sometime i read christgau and am amazed...

ah, hell.

Sarah caught my eye at a Romare Bearden opening. Two nights later I bought her dinner at Alison on Dominick. The sex was lush, cushiony, companionable, matter-of-fact--no tricks to speak of, but she knew her own body and had ideas about mine. The subtlety of her variations was delicious. Later, though, I heard she'd wrinkled her nose at my personal hygiene. Sassy, my sweet, what are a few skid marks between friends?

After Lucille beat me at nine-ball in the back of a keno parlor, we went out for ribs and ended up bringing some Bacardi back to her place. The sex was hot and candid, lots of tongue, teeth, and growl, and though I'd expected raunch, only toward the end did she get all "I'll do it to you honey till I make you shit." This wasn't literally true, but it might as well have been. Later, though, I heard she'd bad-mouthed me for not delivering on that rim job. Bessie, I swear, it just slipped my mind.

seriously though let's get back to that mama cass review. what the hell? is that supposed to be some meta-offensive thing (like he's cryptically distancing himself from the "fatso" line)? is it a lame shock tactic--"i'll offend propriety and good taste in the name of insulting this terrible album"?

seems like the pre-internet equivalent of trolling, honestly.

xpost

anyone who describes anything sexual as "delicious" is instantly creepy.

kneejerk dismissals of xgau are about as boring as other folks' ardent, sometimes clannish, defense of everything he has ever written.

^

good christ what in the fuck is that

full link (from 2005): http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/recyc/vaughan-05.php

as much as i can appreciate the metaphorical attempt of that review, i dunno if anyone can defend publishing the sentence "sassy, my sweet, what are a few skid marks between friends?"

so he's basically comparing vaughan's sophisticated-but-sultry ballad singing to lucille bogan's raunchy single-entendres via an elaborate narrativized sex metaphor? seems sort of show-offy.

if some kid at a college newspaper wanted to review a sarah vaughn comp and the "shave em dry" dirty blues comp by talking about how it was when he fucked both the singers, well, what would everyone think of that?

ask Chuck, he edited it after all.

i would want to see a photo of the college student who wrote "the subtlety of her varities was delicious" is what i'd think

actually a college newspaper would probably be dunderheaded enough to publish that.

honestly the review doesn't really offend me, it's just a dumb literary conceit that should have been ixnayed by the editor on the grounds of its stupidity. hi chuck.

xgau dot com should have comments boxes

ilm would die a lonely death.

"kneejerk dismissals of xgau are about as boring as other folks' ardent, sometimes clannish, defense of everything he has ever written."

Fine either be bored or dont read the thread. The guy is a fucking putz.

we'd have to pick which review to have the 1400 post excursus on the dark knight tho

Fine either be bored or dont read the thread.

i'm glad i have your permission to be bored, mr. magoo.

xp Hey, I printed weirder stuff in the Voice by other people back then, I'm sure. And for Xgau especically, it was definitely...a change of pace. And for an oldtime-music review, definitely not what you'd call stodgy. Variety is the spice of music sections. At least I didn't have to edit the Valentine supplement. (Bob wrote for that sometimes, too, I think.)

But anyway, I'll bite -- Who, exactly, has ever defended "everything he has ever written"? Name names, please.

Rock-a-ramas were old capsule reviews in Creem, Anthony. They generally took less time to write than it took to listen to the albums in question, but they were a lot of fun.

ok that was perhaps a straw man. but on some threads you and matos seemed unwilling to brook ANY criticism of the dude. i admit that isn't the case on all threads.

At least I didn't have to edit the Valentine supplement. (Bob wrote for that sometimes, too, I think.)

do tell.

xgau hates metal and prog; i don't. big deal. moving on.

I've been criticizing stuff Xgau wrote for more than a quarter century, Am. (And I've probably even been an asshole about it once or twice.)

Anyway, that Bogan/Vaughan review already had a thread of its own (and also fwiw, those Bogan songs were pretty filthy in the first place):

Xgau takes music criticism to a new level

just plain people love skid marks

xp (Most recent time I publicly criticized something Xgau wrote: Less than 24 hours ago, on the Vampire Weekend thread. You can look it up.)

Unless what I wrote about Metal Mike Saunders a few posts up counts, in which more like 1 or 2 hours ago.

and also fwiw, those Bogan songs were pretty filthy in the first place):

very true. but at least they are funny.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOjOji6sDYY

Matos is usually pro-Xgau but at one point he said about the Consumer Guide something to the effect that his style has decayed over the years.

the "skidmarks" thing gave me the willies
― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Wednesday, 30 March 2005 17:14

i'm glad i have your permission to be bored, mr. magoo.

― by another name (amateurist), Tuesday, February 9, 2010 12:27 PM (20 minutes ago) Bookmark

Jeez, you really put me in my place. Im so hurt.

butthurt?

blood in the skidmarks

poop on the plow

http://www.weeklyreader.com/readandwriting/content/binary/AB50249~Dancing-Bears-Posters.jpg

John Cougar Mellencamp: Scarecrow [Riva, 1985]
Having long wondered what gave this longtime Bowie stablemate the right to speak for the average guy, I've decided it's his talent, which is pretty damn average. That's okay, because the success ratio here, a nice average fifty-fifty or so, just goes to show you what sincerity, hard work, and modest ambitions can do. Mellencamp has half outgrown the fatalism that always underlined the predictability of his Stonesish bandmates, who've gotten tougher with age, an encouraging sign in rich musicians. I wish I knew (I wish he knew) exactly what "Justice and Independence '85" is trying to say. But I'll take "You've Got to Stand for Something" at face value. B+

Scareblown.

haha how dare he sing about America, he's got BRITISH MANAGEMENT!

the Bowie line always confused me, and excited me ("Ooh, Johnny Coug collaborated with Bowie!").

Man is that a terrible "review".

Bowie stablemate = poseur, or so i've always assumed.

Actually, from '82 to '87 xgau got Mellencamp right, and even stopped caring around the same time Coog stopped improving.

from '82 to '87 xgau got Mellencamp right

Alfred, you're just trying to bait me now, right?

ha - I bought Nothing Matters... at your recommendation a couple of years ago, and, well, sorry.

The double-disc comp released in '04 and my old copies of Scarecrow and The Lonesome Jubilee are all I need.

If anybody is interested on the truth on these matters:

What is John (Cougar) Mellancamp's best song?

wait, that review isn't bad at all! people are just picking on xgau now!

stablemate is a bit off, bowie and defries were history by the time defries discovered Johnny Cougar right?

what a disaster for john cougar mellencamp

This Is Bull [Paramount, 1971]
Speak for yourself, Ferdinand. D

were u really amazed when u read these?

OK googling says Bowie split w/ Defries in 75, the same year Cougar signed on to Mainman, and Cougar was dropped by DeFries right after his first record, so calling him a "longtime Bowie stablemate" in 1985 is wrong. Or I guess it could be intentional, a real rock crit kneeslapper.

No idea why this captivated my attention.

This Is Bull [Paramount, 1971]
Speak for yourself, Ferdinand. D

GREAT album!

fun fact: Bull was friends with Chaki's dad.