Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s

Rating:
Summary: A good guide for the best '80s music.
Review: Although somewhat more obtusely written than the '70s volume, Christgau's '80s rock and roll music guide is an excellent way to find the best music of the decade. Notable for what was included as much as what was not: an appendix lists a couple hundred "post new wave" bands that the author felt did not merit more than a mention. While relatively obscure in the '80s, some of these bands demand a more thorough evaluation based upon their achievements and/or influences in the '90s.

Rating:
Summary: Reissue this, please!
Review: Bah. Why is Christgau's 1970s album guide in print, while the 1980s guide is out of print? I suppose we are going to have to wait for the old nostalgia wheel to make another cycle (or two) before this situation is rectified. If you get one Christgau album guide, you need to get all of them. After all, if you are any kind of a serious record listener/collector you aren't going to write off an entire decade, are you? You don't necessarily have to agree with Christgau all the time (and whatever you do, don't base your buying decisions on his letter-grading system) but he is indispensable for putting a particular artist or album in something like a cultural context. Store it on top of your toilet tank - your guests will thank you!

Rating:
Summary: Punk Is Good, Metal Is Bad
Review: In these days of vinyl disposition for replacement CDs, I continually find myself referring to this invaluable resource (as well as its predecessor for the 70's decade) before going to used record stores and garage sales. Chrisgau's insightful record reviews with their effective letter grading system (F through A+) have protected me from those "disaster purchases," while steering me to several bargain used albums that I have spun at home to great satisfaction. He admirably flaunts a highly discriminating musical taste that spans an array of musical genres to expand the horizons of even the most devout enthusiast. But the real beauty of the book is that it also provides for downright fun reading as in "What was I thinking when I bought that record?"

Rating:
Summary: More funny than vital
Review: Robert Christgau, one of the most famous names in rock criticism here, tackles albums of the 1980s in this guide, his second following the very similar one for the 1970s.

This guide was one of my first readings in the difficult-to-comprehend field of rock criticism, but I nevertheless took what than interested me compeletely to heart (and misread bits of it when I wanted to). As such, it is very important to me.

Nonetheless, there can be no doubt that Robert Christgau scarcely makes an ideal critic for someone trying to get beyond the generally annoying music played on both commercial and noncommercial radio today. he generally fails to give the reader any idea at all as to what is good or bad about an album, with the result that real depth is completely missing from his writing when compared with almost any other critic I have read (Richie Unterberger, Joe S. Harrington, David Fricke etc. etc.). In this book, often also the focus is on the musician rather than the music, as if Christgau merely wishes to publicise music he either loves or hates.

It is fair to say that even back in 1996 I did not agree with most of his judgements, but I was overimpressed by Christgau's actually-not-great ability.

Nonetheless, the humour in this book is unlike any other critic, and will keep you reading long after you realise Christgau's judgements are mediocre at best. His ability to make funny connections or comparisons about every artist he talks about will make you remember him for years and years, as if he were a humorist rather than a well-respected critic.

Interesting more than really truthful to my eyes today, but at least worth a read or two.

Rating:
Summary: Great bathroom reading, definitely!
Review: Though ever-so-slightly less enjoyable as a sheer reading experience than his 70s collection, this book is still chock full of phrases so clever/apt/snotty/etc. that they've taken up residence in my mind like classic rock riffs. For example, what more perfect description of Chuck D.'s rapping style could there be than "bully-boy orotundity"?