I’m disappointed Robert Christgau’s Consumer Guide has reached its terminus, not just from its MSN iteration but evidently now for ever, although perhaps not as disappointed as I might have been earlier -- like when The Voice first showed him the door.
Ever since I found his ‘80s-picks book in my inventory, at about the same time I broke down and bought a CD player, in 1992, I’ve used his A-minus or better picks as the basis for my own music collection [now B+ or better] -- and he’s led me to a lot of stuff I never would have discovered otherwise. Thanks to Christgau I listen to plenty of afropop, plenty of hiphop, plenty of country, plenty of indie -- plenty of things it wasn’t that easy to find, but when I did I was glad to have it. Some things were harder to appreciate than others, but I always knew going in that it if had the Xgau imprimatur, it would reward hard listening.
Back when I started out, with the 80s book and a subscription to The Village Voice, CD prices were pretty high, so I didn’t want to pay good money for music that wouldn’t be worth hearing. From my vinyl-buying days I knew that not everything was something I might always care to listen to. A lot of my music collection had been accrued from bargain-bin cutouts -- and a lot were of things I just plain couldn’t abide listening to any more. I sure didn’t want my incipient CD collection to follow the same undisciplined course -- this time adding costliness to the folly.
So I had a strict all-Christgau policy for my acquisitions. All those early CDs I am pleased now to still have, and listen to when time permits. Lately with cheapo downloads courtesy of Amazon’s Deal of the Day, or eMusic, or the may free-music offerings, as well as cheaper physical CDs (especially a whole smear of classical-music megaboxes), I’ve strayed a ways from the Xgau straight and narrow, especially with the classical music I still enjoy, despite Christgau’s dismissal.
When Christgau’s monthly CC comes out, lately my disappointment when it turns out I picked up a Dud or two (and maybe unwittingly enjoyed before finding out that the feeling wouldn’t last if I listened too hard), was greatly allayed by the fact that this music had ended up in my possession at a much lower cost than it might have a decade or more ago.
I can see where the music-business industry might be in survivalist mode just now, with me a typical boomer actual album buyer straying further and further off the consumerist reservation. When each new Consumer Guide, more and more of late I’ve looked for cheaper ways to get hold of the music than buying full-priced CDs. As kind a parting gift to the big labels in honor of Christgau’s passing, this month I’ve ordered up a big three store-bought CDs (Barnes & Noble actually had the best deal on all three -- at least when compared to Amazon), including the top Honorable Mention (Laurie Anderson) this month. In recent months it was more like one or none, although with the Christgau imprimatur I was more likely to dig up the extra cash if that seemed the only way to get my mitts on the blesseds.
I suppose it makes sense to end his tenure now. The decade’s over, so he has enough in the can for another decadal survey to be published as a book. Well into his sixties, he may still have the hearing and the chops going strong, but looking forward to 2020, where will these faculties be by then? Maybe still alive, but sprightly enough for another decadal overview? Well, I wouldn’t be surprised if old habits don’t die hard, and he keeps listening and keeps taking notes, even if he doesn’t have a deadline and a quota to meet every month. My hope is that he will think of a way to keep his acolytes apprised of things that might be showing up on his radar screen, to help ameliorate the loss of Consumer Guidance moving on from now.
as opposed to bookselling blog
