Robert Christgau ’62

The dean of rock critics on Celine, hip-hop and headphones

"DARTMOUTH MADE ME LESS PROVINCIAL. Among other things, it taught me there were smart people who weren't Jewish, which was surprising to someone who came of age in New York in the 19505."

"SOMETIMES NOT KNOWING THINGS GETSYOU PAST INHIBITIONS. Because rock and roll is so often made by people who are young and not especially skilled, it teaches us that lesson over and over again."

"AUTODIDACTS MAKE SOME OF THE BESTWORK. People who didn't know how to play their instruments, like Maureen Tucker of the Velvet Underground, have proven among the most important and seminal musicians."

"I LISTEN TO JAZZ, NOT JUST BECAUSE OF THE INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS, BUT BECAUSE JAZZ DOES DIFFERENT THINGS THAN ROCK DOES. All forms of expression have built-in formal limitations and parameters. They're all good for saying slightly different things."

"I WAS A FAN OF HIP-HOP VERY EARLY. I didn't understand how important and potent and various it was going to become."

"ONE IS ALWAYS LOOKING FOR THE CULTURE CHANGER, THE MESSIAH, THE PARADIGM SHIFTER. And I can't say I'm expecting to see another one of those in music. Other things have happened instead: this constant process of broadening and exfoliation, which is very exciting."

"I LOVE MUSIC BUT MY PASSION IS FOR WRITING." "I DON'T EXPECT PEOPLE TO KNOW EVERY WORD I USE OR UNDERSTAND EVERY REFERENCE I MAKE. The great thing about writing for The VillageVoice—although in the end I don't know if it makes up for not having a pensionis that it permits me to imagine my reader in an ambitious way, to assume they won't understand everything I say but they won't resent me for it."

"I USE A COMPUTER PROGRAM EVERY TIME I WRITE TO DELETE WORDS I OVERUSE: WORDS LIKE MAGIC' OR 'BULLSHIT' OR SMART.'" "I DO BELIEVE THERE ARE CERTAIN KINDS OF MUSIC THAT ARE

AGE-INAPPROPRIATE. I've been at concerts with my daughter where I've felt very uncomfortable with the overt sexuality. When she was 8 she missed it altogether, and when she was 12,1 thought she had a good take on it when I brought it up the next morning."

"BLAMING CULTURE FOR SOCIAL EVILS IS LIKE PUTTING THE CARTBEFORE THE HORSE.""THERE'S ALMOST NEVER A TIME I'M NOT LISTENING TO MUSIC. Headphones on the street? Always. I bring music with me when I visit someone else's house. It's expected of me."

"IT'S MORE IMPORTANT TO ME THAT PEOPLE ARE OPEN TO DIFFERENT KINDS OF MUSIC THAN WHAT THEIR SPECIFIC TASTES ARE. My favorite group now is The Moldy Peaches, who are led by a 19year-old white guy and a 29-year-old black woman from the same suburban town."

"I'VE NEVER HEARD GOOD MUSIC IN AN ELEVATOR. If someone wanted to torture me by piping music into a locked room I couldn't escape, I could suggest Celine Dion, but even bad music has stuff I'll listen to."

"I DON'T KNOW MANY ARTISTS. I GOT OVER WANTING TO KNOW THEM PRETTY QUICK." "CONCERT PRICES ARE OBSCENE. I'm really a record guy—I find it hard to understand why people pay $50 to see anyone."

"SOMETIMES A CONCERT WILL REMIND ME OF MY OWN MORTALITY. It's hard for me to stand for two hours now."

"I'VE BEEN ACCUSED OF GOING TO CONCERTS TO HECKLE PEOPLE. I've never been shy about it; as a member of the audience I feel I'm entitled."

"IF THE LABEL 'DEAN OF AMERICAN ROCK CRITICS' IS USED AS THE HEADLINE FOR MY OBITUARY, I HOPE IT'S EXPLAINED THAT IT WAS AJOKE. I said it at a party for the Fifth Dimension in either 1970 or 1971.1 was a little drunk and I was introduced to somebody and they said, 'Who are you?' And I said, 'Oh, I'm the dean of American rock critics.' I was only kidding. Or three-quarters kidding anyway."

"I'M A LEFTIST AND I BELIEVE IN COMMUNITY. I believe in shared needs and experiences. The music I write about in various ways belies that."

JOB TITLE: Rock critic and senior editor, The VillageVoice, New York City PERSONAL: Wife Carola Dibbell; daughter Nina EDUCATION: 8.A., English (Phi Beta Kappa); admitted with full scholarship at age 16 NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT: The self-titled "dean of American rock critics" began reviewing popular music in 1967 and has written five books on rock and roll, including Grown Up All Wrong (1998); awarded a 1987 Guggenheim grant to study pop history