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Rock Criticism

AG/DC May 22 2008 12:36 PM

I have to make a presentation on the role of the critic to a group of high school seniors tomorrow, as part of a project they're working on to review sixties rock albums and their cultural impact. The student presenters: Kyle and Keller – Pink Floyd, “Piper at the Gates of Dawn” Sylvia and Amy – The Rolling Stones, “Beggars Banquet” Keara and Meg – Van Morrison, “Astral Weeks” Genevieve and Carolyn – The Who, “Tommy” Emily and Liana – The Beach Boys, “Pet Sounds” Janie and Candice – The Beatles, “Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band” Gen and Gabby -- The Beatles, “Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band” Tina and Eleanor – The Zombies, “The Odyssey and the Oracle” Erin and Julia – The Jimi Hendrix Experience, “Axis : Bold as Love” Josie and Erin – The Velvet Underground and Nico, “The Velvet Underground and Nico” I salute Tina and Elaeanor for going a little bit off the board. What should I say?

metirish May 22 2008 01:01 PM

How are you involved in this , what is your expertise , it's sounds quite a task actually. Who was the famous and very influential rock critic back then?

AG/DC May 22 2008 01:03 PM

My expertise is that I'm brilliant, I work in the field of eduction, I say yes to rock 'n' roll, and I'm brilliant.

metirish May 22 2008 01:08 PM

Well I knew all that , silly me. Here's an article on the guy I am thinking about , according to this the rock critic was at it's most influential in the 70's / 80's. http://www.slate.com/id/2148997/

soupcan May 22 2008 01:22 PM

Kyle: Dude, we so need to sign up for this project! Keller: Why? So we can find out why our parents like hold music? Kyle: Well, besides the fact that Genevieve and Keara are doing it, Mr./Ms. (insert pseudo-cool teacher's name here) is teaching it, so it might actually be interesting. Keller: 'Sixties rock albums and their cultural impact'? I dunno... Kyle: Dude we can totally do this whole thing completely baked and guarantee ourselves an 'A'. Keller: Duuuuuude, that's why you make the big bucks! Up top. (high fives exchanged)

Willets Point May 22 2008 01:26 PM

Janie: Gen and Gabby are always copying us!!! Candice: I know, they're like just total losers. Janie: They only wish that they were popular. Candice: But everyone hates them.

AG/DC May 22 2008 01:33 PM

it's an all-girls school. Either that, or Kyle and Keller are two lucky boys. Thanks for all your advice. I think I'll have to wing this. Maybe I should get baked.

seawolf17 May 22 2008 01:38 PM

I wish I had gone to an all-girls' high school. That would have been sweet.

soupcan May 22 2008 01:40 PM

I thought Keller was an odd name and did wonder why these were the only two boys in the class.

seawolf17 May 22 2008 01:44 PM

Plus, they picked the Pink Floyd album. Who knew high school girls were into Pink Floyd? Unless they picked it because they thought it was really Pink.

John Cougar Lunchbucket May 22 2008 01:47 PM

I have no idea what you're asking here. The critic obviously played a role in assessing Astral Weeks as highly as it did. despite the album not having a "hit" Tell me, Keara and Meg, if you were to re-release this record today how would you market it? What would be the lead single and why?

seawolf17 May 22 2008 01:54 PM

sharpie May 22 2008 02:00 PM

Not a bad album in the lot.

AG/DC May 22 2008 02:01 PM

That's a good question. I'm asking what I can tell them about rock criticsm that makes it different from other forms of writing, and what elements good rock criticism includes. My temptation is to turn out the lights and put on Almost Famous. Keara and Meg went for Van because of their Irish cultural heritage, so they were challenged when finding out that it isn't very Irish musically, but it is poetically.

Willets Point May 22 2008 02:03 PM

="seawolf17"]I wish I had gone to an all-girls' high school. That would have been sweet. No you don't and no it wouldn't. That's one of those things that sounds good only in theory.

Centerfield May 22 2008 02:10 PM

Well locker room time would have been fun.

sharpie May 22 2008 02:14 PM

Those girls are lucky that none of them picked a Doors album 'cause AG would've launched his Doors Jihad on them.

AG/DC May 22 2008 02:17 PM

See, now, I thought you'd be helpful. I don't hate the Doors or Floyd. I just can no longer stand to hear them on the radio. I can still appreciate critically why peeps hold them in the esteem they do. Unlike, say, Rascal Flatts.

Vic Sage May 22 2008 02:38 PM

AG/DC wrote: ...My temptation is to turn out the lights and put on Almost Famous. Now you're talking.

Willets Point May 22 2008 02:49 PM

Centerfield wrote: Well locker room time would have been fun. Until you got kicked in the nads. And punched in the neck, for good measure.

soupcan May 22 2008 02:59 PM

Willets Point wrote: And punched in the neck, for good measure. ...By some cunt! (I'm having lots of fun here today by the way)

batmagadanleadoff May 22 2008 03:01 PM

What? No Disraeli Gears?

sharpie May 22 2008 03:09 PM

Okay, I'll try to be helpful. And I'm jealous, that would be a cool thing to go to. Here's an article from today's Salon about the role of the critic, more about literary critics but much of it applies: http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2008/05/22/critics/ Interesting that Pet Sounds is the only all-American album. Jimi Hendrix Experience was 2/3 British and the Velvets of that period featured three Americans, a Brit and a German. Otherwise, it's England and Ireland. No Blonde On Blonde, no Surrealistic Pillow as mentioned before, no Doors. Piper At the Gates of Dawn is a real favorite of mine and I'm delighted when I see kids of today liking it. Has almost no connection sonically to the Pink Floyd that most people know. You might ask them about the thinness of the Tommy sound - plus the fact that the story makes no sense and that if you're writing an opera you should have real roles and dispense with narrators or a bunch of one-shot appearances like the Acid Queen, Sally Simpson (sung by narrator), the Local Lad who sings Pinball Wizard and, most puzzlingly, the Hawker who sings Eyesight for the Blind which is a cover. A cover song? In an opera? Astral Weeks, Tommy, Piper and VU and Nico sonically all had a sound that the respective bands never achieved again (or maybe they just didn't want to sound like that anymore). Odyssey and Oracle is an odd but interesting choice, especially since the Zombies career was so short and they haven't really survived the cultural zeitgeist like the other bands have. I always mix up what was on Axis: Bold as Love (what's with that title?) and Electric Ladyland. I have nothing illuminating to add about Sgt. Pepper, Pet Sounds or Beggar's Banquet that hasn't been said 10,000 times before.

Vic Sage May 22 2008 03:11 PM

i went to the movie forum and didn't find the review i wrote of ALMOST FAMOUS some years ago. I've reposted it at http://cranepoolforum.qwknetllc.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=9063

Frayed Knot May 22 2008 05:31 PM

Why not just do what most rock critics seem to do? - If it's popular, trash it - If the artist/group is popular explain how he/she/they were Really good right up until the moment they became popular and have been shit ever since. - If the album is popular explain how it would be So much better if only they'd have jettisoned those P.O.S. songs that became big hit singles. - then explain how some artist/group your audience never heard of is leaps and bounds better than the tripe they picked and if they had a lick of taste they'd know that

sharpie May 23 2008 09:40 AM

So, how did it go?