| Robert Christgau |
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Robert Christgau (sometimes abbreviated in print to '''"Xgau"'''), born April 18 , 1942 , is an American Essayist , Music Journalist , and rock critic. His first reviews were published by '' Esquire '' in 1967. He began writing music essays and review for '' The Village Voice '' in 1969, and has been a regular contributor to the ''Voice'' since 1974. He has also written frequently for '' Playboy '', '' Spin '', '' Creem '', and '' Rolling Stone ''. In music-critic circles, he was an early supporter of Hip Hop and the Riot Grrl movement, along with other Music Styles . He lays claim to being "the dean of American rock critics". In the 1980s Christgau was a fervent booster of Afro-pop , a stance that alienated him from some in the critical community, as he seemed insufficiently interested in American and British rock music. In the 1990s, however, Christgau's interest in indie rock seemed to increase. In addition to his prolific number of published music essays (which often reach deeply into themes of Sociology , Multiculturalism , and politics), Christgau has written several album guides in reference-book form. As of 2005, he is an adjunct professor in the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music at New York University (NYU). Christgau is perhaps best known for his ''Consumer Guide'' columns, which have been published on a more-or-less monthly basis since 1969, mostly in the ''Village Voice'' but for a brief period in the ), which consists entirely of reviews graded B- or lower, and a Christmas -season roundup of compilations and reissues, mostly graded A or A+. He is well known for his vigorous opposition to violent and misogynistic material in many Hip-hop songs, particularly Gangsta Rap . Some examples include his dismissal of such hip-hop classics as Ice Cube 's '' Death Certificate '' and N.W.A.'s '' Straight Outta Compton '', despite their tremendous influence on the genre. Surprisingly, he greeted Eminem , an artist with similarly explicit content, with praise. In addition to his ''Consumer Guide'', since the early 1970s Christgau has hosted the annual Pazz & Jop music poll every February, which compiles "top ten" lists submitted by music critics across the nation. Every poll is accompanied by a lengthy Christgau essay analyzing the results and pondering the year's musical output overall. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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