An A+ Album: Marshall Crenshaw, Field Day

Worst A+ album cover ever?

I begin my third analysis of a Christgau-A+ record by noting that my minimal research uncovered quite a bit of controversy for an album I've never heard of.

But let's look at the basic details:

THE BASIC DETAILS
Artist: Marshall Crenshaw
Album: Field Day
Label: Warner Brothers
Year: 1983
Length: 36:25
Producer: Steve Lillywhite

What the songs on this album might compel you to do: Read old letters from high school girlfriends, then try to locate them on Facebook. If you've been drinking, you'll try to access their photos by creating a fake account under the name of one of their friends.

CHRISTGAU AND THE ALBUM
What does the Dean of American Rock Critics have to say?

With Steve Lillywhite doctoring Crenshaw's efficient trio until it booms and echoes like cannons in a cathedral, the production doesn't prove Marshall isn't retro, though he isn't. It proves that no matter how genuine your commitment to the present, you can look pretty stupid adjusting to fashion--as usual, production brouhaha is a smokescreen for the betrayal of impossibly ecstatic expectation. Think of Talking Heads 77, New York Dolls, Exile on Main Street, or (for you oldsters) Moby Grape, all in fact a little botched aurally, all classics. Since the problem here isn't mess but overdefinition, a more precise comparison might be Give 'Em Enough Rope, but with a crucial difference: The Clash had better songs than its follow-up, while this follow-up has better songs than the debut. The man has grown up with a bang--though his relationships are suddenly touched with disaster, he vows to try till he dies. And you know what? Lillywhite's drum sound reinforces Crenshaw's surprising new depth--both his sense of doom and his will to overcome it.

How many words is that? 179.

What are your favorite words or phrases? "production brouhaha is a smokescreen for the betrayal of impossibly ecstatic expectation"; "booms and echoes like cannons in a cathedral"

How does the A+ grade compare with other albums from the artist?
Christgau seems to enjoy the Crenshaw. Of the eight additional albums that received letter grades, Marshall scored an A, an A- four times, a B+, and a B. I wish my college transcript were as good.

ANY OTHER NOTABLE INFO?

Christgau Fancy Word(s) of the Day: Sturm und Drang

One of several features I plan to include in this blog is the Christgau Word of the Day. (No, I don't plan on having a Christgau Word of the Day every day.)

The point of this feature is to find words, usually those classified by the less-literate (like myself) as "S.A.T. words" (regardless of whether they would actually appear on an S.A.T. exam), that Christgau uses and which might be one reason his reviews infuriate so many people.

Today's word, which is actually a group of words, is Sturm und Drang.

Sturm und Drang loosely if not accurately translated as "storm and stress," is one of those foreign-language phrases, like "je ne c'est pas," that can put you within a range of pretentiousness based on how "foreign" you pronounce the words:

• sterm: not very pretentious (and you'll receive snoots from upturned noses, depending on your audience)
• schterm: mildly pretentious
• schhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhterm: very pretentious

The phrase, which is title-capped in most reference books but is often written in all lowercase, is attributed to the German romantic literary movement of the late 18th century. What's that, you say? You're not very familiar with the works of German romantic literary movement of the late 18th century? One way to describe Sturm und Drang, to paraphrase a BBC program on the subject, is "a heart with balls."

In other words (English words), a protagonist who's male, headstrong and impulsive, often at his own expense. The kind of guy who ladies would swoon over and guys would maybe enjoy a beer with but whose schemes — "I'm going to write I LOVE YOU SUSAN on top of the water tower in my own blood. Can you hold the ladder?" — you'd want to steer clear of.

An A+ Album: The Beach Boys, Wild Honey (1967)

There might be some sort of
sexual metaphor going on here.

Wow. Here's my second attempt at analysis of an A+ album according to Robert Christgau:

THE BASIC DETAILS
Artist: The Beach Boys
Album: Wild Honey
Label: Capitol
Year: 1967
Length: 23:58

CHRISTGAU AND THE ALBUM
What does the Dean of American Rock Critics have to say?

It feels weird to call this a great record--it's so slight. But it's perfect and full of pleasure; it does what it sets out to do almost without a bad second (except for "Let the Wind Blow," each of the 11 tunes--total time: 23:54--ends before you wish it would). And what does it set out to do? To convey the troubled innocence of the Beach Boys through a time of attractive but perilous psychedelic sturm und drang. Its method is whimsy, candor, and carefully modulated amateurishness, all of which comes through as humor. Tell me, what other pop seer was inspired enough to cover a Stevie Wonder song in 1967?

How many words is that? 116.

What are your favorite words or phrases? "[A] time of attractive but perilous psychedelic strum und drang"; "carefully modulated amateurishness."

How does the A+ grade compare with other albums from the band?
Christgau is up and down when it concerns the Boys, with the other albums hitting every grade between A and C. There are 13 reviews in total, 11 of which received a letter grade. Smiley Smile doesn't receive any grade at all, but it's listed as one of the top albums of 1967 in an article he wrote for Rolling Stone.

ANY OTHER NOTABLE INFO?

Robert Christgau Did Not Feel That Whitney Almost, If Ever, Had It All

It's 1985 and I have released my
debut album. I'm Whitney Houston, bitch.

With the recent death of Whitney Houston, I've been inspired to add yet another feature to this Robert Christgau blog, which I haven't named but will loosely call "What Did Robert Christgau Think of an Artist Who Is in the News Today Because He or She Died or Was Arrested or Was Otherwise in the News for Reasons Varied?"

Let's first consider that Robert Christgau has no problem with pop music, or music that moves in the ten of millions of units. (No snob, that Bob.) He reviewed Lady Gaga very favorably and did award a Madonna collection, an album I'll eventually visit, the coveted A+.

Two years later, everyone knows who
I am. So now it's just Whitney, bitch.

But you can argue that Ms. Germanotta and Ms. Ciccone are also "artists," while Ms. Houston is simply a "singer" — a singer that could belt out five octaves and go on runs that went forever, but still just a singer.

This might explain why Robert Christgau gave each of the Whitney Houston albums that he graded, the eponymous 1985 debut Whitney Houston and her half-as-eponymous(?) follow-up, 1987's Whitney, a C and a C+, respectively. His reviews are (as usual) short, but here's what the two reviews have in common:

• The review for the first album mentions "schlock"; the second, "megaschlock" ("odious megaschlock," even)
• Both mention Jemaine Jackson, the second time as an insult
• Both mention producer Narada Michael Walden — responsible for five of Whitney's hits, plus Mariah Carey's "Heartbreaker," Starship's "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now," and Aretha's "Freeway of Love" and "I Knew You Were Waiting" duet with George Michael — though the second time as a callback to the "only critically forgivable thing on [Whitney's] best-selling debut album in history" (i.e., "How Will I Know")

But hey, at least both albums rank higher than the D+ he gave to the only Celine Dion album he graded. Yet they fall below the B+ that Bobby Brown received for his debut.

Anyway, enjoy my favorite Whitney Houston song, which is my least-favorite Whitney Houston song, which is my favorite Whitney Houston song, because I hate it. Do you have things (songs, even) that you love to hate? Among the many things I love to hate, in the way you hated having a loose tooth that hurt but you prodded it anyway because you kinda liked the pain, was the Whitney song "Love Will Save the Day." I hated it because of its message that, don't worry that you have cancer or lost your job or didn't make it to the toilet on time when you had the runs, LOVE WILL SAVE THE DAY!

I can play this on loop and it energizes me with the uncomfortable/enjoyable pain/pleasure of fifty sharks' mouths full of loose teeth!

Even Critics Have a Hard Time Liking Artists They're Supposed to Like

Listen at your own (not my) risk.

Last week I read an article in New York magazine by its classical music critic, Justin Davidson, who attempted to "overcome years of distaste" for the music of Philip Glass.

This might be the only time I've ever sympathized with a critic of classical music, and not because of anything related to Philip Glass. I've often found myself trying to like things that I think I'm supposed to like. I enjoy reading criticism, but sometimes I let the critic get in the way of my own critical opinion.

On the other hand, there are some critics whose work I like (even if I disagree with their opinions) because they go against the grain of critical consensus. Armond White, whose movie reviews in the New York Press rile film fans in the way Christgau's reviews infuriate music lovers, has been accused of working the cranky-contrarian angle, even by Roger Ebert:

It is baffling to me that a critic could praise "Transformers 2" but not "Synecdoche, NY." Or "Death Race" but not "There Will be Blood." I am forced to conclude that White is, as charged, a troll.

To be fair, White was probably the only critic over the age of 11 who enjoyed Adam Sandler's Jack and Jill.

SPEAKING OF CHRISTGAU...
Oh yes, what does Christgau think of Philip Glass? Two A-'s, a B+, and a C+. But he didn't like Glass' score for The Hours. I didn't see that movie or listen to the score, but I have a feeling I'd hate both, no matter what the critics told me.

Christgau Fancy Word of the Day: Pastiche

One of several features I plan to add is the Christgau Word of the Day. (No, I don't plan on having a Christgau Word of the Day every day.)

The point of this feature is to find words, usually those classified by the less-literate as "S.A.T. words" (regardless of whether they would actually appear on an S.A.T. exam), that Christgau uses and which might be one reason his reviews infuriate so many people.

Today's word is pastiche.