‘The Last Critic’ Review: Legendary Critic Robert Christgau Gets a Generous Homage in a Doc Revisiting Six Decades Chronicling the Best and Worst in Music
📖 Full Retelling
The 83-year-old, who covered everything from folk to punk to early hip-hop, reflects on more than half a century churning out music reviews with flair and savoir faire.
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Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment As a critic, it’s not exactly encouraging when you’ve been assigned to review a documentary called The Last Critic . Given the imperiled state of the profession right now , I was half expecting to watch some kind of demoralizing exposé that would have me running out to meet a career counselor afterward. Thankfully, the film’s catchy title is never actually justified by what we see. In fact, this deep dive into the life and work of Robert Christgau, aka “the dean of American rock critics,” is the opposite of a doomsday scenario, revealing just how good criticism can be when it’s handled by a master who’s been churning out pieces for 60 years and counting. Related Stories Movies 'They Will Kill You' Cast Joined Under One Condition: "Please Don't Make It Camp" Movies 'He Bled Neon' Review: Joe Cole and Rita Ora Trudge Through a Clichéd, Poseur Crime Story The Last Critic The Bottom Line A solid study of an A+ critic. Venue: SXSW Film Festival (Documentary Feature Competition) Cast: Robert Christgau, Carola Dibbell, Thurston Moore, Randy Newman, Boots Riley, Colson Whitehead, Ann Powers, Joe Levy, Amanda Petrusich, Greil Marcus Director: Matty Wishnow 1 hour 23 minutes If you’re familiar with Christgau’s writing — I discovered it in the Village Voice back in the 1990s, when that paper still existed and Christgau was its chief music critic — then you know how his capsule reviews of albums can read like perfect little prose-poems. One of the most knowledgeable music writers of our time, and also just a great writer, period, Christgau had a style and savoir-faire matched only by his productivity and longevity. Still working hard at the ripe age of 83, he’s penned tens of thousands of texts over the past six decades, making him perhaps not the last...
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