This was a shocker; Christgau review of America: The Rough Cut in his July Consumer Guide (A-)

[AllenLowe]

Robert Christgau:

 

"Allen Lowe and the Constant Sorrow Orchestra: America: The Rough Cut (ESP-Disc) Jazz loyalist, music historian, saxophonist, guitarist, and major cancer survivor Lowe declares that he doesn’t much like today’s music, which he claims lacks “funk” without indicating any familiarity with James Brown, who I assume he knows, or hip-hop, where I assume his education is spotty if that. But this hour of sax-guitar-bass-drums jazz got my attention from spin one. Lowe believes various of its tracks evoke “pre-blues ruminations” or “a post-rational burst of tongues,” “medicine-show irony” or “old-time hillbilly rag.” If so, it does so a little too abstractly or allusively for somebody who continues to find serious as well as pleasurable sustenance in a broad array of today’s musics. But as mere jazz it generates a surprisingly compact, uncommonly straightforward, and dare I say pop-friendly sense of identity and purpose. A MINUS"

 

https://robertchristgau.substack.com/p/consumer-guide-july-2023?r=1jtu0&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email&fbclid=IwAR1RBNMy7cTtvhWYNE2WQ02GwkcfI0qSo-XWwxA8P85GC00qXBcslK8-W6c

my only slight quibble - because Christgau reviews so little jazz and I can't really complain - and, I shouldn't bite a hand that is feeding me -  is that James Brown is dead. I probably should have made clearer that I was talking more about jazz and the whitened pop that seems to so dominate the charts, plus the very bland music all over that passes for Americana. But jazz in particular, which talks a lot about the blues but has a very fixed, conservative, narrow and over-qualified sense of what blues and funk is (and funk itself has become pretty formulaic, a repetition of fixed gestures, IMHO).

Edited July 13, 2023 by AllenLowe

[Teasing the Korean]

Well, I'm glad Christgau got something right.  I generally think he is an ass who reviews music only from a sociological perspective and not a musical one. 

But I'm glad you got a positive review!

[gvopedz]

37 minutes ago, Teasing the Korean said:

Well, I'm glad Christgau got something right.  I generally think he is an ass who reviews music only from a sociological perspective and not a musical one. 

I once had a conversation with a guitar player who has been in several rock bands, and I commented on the books that talk about his bands.  He told me, “the authors of those books write about everything but not about the music.”

[Dmitry]

Are we to congratulate you, or comfort you? A minus is worse than a plus?

[Teasing the Korean]

5 minutes ago, gvopedz said:

I once had a conversation with a guitar player who has been in several rock bands, and I commented on the books that talk about his bands.  He told me, “the authors of those books write about everything but not about the music.”

One of many reasons I never had any use for most critics.  And in the digital era, they are less relevant than ever.  '

The job of the critic is to reinforce what the reader believes about him/herself, and in the process, sell ad space.

Edited July 13, 2023 by Teasing the Korean

[Dmitry]

Question  - does a music critic need to be able to play an instrument, and use the accepted terminology established by centuries of professionals and possible to be descriptive, or will you take their word for what it's worth, when sentences containing things like "sheets of sound", "post-impressionism", "fluid ambiguity", "the innocent vigor of androgyny", "strong", "languid", "apocalyptic" are changing hands?

 "it generates a surprisingly compact, uncommonly straightforward, and dare I say pop-friendly sense of identity and purpose"... does this Christgau look at himself in the mirror when he masturbates?

[Teasing the Korean]

12 minutes ago, Dmitry said:

Question  - does a music critic need to be able to play an instrument, and use the accepted terminology established by centuries of professionals and possible to be descriptive, or will you take their word for what it's worth, when sentences containing things like "sheets of sound", "post-impressionism", "fluid ambiguity", "the innocent vigor of androgyny", "strong", "languid", "apocalyptic" are changing hands?

 "it generates a surprisingly compact, uncommonly straightforward, and dare I say pop-friendly sense of identity and purpose"... does this Christgau look at himself in the mirror when he masturbates?

They need to generate clicks and add sales.  How they get there is irrelevant.

[Dmitry]

55 minutes ago, Teasing the Korean said:

One of many reasons I never had any use for most critics.  And in the digital era, they are less relevant than ever.  '

The job of the critic is to reinforce what the reader believes about him/herself, and in the process, sell ad space.

I will agree, but only partially. I am not able to play music (a big disappointment for me, since I love it so), but I love the arts, and competent critics are remarkably important. The art form can't reliably critique itself, no matter how authoritatively Clement Greenberg postulates otherwise. One of the reasons I lost interest in jazz periodicals was lack of good revieres who weren't  afraid of writing critical pieces. In digital era (you mean ease of access?), there is so much art of all kinds, vast majority of it being very poor, that the good art may get lost and not discovered until the contemporaries are long gone. Don't ask me for examples...:D

[Teasing the Korean]

41 minutes ago, Dmitry said:

 In digital era (you mean ease of access?)

Being able to preview albums before you buy them, recommendations of friends who share similar tastes, online reviews, discussions at places like this.  

And please note that I said "most" critics.  No disrespect intended to @Larry Kart @Christiern, et. al.

[Rabshakeh]

The two main things I really want from a good professional critic are: (1) clear direction as to whether he/she thinks the new release stands out and is actually worth listening to (saving me the time), and (2), and this is my ideal, a range of references and background knowledge that adds a wider context to the work that I may not know, and also references to important records / bands I might have missed.

[T.D.]

26 minutes ago, Rabshakeh said:

The two main things I really want from a good professional critic are: (1) clear direction as to whether he/she thinks the new release stands out and is actually worth listening to (saving me the time), and (2), and this is my ideal, a range of references and background knowledge that adds a wider context to the work that I may not know, and also references to important records / bands I might have missed.

Very much agreed. I used to read a lot of critics for jazz and "new music" / "modern classical", and those ideals were seldom achieved. Nowadays I rely more on discussion forums like this, and on certain blogs I've come to trust.

I listen to relatively little rock / pop / whatever, and most of those critics tend to bewilder me. They often seem self-parodic, and I'm left with a nagging feeling of having fallen for a hoax. Here's an example from Perfect Sound Forever (which sometimes does have reasonable content, however): https://www.furious.com/perfect/supremedicks.html

 

And (of course), congratulations to Allen on the unexpected review. Surely a bonus.

Edited July 13, 2023 by T.D.

[Ken Dryden]

When writing for a monthly magazine, where you might get 3 or 4 reviews assigned at most, do you want to spend your time blasting substandard releases or praising music that you enjoyed? When I was able to write prolifically for one outlet (which paid well), I often pitched nearly everything that arrived in my mailbox and panned releases that merited it. But now I focus on things that attract my attention and deserve repeated listening, rather than condemning uninspired CDs by young, little known artists playing all originals that will quickly fade from memory, or mediocre vocalists who have no idea how to interpret a well known lyric. I was once challenged by an editor for giving "too many" four star reviews (I hate the star ratings system, one should be able to figure out how much the reviewer liked the release from reading the review). My response was that I no longer pitched reviews of bad or mediocre releases.

I took Downbeat to task for wasting space on a review of a new Kenny G CD and also featuring it in their "hot box." I was surprised when they printed my letter verbatim.

[AllenLowe]

7 hours ago, Dmitry said:

Are we to congratulate you, or comfort you? A minus is worse than a plus?

I am told that is about the highest rating one will ever get from Christgau so I am happy with it. Plus he rarely if ever reviews jazz. Promotionally this is very good.

7 hours ago, Dmitry said:

Question  - does a music critic need to be able to play an instrument, and use the accepted terminology established by centuries of professionals and possible to be descriptive, or will you take their word for what it's worth, when sentences containing things like "sheets of sound", "post-impressionism", "fluid ambiguity", "the innocent vigor of androgyny", "strong", "languid", "apocalyptic" are changing hands?

 "it generates a surprisingly compact, uncommonly straightforward, and dare I say pop-friendly sense of identity and purpose"... does this Christgau look at himself in the mirror when he masturbates?

1) Some of the best critics I have read were not actual musicians (Larry Kart on this forum, is actually one of the best critics ever; he needs to be appreciated).

2) I think polls mean nothing until I win one myself. Then they are an affirmation of all that is good in music, a precise and accurate reflection of musical quality and accomplishment.

 3) I think reviews mean nothing, until I get a good one. Then they indicate the amazing discretion and insight of the person doing the reviewing.

4) If I ever get a single vote in a Jazz Journalist Association poll I will search the sky for the sight of a pig flying. Especially as I have spent a bit of time  of late ridiculing them.

Edited July 13, 2023 by AllenLowe

[Dub Modal]

Congrats on the review. The album in question is excellent as is In the Dark.

[AllenLowe]

But all seriousness aside, I want a critic to tell me something I don't know, to show me something in the music that I have not already seen/heard. And there are a few who have done this, whom I think have made real contributions to American culture. In no special order I would mention:

1) Greg Tate in his earlier days. Greg was a wonderful person, though his later work was a bit captive of trendiness and what almost sounded like promotional writing. But his work in his first collection (Flyboy) is brilliant and insightful and indispensable.

2) Gary Giddins - Gary was a real jerk to me (he basically libeled me in print, a long story) but did some terrific writing. Read, for one example, his essay on Ethel Waters, one of the best things I have ever read. His weakness was pretending at times to have technical musical knowledge (and btw this proves that Justin V, or whatever his name is, unfairly attributed my negativity toward a musician to rejection; Gary's remarks about me were unforgivable, but I am able to separate the personal from the objective).

3) Larry Kart - Larry is also a friend, so there is something of a conflict of interest here, but he is a brilliant writer whose constant insight into a variety of jazz topics is one of the highlights of jazz writing. His work is like little explosions of light, and he is great, also, purely as a writer.

4) Francis Davis - another who has become a friend, but I think he is brilliant and a great writer, full of illuminating perspectives and smart cultural insight. I also love the guy and am personally saddened at his current sickness.

 

3 minutes ago, Dub Modal said:

Congrats on the review. The album in question is excellent as is In the Dark.

thank you.

Edited July 13, 2023 by AllenLowe

[Brad]

You should probably frame that review!

[Teasing the Korean]

48 minutes ago, Brad said:

You should probably frame that review!

No, Allen shouldn't give Christgau the satisfaction!

[randyhersom]

I'm a near-lifelong Christgau fan, but jazz has never been his strongest area.  He did get me to give Sonny Rollins - G-Man a chance, and I agree with his A+ there.

[jlhoots]

I always have liked Christgau.

[danasgoodstuff]

Mixed feelings on Christgau, but great review since it may garner you some listens and purchases from people who wouldn't normally have you on their radar at all.