 22:11 (seventeen years ago) link

Only six columns a year?! They better be amazing or I'll forget to read them.

― I Am Curious (George) (Slight Return) (Rock Hardy), Friday, 8 December 2006 22:27 (seventeen years ago) link

he seems to like modern times quite a bit more now than he did when he reviewed it for blender

― a_p (a_p), Saturday, 9 December 2006 02:31 (seventeen years ago) link

?he seems to like modern times quite a bit more now than he did when he reviewed it for blender

Yes. It's his 2nd favorite record of the year, he listed his top ten on an National Public Radio special the other day. Number one was New York Dolls. Other usual Christgau favorites were in the top ten like Sonic Youth, Todd Snider and a Klezmer compilation.

― kornrulez6969 (kornrulez6969), Saturday, 9 December 2006 17:24 (seventeen years ago) link

aww do i have to listen to that new york dolls album now or has he actually lost it for real now?

― a_p (a_p), Saturday, 9 December 2006 20:03 (seventeen years ago) link

I can't find his top 10 listed anywhere. Just this NPR page with links to a webcast Christgau participated in where he talked about it, and links to NPR listeners top 10, plus Will Hermes and 2 other critics.

http://www.npr.org/programs/asc/archives/bestof06/

― cornyrocker (DC Steve), Saturday, 9 December 2006 21:50 (seventeen years ago) link

The top ten isn't listed, it's in the podcast which is an hour long. If you think it's something you'd be interested in hearing, you probably won't be disappointed.

― kornrulez6969 (kornrulez6969), Sunday, 10 December 2006 00:48 (seventeen years ago) link

aww do i have to listen to that new york dolls album now or has he actually lost it for real now?

Oh, he lost it Johansen-wise when he raved about Sweet Revenge.

― m1cc1o (m1cc1o), Sunday, 10 December 2006 03:03 (seventeen years ago) link

and stylus is like the velvet underground. no one reads it, but everyone who does went out and formed a blog.

Formed a blog
We formed a blog
Look at us, we formed a blog!

― Nice Esteban Buttez (King Esteban), Sunday, 10 December 2006 15:07 (seventeen years ago) link

Anyways, MSN is nothing more than the retirement home for Xgau. (It could be argued that he's already been in it, in spirit, for at least twenty years now.)

― Nice Esteban Buttez (King Esteban), Sunday, 10 December 2006 15:09 (seventeen years ago) link

But despite his faults, I still would rather read him than a lotta critics out there. He may stubbornly stick with some of his ol' favorites but he's still exploring other avenues from rap to afropop.

― cornyrocker (DC Steve), Monday, 11 December 2006 03:50 (seventeen years ago) link

Christgau's top 10:

1. New York Dolls - One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This
2. Bob Dylan - Modern Times
3. Todd Snider - The Devil You Know
4. various artists - Crunk Hits, Vol. 2
5. Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped
6. Maria Muldaur - Heart of Mine: Love Songs of Bob Dylan
7. Ornette Coleman - Sound Grammar
8. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
9. The Klezmatics - Woody Guthrie's Happy Joyous Hanukkah
10. Outkast - Idlewild

He calls the Klezmatics one his "Ramones album of the year" and Crunk Hits his "Sex Pistols album of the year".

― Patrick (Patrick), Monday, 11 December 2006 16:57 (seventeen years ago) link

Klezmatics are no joke y'all, they are the best band in the U.S. (but not in North America). The new album will not be on my top ten list but we'll be cranking it Friday night!

Xgau's list is idiosyncratic but kinda brutal though.

― Matt Cibula (Formerly, the Haikunym), Monday, 11 December 2006 17:00 (seventeen years ago) link

Xgau digs the old folk shock horror youth cult probe

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Monday, 11 December 2006 17:01 (seventeen years ago) link

That list is so shamelessly predictable one actually wouldn't predict it.

― m1cc1o (m1cc1o), Monday, 11 December 2006 23:43 (seventeen years ago) link

Maybe that was his "Bands I'd Like To Play At My Funeral" dreamlist or something.

― m1cc1o (m1cc1o), Monday, 11 December 2006 23:44 (seventeen years ago) link

Well, one day it will please us to remember even this.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 12 December 2006 00:52 (seventeen years ago) link

one month passes...

What's the delay on the February/March Consumer Guide? It says it's supposed to be updated the first of every other month.

Dean, why do you get my hopes up only to dash them?

― kornrulez6969 (kornrulez6969), Tuesday, 6 February 2007 16:22 (seventeen years ago) link

He gives 4 stars to Lucinda Williams in the new Rolling Stone.

― Eazy (Eazy), Tuesday, 13 February 2007 06:46 (seventeen years ago) link

he does, yeah. which is too many. he's right about her general trajectory but too nice about it. but everybody gets to pick their own people to be too nice about, i guess.

― tipsy mothra (tipsy mothra), Tuesday, 13 February 2007 07:40 (seventeen years ago) link

TS: bending over backwards to excuse the shortcomings of lucinda vs going ott in mean-spirited takedown of joanna

― bill sackter (bill sackter), Tuesday, 13 February 2007 15:37 (seventeen years ago) link

Maybe if Newsome had recorded a series of albums which according to Christgau are damn near perfect he'd be more merciful.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 13 February 2007 15:38 (seventeen years ago) link

"near"

― bill sackter (bill sackter), Tuesday, 13 February 2007 15:41 (seventeen years ago) link

He did like her debut pretty well (A-). I pretty much agree with him about Ys's shortcomings.

― o. nate (o. nate), Tuesday, 13 February 2007 16:32 (seventeen years ago) link

Can anyone make sense of this koan (his summary of Nellie McKay's latest)?

Too much too soon, and also too late, a syndrome that cries out for professional advice ("Cupcake," "Food").

I feel he is underrating the album, but I can't figure out why.

― o. nate (o. nate), Tuesday, 13 February 2007 16:34 (seventeen years ago) link

I like the one for the last Strokes record:

You know how it is--the gym does more for your wind than for your jump shot ("You Only Live Once," "Ask Me Anything"). ***

― Eazy (Eazy), Tuesday, 13 February 2007 16:42 (seventeen years ago) link

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