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Discovered: The Paris Review’s ‘Art of Music Journalism’

By Tom Hawking on

If you’re like us, your jaw may have dropped just a smidgeon at the sight of the venerable Paris Review website publishing an article entitled “Festival Guide: A List of Don’ts for the Lady Music Writer” earlier today. The article was the work of one Natalie Elliot, a film columnist based in Italy, and its advice ranged from the obvious to the head-scratching to the flat-out bewildering. What, we wondered, was it doing in the Paris Review? Well, it turns out the PR isn’t as staid as we thought — it seems they’ve been publishing an “Art of Music Journalism” series to go with their more well-known “Art of Fiction” interviews. Who knew?! Anyway, we’ve unearthed Ms. Elliot’s entry, and suddenly everything makes a lot more sense. … Read More

Music

Pop Quiz: Amazon or Christgau?

By Tom Hawking on

Yesterday we ran a series of hilariously negative reviews of classic albums, and noted at the time that we could have cited several more from the inimitable Robert Christgau, a man who’s never been shy about putting his most controversial foot forward when it comes to music. Christgau’s hairy-chested prose, idiosyncratic tastes, and habit of reviewing himself rather than the album in question have often perplexed us, as has his Dean of American Rock Critics™ schtick. In view of this, after the jump, we’ve set out a selection of mystifying reviews — both good and bad — of notable records, and we’re asking you: which quote comes from an Amazon commenter, and which was penned by the man himself? The results, which you can find at the end of the post, may or may not surprise you. … Read More

Pop Culture

Flavorpill’s 2011 Holiday Cultural Wish List

By Judy Berman on

‘Tis the season for gift guides a-plenty — and don’t worry, we’ll have no shortage of those. But let’s get real: we aren’t just thinking of others this holiday season. We’ve got needs and desires, too, dammit! With that in mind, we’ve compiled a cultural wish list of films and books we’d like to see, musical reinventions and comebacks we’ve been longing for, and TV shows we hope will make it next season (or hang it up at the end of this one). Like any such list, what we’ve come up with is massively subjective — so let us know what you’d add in the comments. … Read More

Music

The Most Consistently Inconsistent Musicians of Our Time

By Christine Jordan on

Consistency is the watchword in the world of music criticism. We as listeners love it when a band is at its best, but we aren’t truly happy until the musicians prove their worth again and again and again. And then maybe just once more still, after the lead singer emerges from a nasty coke habit and the band hasn’t been in the same room for three years. Of course, we forgive our favorite bands for the blemishes in their legacies every single day, because the statistics majors inside all of us understand that consistency is no small feat. But what of the bands whose discographies are marked by the exact opposite — those alternating, dramatic peaks and valleys in album and even song quality? Why, we’re glad you asked! We’ve compiled eight musical wildcards that have kept us on our toes with each note they’ve produced they put out after the jump. Be sure to join us in some collective head-scratching by giving us your own suggested additions to the list in the comments. … Read More

Music

10 Great Books about Music by Female Writers

By Tom Hawking on

Earlier this week the folk over at Pitchfork published a collection of their favorite music books. It’s a pretty comprehensive list, encompassing everything from Mötley Crüe’s tragicomic memoir The Dirt to Jon Savage’s erudite punk tome England’s Dreaming. We couldn’t help noticing, however, that of the 60 books on show, precisely one was written solely by a woman (along with a couple where there’s a female co-author, and one anthology of women writers). We’re not suggesting that Pitchfork has gone out of its way to exclude women — the fact is that, sadly, like much of the music industry, music criticism remains very much a boys’ club. That doesn’t mean, however, that they’re entirely blameless. Here are ten great books about music written by women that really should have at least merited consideration. … Read More

Music

Music Critics Pick the Last Song They Want to Hear Before They Die

By Judy Berman on

As you probably know by now, the end is near. In fact, it’s tomorrow — at least, according to these unquestionably sane and reasonable folks. So, while crafting a top-notch tinfoil hat or slapping together a stairway to heaven would also be perfectly defensible ways to prepare for the apocalypse, here at Flavorpill we’re celebrating by asking our contributors and some of our favorite music critics which song they’d most like to hear before they die. (No, nobody picked anything as obvious as “It’s the End of the World as We Know It.”) Read about and listen to their diverse, surprising, and fascinating picks after the jump. … Read More

Music

33 Women Music Critics You Need to Read

By Jason Gross on

Ideally, you wouldn’t need a list like this, which might sound as patronizing as a “women in rock” magazine issue, but like most other professions, music journalism is still mostly a sausage fest. Think of about it. Who’s the most revered saint in the biz? Lester Bangs. Who are the elder statesmen? Greil Marcus, Robert Christgau, Richard Meltzer. The recent “voice of a generation”? Chuck Klosterman. Sure, we admire ‘em but do you notice a pattern here?

A sea change may be happening, though. This month saw the publication of Out of the Vinyl Deeps, an anthology of music writing the late New Yorker critic Ellen Willis. The book also contained tributes to Willis from other women music writers, and resulted in a conference celebrating Willis (and featuring some of the field’s brightest stars) at NYU. Also this year, the Village Voice finally named a woman to head up their music section, for the first time in years, NPR’s online music section now features a woman in a major post. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg. So, this seems like a good time to toast some of the most noteworthy women in the field. … Read More

Music

How to Get Your Experimental Music Fix Now That Arthur Is Gone

By Tom Hawking on

This week saw the end of the most excellent bi-monthly Arthur, which has been throwing a spotlight on strange, avant-garde music for most of the last decade. The magazine’s founder announced via its website that “after years of service, Arthur departed the material plane today… He died as he lived – free, high and a-dreaming of love, ‘neath vultures’ terrible gaze.”Arthur’s demise leaves a fairly sizeable hole in the fabric of experimental music criticism, so if you’re left craving an experimental fix, here are ten places to investigate – some well-known, some obscure, all interesting. Did we miss any? Suggestions are, as ever, welcome. … Read More

Music

In Defense of Negative Reviews

By Judy Berman on

Is music criticism necessary? That’s the bombshell of a question Steve Almond raised earlier this week in a Boston Globe editorial. His answer: Nope, not really. In a piece that looks back on his days as a self-identified hack music critic, Almond reveals his formula for a concert review: “My standard template was to start off with a bad pun then proceed to the concert set list, with each song title modified by at least three adjectives. If I was feeling ambitious, I described the lead singer’s hair.” It’s no wonder that depressing routine wore on him until “[t]he very idea of music criticism — of applying some objective standard to the experience of listening to music — suddenly struck me as petty and irrelevant.”

Almond is especially doubtful about the utility of negative reviews. “Criticizing a particular band or song might make you, and some of your readers, feel smart or sophisticated,” he writes. “But it rarely does anything to advance the cause of art.” It may not surprise you to learn that we completely… Read More