consumer guide

Robert Christgau's Consumer Guide. RIP. Microsoft pulled the plug after 41 years. As a teenager, I had all my Trouser Press reviews compiled into a couple nice handy dandy books. Had to hustle a bit more for the Christgau articles. I spent hours in the public library and later in my college library, going through year after year of Village Voices reading all the Consumer guides. Later on I got the books. I swear I can identify any album in the 70's, 80's, or 90's from the review. MSN ran his column for a few years after The Voice fired him. But they formatted the damn thing so badly - split across 20 pages, just to get the damn artwork and "buy now" links on the screen - that is was basically not readable. Dead on arrival.

The age of criticism is officially dead now. At The Movies, Ebert's old movie review show, signs off this month. Consumer Guide is dead. In music, everything is free (for all the downloading folks) and so nothing has value. In movies, the public has the collective intellect of an 8 year old and just dishes out $15 to see the latest 3d superhero movie. Today, regulators even green-lighted that movie revenues can be sold on the derivatives markets like mortgage-backed securities. Art is fucked.

We'll miss you, Bob Christgau. Truly. From Craig in Boston.



Post Edited (06-15-10 23:13)

That's a shame but not a shock. I think you're right about criticism being dead, at least as any kind of major force in cultural discussion.

Quote

The age of criticism is officially dead now.

(((ahem)))

Of course it is! And good riddance. Everything produced in our most excellent country is good, and so attempts to dissuade consumption of things by critique is plainly Un-American. Besides, no one likes to be victimized by criticism ... even constructive criticism is a bad thing. We must only focus our attention with laser-like intensity on whatever makes the most people the most happy the most often.

In this, the best of all possible worlds, that most vapid of all declarations is the order of the day ...

"Hey. It's all good."