>I admire metal's integrity, brutality, and obsessiveness, but I can't stand its delusions of grandeur--the way it apes and misapprehends reactionary notions of nobility. One thing I like about Lemmy is that he's proud to be a clod, common as muck and dogged in his will to make himself felt as just that. Add that rarest of metal virtues, a sense of humor, which definitely extends to the music's own conventions, as on the lead cut of his first album in three litigation-packed years: yclept "Deaf Forever," a good enough joke right there (especially for Sabbath fans), it turns out to be a battlefield anthem--about a corpse. And then add Bill Laswell, who was born to make megalomania signify: where most metal production gravitates toward a dull thud that highlights the shriek of the singer and the comforting reverberation of the signature guitar, Laswell's fierce clarity cracks like a whip, inspiring Lemmy, never a slowpoke in this league, to bellow one called "Built for Speed." Result: work of art. A-
>reactionary notions of nobility What does he mean by that? He also uses this phrase in his review of "A Farewell to Kings".
I think he means the blind praise of Vikings and people like them
Daniel Morris
i like how his sexual insecurity comes through in every single review he does
Landon Sanders
Don't forget about how butthurt Mark Knopfler saying faggot made him.
Nathaniel Nelson
Didnt he consistently beat the shit out of people who tried to fight him in the NYC punk scene though?
Samuel Morgan
He's saying that metal's expressions of greatness is superficial and tends toward preening and majestic gesture rather than anything truly noble or great.
Owen Sanders
He's saying he doesn't like Tolkien shit but he can't just come out and say it, he has to make everything sound convoluted as fuck so you think he's smart.
Angel Lopez
^This.
Ryder Perez
>Christgau has stated that his favorite artists are Louis Armstrong, Chuck Berry, the Beatles, and New York Dolls
Cameron Lewis
Which one did the better Doctor Rock, Motorhead or Ween?
William Reed
I've seen videos of interviews with him and he does actually talk like that in normal conversation.
Jaxson Sanchez
Christgau and metal are both equally bad.
Ian Morales
Christgau is worst.
Liam Cox
^This. He feels sexually threatened by the virile metal barbarians.
Alexander Hill
literally just a facade with fancy words, trying to sound smart and educated, lmaoing at his life
Jose Thompson
He went to an Ivy League college though.
Carson Reed
>Exposure [Polydor, 1979]
>Fripp has always been a bit of a jerk, but over the years he's figured out what to do with the talent that goes along with his affliction. This concept album earns its conceit, orchestrating bits and pieces of art-rock wisdom--from punk to Frippertronics, from King Crimson to singer-songwriter--into a fluent whole. Maybe soon he'll get smart enough to forget about J.G. Bennett. "It is impossible to achieve the aim without suffering" isn't exactly big news, and old Crimson fans will swallow side two without the caveat. B+
No just an archaic phrase he uses so you know how smart he is.
Angel Diaz
So did Lemmy.
Kayden Nelson
mfw i think christgau's brety gud
t. humanities major at ivy league college
Gavin Richardson
I feel better now
Isaiah Thompson
How does he get away with accusing metal bands of exhibitionism when he finds it necessary to show off just how many obscure phrases/words he knows?
Cameron Young
Fantano and Christgau basically prove what an oxymoron that popular music criticism is because inevitably you end up attacking an artist's image and/or fanbase instead of their music.
>reactionary >nobility Damn, these words are mind-benders. I git a 1400 on my SAT, btw
Jordan Sanders
I don't get any sense that he's trying overly hard to sound smart. Maybe very slightly in that direction but not outrageously so.
Christian Smith
Berlin [RCA Victor, 1973]
I read where this song cycle about two drug addicts who fall into sadie-mazie in thrillingly decadent Berlin, is a . . . what was that? artistic accomplishment, even if you don't like it much. Well, the category is real enough--it describes a lot of Ornette Coleman and even some Randy Newman, not to mention a whole lot of books--but in this case it happens to be horseshit. The story is lousy--if something similar was coughed up by some avant-garde asshole like, oh, Alfred Chester (arcane reference for all you rock folk who think you're cool cos you read half of Nova Express) everyone would be too bored to puke at it. The music is only competent--even Bob Ezrin can't manufacture a distance between the washed-up characters and their washed-out creator when the creator is actually singing. Also, what is this water-boy business? Is that a Buddhist cop? Gunga Din? Will Lou lick the bloomin' boots of 'im that's got it? C
Wyatt Butler
It's less that he's trying to sound smart and more the fact that he's not hiding that he's a pretentious wanker.
