Chuck Eddy

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Spinning out of the pop journalists thread, a couple of people have mentioned Chuck Eddy's "conman persona". Now personally I've never felt conned by anything Eddy's written, and indeed I think he's one of the best pop writers in operation. But I'd be interested to know what anyone else thinks.

― Tom, Wednesday, 21 March 2001 01:00 (twenty-five years ago)

I'm not trying to put words in someone else's mouth, but I get the impression some people think that his entire aesthetic is merely a schtick, and stuff like his love for Teena Marie and Kix is a put-on to irritate the Kids (and other critics) out of their consensus and complacency. Personally, I don't buy it but it shouldn't really matter anyways: the writing is first-rate, and that's something that cannot be said for the Dave Marsh's of the world.

btw, did anyone see where Bust magazine accused him of being sexist? As much as I like some of the articles, that was the moment that proved to me that despite the attempt at a freewheeling editorial style, at heart they're about as humorless as Andrea Dworkin.

― Nicole, Wednesday, 21 March 2001 01:00 (twenty-five years ago)

I'm fairly new to Chuck Eddy's writing, as I've said on the other thread I'm still on the fence. His writing is generally good, his insights can be illuminating, his populist stance is refreshing. It's just that sometimes his farting about or championing of certain, well frankly, shite groups can be tiresome or just plain wrong. Which isn't a great offence mind you. Plus: an American critic who really likes dance music! So decent but nowhere near the triumvirate of Reynolds/Eshun/Penman.

― Omar, Wednesday, 21 March 2001 01:00 (twenty-five years ago)

Oops, sorry about the grammatical errors in the first post.

― Nicole, Wednesday, 21 March 2001 01:00 (twenty-five years ago)

Surely 'shite' is in the ear of the beholder? ;-) I don't buy this 'conman' deal myself -- I have yet to see anyone explain it, and the only semi-explanation I can sense is that some feel he's not talking about the 'relevant' groups the way he - ahem - 'should,' or that the various things he *does* celebrate as cool and fun are talked about in such a way that equals (more accurately surpasses) a typical Marsh dribble over Springsteen. In both cases I sense an annoyance with him for upending rock criticism's presumed goal of cutting through 'commercial' music for the truly artistic sort -- if anything, he's demonstrating the obvious (for many, apparently hard to grasp) point that art and response to it is where you find it, not because it came out on Thrill Jockey on one-sided 10" vinyl or whatever.

Stumbling across _Stairway to Hell_ when it first came out was like a breath of fresh air -- without even actively looking for one, at last I found an informed music writer who actually listened to all kinds of music, or so it seemed. He talked about everything from obscurities to monster smashes and back again, and did so with wiggy humor and iconoclasm not so much for its sake, but to implicitly demonstrate the dangers of categorization and thinking inside the box. Beautiful. If that's a con, then fuck, I'm glad to have been taken. He's also a hell of a lot more compulsively readable than most, and frankly I think his meditation on Nirvana towards the end of _Accidental Evolution of Rock'n'Roll_ is more interesting these days than the band itself.

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 21 March 2001 01:00 (twenty-five years ago)

Maybe "conman" isn't the right word. But he sometimes seem way too eager to slaughter sacred cows and compare them defavorably to Debbie Gibson or Vanilla Ice or whoever. It's something of a shtick. Not that I mind, most of the time - I was thrilled to bits when he ripped into My Bloody Valentine in his latest book. But his taste reversals over the years have been pretty dramatic and it's easy to wonder if he's putting you on sometimes - anyone who's bought several records based on his recommendations must have thought "he's got to be kidding" at one point or another - raise your hands those who like Kix, Rednex, Mariah Carey, Stacey Q, Quarterflash AND Barbara Mandrell. Of course I've also acquired some great music that I would never have thought of buying if it hadn't been for him. I do love the guy, and I'm not even sure I meant "conman" as a putdown.

― Patrick, Wednesday, 21 March 2001 01:00 (twenty-five years ago)

Chuck Eddy has Quarterflash and Loverboy albums in his all-time Top 10. It's impossible me to imagine an intelligent person (and Eddy seems plenty smart) who likes Quarterflash THAT much (it's tough with Loverboy, but not impossible. They're not quite as bland.) I can see liking a song or two, sure. But one of your favorite records of ALL TIME? No way. Which makes me think he's either joking or trying to subvert the idea of all-time favorite records. That's all well and good, making such commentary on music obsession, but I can't be bothered to wonder if every idea the man presents is a similar send- up. Eddy can be seen as some kind of "antidote" the critics' party line, but antidotes acquire meaning only in the presence of poison (or, in Eddy's case, Poison.) I'm more inclined to read something that could stand on its own.

― Mark Richardson, Wednesday, 21 March 2001 01:00 (twenty-five years ago)

Most professional critics let their profession dictate a consistent, reasoned spectrum of taste, which while better than most people, who let their pretensions at professional criticism dictate a consistent, reasoned spectrum of taste, is still pretty fuckin' weak by even a poor man's standards. Everybody likes unmitigated shit of one sort or another. By all means don't admit to it if you don't want to--I'm all for building up a persona--but don't go out of your way to dislike unmitigated shit. Heck, be like me: go out of your way to like unmitigated shit. Today, I like the entire first half of Debbie Gibson's second album a truckload of pistachios better than "One More Cockfarming Motherfucking Ratbastard Son of a Whoring Time". Tomorrow I'll be driving to NYC with a disco-loving Israeli-Russian nihilist and I wouldn't be surprised if the new Daft Punk sounded great to me then. Well, I would be surprised, because the record's fucking gay, but fuck, "Aerodynamic" sounded pretty good last time I listened. Point's that about-faces in taste are fun, the astonishment at liking something you hated just ups the like. Point's also that a bevy of peeps buy Mariah albums and presumably some of them like them and presumably 6 or 8 or at least 2 have gotta have their heads on shoulders not thoroughly implanted up their assholes, so why not try and be one of those 2? She did have that one good song a few years ago with video with the swinging out over water on a happy tire, which I'd really like to know the name of if anyone's up for recollecting. Thanks.

― Otis Wheeler, Thursday, 22 March 2001 01:00 (twenty-five years ago)

Always Be My Baby, if I recall. I don't remember it as being one of her better moments, though...

― Tim, Thursday, 22 March 2001 01:00 (twenty-five years ago)

I did try - that's why I'm complaining :) ! As for my taste for unmitigated shit, see the Dixie Chicks thread ;)

― Patrick, Thursday, 22 March 2001 01:00 (twenty-five years ago)

I rather think Otis answered Mark better than I ever could, so I'll just note on the side that I think the term 'guilty pleasures' is one of the most idiotic when it comes to what you like in music. Do you like it or don't you? If you do, don't feel guilty about it and fuck whoever tries to make you feel bad about it. So Chuck Eddy likes Quarterflash and says so, and (oh my!) goes to the trouble of making a case for them -- show me *anywhere* in the rules of the universe how that automatically makes him a bad person or a bad critic. You're constructing straw men.

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 22 March 2001 01:00 (twenty-five years ago)

I agree with the partyline on guilty pleasures but on the other hand being guilty about a pleasure is in *itself* a pleasure - the thrill of the forbidden etc. even if it is a self-constructed forbidden.

Chuck Eddy roolz. I think a lot of the people who dont like him - not on this thread neccessarily but out there - are wanting certain things from a critic. Fred sent me a review yesterday of Accidental Evolution which went on about how Chuck Eddy was a poor purchase indicator or something (though it made some intelligent points aswell). But for me a purchase guide isn't what I want from a critic. Stimulation and amusement is, and I get those from Eddy in spades.

And I agree with whoever talked about the Nirvana essay in 'Accidental...'. With Paul Morley's piece on the UK charts and Reynolds' call for a ban on soul music in Blissed Out, that's one of my favourite ever pieces of rock writing.

― Tom, Thursday, 22 March 2001 01:00 (twenty-five years ago)

I'd like to see that Accidental Evolution review. I quite like purchase guides, incidentally - having no access to Napster, good radio or friends with good tastes, they're close to the only thing I can rely on. If there hasn't been a thread here about how people choose to buy the music they buy, someone should start one.

― Patrick, Thursday, 22 March 2001 01:00 (twenty-five years ago)

I guess the fundamental problem for me is that I don't believe Eddy, that he likes what he likes as much as he says he does. If I did, I could fall into line with what y'all are saying here. He can write. I do think it's interesting to have tastes that run against the critical consensus (one of the reasons I was drawn to Freaky Trigger, of course), and I hate the idea of propping up the same tired music for adulation. But if I get the idea that someone is into something just because it's "different" to like it, then that bothers me. Otis, isn't that what you were suggesting with your post? Going out of your way to like something others think of as "shit"? Though we probably all do it all the time, it just seems such a flimsy thing to base a critical standpoint on.

I love to read music writing where the author cares deeply about what they're talking about, no matter if it corresponds to my own tastes. But with Eddy, I don't always believe him. Maybe that shouldn't be so important, but I can't help but have it color my perception of his stuff.

― Mark Richardson, Thursday, 22 March 2001 01:00 (twenty-five years ago)

But what is exactly not to believe? It seems, Mark, that you're thinking from a 'shit is universal and needs to be labelled as such' perspective, which I absolutely refuse to buy into. I have never gotten the sense he's celebrating something because everyone else hates it, instead I get the sense that he's found something enjoyable and is saying so, though he may well be clear and open about the fact that a vast opinion says otherwise -- and at the same time, he often cleverly notes that said 'vast opinion' is one of those writing on music instead of the actual majority of people *listening to it.* Where he's consciously iconoclastic, I'd argue, is where he's torching preconceived notions regarding music -- which is not the same as the music in and of itself. Hell, the opening pages to _Accidental Evolution_ precisely describe his fascination with and reaction to categorization in toto.

It seems a distinction also needs to be drawn between an image of being consciously lied to, if you will, and where I think Eddy's approach really contains a core strength -- that opinions *can change.* Important, and sometimes overlooked. Another big reason I really enjoyed _Stairway to Hell_ is precisely because he confesses altered opinions over time, that a thought then might not be the same thought now on a subject or record or whatever. Having a fixed message to deal with is far more comfortable for the reader of criticism, it seems -- and hell, I'm contributing to that with my AMG reviews.

I think Tom's note regarding not wanting to use critics as a buyer's guide is amusing, because it reminds me that Julian Cope actually tried to use _Stairway to Hell_ for that reason and complained that it didn't work for him that way. But then why should it? ;-)

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 22 March 2001 01:00 (twenty-five years ago)

chuck eddy is the only print critic i have much time for, for all the reasons people have given so far. i'm quite ready to believe that he loves the music he says he loves. (i haven't heard quarterflash but i'm sure they're no blander than the stones or the band.) i also don't think that it matters if he does. hair metal, aor, and teenybop aren't all he discusses. he shows a far deeper knowledge of postpunk and avant-rock music than any mainstream print rock critic. at the same time, i do have the following criticisms:

he will frequently list a band as great or give them an 8/10 and have nothing good to say in the review. he assumes that everyone already knows the good qualities of the artist. he is like christgau * a million this way. "i love sonic youth. i just have nothing good to say about them," he says. but how can you love sy (and list five of their albums in _stairway to hell_) if you claim to hate all of their voices, think they have no rhythmic ability, write shit lyrics, and you dismiss their textural/atmospheric side (which is what they do best according to you) as "muzak?" this is how genuinely conservative or narrow-minded listeners who really do hate sy will actually react. a good 60% of the bands in _stairway to hell_ (a magnificent book despite it all) get basically negative reviews.

he is frequently less iconoclastic than he appears to think he is. mainstream rock criticism often tends to be fairly conservative and 'populist.' at least with the example of sy, one can understand that he is assuming the generally positive critical reception they have received. a lot of bands he rates but savages have *not* already been praised to justify his response. swans, for example, have been treated with absolute loathing by nearly every critic (this includes trouser press and, as far as early swans goes, pitchfork). that he would include a swans album in _stairway to hell_ is a bold move in itself. it would be more valuable to read an honest justification rather than "this music isn't supposed to be good listening, it's supposed to be good for you. no fun." after he gives every other critic's-cliche dismissal of the band. pussy galore were also total critical whipping posts, again including trouser press critics. his comment that "motley crue sold more records but pussy galore got better reviews" is absurd. he seems to assume that cultish postpunk bands are all critic's darlings, which is simply not the case. compare the treatment of def leppard in the last rolling stone record guide to that of big black, for example.

sometimes, as when i read his essay on selling out, i feel like i'm reading a rock-crit version of pj o'rourke, i.e. someone who adopts very reactionary narrow conventional stances and defends them as though they're really radical.

― sundar subramanian, Friday, 23 March 2001 01:00 (twenty-five years ago)

Mark, I was more suggesting going out of your way to like something YOU think of as "shit", or at least something which you've always assumed is shit. Going out of your way to like something that is generally perceived as shit is also worthwhile, since, if you're like the average tosser, you go out of your way to like at least a couple critical darlings every year, so you're just leveling the playing field. I don't doubt that liking something just to be different leads to a Thurston Moore state of semi-retardation and Styx reevaluations.

― Otis Wheeler, Saturday, 24 March 2001 01:00 (twenty-five years ago)

Sundar - I agree with a lot of what you're saying. But I think he's coming out of and chafing against what he perceives as a kind of post- punk indie-crit zine-scene attitude where it's not so much whether Swans or Pussy Galore get good reviews but that theyre automatically considered more worthy of discussion per se than Motley Crue. But that attitude made more sense in '88 than it does now (if he still has it).

Also the glorious thing about Stairway To Hell is that 60% of the reviews are bad. He admits the music is really problematic, which I find inspiring. I mean if FT were to cover the Top 500 Indie albums you'd see exactly the same thing ;)

― Tom, Monday, 26 March 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

two months pass...

I like his metaphors and similes. Any critic who includes The Monks "Black Monk Time" as one of the great heavy metal albums of all time, obviously has strange taste. Not that it's necessarily true, but his heart's in the right place. Most importantly, he's induced me to listen to stuff I would have never given the time of day to. Not always with the best of results. Propoganda by deed.

― John O'Toole, Sunday, 17 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Eddy is an inconsistent schizy incoherent flip-flopper with a pronounced androgyne fetish who owes his tenured career from being the self-professed "Dean of rock-critics" Robert Christgaus class clown/foil/spitball shooter and whose childishly bitter streak in regards to 80's era punk/indie/underground suggests personal jealousies/disputes/rivalries that go outside the content of the music itself. A middle-aged man a bit too in touch with his inner little girl. He is the token Camille Paglia figure of the incestuous academe that is the Village Voice music critic cabal.

― Al Darita, Sunday, 17 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Basically, I read Eddy for the writing and humor. His critical abilities are basically awful. He even admits he may be full of shit in the introduction to Stairway To Hell. Anyone who lists an Osmonds album as one of the great heavy metal albums of all time definetly has his tongue firmly in cheek. Critics in the musical realm have little power in defining the exact history of Rock music. Rock becomes "great" based on either sales or classic standing the test of time. Criticism is to be taken with a grain of salt. My main beef is that these critics really think way to highly of their own opinions as taste makers. Someone needs to imform the brood that they have no props whatsoever in the imput of how history will treat certain artists. Look at how most rock listeners think Aqualung is a "classic", while most critics cringe at the mere mention of Jethro Tull. History is on the side of the record buyers. The critics are shit out of luck. They write because they want to avoid real jobs.

― Frank Church, Monday, 25 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

avoiding real jobs is cool

― gareth, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I take my hat off to anyone who can avoid a real job!

― Nicole, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Frank is definitely right when it comes to me. And I'm proud of that. This *is* my real job, as far as I'm concerned ...

― Robin Carmody, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Academia here I come...

― Josh, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

one month passes...

As Chuck Eddy's ex-girlfriend (no lie!) I have to tell you that it is NOT an act. He really DOES like all that crappy music that he says he likes. And he was not kidding about that Osmonds album either. Have any of you actually listened to it? The music is really heavy. I was given a "blindfold test" and I was really shocked when I found out I'd been listening to the Osmonds!

― Amanda, Friday, 3 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

As Chuck Eddy's special secret boyfriend WHILE he was "dating" Amanda, I have to say he had her fooled good, and you too!! What a playa!! Here is the only record he has ever truly loved: Tonight by David Bowie. It is *our tune*...

― mark s, Friday, 3 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Give me a break, Mark! Do you really think I would brag about dating a geeky rock critic if it wasn't true? If I were going to make something like that up, I'd say I was dating Eddie Vedder or some equivalent hottie! Geez!!!

― Amanda, Thursday, 9 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Sorry, Amanda, couldn't resist: how can anyone beat yr utterly cast-iron argument 'cept by making stuff up? So I made stuff up!

― mark s, Thursday, 9 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

yeah i *have* heard that Osmonds album, that's true, it is ace! Mormons 1/Scientologists 0.

― duane, Thursday, 9 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Aqualung???

― dave q, Friday, 10 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

three weeks pass...

i have now finished accidental evolution. i generally liked it quite a bit and i am glad i bought it. parts of it stunned me with eddy's descriptive abilities and connection-making abilities. i quoted his description of "i feel love" to nearly everyone i know. (most people seemed to like it but this one woman wouldn't stop laughing. she has since stopped talking to me altogether.) all that said, i do have some more issues to raise:

so eddy generally likes hard rock and chart pop and dislikes most avant-garde and indie/alt since the new wave era. this in itself is nothing exceptional -- so do most radio listeners and, frankly, most mainstream pop/rock critics. accepting this, can one apply the same standards to eddy that he applies to other critics? he criticizes other critics for being uncritical in their praise of bands like mbv. but is eddy so critical of the music he claims as his primary loves? is there a single hair metal band he actually dislikes? if there is, i must have missed it because he's nowhere near as vicious in his criticism as he is with test dept or joy division (whom he seems to actually like). are there any def leppard songs that don't impress him? i mean, i bought pyromania and hysteria again. they both contain some good songs but also contain some utter schlock and some passably energetic genre fare. "rocket" deserves every bit of praise he showers on it - the dub-metal bit is really innovative and intense. but is he really equally enchanted by "don't shoot shotgun?" and some of those ballads - does richard marx inspire him as well? (actually, he probably does come to think of it.) "photograph," "rock of ages," and the solo from "die hard the hunter" stand out on pyromania. but what makes "rock 'til you drop" or "comin under fire" better than any randomly chosen song from headhunter by krokus? or than any spinal tap song? and what about recent def leppard? is it genius as well? it doesn't make his discography so i'm assuming he's not as enthused about it. so why does he have no criticisms to make here? if def leppard is so special to him, their decline must disappoint him enough to earn just a little bit of his bile. does a single hard rock wailer strike him as just as formulaic and anonymous as the indie mumblers he always mocks? you wouldn't know from reading his book. i can identify michael stipe or thurston moore within seconds. i'm not sure i can say the same for brad delp or joe elliot - and they're from bands i like to some degree. if hair metal is worthy of discussion and canonization it must be worthy of criticism as well. real-live metal critics like martin popoff actually treat it this way. eddy seems to be writing for a weird niche market of ex-indie cynics (not that i don't fit into this and subsequently love the man to death despite it all) and other critics. at a time when virgin's list of the 1000 greatest albums ever includes three (i think) def leppard albums and one sonic youth album, surely there's no need for defensiveness.

and sleater-kinney makes his discography - surely the arrival of an indie band eddy can love must be something significant. why does he have nothing to say about this?

― sundar subramanian, Thursday, 6 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Haven't read the book. What is Eddy's description of "I Feel Love"? (braces himself)

― Ian White, Thursday, 6 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"'I Feel Love' is the windmills of my mind. There's actually two synthesizer figures - one like a giant spinning helium Slinky spring the other one passes in and out of. The singing feels like helium, too. And the big spring encircles the inner perimeter of whatever room you're listening to it in, a circle within a square, and you feel every time the shapes intersect, because the pitch changes for a split-second. Or maybe the shapes don't really intersect; maybe the spring just skims the surface of the walls, ceiling, and floor and keeps right on moving. And sunlight keeps peeping in and out of the clouds, through your window and into your room, getting lost then reappearing.

― sundar subramanian, Tuesday, 11 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

i must admit: that's pretty good.

― Omar, Wednesday, 12 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

one month passes...

I was reading an interview with Chuck Eddy on rockcritics.com and I was struck by this part, which I'll quote here, and I do highly recommend the whole interview. I've had some reservations about my generally qualified liking of him, and this makes me feel a little better about what he's doing:

"But I mean, you just have to understand, the bottom line is, I want my writing to be GOOD WRITING, okay? And it's, it's like, I just don't know that I have any interesting good things to say about Springsteen. But that doesn't mean that I don't LIKE him. I write about stuff--the records I write about are not necessarily my favourite records, but they're the ones I think will make for the most interesting writing, and I say what, positively or negatively--that doesn't mean I'm lying, but because I write about Debbie Gibson a lot, that doesn't mean that she's my favourite artist, it just means that I think I have a lot of interesting things to say about Debbie Gibson. If I wrote about Springsteen as much as I liked him, I think what I wrote about him would be pretty boring, I don't think I would say that much that people haven't already said."

The bottom line is good writing. As someone who finds 95% of reviews incredibly boring to read, this really resonates. Frankly the state of rock criticism would be a lot healthier if more people shot for good writing first.

― Ian, Saturday, 3 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

nine months pass...

I picked up that Kix album for $1 he thought was the 4th best. Definitely schtick on his part. Not even close to being stand out material (though not bad drinking music).

― Richie Rich, Friday, 16 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Yeah, no way that thing ranks higher than 5th.

― J Blount, Friday, 16 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I fed Charlotte avocado.

― DeRayMi, Friday, 16 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

one year passes...

Im suprised Chuck never chimed in on this.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Wednesday, 31 December 2003 18:43 (twenty-two years ago)

Chime!

― chuck, Wednesday, 31 December 2003 19:32 (twenty-two years ago)

jolly good show.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Wednesday, 31 December 2003 19:39 (twenty-two years ago)

now make him dance, Noodles!

― Huckleberry Mann (Horace Mann), Wednesday, 31 December 2003 19:40 (twenty-two years ago)

chuck do you know al darita? that guy has it out for you!

― gygax! (gygax!), Wednesday, 31 December 2003 20:10 (twenty-two years ago)

Wait, is he that dude whose parking space I almost stole at the mall the day after Thanksgiving? If so, yeah, he seemed pretty pissed. And I probably deserved it, to be honest. If not, um....no.

― chuck, Wednesday, 31 December 2003 20:48 (twenty-two years ago)

That guy upthread was right about you overrating Midnight Dynamite, dude. That album suffers from serious Pyromania envy, and lacks the AC/DC-meets-Cars vibe of the previous ones (though they at least had better songs on Blow My Fuse). Shame on you!

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Wednesday, 31 December 2003 20:53 (twenty-two years ago)

Wait, didn't I rate that one LOWEST BY FAR of the first 4 Kix albums in *Stairway*? It's their worst studio album; don't think I've ever claimed otherwise. But there are worse sins in life than *Pyromania* envy, Anthony, as I'm sure you'd admit. It's still a real good record!

― chuck, Wednesday, 31 December 2003 20:59 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah but it still made your top 100 heavy metal albums of all time (it couldn't have been lower than no. 75), a list that didn't even INCLUDE AC/DC's Powerage so it's still an injustice. But I'll definitely give you "Walking Away" and "Burning Rubber." It's just for some reason that album feels unusually meanspirited and hollow for them. Though I still haven't heard any of their 90s albums (I found the first four in a store in Lancaster, PA that specialized in cheap '80s vinyl).

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Wednesday, 31 December 2003 21:05 (twenty-two years ago)

It was #80, which is in fact five spots lower than #75. But yeah, you're right about *Powerage* (don't think I owned a copy at the time!) But there are MUCH worse albums in the top 100 than *Midnite Dynamite*, for crissakes. (I mean, it's also got RAY PARKER JR envy, which counts for a lot!) Why not give me a hard time about Electic Angels instead? Or Meat Loaf? Or, I dunno, even Sonny Fucking Sharrock (who, for all I know, DESERVES to be in there. Don't think I've put that LP on in the last decade, though. What was I trying to prove, that I read jazz magazines or something???)

― chuck, Wednesday, 31 December 2003 21:11 (twenty-two years ago)

I kinda figured you hadn't heard Powerage (it's not like it's ever gotten any critic love ever) at the time.

I'm only giving you a hard time over Midnite Dynamite cuz some guy bitched about buying it on your recommendation up thread. I don't think we have to worry about anybody buying the Electric Angels anytime soon. Though actually I think I saw a video on VH1 Classic of theirs. They were the hair metal group that recorded at Sun Studios or some such shit, right?

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Wednesday, 31 December 2003 21:32 (twenty-two years ago)

Skipping 8 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

Is this him?

― Antmusic78 (Antmusic78), Wednesday, 31 December 2003 22:09 (twenty-two years ago)

Wasn't Last Exit's Koln in the book? That album rocks. I took out Stairway to Hell a little while ago. Three things really jumped out at me: a) You like rock music, esp in its garage variety, a whole lot more than I do; b) You totally underrate Journey and Styx and overrate Foreigner and Loverboy but I think we've been over that before; and c) Holy FUCK does Sean Carruthers look like Steve Albini.

You're right about skating too. Figure skating's totally for girls. Actually I haven't done any kind of skating in years but I miss it.

I'd take Cecil Taylor too but Vince Neil was actually pretty good this summer.

― sundar subramanian (sundar), Wednesday, 31 December 2003 22:10 (twenty-two years ago)

There were FOUR Last Exit albums in the book!: (Possibly *Born into the '90s,* *12 Play,* *TP-2 Com*, and *The R in R&B Collection,* but I might be wrong about that.)

I only really like the Styx songs that sound like Devo and Kraftwerk. And the Tommy Shaw solo songs that sound like Bad Religion, I guess.

― chuck, Wednesday, 31 December 2003 22:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Also, seeing how I can't go enjoy New Year's Eve until the Voice Art Department finishes designing Christgau's consumer guide page, I'm going to link to this, which links to about a million other links, which may or may not refute some of the goofy misconceptions upthread:

the last absurdly long list of new/recent albums i approve of that i'll make this year, i promise

― chuck, Wednesday, 31 December 2003 23:28 (twenty-two years ago)

They're re-designing the CG AGAIN?!

― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Wednesday, 31 December 2003 23:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Not *re*-designing. Just laying out the one for next week...

― chuck, Wednesday, 31 December 2003 23:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Phew! They've messed with the CG format enough as it is.

― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Wednesday, 31 December 2003 23:35 (twenty-two years ago)

I shall look out for 'stairway to hell'. that's a new year resolution.

I'm surprised amateurist hasn't posted here.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Thursday, 1 January 2004 00:53 (twenty-two years ago)

Best album I've ever purchased based on praise from Chuck: Giorgio's Son Of My Father
Worst: Charlene's I've Never Been To Me (Chuck, WTF???)

― Patrick (Patrick), Thursday, 1 January 2004 18:18 (twenty-two years ago)

four years pass...

Would y'all agree that Eddy is the king of chall-ops?

― roxymuzak, Monday, 12 May 2008 21:27 (seventeen years ago)

not if this dude is still around Hip-hop no longer cool sez white dude on Salon.com

― J0rdan S., Monday, 12 May 2008 21:28 (seventeen years ago)

Wow. Maybe the founding father of Chall-ops as we know them today?

― roxymuzak, Monday, 12 May 2008 21:32 (seventeen years ago)

one year passes...

Chuck Eddy, a US rock critic, serves The Beastie Boys a $500,000 lawsuit for "commercial appropriation of his image." Apparently, when on assignment to cover part of the Beasties' tour last year, they threesome crept into his hotel room and threw a bucket of water over him. Eddy took the "joke" well, until he watched a retailed video of Beastie Boys promo clips linked with scenes from their home movies. The group had filmed the water incident and put it on to the tape.

ha! from the 1989 Rock Yearbook (st martin's press)

― Dominique, Saturday, 12 December 2009 01:02 (sixteen years ago)

is it on youtube?

― Pfunkboy : The Dronelord vs The Girly Metal Daleks (Herman G. Neuname), Saturday, 12 December 2009 01:18 (sixteen years ago)

i'd do the same tbh

prob without the taking the "joke" well in the first place though

― lex pretend, Saturday, 12 December 2009 01:21 (sixteen years ago)

some of the posts at the start of this thread are o_0

― lex pretend, Saturday, 12 December 2009 01:21 (sixteen years ago)

most of the posts at the start of ILX are O_o

― quiet and secretively we will always be together (Steve Shasta), Saturday, 12 December 2009 01:37 (sixteen years ago)

but some of them are o_o

― a full circle lol (J0hn D.), Saturday, 12 December 2009 01:42 (sixteen years ago)

As Chuck Eddy's ex-girlfriend (no lie!) I have to tell you that it is NOT an act. He really DOES like all that crappy music that he says he likes. And he was not kidding about that Osmonds album either. Have any of you actually listened to it? The music is really heavy. I was given a "blindfold test" and I was really shocked when I found out I'd been listening to the Osmonds!
― Amanda, Friday, August 3, 2001 12:00 AM (8 years ago) Bookmark

lol

― Mr. Snrub, Saturday, 12 December 2009 01:45 (sixteen years ago)

irl testimonials

― velko, Saturday, 12 December 2009 02:49 (sixteen years ago)

I was given a "blindfold test"

tmi

― M.V., Saturday, 12 December 2009 16:37 (sixteen years ago)

one year passes...

New anthology!

http://www.dukeupress.edu/Catalog/ViewProduct.php?productid=20147&viewby=author&lastname=Eddy&firstname=Chuck&middlename=&sort=newest

New podcast at rockcritics.com featuring a bunch of people you might recognize talking with Chuck about it!

http://rockcritics.com/2011/08/02/eddyfest-2011/

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 4 August 2011 01:59 (fourteen years ago)

Nice! It's like ILX on audio!

― Pete Scholtes, Thursday, 4 August 2011 02:03 (fourteen years ago)

Ned, your thread revivals always rule.

― Clarke B., Thursday, 4 August 2011 02:17 (fourteen years ago)

Bump for the morning!

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 4 August 2011 12:47 (fourteen years ago)

That's why xchxuckxx has not been posting on the chitlin circuit southern soul thread lately.

― curmudgeon, Thursday, 4 August 2011 13:37 (fourteen years ago)

I want him posting on the Living Colour thread!

― livin in my own private Biden hole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 4 August 2011 13:38 (fourteen years ago)

Sweet. Also kinda like Shyne writing the forward to Biggie's book huh?

― om nom nom nnamdi asomugha (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 4 August 2011 14:49 (fourteen years ago)

Wow, hardcover is a first for Chuck! Can't wait to pick this up, even tho i've probably got a lot of the old reviews memorized already. (And im'a have to wait for the paperback - finances a bit tight at this moment)

― Race Against Rockism (Myonga Vön Bontee), Friday, 5 August 2011 02:21 (fourteen years ago)

i need to get this anthology and listen to y'all ask shit

― markers, Friday, 5 August 2011 03:15 (fourteen years ago)

</>I was given a "blindfold test"

tmi

― M.V., Saturday, December 12, 2009 11:37 AM (1 year ago) Bookmark[/i]

"Tmi" was nei, so I had to look it up. Anyway: the blindfold test wasn't nearly as unseemly as it sounds. It was just something Frank Kogan used to do in his fanzine Why Music Sucks. He'd send you a cassette (see Wikipedia for further details) with no song listing, and you'd write something about each song. No firing squads or anything.

― clemenza, Friday, 5 August 2011 13:48 (fourteen years ago)

does he take time in his book to explain what it means to "rock"?

― by another name (amateurist), Friday, 5 August 2011 16:03 (fourteen years ago)

five years pass...

best new book. so much fun.

https://www.dukeupress.edu/terminated-for-reasons-of-taste

― scott seward, Thursday, 8 September 2016 02:52 (nine years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4KnOFDxW0c

― dow, Thursday, 8 September 2016 03:00 (nine years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWrEgGcULDg

― dow, Thursday, 8 September 2016 03:03 (nine years ago)

six years pass...

He's busy blogging. Latest is a 2,500 word look at 2013 and his fave albums of that year

https://accidentalevolution.wordpress.com/2023/02/17/150-best-albums-of-2013/?fbclid=IwAR3p48B6PDT_ALRTAzO5VQcrqlqSoPiDrazMzIy16USQhWYv3O5Of2RW5tE

― curmudgeon, Friday, 17 February 2023 18:52 (three years ago)

some of the posts at the start of this thread are o_0

― lex pretend, Friday, December 11, 2009

― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 17 February 2023 19:20 (three years ago)

His 150 albums of '57, '58 and '59 list last year was revelatory:

https://accidentalevolution.wordpress.com/2022/04/20/150-best-albums-of-1957-58-59/

― o. nate, Saturday, 25 February 2023 21:06 (three years ago)

two years pass...

Citizen Chuck:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-surhBaBCE

― clemenza, Friday, 28 February 2025 20:20 (one year ago)

― the talented mr pimply (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 28 February 2025 20:53 (one year ago)

get their ass, chuck!

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Friday, 28 February 2025 23:12 (one year ago)

His posted report:
https://accidentalevolution.wordpress.com/2025/02/28/i-wanna-testify-so-i-did-for-books-kids/
My email reply:

My local library, once a beautiful thing, largely because of its smart, spirited staff, was used as a petri dish by the AL State Legislature, also much more mindlessly by local elements----there was significant pushback, with asshole Country Library Board losing big time in court, though it ain't over yet----go Chuck!

― dow, Saturday, 1 March 2025 01:04 (one year ago)

asshole *County* Library Board

― dow, Saturday, 1 March 2025 01:06 (one year ago)

Our fired Library Director (and eventually successful litigant) interviewed by our native CNN host, via an excellent paper, which has coverage of whole saga (so far) in archive:
https://www.alreporter.com/2024/03/19/cnn-host-prattville-native-kaitlan-collins-interviews-fired-prattville-library-director/

― dow, Saturday, 1 March 2025 01:19 (one year ago)

six months pass...

Chuck’s looking for work if anyone can help.

https://bsky.app/profile/chuckeddytor.bsky.social/post/3lxsaxnho2k2v

― Dan Worsley, Monday, 1 September 2025 18:46 (eight months ago)

Chuck is a certified American genius. How on earth do we live in a world that can't pay him to write.

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 1 September 2025 23:33 (eight months ago)

ugh sorry to hear it.

― paper plans (tipsy mothra), Tuesday, 2 September 2025 00:03 (eight months ago)

Chuck put up his first Substack post today; free for the time being.

https://chuckeddy.substack.com/p/150-best-albums-of-1975

― clemenza, Wednesday, 10 September 2025 21:59 (seven months ago)

It's a re-post of something he had already posted on his blog

― curmudgeon, Thursday, 11 September 2025 06:44 (seven months ago)

why not

― Tracer Hand, Thursday, 11 September 2025 08:57 (seven months ago)

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