New Christgau Consumer Guide From MSN Music

I think part of his style as a critic is importing high-brow terms and concepts from academic criticism to the rock sphere, so perhaps for him using street-level insults and moaning about "Yurrup" is a way to balance that out and show he's not an egghead.

Replace 'Yurrup' with another slurred continent, and see how that sounds.

Look, I simply have a hard time respecting a critic who repeatedly and consistently insults me because I was born on the wrong side of the Atlantic. Surely that's an understandable position? I also have a hard time with, say, French critics who automatically dismiss anything that comes out of the US (although I can't recall the last time I actually came across such a case).

I haven't really listened to him talk before. I think he actually comes across better here than he often does in his writing. Maybe having Carola there softened him a bit, but he sounds fairly self-deprecating.

I think this is pretty common with critics, and it's probably a reflection of how often people in general behave better when they're talking to someone (especially in-person but even on the phone). I'm sure that applies to everyone here, or at least I would hope.

He deals explicitly with this topic (not with metal) in his 2002 EMP Pop Conference presentation, "U.S. and Them: Are American Pop (and Semi-Pop) Still Exceptional? And by the Way, Does That Make Them Better?", included in his book.

French critics who automatically dismiss anything that comes out of the US (although I can't recall the last time I actually came across such a case)

Surprised by this. I'm not familiar with French music criticism, but isn't French culture famously more respective and appreciative of American culture than Americans? Not everything obviously, but stuff like jazz to classic Hollywood to even comic books?

It's a love-hate relationship. Or perhaps it's fairer to say that it's not the same people.

To be clear, the snooty knee-jerk anti-Americans have been on the wave for several decades now.

*wane

I find Joe Levy funny in these last two editions. He's pretty sly at deflating Christgau--like the way he pushes back on the idea that he hates What's Going On, and then goes on to pretty much say exactly that. (I actually agree with Christgau on the album: three amazing songs plus stuff I can't remember.)

I guess I've just never quite understood the Dolls as much more than a concept, let alone as a band anyone would say is vying to be their absolute favorite. Those albums are good, I just don't think they're *that* good. Maybe you had to be there.

Funny, this is exactly what I would say about the Ramones! (I’m not a huge Dolls fan, but I would take them over the Ramones any day.)

To be clear, the snooty knee-jerk anti-Americans have been on the wave for several decades now.

Interesting. My first time in Paris was during the tail end of the (second) Bush years, and I was surprised how many Parisians my age didn't seem anti-American at all. Almost to a fault - McDonald's seemed depressingly popular - but I remember they were all enthusiastically planning to visit L.A. or NYC or just came back from there, and that stuck out after putting up with "freedom fry" twits in America. I think soon after I saw a new film (Assayas's Summer Hours?) where they mention how the "kids" these days were all into American things. Maybe it's a generational thing?

Ah now I see the "wane" correction, I thought it was on the upswing!

I love What's Going On, as much as I love Sgt. Pepper. Neither would be among my top 3 albums of their respective years, but they're still great albums in my book. The "3 songs + filler" is the most common knock on What's Going On but I didn't learn to hear past that when I stopped trying to judge it by the individual parts. It's hard to explain, but it's like a book where you have scenes or chapters that don't feel remarkable out of context, but without them, the book isn't a masterpiece. Like you need to read those to get the whole thing. The album works brilliantly for me as a stream-of-consciousness immersion into a stoned, traumatized mind, but that's only if I hear it all - that narrative doesn't actually reveal itself without swimming through the entire first side.

*hear past that until I stopped trying to judge it by the individual parts

Oh, I get that, it's just a bore for me after the three sinles.

*singles

The Paula Deen of American Rock Critics TM