Moral compasses and the election, coming soon to Bluesky, morning TV avoided, the second sex comes first, Randy Newman upgrades, and song by song by Christgau.
I am familiar with the old adage: “Opinions are like arseholes. Everyone’s got one and they all stink.” Nevertheless, I was shocked by your snotty response to Ricardo Pini, who happens to live in New Zealand
You wrote: “May I suggest that unless American politics is your academic specialty or something you refrain from gross generalizations about a nation half a world away from yours.” That was your high-horsey response to someone in New Zealand who dared to express an opinion. Even people who live in New Zealand are affected by the idiotic and dangerous choices made by American voters. The world was already going to hell in a handcart and your compatriots have put in charge just the man to accelerate the process. Don’t expect the rest of us to keep quiet about it. It’s our world too.
The Cambridge philosopher, Jamie Whyte wrote: “You are entitled to an opinion in the epistemic sense only when you have good reason for holding it: evidence, sound arguments and so on. Far from being universal, this epistemic entitlement is one you earn. It is like being entitled to boast, which depends on having something worth boasting about.” Even so, your put down of Ricardo Pini was unjustified.
Do you have any actual thoughts of your own on the matter? It appears you’re only capable of offering up adages and quotes to illustrate your frustration
To which matter are you referring Suzie? I have many thoughts of my own about American politics and have published them over the years. It appears that Robert Christgau, whom I deeply respect as a music writer, does not think I am entitled to have opinions about American politics because I am not American and live a long way away from the USA.
His thought is that it is idiotic to tell people who live outside the US to, in effect, keep their opinions of American politics to themselves, when America’s policies affect the world. Funny how I was able to pick up on that by, you know, reading.
Once again, there’s no actual reasoning behind either of your comments, nor did it accurately reflect his post. The original commenter made sweeping generalizations about a country and politicians who do not directly serve them. This led Bob to suggest that perhaps the commenter lacks the understanding they may have of the country and politicians that do. It’s a strange assumption you both have, that somehow America’s policies affecting the rest of the world somehow gives credence to your own American policy knowledge. The gross oversimplification and thin, hostile language only exposes the deficits.
I don’t see any point in continuing this back and forth, particularly as it is 7 am and I am at the eye hospital waiting for my wife to go under the knife. I have expanded my thoughts in a Note and will write in further detail in future articles. You do not appear to have posted any articles or Notes yourself. I will subscribe to you so that I will be alerted when you are in a position to make a substantive contribution to Substack. Robert Christgau is an experienced and extremely accomplished writer. I am sure that he does not need you to speak for him but I respect your right to do so.
LOL the sweeping generalizations strangely strike any number of Americans as correct. You want gross oversimplifications, please refer to Christgau's own generalizations. What "reasoning" did he offer for his made-up positions? If you want evidence that Harris's refusal to address the Biden administration's support for genocide cost her votes, I can put you in touch with a few hundred people I've been involved with as part of Faculty for Justice in Palestine. But you & RC are apparently happy to accuse non-Americans of ignorance, an amusing irony, when they point out the obvious.
Oh, please. Biden/Harris provided billions of dollars in military aid to Israel. They essentially paid for the genocide. Yeah, it's a total mystery what she could have done differently. And if you still don't think it's a genocide, take it up with Amnesty International; Human Rights Watch; the Human Rights Council of the United Nations; the world's leading Holocaust scholars, such as Omer Bartov; leading public intellectuals like Ta-Nehisi Coates; a growing list of national governments including South Africa, Belgium, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Egypt, Ireland, Spain, Libya, Mexico, Nicaragua, Turkey; and indeed most of the rest of the world. But, sure, probably her "classiness" was the problem.
I'm not advocating anything. I'm calling you foolish for choosing to sit out an election where Donald Trump was on the ballot, especially if you are actually concerned about the struggle of Palestinians and their right to self-determination and dignity.
I'm fully aware of the dangers Trump presents. That's why I voted against him.
Super dumb response. When will workers realise that BOTH parties are just PR firms for the American oligarchy, intelligence services and military industry? People who act like voting for one or another candidate is an existential choice are just clown shoes at this point. Some of us aren't that excruciatingly stupid.
Elections are choices. The choice wasn’t between Kamala and a pro-Palestinian candidate. It was between Kamala and someone who thinks Israel should keep going and jettison any hopes of a two-state solution.
Oh, gee, thanks for this fresh perspective. The choice was between enabling genocide & not doing so. To participate in the election in the first place was to be complicit in genocide.
It's completely coherent if you're not a liberal for whom electoral politics amounts to a civic religion. Nonparticipation is also a choice, one that most people I know felt just fine with, even if some did end up voting for Harris. How would you suggest one might convince the Democratic Party not to support genocide if they can do so & still obtain the votes of those who oppose genocide? I mean, you want me to vote for you? Maybe you shouldn't have used my tax dollars to murder tens of thousands of children. Or maybe you at least should have said ONE thing to indicate that you would not continue Biden's trajectory on the matter.
If you cared about the kids, you'd have voted for the candidate more likely to end the bloodshed more quickly. What you're really interested in is posturing. Which is cool - you do you. But don't pretend you have moral superiority. Your non-participation helped elect Trump, who will make the problem you purportedly care about even worse.
Yes, we're all familiar with the tired argument, thanks. I don't even need to read your replies, I can just fill in the next blank in the liberal guilt-trip handbook.
Hey Bob. You're a great music writer but years of MSNBC has clearly rotted your brain. You want to know what could be done to stop the genocide? Biden could cease to provide Israel with billions of dollars worth of munitions and political cover and it would be over within an hour. But either you agree with the genocide and have adopted Senile Joe's pretend hand-wringing and Netanyahu blame (the genocide is supported by a substantial majority in Israel) or you're a rube. Maybe next time save your scorn because last time I checked Ricardo Pini's nation of residence wasn't enthusiastically participating in the obliteration of a child prison.
This is hardly new. He wrote about his enthusiastic support for HRC, with no mention of drone warfare & only a glance at Honduras—no mention of murdered Honduran feminist activists. She fetishizes "democracy" in a formalistic way, he avers, which is such a naive analysis as to verge on idiocy if he really means it. But who could believe that HRC's concern was democracy, in scare quotes or out, when she was outright supporting a right-wing military coup?
Hilarious that Xgau shames someone for having a much better political opinion that he. Very telling. Bob, Biden/Harris paid for the genocide. They slaughtered tens of thousands of children, if not hundreds of thousands (who are still trapped under the rubble). The Palestine issue is simple: Israel is a fascist state that has directly copied literal Nazi policy.
I will bet all the blood in my body that Bob doesn't know that the US and Israel have armed, funded, trained and treated ISIS and Al-Qaeda (Al-Nusra/HTS) fighters. He doesn't know that Assad said no to a pipeline from Saudi Arabia/Qatar through Syria/Turkey into Europe to undercut Russian energy (same reason the US started the war in Ukraine). Bob is like many Americans: extremely brainwashed, and actually believes The New York Times, etc. ROFL.
Hey, Bob! Happy holidays to you and Carola and thanks for reminding me of the lovely Randy Newman! No CG column this month? C'mon, what am I paying you for? :))
It's been hilarious watching for close to 60 years how Bobby Boy relentlessly takes the most-far-Left position on anything and everything. He's the ultimate NPC, a yapping parrot, and massively ignorant. He lives in a land of fun house mirrors. And naturally, he even took on the "white supremacism" line of openly racist, genocidal anti-white politics handed to us by Jews, perfect for the deracinated Protestant hysteric that he is.
I'm old enough to remember when he preached doom after Regan winning, and then after Booosh winning. But of course the nation just continued its never ending march Leftward, but midwit fools like Bobby Boy never seem to notice that they've won every single political battle of their lifetimes. They still act like they're a repressed, beaten down minority. Absurd. Well here's hoping that Trump 2.0 finally pushes things back in a direction of common sense, rather than the endless depravity, corruption, moral rot and bat-shit craziness that we've been subjected to for so long.
You’re obviously a fool, but to imagine Robert Christgau, of all people, is far left (!) is actually insane. He’s being lambasted by the far left in this very comment thread, & rightly so. Just when I think the MAGA fash can’t get any dumber …
Bob, hope you and Carola are having a great holiday season and both of you are healthy and feeling good these days.
Did want to find out for sure, though, if there's a CG this month. I've been checking Spam and also didn't see any notice about a delay. Either way it's okay but just wanted to make sure.
Thanks for your nuanced response to critics of Kamala Harris. I would just like to point out that she lost by a very small margin. No, it was not a landslide; Trump got less than half the vote, which I attribute primarily to misogyny and racism, in that order.
The kool aid I drank during the Nixon administration wore off during W’s administration. I’ve seen what’s behind the curtain. I still respect you’re writing skill.
St. Louis to Liverpool also contained the instrumental “Liverpool Drive,” which he’d released at least twice earlier, first as “Rockin’ at the Philharmonic”; three times if you include his version of “One o’ Clock Jump,” which was mainly the Berry tune, with a touch of the jazz standard.
I’d always thought of “You Never Can Tell” as set in France, where Orleans would be…Orleans. Of course I have no idea whether Coolerators were sold in France.
And “You Two,” which I love, is the least characteristic Berry song since “Downbound Train.”
I am familiar with the old adage: “Opinions are like arseholes. Everyone’s got one and they all stink.” Nevertheless, I was shocked by your snotty response to Ricardo Pini, who happens to live in New Zealand
You wrote: “May I suggest that unless American politics is your academic specialty or something you refrain from gross generalizations about a nation half a world away from yours.” That was your high-horsey response to someone in New Zealand who dared to express an opinion. Even people who live in New Zealand are affected by the idiotic and dangerous choices made by American voters. The world was already going to hell in a handcart and your compatriots have put in charge just the man to accelerate the process. Don’t expect the rest of us to keep quiet about it. It’s our world too.
The Cambridge philosopher, Jamie Whyte wrote: “You are entitled to an opinion in the epistemic sense only when you have good reason for holding it: evidence, sound arguments and so on. Far from being universal, this epistemic entitlement is one you earn. It is like being entitled to boast, which depends on having something worth boasting about.” Even so, your put down of Ricardo Pini was unjustified.
Do you have any actual thoughts of your own on the matter? It appears you’re only capable of offering up adages and quotes to illustrate your frustration
To which matter are you referring Suzie? I have many thoughts of my own about American politics and have published them over the years. It appears that Robert Christgau, whom I deeply respect as a music writer, does not think I am entitled to have opinions about American politics because I am not American and live a long way away from the USA.
His thought is that it is idiotic to tell people who live outside the US to, in effect, keep their opinions of American politics to themselves, when America’s policies affect the world. Funny how I was able to pick up on that by, you know, reading.
Once again, there’s no actual reasoning behind either of your comments, nor did it accurately reflect his post. The original commenter made sweeping generalizations about a country and politicians who do not directly serve them. This led Bob to suggest that perhaps the commenter lacks the understanding they may have of the country and politicians that do. It’s a strange assumption you both have, that somehow America’s policies affecting the rest of the world somehow gives credence to your own American policy knowledge. The gross oversimplification and thin, hostile language only exposes the deficits.
I don’t see any point in continuing this back and forth, particularly as it is 7 am and I am at the eye hospital waiting for my wife to go under the knife. I have expanded my thoughts in a Note and will write in further detail in future articles. You do not appear to have posted any articles or Notes yourself. I will subscribe to you so that I will be alerted when you are in a position to make a substantive contribution to Substack. Robert Christgau is an experienced and extremely accomplished writer. I am sure that he does not need you to speak for him but I respect your right to do so.
LOL the sweeping generalizations strangely strike any number of Americans as correct. You want gross oversimplifications, please refer to Christgau's own generalizations. What "reasoning" did he offer for his made-up positions? If you want evidence that Harris's refusal to address the Biden administration's support for genocide cost her votes, I can put you in touch with a few hundred people I've been involved with as part of Faculty for Justice in Palestine. But you & RC are apparently happy to accuse non-Americans of ignorance, an amusing irony, when they point out the obvious.
Oh, please. Biden/Harris provided billions of dollars in military aid to Israel. They essentially paid for the genocide. Yeah, it's a total mystery what she could have done differently. And if you still don't think it's a genocide, take it up with Amnesty International; Human Rights Watch; the Human Rights Council of the United Nations; the world's leading Holocaust scholars, such as Omer Bartov; leading public intellectuals like Ta-Nehisi Coates; a growing list of national governments including South Africa, Belgium, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Egypt, Ireland, Spain, Libya, Mexico, Nicaragua, Turkey; and indeed most of the rest of the world. But, sure, probably her "classiness" was the problem.
I'm not advocating anything. I'm calling you foolish for choosing to sit out an election where Donald Trump was on the ballot, especially if you are actually concerned about the struggle of Palestinians and their right to self-determination and dignity.
I'm fully aware of the dangers Trump presents. That's why I voted against him.
Super dumb response. When will workers realise that BOTH parties are just PR firms for the American oligarchy, intelligence services and military industry? People who act like voting for one or another candidate is an existential choice are just clown shoes at this point. Some of us aren't that excruciatingly stupid.
Calling my response "super dumb" while offering this steaming pile of bullshit is the laugh I needed heading into the weekend. Thanks, Al.
Elections are choices. The choice wasn’t between Kamala and a pro-Palestinian candidate. It was between Kamala and someone who thinks Israel should keep going and jettison any hopes of a two-state solution.
Oh, gee, thanks for this fresh perspective. The choice was between enabling genocide & not doing so. To participate in the election in the first place was to be complicit in genocide.
You are simply incoherent. Kamala was the candidate most likely to pressure Bibi toward a meaningful ceasefire. Trump will be worse.
It's completely coherent if you're not a liberal for whom electoral politics amounts to a civic religion. Nonparticipation is also a choice, one that most people I know felt just fine with, even if some did end up voting for Harris. How would you suggest one might convince the Democratic Party not to support genocide if they can do so & still obtain the votes of those who oppose genocide? I mean, you want me to vote for you? Maybe you shouldn't have used my tax dollars to murder tens of thousands of children. Or maybe you at least should have said ONE thing to indicate that you would not continue Biden's trajectory on the matter.
If you cared about the kids, you'd have voted for the candidate more likely to end the bloodshed more quickly. What you're really interested in is posturing. Which is cool - you do you. But don't pretend you have moral superiority. Your non-participation helped elect Trump, who will make the problem you purportedly care about even worse.
Yes, we're all familiar with the tired argument, thanks. I don't even need to read your replies, I can just fill in the next blank in the liberal guilt-trip handbook.
Good on ya for opening "likes" and comments.
Hey Bob. You're a great music writer but years of MSNBC has clearly rotted your brain. You want to know what could be done to stop the genocide? Biden could cease to provide Israel with billions of dollars worth of munitions and political cover and it would be over within an hour. But either you agree with the genocide and have adopted Senile Joe's pretend hand-wringing and Netanyahu blame (the genocide is supported by a substantial majority in Israel) or you're a rube. Maybe next time save your scorn because last time I checked Ricardo Pini's nation of residence wasn't enthusiastically participating in the obliteration of a child prison.
This is hardly new. He wrote about his enthusiastic support for HRC, with no mention of drone warfare & only a glance at Honduras—no mention of murdered Honduran feminist activists. She fetishizes "democracy" in a formalistic way, he avers, which is such a naive analysis as to verge on idiocy if he really means it. But who could believe that HRC's concern was democracy, in scare quotes or out, when she was outright supporting a right-wing military coup?
Hilarious that Xgau shames someone for having a much better political opinion that he. Very telling. Bob, Biden/Harris paid for the genocide. They slaughtered tens of thousands of children, if not hundreds of thousands (who are still trapped under the rubble). The Palestine issue is simple: Israel is a fascist state that has directly copied literal Nazi policy.
I will bet all the blood in my body that Bob doesn't know that the US and Israel have armed, funded, trained and treated ISIS and Al-Qaeda (Al-Nusra/HTS) fighters. He doesn't know that Assad said no to a pipeline from Saudi Arabia/Qatar through Syria/Turkey into Europe to undercut Russian energy (same reason the US started the war in Ukraine). Bob is like many Americans: extremely brainwashed, and actually believes The New York Times, etc. ROFL.
So happy to see you opened comments, Bob.
My disingenuous-but-really-not Inspirational Thought: Newman’s “Baltimore” is the best song about Los Angeles every written.
Hey, Bob! Happy holidays to you and Carola and thanks for reminding me of the lovely Randy Newman! No CG column this month? C'mon, what am I paying you for? :))
He’s probably busy compiling his list of the best albums of 2024. I’m sure it’s a lot of work.
It's been hilarious watching for close to 60 years how Bobby Boy relentlessly takes the most-far-Left position on anything and everything. He's the ultimate NPC, a yapping parrot, and massively ignorant. He lives in a land of fun house mirrors. And naturally, he even took on the "white supremacism" line of openly racist, genocidal anti-white politics handed to us by Jews, perfect for the deracinated Protestant hysteric that he is.
I'm old enough to remember when he preached doom after Regan winning, and then after Booosh winning. But of course the nation just continued its never ending march Leftward, but midwit fools like Bobby Boy never seem to notice that they've won every single political battle of their lifetimes. They still act like they're a repressed, beaten down minority. Absurd. Well here's hoping that Trump 2.0 finally pushes things back in a direction of common sense, rather than the endless depravity, corruption, moral rot and bat-shit craziness that we've been subjected to for so long.
Fascist imebeciles never can tell the difference between political and cultural power
You’re obviously a fool, but to imagine Robert Christgau, of all people, is far left (!) is actually insane. He’s being lambasted by the far left in this very comment thread, & rightly so. Just when I think the MAGA fash can’t get any dumber …
Bob, hope you and Carola are having a great holiday season and both of you are healthy and feeling good these days.
Did want to find out for sure, though, if there's a CG this month. I've been checking Spam and also didn't see any notice about a delay. Either way it's okay but just wanted to make sure.
Thanks for your nuanced response to critics of Kamala Harris. I would just like to point out that she lost by a very small margin. No, it was not a landslide; Trump got less than half the vote, which I attribute primarily to misogyny and racism, in that order.
Nuanced? Lmfao, he said she lost because she was a woman, and not because she's one of the worst people to have lived on this planet.
Your…….sorry spell check.
The kool aid I drank during the Nixon administration wore off during W’s administration. I’ve seen what’s behind the curtain. I still respect you’re writing skill.
St. Louis to Liverpool also contained the instrumental “Liverpool Drive,” which he’d released at least twice earlier, first as “Rockin’ at the Philharmonic”; three times if you include his version of “One o’ Clock Jump,” which was mainly the Berry tune, with a touch of the jazz standard.
I’d always thought of “You Never Can Tell” as set in France, where Orleans would be…Orleans. Of course I have no idea whether Coolerators were sold in France.
And “You Two,” which I love, is the least characteristic Berry song since “Downbound Train.”