73 Quotes by Robert Christgau

In the worst of times, music is a promise that times are meant to be better.

Once people write criticism about something - and even in 1967 I was far from alone - they're assuming it's art, and art is supposed to last.

You can only adjust to so much history in your life. I still have trouble texting.

I found dozens of albums I loved every year of the early 70s and more in the late 70s and more still in the decades since, partly because I knew more about music by then and partly because there were more to choose from.

I love collections. I got into journalism with the idea that I'd be doing them.

The first half of 'Book Reports' deals with the history of popular music and rock criticism. When I hooked all those historical pieces together, building on the minstrelsy piece, it became my history of popular music.

My love of written language is every bit as great as my love for music.

As the editor at the Village Voice, I always tried to find writers of colour.

My wife is more important to me than anything in the world - including music. She's a great editor and companion for all of my work and she's a great writer herself. If you live with somebody who's smart, they'll affect your thinking more than anything.