73 Quotes by Robert Christgau

Given that it's an impossible thing that they set themselves to do, they didn't do such a terrible job.

He was basically the closest we came to Ralph Gleason,

It seems to me that one of his '50s albums goes in there because they're as important as records as (the Beatles' album) 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. As achievements, they're amazing.

The Village Voice gave me an outlet. They encouraged writers to publish idiosyncratic, intellectually ambitious journalism in voices that ranged from demonic to highfalutin. And they paid me well once the magazine was unionized. Getting paid is motivational.

I basically believe that all pop stars create personas and manipulate them. What we relate to are not their real selves; they are projections, which tend to shift in shape.

Anyway, you know, when Richard Meltzer said rock and roll died in '68, what he means is Jefferson Airplane were no longer his buddies, that's what he really means. He means it in a political way: that was when the artists and the audience found themselves on different levels.

I don't know any celebrities. I know a lot of people that most people have never heard of.

You know, criticism began as the province of amateurs, of wealthy men who liked the arts.

I review albums - really positive reviews - I know I'll never hear again, 'cause I'm just not going to have the time.