Just Jennifer

Going into the City: Portrait of a Critic as a Young Man by Robert Christgau (Dey Street Books, February 2015)

Bob Christgau , self-proclaimed Dean of American Rock Critics, was a music critic with Esquire and The Village Voice for over thirty years.  Christgau’s memoir not only the story of his life, but the story of a city told through art, books, film and most importantly music.  Born in Flushing, Queens, Christgau was a “record nerd” growing up, a label that would serve him well throughout his life.  A graduate of J School, Christgau began his career as a police reporter and sports reporter for the Newark Star-Ledger in the mid-sixties.  From there, Christgau, gean free-lancing and the rest is history.  At that time, Christgau reconnected with Ellen, who he knew from junior high, also a rock critic, a partnership that would be long-lasting.  Not suited to each other for marriage, Christgau eventually married writer Carola Dibbell, with whom he traveled to Honduras in 1985 to adopt their daughter.  There was an assurance, almost arrogance, to Christgau’s reviews and essays that carries over to his memoir.  His story often focuses on the minutia of his personal life and relationships and not as much as the changes, social and cultural that he witnessed in his fifty year career, sometimes by his own admission “But enough about rock criticism.  Let’s talk about me.”