da DeRogatis thread

i don't quite get the level of hate derogatis inspires. i mean, he's a terrible writer, not an original idea in his head, he's smug, self-satisfied, and bloated (writing wise, people!). but you can say that about a lot of critics. also, he doesn't seem all that ubiquitous, although keep in mind i don't read any of the major rock/pop mags or most weeklies. is it just a case of "this horrible fucker is in my paper every week"? (cf. my hatred for joey sweeney. and the seattle weekly and the stranger, fucking abominations both.)

(p.s. stencil i picked up that kevin drumm disc on yr recommendation on another thread. nice.)

That said, 'ere's Jim vs. the Hootie Machine: http://www.furious.com/perfect/hootie.html

Yeah, I know. Just considering the long, long history of blues and jazz in Chicago, and the subsequent contributions that Chicagoans have made to both forms, I found it odd he only gives them a token mention.

(which drumm? the mego one? he's got a new one coming out on hanson in january.)

What sort of wiggle can we imagine Jim D.R. does at Wire shows?

Okay, I'll stop with the fat jokes now.

What is a "white-person wiggle"? Are blacks and other nonwhites incapable of wiggling? Is the wiggle of an African-American inherently different from that of a Caucasian?

http://www.jimdero.com/Vortis/Vortis1.htm

Highlights: "Maybe someone starts out listening to the Prodigy's hit single "Firestarter" and ends up searching out the more challenging Aphex Twin, Orb, or Headrillaz"; "bassist Leeroy Thornhill"; "Maxim Reality's frequently repeated boast, 'Change my pitch up/Smack my bitch up'"; "while it might not have struck you before, "Firestarter" is a song about an arsonist who really loves his work."

Actually, that's pretty *funny*, Nate! (Maybe even intentionally.)

But anyway, to answer Jess, what's really most despicable about Derogatis--what most sets him apart from all the other hacks putting in a an honest day's work covering rock music for dailies around this great nation of ours -- is his bizarre and entirely unfounded belief that he's some kind of renegade going against the grain. As somebody (I forget who, or maybe I don't) pointed out, as a writer he's way, way closer to Anthony Decurtis than to Lester Bangs. Which would be no big deal, of course, except, hey, guess which one of those two guys he wrote a book about? (And the book has some fun stories in it, don't get me wrong. But nowhere in it does Jim D. really talk about Lester's ideas--which are why he might deserve a bio the first place!)

JDR was in that band? I bought their alb because of the Feelies connection but I couldn't stand it.

Oh for fucks sake!

This is not to mention the band's lead singer, a sociology professor whose professed "role model" is the Unabomber and whose preferred attitude is "Raucous contempt."

Does this make anyone else sad? I found these sort of radical-chic poseurs unbearable and not a little pathetic in high school. But these guys are (temporally speaking) all grown up.

I like "Astral Weeks" but . . . gag.

i recall the evening i turned on the radio and heard j.d.r. reviewing a bottle rockets album: "ewww, some of this sounds like lynyrd skynyrd."

I live in Chicago, post on the SoundOpinions message board regularly, and I have a lot of experience reading Jim's work and listening to him on the radio. I must admit he does piss me off a lot. I recently called into the radio show to try and defend Think Tank (you know he's got me pisst when I gotta call into to defend a 6/10 record) just because of his review was so ridiculous. Maybe people outside the city don't read/listen to him enough to pick up on this but his neverending references to the Flaming Lips is enough to make a kid cry. He name drops them in reviews of everything from Super Furry Animals to Longwave (who he astoundingly included on his mid year top ten of 03) to his recent review of Hail To The Thief. When I saw Beck and The Lips last fall I met Wayne before the show and actually asked him about Jim...he played it real cool and said that even though people may disagree with him he is a passionate guy who really cares about music. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up writing a book on them.

Another thing that nobody has brought up is Jim's rejection of all hip hop music made post-NWA. He is still writing off people like Jay-Z and Nas as nihilist gangsta rappers who should be ignored. He actually champions PM Dawn as an example of when all was right in hip hop.

All in all, I think it's pretty much already been settled by this thread. Jim is a nice guy who loves rock music but doesn't really care about being objective or covering everything fairly. He is going to harp on things that bug him and hype things that excite him...endlessly. So I end up asking myself...why read him?

I, however, will go to the mat for one Greg Kot. He consistantly puts out quality columns on rock music. He wrote _the_ definitive and first piece on Wilco's split from Nonesuch that was read by every person working in the industry. His writing for the Trib is much more rooted in traditional journalism than critical rhetoric and provides the reader with multiple perspectives on a broad range of issues in popular music. However, he's isn't exactly the most cutting edge critic around when it comes to record and concert reviews...but he does a solid job. I very much enjoyed his Hail To The Thief review. He is also a better writer than Derogatis who puts out a lot of trashy filler columns and QandA interviews with whoever is in town. Kot's column is almost always quality and he goes out of his way to expose a lot of different artists in his frequent Friday profiles. In the last year, off the top of my head, I've enjoyed his profiles on Camper Von Beethoven, Tomahawk, and Alexandro Escevedo (sp?). He's the only rock critic I've ever encountered who has such a balance between critical and journalistic writing. In the last year, again off the top of my head, he's had good journalistic type pieces about Protest music post-911, the file sharing debacle, and the FCC derregulation...all well written and with balanced and insightful sources.

Also, DeRo was writing about The Fire Show...remember that.

You know what? I don't have to defend Jim anymore, because he's my ex-husband. So, you can know for sure that what I say is coming from my head---

I've read and listened to a lot of writers. Not just rock crits. . .anyone who has posted anything on this bored and just reduced him to arrogance, a shitty writer, and fat as the lowest common denominator is not only completely crass and ignorant. . .but really ignoring the message that Jim has been preaching since I met him thirteen years ago. . .which is. . .anyone can be a critic, and every person's opinion is just as valid and as important as his own. . .he just happens to get paid for it.

So, disagreeing with him is absolutely the first thing he would want you to do. . .but you better defend it with something better then lame ass fat jokes. . .and don't you think that an entire message bored devoted to denouncing a rock critic doesn't hinge on the tiniest note of jealousy? Come on boys. . .let's grow up a little.

Kim.
P.S. The Bang's book speaks for itself. . .and if you haven't seen Jim in awhile. . .he's not fat.

anyhoo, you're all entitled to your opinions about jim's writing, but he is a very, very kind human being who has a bibliographical knowledge of rock history and is deeply committed to developing young, mostly unknown writers like myself and a few of my friends in chicago. there are lots of bad writers and editors out there, and i would definitely *not* lump jim in any of those folks, even though i often disagree with his opinions.

all best.

DeRo: I can't believe you like this.

Kot: What's not to like?

DeRo: Oh come on, it's totally soulless...

Kot: Soulless? Are you kidding? He's singing in that R. Kelly croon about taking a woman home with him. What's soulless about that?

DeRo: ... and overproduced. You don't think it's overproduced?

Kot: No, I think if anything it's underproduced! The whole point of Lil Jon's production is that it's sparse, there's very little bottom to it.

DeRo: Look, this is all just a rip-off of this underground dance sound [?!] called crunk, that's C-R-U-N-K. And with this song, Usher takes crunk to the mainstream and waters it down. It's like crunk lite.

At this point I yelled at the TV. My friend Kelsey, who I was watching with, and who knows absolutely nothing about rock criticism, said, "Jesus, he's a buffoon. How can the other guy put up with them every week?"

Yeah, I know, preaching to the choir, etc., but man oh man.

*don't forget the "kenan is a pedo" joke*

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=254389793362&ref=mf

Ick.

Jim DeRogatis has a problem with new media:

http://bit.ly/d6li28

I don't really need to read another article about DeRo, so that link probably explains this, but isn't "new media" how he makes most of his money these days?

Sounds like he's just mad at Whiney and wants some of that action.

A punk rocker to the core, DeRogatis strongly encourages a little heckling during the lecture.

thanks!

Will he get made if you hock a loogie on him?

yes, if you spit on him he goes gangsta

A punk rocker to the core, DeRogatis strongly encourages Third Eye Blind lead singer Stephen Jenkins to kiss him wetly behind the ear