Edit, Pitchfork!!!

Though I've certainly got no grounds to complain about someone else tossing out a repetitive, contradiction-laced, poorly worded paragraph, this section from today's Pitchfork review of the new GBV is pretty mystifying:

"Constancy proves a bit of a hobgoblin here; the more straightaway power-poppers like muscular lead single "The Unsinkable Fats Domino" zip by quickly and not unpleasantly, but they feel just a little overcooked, never quite hanging around in one's head the way some of his stranger contributions do. Throughout Factory, though, he seems more comfortable with his refound surroundings than genuinely inspired by them, and his contributions here, while uniformly solid, display only flashes of the one-man hit-parading of his glory days. Peppy lead single "The Unsinkable Fats Domino" hearkens back beautifully to the shoot-from-the-hip power-popping of old, while soused singalong "My Europa" and stacked-to-the-sky rockers "Imperial Racehorsing" and "We Won't Apologize for the Human Race" bring the trickiness of his later-era compositions down to the basement-level."

So is lead single "The Unsinkable Fats Domino" muscular or peppy? Does it zip by quickly and not unpleasantly but not hang around in one's head, or does it hearken back beautifully to the shoot-from-the-hip power-popping of old?

And are all of Pitchfork's editors still out for the holidays?

Like I said, I don't really have the grounds to nitpick other people's writing because God knows my own comes up short plenty of times, but come on. Pitchfork posits itself as THE most important source for music journalism these days and that should carry with it at least the minimal requirement that a writer give his work a quick once-over to make sure he doesn't manage to both repeat himself and contradict himself in the space of a single paragraph.

Then again, constancy is a hobgoblin.

As you correctly note, a good editor could've helped out with this piece. But good editing is something of a lost art these days. (I'm not talking about you, Ira.)

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Then again, constancy is a hobgoblin.

Why not just say it's elusive and be done with it?

Q. - Is it in fact impossible to be both muscular and peppy at the same time? The Jesus Lizard's "Rope" is out in the hall seeking clarification on this point.

6.9. Hmmm, that sounds like damning with faint praise.

Sure, it's possible to muscular and peppy at the same time. I would submit that the first three Cheap Trick albums fit that bill nicely. As did Jack LaLanne.

I probably shouldn't have included that as one of my complaints about the Pitchfork review.

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Sure, it's possible to muscular and peppy at the same time. I would submit that the first three Cheap Trick albums fit that bill nicely. As did Jack LaLanne.

"JACK" would also make a suitable Jesus Lizard album title. Whoop-dee-doo.

Anyone want to bankroll a David Yow Juicer? I can get you in on the ground floor.

Any one see them on Letterman last night? I fell asleep during the horseshit monologue

Isn't The Horseshit Monologue the title track of Pollard's 6th album for 2012 (released January 2 - he's having a slow year so far.)?

The writer was attempting to play off the well-know quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson's Self Reliance:

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines."

The "Constancy...hobgoblin" bit makes more sense with the sentences that preceded it:

"Of the now five GBV LPs from this classic-era band, though, Factory comes up shortest in the song department. Over the years, Pollard's worked most of the lousy melodies out of his system, and though his contributions here vary wildly in tone and texture, he's gotten pretty consistent when it comes to tunefulness. Constancy proves a bit of a hobgoblin here; the more straightaway power-poppers like muscular lead single "The Unsinkable Fats Domino" zip by quickly and not unpleasantly, but they feel just a little overcooked..."

Still a pretty strange review, even by Pitchfork. Feels a little overcooked.

I just skimmed the paragraph Brad has a problem with, so I didn't even notice that. I did take note of this sentence fragment about Tobin, however:

Much has been made of how little Pollard's voice has changed over the years, but then again, he's been practicing. Sprout-- whose sweeter-than-honey pipes and breezy songwriting proved Pollard's best-ever foil.

Bad punctuation and worse syntax. Just damn lazy.

I was pleased though to hear that Toby's songs are so strong. Many of my favorite GBV songs were his, so I'm more excited to hear this album now than I was before, despite the otherwise lukewarm review.

To nick a phrase from Reno, it's more like they never even bothered to put it on the stove.

"Isn't The Horseshit Monologue the title track of Pollard's 6th album for 2012 (released January 2 - he's having a slow year so far.)?"

No, that track is Constancy Is A Hobgoblin.