He likes his severance package



The letter is via Gawker who also lists everyone fired: "On the editorial side: Darren Reidy, Ed Park, Jorge Morales, Elizabeth Zimmer, and - gasp -- Bob Christgau. On the art side: Minh Uong, LD Beghtol, Tina Zimmer."

I had no idea what any of his reviews ever meant, but I grew up reading him and it is just one more reason i care less bout the village voice. basically, i look for the concert listings at this point.

That's the real shame. He should really rethink that decision.

His reviews were always literate and interesting even when I wanted to smack him.

I've always thought of him as one of those people who feel they are worth far more to society than they really are. It's like he believed his pretentious critiques made us all better people and better fans of music. That's just my take. I haven't read him for years and only read his reviews for a short while in the late 90's, so what do I know.

I've read his reviews off and on for many, many, many years. They made me a better person. I "agreed" with him infrequently, but that was never the point of reading them. They forced you (me) to engage the music in new ways... they assumed that music was vitally important. A rare assumption these days.

The absorption of the VV by "The Weekly" chain is but one more evidence of the dumbing down, numbing and corrosive standardizing of American culture. Starbucks, Office Max, PetSmart, Apple Bees... one size fits all in the hegemonic fog of domination and lemming-marches to an certain/uncertain future....

Thanks for taking the time to respond so articulately, Harry. I don't care about the VV, but Christgau has always been one of my fave reviewers for exactly those reasons.

this sort of purple nonsense is why i try not to read Christgau's reviews or harry's posts.

Office Max and PetSmart? Someone's got a case of the Tuesdays.

That's my point exactly... let's talk about shoes.

I have to disagree with you here, harry. The vanguard of culture has always tended, over time, to move towards the mainstream. Look at Rolling Stone magazine, the Beatles, or James Joyce - all were at one time considered shocking, outlandish, cutting edge. Now they're so accepted they seem quaint. The "American culture" that you fear is being corroded is still thriving, it has just moved on to a more stylish locale: the internet. Magazines like the Villiage Voice and RS can no longer expect to sell as many copies as they once did, now that they're competing against free content on line - they have no choice but to try and attract a broader audience. People will still read Christgau, no matter where he ends up.

Its true that the big corporations you list have taken over most retail sales in the U.S., making it seem like, no matter where you shop, everything is the same - you buy your toaster at Target, or Wal-mart, or Shopko - odds are its the same damn toaster. But not so on the internet: there are likely a hundred boutiques online selling custom made, stylish toasters. Or, log into ebay and find a unique antique toaster... OK, maybe toasters aren't the greatest example. But I think Americans have a greater amount of choice than they once had, despite the monotony of our strip-mall existence. Do I like the monsterous acres of shopping malls? No - but I hardly expect to find a hegemonic fog of domination somewhere on aisle 12.

Well argued. By your argument, however, we can expect the internet to be co-opted by entropic market forces. You could well suggest that there is evidence that is already happening.

Also, James Joyce isn't changed, Ulysses remains a lighthouse on the coast of literature, no matter how much it is "taught" by the bourgeousie and becomes accepted as "mainstream." It's historical significance remains. Just as Rolling Stone in 1968 retains it's historico-cultural power.

My point is that in the disabling homogenization of the globalized market in the present world is disproportinately powerful when compared to those remaining "sources" of Edge (the internets or DIY or deep-ecological green stink-bud hippiedom).

That this might change is this old man's hope. That it is too late is this old man's Jeremiad.

Now, back to Johnston and Murphy...

who knew obners where so smart?



Damn, that quesadilla burger is tasty!