A 10-STEP PROGRAM FOR GROWING BETTER EARS

1. Don't give up now.

2. Have a few drinks—smoke a joint, even.

3. At the very least, lighten up, willya?

4. Forget about soothingyour savage beast.

5. Repeat three times daily: "The good old

days is the oldest myth in the world." Or, alternatively: "Nostalgia sucks."

6. Go somewhere you think is too noisy and stay an hour. Go back.

7. Grasp this truth: Musically, all Americans are part African.

8. Attend a live performance by someone you've never seen before.

9. Play your favorite teenager's favorite album three times while doing something else. Put it away. Play it again two days later and notice what you remember.

10. Spend a week listening to James Browns four-CD boxed set, Star Time.

Christgau lightens up

Christgau has written for the Village Voice formore than 30 years and is the author of five booksabout rock and roll. He majored in English ("Iwentto Dartmouth thinkingl'd be a lawyer. It lasted twoweeks, "he has said) and lives in New York City.