There are many reasons to become a critic. You get free records, you go to shows for free, you meet rock stars, and attractive women line up to have sex with you. The perks are great, but they aren’t the core attraction of this fine profession. Critics are the most opinionated people in the world, and we live to share our pithy remarks with others.
With this power comes an extraordinary amount of responsibility. When a writer is hired by a magazine, newspaper or website, the editor is essentially saying, “I have faith in you.” The writer is no longer professing his opinion from a barstool, but through a public forum. Each statement must be backed up by concrete facts.
Last week, I read a column entitled Love, Listen, Loathe on a website that I used to write for. The concept of the column was simple. The writer chose three musicians and explained why he loved, tolerated or loathed them. The article focused on Elvis, The Beatles and Michael Jackson. I think you can guess which artist he loathed.
The article was on the front page of a nationally known website. His column was going to be read by thousands of people. He has a huge forum, and the backbone of his argument is that Elvis Presley was nothing more than a white guy who sounded black. That’s a fine argument. Unfortunately, it has been debunked by two of the greatest critics of all time, Peter Guralnick and Griel Marcus. If the author had done any research, he would know that Elvis always gave credit to the black artists that inspired him.
The moment you start writing about music, you have to be more than a fan. You have to be able to go outside of your pet genre and soak up everything. The job of the critic is to be an authority, and when a column like Love, Listen, Loathe appears, it discredits the entire profession. Elvis Presley caused a legitimate cultural shift. The only other artists who come close are Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, The Beatles and Bob Dylan.
The author doesn’t have to revere Elvis Presley, but every rock critic needs to have a basic grasp of his impact on our society. John Lennon once said, “Before Elvis, there was nothing.” If Elvis never recorded “That’s All Right,” rock n’ roll would have been a passing fad. Elvis didn’t invent rock n’ roll, but like Louis Armstrong, he synthesized it into a universal language. He gave a generation of teenagers access to a world that they didn’t know existed.
After they bought their first Elvis record, they wanted more. Then they bought Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Ike Turner. Elvis was the gateway into the harder stuff. He exposed black artists to an audience outside of the Chitlin Circuit. This is information that could be found with a simple Google search.
It’s a scary time for journalism. Traditional print media is being replaced by blogs, websites and webzines. It’s much easier for writers to get their name out there. This is wonderful, but we can’t lose the fundamental values of tradition. Research and well formed arguments are still the backbone of this industry. A poorly written article not only reflects poorly on you, but also hurts the publication.
There are so many fantastic arguments in the world. Why go for a lie?