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95-627: Squeezing Out Sparks is the fourth studio album by English singer-songwriter Graham Parker and his band the Rumour . The album was released in March 1979. Although the Rumour were not credited on the cover, their name was included on the album label. Critically acclaimed, Squeezing Out Sparks was voted album of the year in The Village Voice ' s year-end Pazz & Jop critics' poll and later ranked number 334 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of
190-413: A "A+"-rated review for The Village Voice , adding that "Parker's mood, which has narrowed into existential rage with a circumstantial root, makes for perfect, untamable rock and roll ." In Rolling Stone , Greil Marcus wrote that the album "is no landmark", but nonetheless praised it as an ambitious work that depicted "true fear and drama." Squeezing Out Sparks was ranked among the top ten albums of
285-947: A B+ or higher to be a personal recommendation. He noted that in practice, grades below a C− were rare. In 1990, Christgau changed the format of the "Consumer Guide" to focus more on the albums he liked. B+ records that Christgau deemed "unworthy of a full review" were mostly given brief comments and star marks ranging from three down to one, denoting an honorable mention ", records which Christgau believed may be of interest to their own target audience. Lesser albums were filed under categories such as "Neither" (which may impress at first with "coherent craft or an arresting track or two", before failing to make an impression again) and "Duds" (which indicated bad records and were listed without further comment). Christgau did give full reviews and traditional grades to records he pans in an annual November "Turkey Shoot" column in The Village Voice , until he left
380-660: A B.A. degree in English . At college, his musical interests turned to jazz , but he quickly returned to rock after moving back to New York. He has said that Miles Davis 's 1960 album Sketches of Spain initiated "one phase of the disillusionment (in him) with jazz that resulted in my return to rock and roll." He was deeply influenced by New Journalism writers including Gay Talese and Tom Wolfe . "My ambitions when I went into journalism were always, to an extent, literary", Christgau said later. I am interested in those places where popular culture and avant-garde culture intersect. As
475-516: A Window: Lost Songs of Lennon & McCartney , was credited to "Pierson, Parker, Janovitz". Also in 2003, Parker contributed a solo acoustic version of Pink Floyd 's " Comfortably Numb " to the compilation album , A Fair Forgery of Pink Floyd . New solo work continued with 2004's Your Country , which saw Parker switch labels to Chicago-based indie Bloodshot Records and was co-produced by John Would at Stanley Recording in Venice, California. The album
570-683: A bakery. In Guernsey he bought an acoustic guitar and began to learn fingerpicking style and began writing songs with lyrics heavily influenced by the psychedelic music of the time. Parker returned to England for a year, living in Chichester in Sussex where he worked at the Chichester Rubber Glove Factory. By 1971, he had left England again and spent time in Paris. From France, Parker hitchhiked through Spain to Morocco, where he travelled around for
665-708: A bona fide American institution. For music writers, his year-end essays and extensive 'Dean's List' are like watching the big ball drop in Times Square ." These are Christgau's choices for the number-one album of the year, including the point score he assigned for the poll. Pazz & Jop's rules provided that each item in a top ten could be allotted between 5 and 30 points, with all ten items totaling 100, allowing critics to weight certain albums more heavily if they chose to do so. In some years, he often gave an equal number of points to his first- and second-ranked albums, but they were nevertheless ranked as first and second, not as
760-440: A closet ' American Woman ' fan" (from Christgau's review of the 1983 Police album Synchronicity ). "Calling Neil Tennant a bored wimp is like accusing Jackson Pollock of making a mess" (reviewing the 1987 Pet Shop Boys album Actually ); and " Mick Jagger should fold up his penis and go home" (in a review of Prince 's 1980 album Dirty Mind ). In 1978, Lou Reed recorded a tirade against Christgau and his column on
855-533: A concentrated, fragmented prose style featuring layered clauses , caustic wit, one-liner jokes , political digressions, and allusions ranging from common knowledge to the esoteric. Informed by leftist politics (particularly feminism and secular humanism ), his reviews have generally favored song-oriented musical forms and qualities of wit and formal rigor, as well as musicianship from uncommon sources. Originally published in his "Consumer Guide" columns during his tenure at The Village Voice from 1969 to 2006,
950-410: A contributing editor at Rolling Stone (which first published his review of Moby Grape 's Wow in 1968). Late in 2007, Christgau was fired by Rolling Stone , although he continued to work for the magazine for another three months. Beginning with the March 2008 issue, he joined Blender , where he was listed as "senior critic" for three issues and then "contributing editor". Christgau had been
1045-466: A critic, I want to achieve a new understanding of culture in both its aesthetic and political aspects; as a journalist, I want to suggest whatever I figure out to an audience in an entertaining and provocative way. Christgau wrote short stories, before giving up fiction in 1964 to become a sportswriter and later, a police reporter for the Newark Star-Ledger . He became a freelance writer after
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#17330935769231140-530: A discrete unit). Parker began a more active period in 2001, with the UK re-release of his early Rumour work, and with his third studio album for Razor & Tie , Deepcut to Nowhere . In 2003, he collaborated with Kate Pierson of the B-52's and Bill Janovitz of Buffalo Tom to record an album of lesser-known John Lennon / Paul McCartney compositions that had never been recorded by The Beatles . The album, called From
1235-486: A four-man horn section known as The Rumour Horns: John "Irish" Earle (saxophone), Chris Gower (trombone), Dick Hanson (trumpet), and Ray Beavis (saxophone). The band's first album, Howlin' Wind , was released to acclaim in April 1976 and was rapidly followed by the stylistically similar Heat Treatment . A mixture of rock, ballads, and reggae -influenced numbers, these albums reflected Parker's early influences and contained
1330-420: A little interest in pop music, they're a treasure." While regarding the early columns as "a model of cogent, witty criticism", Dave Marsh in 1976 said "the tone of the writing is now snotty–it lacks compassion, not to mention empathy, with current rock." Fans of Christgau's "Consumer Guide" like to share lines from their favorite reviews. Wolk wrote, " Sting wears his sexual resentment on his chord changes like
1425-666: A long time he's been called the 'dean of American rock critics'", wrote New York Times literary critic Dwight Garner in 2015. "It's a line that started out as an offhanded joke. These days, few dispute it." Christgau married fellow critic and writer Carola Dibbell in 1974 and they have an adopted daughter, Nina, born in Honduras in 1986. He said that he grew up in a " born-again church" in Queens but has since become an atheist . Christgau has been long, albeit argumentative friends with critics Tom Hull , Dave Marsh , Greil Marcus and
1520-469: A lot of white guys in their 60s waving the flag for Lil Wayne 's Da Drought 3 , especially not in the same column as they wave the flag for a Willie Nelson / Merle Haggard / Ray Price trio album, an anthology of new Chinese pop, Vampire Weekend , and Wussy ..." Christgau reflected in 2004: "Rock criticism was certainly more fun in the old days, no matter how cool the tyros opining for chump change in netzines like PopMatters and Pitchfork think it
1615-790: A personal list of his favorite releases called the "Dean's List". Only his top ten count toward his vote in the poll, but his full lists of favorites usually numbered far more than that. These lists–or at least Christgau's top tens–were typically published in The Village Voice along with the Pazz & Jop results. After Christgau was dismissed from the Voice , he continued publishing his annual lists on his own website and at The Barnes & Noble Review . While Pazz & Jop's aggregate critics' poll are its main draw, Christgau's Deans' Lists are noteworthy in their own right. Henry Hauser from Consequence of Sound said Christgau's "annual 'Pazz & Jop' poll has been
1710-638: A press event for the 5th Dimension in the early 1970s. According to Rosen, "Christgau was in his late 20s at the time – not exactly an éminence grise –so maybe it was the booze talking, or maybe he was just a very arrogant young man. In any case, as the years passed, the quip became a fact." When asked about it years later, Christgau said that the title "seemed to push people's buttons, so I stuck with it. There's obviously no official hierarchy within rock criticism–only real academies can do that. But if you mean to ask whether I think some rock critics are better than others, you're damn straight I do. Don't you?" "For
1805-476: A rawer sound. Coincidentally, popular punk band the Clash were undergoing a reverse process, trying to expand their musical arrangements. Therefore, the Rumour's rhythm and blues session players went on to record all the horn parts in the Clash's third and praised record London Calling . Parker explained the recording process in an interview, saying: The album took eleven days to record. It took two days to get
1900-444: A regular contributor to Blender before he joined Rolling Stone . He continued to write for Blender until the magazine ceased publication in March 2009. In 1987, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in the field of "folklore and popular culture" to study the history of popular music. Christgau has also written frequently for Playboy , Spin , and Creem . He appears in the 2011 rockumentary Color Me Obsessed , about
1995-588: A set of short stories, Carp Fishing on Valium , in June 2000. His third book, the novel The Other Life of Brian , appeared in September 2003. In early 2011, Parker reunited with all five original members of The Rumour to record a new album, Three Chords Good . It was released in November 2012. Music journalist , Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted that the release was "the rare reunion that simultaneously looks back while living in
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#17330935769232090-735: A solo, acoustic 40th Anniversary version of Squeezing Out Sparks , for an 13 April 2019 release. It also contains the non-album single, "Mercury Poisoning". In September 2023, Graham Parker & the Goldtops released a new studio album Last Chance to Learn the Twist . The Goldtops lineup now included drummer Jim Russell in place of Roy Dodds. Graham Parker & the Rumour Graham Parker Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( / ˈ k r ɪ s t ɡ aʊ / KRIST -gow ; born April 18, 1942)
2185-478: A story he wrote about the death of a woman in New Jersey was published by New York magazine. He was among the first dedicated rock critics. He was asked to take over the dormant music column at Esquire , which he began writing in June 1967. He also contributed to Cheetah magazine at the time. He then became a leading voice in the formation of a musical–political aesthetic combining New Left politics and
2280-463: A three-volume book series, the first of which was published in 1981 as Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies ; it was followed by Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s (1990) and Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s (2000). In his original grading system from 1969 to 1990, albums were given a grade ranging from A+ to E−. Under this system, Christgau generally considered
2375-446: A tie for first. The list shows only his number-one picks. No one in this time and place has the time to sit and listen uninterrupted for sixty minutes to anybody's music. I think Robert Christgau is the last record reviewer on earth who listens to eight records a day twice before giving his opinion on it ... Christgau is the last true-blue record critic on earth. He gave us an A-plus. That's pretty much who I make my records for. He's like
2470-436: A top 50 UK single in " Temporary Beauty ". 1983's The Real Macaw , with drumming by Gilson Lavis of Squeeze and Brinsley Schwarz on guitar, did not fare as well, hitting US No. 59 on the album charts but missing the UK charts altogether. However, Parker's 1985 release Steady Nerves (credited to Graham Parker and The Shot ) was a moderate success and included his only US top 40 hit " Wake Up (Next to You) ". The Shot
2565-441: A year before moving to Gibraltar . In Gibraltar he worked on the docks unloading frozen foods, which he then helped deliver to supermarkets. His guitar playing and writing skills were improving, and after playing songs to a few locals in a bar, he found himself on an afternoon show on Gibraltar television where he performed two or three of his own songs. At that time, a strongly psychedelic-influenced band named Pegasus often played in
2660-458: Is "hard" to write about in an "impressionistic way", that he is "not at all well-schooled in the jazz albums of the '50s and '60s", and that he has neither the "language nor the frame of reference to write readily about them." This was even while critiquing jazz artists like Miles Davis , Ornette Coleman , and Sonny Rollins ; he said "finding the words involves either considerable effort or a stroke of luck". Christgau has also admitted to disliking
2755-515: Is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became an early proponent of musical movements such as hip hop , riot grrrl , and the import of African popular music in the West. He was the chief music critic and senior editor for The Village Voice for 37 years, during which time he created and oversaw
2850-423: Is arguably one of the two most important American mass-culture critics of the second half of the 20th century... All rock critics working today, at least the ones who want to do more than rewrite PR copy, are in some sense Christgauians." Spin magazine said in 2015, "You probably wouldn't be reading this publication if Robert Christgau didn't largely invent rock criticism as we know it." Douglas Wolk said
2945-531: Is now." In a broad sense, Christgau says he responds to qualities of "tone, spirit, [and] music", disregarding, for instance, scholarly analysis of artists such as Bob Dylan . He readily admits to having prejudices and generally dislikes genres such as heavy metal , salsa , dance , art rock , progressive rock , bluegrass , gospel , Irish folk , jazz fusion , and classical music . "I admire metal's integrity, brutality, and obsessiveness", Christgau wrote in 1986, "but I can't stand its delusions of grandeur,
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3040-534: Is perhaps best known for his "Consumer Guide" columns, which have been published more-or-less monthly since July 10, 1969, in the Village Voice , as well as a brief period in Creem . In its original format, each edition of the "Consumer Guide" consisted of approximately 20 single-paragraph album reviews, each given a letter grade ranging from A+ to E−. The reviews were later collected, expanded, and extensively revised in
3135-535: Is still really intellectually active? It is tremendously flattering and gratifying that there are people who are ready to help support me." Between 1968 and 1970, Christgau submitted ballots in Jazz & Pop magazine's annual critics' poll. He selected Bob Dylan's John Wesley Harding (released late in 1967), The Who 's Tommy (1969), and Randy Newman 's 12 Songs (1970) as the best pop albums of their respective years, and Miles Davis 's Bitches Brew (1970) as
3230-412: The Voice dismissed Christgau after the paper's acquisition by New Times Media . He continued to write reviews in the "Consumer Guide" format for MSN Music , Cuepoint , and Noisey – Vice ' s music section–where they were published in his "Expert Witness" column until July 2019. In September of the same year, he launched a paid-subscription newsletter called And It Don't Stop , published on
3325-486: The counterculture . After Esquire discontinued the column, Christgau moved to The Village Voice in 1969, and he also worked as a college professor. From early on in his emergence as a critic, Christgau was conscious of his lack of formal knowledge of music. In a 1968 piece he commented: I don't know anything about music, which ought to be a damaging admission but isn't... The fact is that pop writers in general shy away from such arcana as key signature and beats to
3420-561: The murder of John Lennon : "Why is it always Bobby Kennedy or John Lennon? Why isn't it Richard Nixon or Paul McCartney ?" Similar criticism came from Sonic Youth in their song " Kill Yr Idols ". Christgau responded by saying "Idolization is for rock stars, even rock stars manqué like these impotent bohos –critics just want a little respect. So if it's not too hypersensitive of me, I wasn't flattered to hear my name pronounced right, not on this particular title track." Christgau has named Louis Armstrong , Thelonious Monk , Chuck Berry ,
3515-473: The 1978 live album, Take No Prisoners : "What does Robert Christgau do in bed? I mean, is he a toe fucker? [...] Can you imagine working for a fucking year, and you get a B+ from some asshole in The Village Voice ?" Christgau rated the album C+ and wrote in his review, "I thank Lou for pronouncing my name right." In December 1980, Christgau provoked angry responses from Voice readers when his column approvingly quoted his wife Carola Dibbell 's reaction to
3610-444: The 500 greatest albums of all time . Squeezing Out Sparks transcends the medium. I don't think there's anything as good as that by anybody anywhere. And I don't even take credit for it. I don't know what happened. I blacked out. Whereas Parker's previous albums were notable for their strong soul influences, with many prominent tracks and singles including a horn section , on Squeezing Out Sparks producer Jack Nitzsche favoured
3705-499: The 500 greatest albums of all time ; the list's 2012 edition ranked the album 334th. All tracks are written by Graham Parker, except where noted Graham Parker Graham Thomas Parker (born 18 November 1950) is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the British band Graham Parker & the Rumour . Parker was born in Hackney, East London, in 1950. He
3800-739: The American market. The first fruits of this new direction appeared on Stick To Me (1977), which broke the top 20 on the UK Albums Chart . Parker and the Rumour gained a following in Australia thanks to the support of community radio (4ZZZ, 3RRR), Sydney independent rock station Double Jay (2JJ) and the ABC's weekly pop TV show Countdown , which gave the group nationwide exposure. They made their first tour there in 1978, where they spotted rising Australian band The Sports , who subsequently supported Parker and
3895-524: The Beatles , and the New York Dolls as being his top five artists of all time. In a 1998 obituary, he called Frank Sinatra "the greatest singer of the 20th century". He considers Billie Holiday "probably [his] favorite singer". In his 2000 Consumer Guide book, Christgau said his favorite rock album was either The Clash (1977) or New York Dolls (1973), while his favorite record in general
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3990-470: The July 2010 installment would be the last on MSN. On November 22, he launched a blog on MSN, called "Expert Witness", which featured reviews only of albums that he had graded B+ or higher, since those albums "are the gut and backbone of my musical pleasure"; the writing of reviews for which are "so rewarding psychologically that I'm happy to do it at blogger's rates". He began corresponding with dedicated readers of
4085-683: The Replacements . He previously taught during the formative years of the California Institute of the Arts . As of 2007, he was an adjunct professor in the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music at New York University . In August 2013, Christgau revealed in an article written for Barnes & Noble 's website that he was writing a memoir. On July 15, 2014, Christgau debuted a monthly column on Billboard ' s website. Christgau
4180-529: The Rumour Brass, making this their first appearance on a Graham Parker album since Stick to Me in 1977 and their first time working with Parker since the Squeezing Out Sparks tour in 1979. The album was initially to be produced by Neil Brockbank , but he died during the recording of the album and production duties for the rest of the album were passed onto Tuck Nelson and Parker himself. He announced
4275-560: The Rumour on their early 1979 UK tour. The group made a second Australian tour in late 1979, when Parker appeared on Countdown as a guest presenter. An official Graham Parker and The Rumour live album, The Parkerilla , issued in 1978, had nothing new: three sides were live, with versions of previously released songs; the fourth was devoted to a "disco" remake of "Hey Lord, Don't Ask Me Questions". The Parkerilla satisfied his contractual obligation to Mercury Records , freeing him to sign with Arista. Parker had long been dissatisfied with
4370-764: The Rumour until a reunion decades later. However, Rumour guitarist Brinsley Schwarz reunited with Parker in 1983 and played on most of his albums through to the decade's end. Other Rumour members also played with Parker in later years: bassist Andrew Bodnar would rejoin Parker from 1988 through the mid-1990s, and drummer Steve Goulding would play on Parker's 2001 album Deepcut To Nowhere . The 1980s were Parker's most commercially successful years, with well-financed recordings and radio and video play. His follow-up to The Up Escalator , 1982's Another Grey Area , used session musicians Nicky Hopkins and Hugh McCracken . This album charted at UK No. 40 and US No. 51, and spun off
4465-471: The Rumour, and recording for Howlin’ Wind began in the winter of 1975 with Nick Lowe producing. In 1975, he recorded a few demo tracks in London with Dave Robinson, who would shortly found Stiff Records and who connected Parker with his first backing band of note, The Rumour . Parker had one track, "Back to Schooldays", released on the compilation album , A Bunch of Stiff Records for Stiff Records. In
4560-452: The UK, and was produced by Jimmy Iovine . The album featured the single " Stupefaction " and the track " Endless Night ", which had guest vocals from Bruce Springsteen . The front cover of the album credited only Graham Parker, not "Graham Parker and The Rumour". The album was certified Gold in Canada (for over 50,000 copies sold). The Up Escalator would prove to be Parker's last album with
4655-461: The album London Calling by The Clash ) or The Rumour Brass, most notably on Katrina and the Waves ' 1985 hit " Walking On Sunshine ". Bob Andrews left The Rumour in early 1980, and was not officially replaced. However, in studio sessions for the next album, Nicky Hopkins and Danny Federici (of The E Street Band ) played keyboards. 1980's The Up Escalator was Parker's highest-charting album in
4750-476: The annual Pazz & Jop critics poll. He has also covered popular music for Esquire , Creem , Newsday , Playboy , Rolling Stone , Billboard , NPR , Blender , and MSN Music ; he was a visiting arts teacher at New York University . CNN senior writer Jamie Allen has called Christgau "the E. F. Hutton of the music world–when he talks, people listen." Christgau is best known for his terse, letter-graded capsule album reviews, composed in
4845-405: The backing band, as well as guest appearances from The Band's Garth Hudson on keyboards and John Sebastian on autoharp. However, the album's chart peak of US No. 131 saw Parker dropped by the label. 1992's Burning Questions was released by Capitol Records , who promptly dropped him after the album failed to sell. A 1994 Christmas-themed EP release ( Graham Parker's Christmas Cracker )
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#17330935769234940-406: The best jazz album of its year. Jazz & Pop discontinued publication in 1971. In 1971, Christgau inaugurated the annual Pazz & Jop music poll, named in tribute to Jazz & Pop . The poll surveyed music critics on their favorite releases of the year. The poll results were published in the Village Voice every February after compiling "top ten" lists submitted by music critics across
5035-408: The best rock is treated condescendingly unless it conforms to Christgau's passion for leftist politics (particularly feminism ) and bohemian culture." Marsh named another prejudice of Christgau's to be " apolitical or middle-class performers" of rock music. Christgau has been widely known as the "dean of American rock critics", a designation he originally gave to himself while slightly drunk at
5130-535: The blogging platform Medium . In August 2015, he was hired by Vice to write the column for the magazine's music section, Noisey . In July 2019, the final edition of "Expert Witness" was published. In September 2019, at the encouragement of friend and colleague Joe Levy, Christgau began publishing the newsletter "And It Don't Stop" on the newsletter-subscription platform Substack . Charging subscribers $ 5 per month, it has his monthly "Consumer Guide" column, podcasts , and free weekly content like book reviews. He
5225-445: The column, named as "The Witnesses" after the column. On September 20, 2013, Christgau announced in the comments section that "Expert Witness" would cease to be published by October 1, 2013, writing, "As I understand it, Microsoft is shutting down the entire MSN freelance arts operation at that time ..." On September 10, 2014, Christgau debuted a new version of "Expert Witness" on Cuepoint , an online music magazine published on
5320-493: The earliest "Consumer Guide" columns were generally brief and detailed, but "within a few years... he developed his particular gift for 'power, wit and economy', a phrase he used to describe the Ramones in a dead-on 37-word review of Leave Home ". In his opinion, the "Consumer Guide" reviews were "an enormous pleasure to read slowly, as writing, even if you have no particular interest in pop music... if you do happen to have more than
5415-639: The email-newsletter platform Substack and featuring a monthly "Consumer Guide" column, among other writings. Christgau was born in Greenwich Village in Manhattan , New York City, on April 18, 1942. He grew up in Queens , the son of a fireman. He has said he became a rock and roll fan when disc jockey Alan Freed moved to the city in 1954. After attending public school in New York City , Christgau attended Dartmouth College graduating in 1962 with
5510-562: The last of that whole Lester Bangs generation of record reviewers, and I still heed his words. He gets my vision, and I'm cool with that. But half these people, they read Pitchfork , and they base half their opinion and quotes on that. "Christgau's blurbs", writes Slate music critic Jody Rosen , "are like no one else's–dense with ideas and allusions, first-person confessions and invective, highbrow references and slang". Rosen describes Christgau's writing as being "often maddening, always thought-provoking... With Pauline Kael , Christgau
5605-512: The manager of the by now defunct Brinsley Schwarz band. Robinson had a small studio above the Hope & Anchor pub in Islington and began to record Parker, sometimes solo and sometimes with a few musicians behind him. One of the songs Parker recorded was "Between You and Me." This demo version ended up on Parker's first album, Howlin' Wind , after the Rumour tried to record it but failed to achieve
5700-415: The measure ... I used to confide my worries about this to friends in the record industry, who reassured me. They didn't know anything about music either. The technical stuff didn't matter, I was told. You just gotta dig it. In early 1972, Christgau accepted a full-time job as music critic for Newsday . He returned to The Village Voice in 1974 as music editor. In a 1976 piece for the newspaper, he coined
5795-676: The members some of the soul numbers he had loved as a youth, including Wilson Pickett ’s " In The Midnight Hour ". He also tired of the band's hippie name and renamed them Terry Burbot's Magic Mud. In late 1972, Parker returned to England and lived with his parents, working at a petrol station around the corner from his childhood home in Deepcut . By now he was determined to pursue a career in music and worked steadily on improving his guitar playing and song writing. In late 1974 he placed an ad in Melody Maker seeking like-minded backing musicians. One of
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#17330935769235890-569: The musicians who answered the ad was Noel Brown, a guitarist who lived in south London. Brown introduced him to Paul "Bassman" Riley who had recently been a member of Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers . (Brown also found Parker a gig at Southern Comfort, a tiny hamburger café on Seven Sisters Road in Finsbury Park , London where he played solo, performing a mixture of original songs and covers.) Riley thought Parker should meet Dave Robinson ,
5985-438: The nation. Throughout his career at the Voice , every poll was accompanied by a lengthy Christgau essay analyzing the results and pondering the year's overall musical output. The Voice continued the feature after Christgau's dismissal. Although he no longer oversaw the poll, Christgau continued to vote and, since the 2015 poll, also contributed essays to the results. Each year that Pazz & Jop has run, Christgau has created
6080-481: The natural feel of the demo. Another song, "Nothin's Gonna Pull Us Apart" was played, in demo form, on the Charlie Gillett show "Honky Tonk" on BBC London 94.9 . On hearing the song, Nigel Grainge from Phonogram Records called Gillett and asked who the new singer was. By now Robinson had become Parker's manager and a deal with Phonogram was struck. Robinson then went about recruiting the musicians who would become
6175-666: The nearby towns of Woking and Camberley where there was a thriving appreciation of soul music , Motown and ska . Parker left school at 16 and went to work at the Animal Virus Research Institute in Pirbright , Surrey, where he bred animals for foot-and-mouth disease research. At 18 he left the job and moved to Guernsey in the Channel Islands where he took a variety of jobs, picking tomatoes, digging ditches, collecting money from pinball machines, and working in
6270-484: The newspaper in 2006. In 2001, robertchristgau.com–an online archive of Christgau's "Consumer Guide" reviews and other writings from his career – was set up as a co-operative project between Christgau and longtime friend Tom Hull ; the two had met in 1975 shortly after Hull queried Christgau as The Village Voice ' s regional editor for St. Louis. The website was created after the September 11, 2001, attacks when Hull
6365-568: The number of compilation albums in Graham Parker's discography. Particularly unproductive was Parker's tenure at Atlantic Records , where he released nothing and signed to RCA Records . He began producing his own recordings and issued The Mona Lisa's Sister . The backing band for this album included former Rumour-mates Schwarz and Bodnar; keyboardists James Hallawell and Steve Nieve ; and drummer Terry Williams (replaced on one cut by Andy Duncan, and two others by Pete Thomas , who, like Nieve,
6460-649: The performance of Mercury Records, finally issuing in 1979 as a single B-side " Mercury Poisoning " a song that directly attacked it. The flip side of the single was a cover of the Jackson Five song "I Want You Back (Alive)." Graham Parker and The Rumour were one of the four support acts for Bob Dylan at the Picnic at Blackbushe on 15 July 1978. The band also opened Richard Branson's new club The Venue , London, in November 1978. Energized by his new label, Arista Records , and with record producer Jack Nitzsche , Parker wrote
6555-914: The present." Meanwhile, the Judd Apatow film This Is 40 , in which Parker and Rumour play themselves, was released a month later, in December 2012. The Parker/Rumour reunion continued into 2015, when their new album Mystery Glue was issued. It was followed by a short international tour, after which the reunion ended. In April 2018, Parker signed with 100% Records, and released a brand new single titled "Dreamin'". Later, in July 2018, Parker announced Cloud Symbols , his brand new studio album to be released on 21 September 2018. The album features Parker's brand new backing band The Goldtops, which consists of Martin Belmont on guitar, Geraint Watkins on keyboards, Simon Edwards on bass, and Roy Dodds on drums. The album also features
6650-540: The records of Jeff Buckley and Nina Simone , noting that the latter's classical background, "default gravity and depressive tendencies are qualities I'm seldom attracted to in any kind of art." Writing in a two-part feature on music critics for Rolling Stone in 1976, Dave Marsh bemoaned Christgau as a "classic, sad example" of how "many critics... superimpos[ed] their own, frequently arbitrary, standards upon performers." Marsh accused him of becoming "arrogant and humorless–the raves are reserved for jazz artists, while even
6745-416: The reviews were collected in book form across three decade-ending volumes– Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s (1990), and Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s (2000). Multiple collections of his essays have been published in book form, and a website published in his name since 2001 has freely hosted most of his work. In 2006,
6840-462: The same bar and asked Parker to join them. With Parker in the band playing a borrowed electric guitar, Pegasus played one show in Gibraltar before going to Tangier , Morocco, where they briefly performed in a nightclub. Parker, however, was growing out of the hippie trappings and decided the band needed to learn a few songs that involved major keys (all the songs they played were in A minor) and so taught
6935-457: The songs that would form the basis for Squeezing Out Sparks , widely held to be the best album of his career. For this album, The Rumour's brass section, prominent on all previous albums, was jettisoned. Squeezing Out Sparks (1979) was named by Rolling Stone at No. 335 on its List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time . In an early 1987 Rolling Stone list of their top 100 albums from 1967 to 1987, Squeezing Out Sparks
7030-483: The songs which formed the core of Parker's live shows – "Black Honey", "Soul Shoes", "Lady Doctor", "Fool's Gold", and his early signature tune "Don't Ask Me Questions", which hit the top 40 in the UK Singles Chart . Establishing a recording career in early 1976, Parker preceded two other new wave English singer-songwriters with whom he is often compared: Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson . (Costello's first single
7125-460: The studio [ Lansdowne Studios in London] working because it had only been used by Acker Bilk and things like that. The third day we managed to play a song, and Jack said, 'Come and listen to this.' There was just this big mess coming out. So Jack and I went up to his hotel room and I told him we wanted to get back to fundamentals but we didn't know how to. I said, 'Jack, you gotta say what you think.' He
7220-485: The summer of 1975, Parker joined ex-members of three British Pub rock (United Kingdom) bands to form Graham Parker and the Rumour : Parker (lead vocals, guitar) with Brinsley Schwarz (lead guitar) and Bob Andrews (keyboards) (both ex Brinsley Schwarz ), Martin Belmont (rhythm guitar, ex Ducks Deluxe ) and Andrew Bodnar (bass) and Steve Goulding (drums). They began in the British pub rock scene, augmented at times by
7315-469: The term "Rock Critic Establishment" to describe the growth in influence of American music critics. His article carried the parenthesized subtitle "But Is That Bad for Rock?" He listed Dave Marsh , John Rockwell , Paul Nelson , Jon Landau and himself as members of this "establishment". Christgau remained at The Village Voice until August 2006, when he was fired shortly after the paper's acquisition by New Times Media . Two months later, Christgau became
7410-404: The tracks " Discovering Japan " and " Passion Is No Ordinary Word " received radio airplay. In addition, " You Can't Be Too Strong ", an uncharacteristic somber acoustic guitar ballad , met with controversy over its subject matter and narrative: a man's reflections on his girlfriend's abortion. Summing up the album, Parker stated, " Squeezing Out Sparks didn't have as much roots or swing, and there
7505-523: The two bonus tracks, "I Want You Back (Alive)" and "Mercury Poisoning". Live Sparks had originally been released only as a limited edition, promotional picture disc LP. Squeezing Out Sparks was reissued in the United Kingdom in 2001 by Mercury Records and Vertigo Records , with the two bonus studio tracks. Squeezing Out Sparks was well received by contemporary critics. Robert Christgau of The Village Voice called it "[a]n amazing record" in
7600-418: The way it apes and misapprehends reactionary notions of nobility". In a 2015 interview, he described heavy metal as "symphonic bombast without the intelligence and complexity, although there's a lot of virtuosity.[...] That music is so masculine in a really retrograde way; I don't like that at all. It seems to me to have a very 19th-century notion of power." He said in 2018 that he rarely writes about jazz as it
7695-403: The web site, especially its high searchability and small interest in graphics, are his idea of what a useful music site should be". In December 2006, Christgau began writing his "Consumer Guide" columns for MSN Music , initially appearing every other month, before switching to a monthly schedule in June 2007. On July 1, 2010, he announced in the introduction to his "Consumer Guide" column that
7790-641: The year for 1979 by NME , with "Protection" ranked among the year's top 50 tracks. Critical reception for the album was capped by its being voted the best album of the year in the 1979 Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics' poll. The album's critical reputation has grown since its release. Trouser Press called it "his toughest, leanest and most lyrically sophisticated LP", while AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine cited it as Parker's "finest album", "a masterful fusion of pub rock classicism, new wave pop, and pure vitriol". In 2003, Rolling Stone placed Squeezing Out Sparks at number 335 on its list of
7885-627: Was Monk's 1958 Misterioso . In July 2013, during an interview with Esquire magazine's Peter Gerstenzang, Christgau criticized the voters at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , saying that "they're pretty stupid" for not voting in the New York Dolls. When asked about Beatles albums, he said he most often listens to The Beatles' Second Album –which he purchased in 1965–and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band . Wolk wrote: "When he says he's 'encyclopedic' about popular music, he means it. There are not
7980-435: Was a bit paranoid about criticizing the band. I said to him, 'Jack, we're English. We sneer, we're cynical, we're miserable. But we really don’t mean it.' So the next day we came in, and anything he said, I said, 'Yeah, come on. Carry on. Wot? Wot? Come on, say it. Here, have another beer.' And eventually we got it out. The album was originally written to follow a greater concept about growing up in suburbia. Parker explained, "I
8075-565: Was a four-piece backing band, all of whom had played on either The Real Macaw or Another Grey Area : Brinsley Schwarz (guitar), George Small (keyboards), Kevin Jenkins (bass) and Michael Braun (drums). Steady Nerves was recorded in New York City, and Parker began living mostly in the United States during this time. Record label changes came quickly after the mid-1980s, partly accounting for
8170-466: Was a member of Elvis Costello and the Attractions ). Rolling Stone magazine ranked The Mona Lisa's Sister at No. 97 on its list of The 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s. Parker continued to record for RCA through the early 1990s. Long-time guitarist Schwarz once again left Parker after the 1989 album Human Soul . Parker's 1991 offering, Struck By Lightning , had Bodnar and Pete Thomas in
8265-629: Was a pupil at Chobham Secondary Modern School in Surrey. After the success of the Beatles , Parker and some other 12/13-year-olds formed the Deepcut Three, soon renamed the Black Rockers. None of the members actually learned to play their instruments, however, and were merely dress-up bands, adopting Beatle haircuts, black jeans and polo neck sweaters. By the time Parker was 15 he was a fan of soul music, especially Otis Redding , and would go to dance clubs in
8360-456: Was issued on Dakota Arts Records, before Parker found a more permanent home on American independent label Razor & Tie . After the personal 12 Haunted Episodes , and 1996's Acid Bubblegum (featuring Jimmy Destri of Blondie on keyboards), Parker grew quiet in the late 1990s. However, he continued to play live fairly regularly, often working with backing band The Figgs (who, like The Rumour, when not backing Parker also issue records as
8455-447: Was kind of attempting a concept album about the suburbs of England, or at least trying to capture a vague approximation of suburban life. ... I guess I drifted off the mark there for the rest of the record because the concept turned out to be a little confining for a whole album." This is reflected in the lyrics to songs such as " Local Girls " and " Saturday Nite Is Dead ". Music videos were made for "Local Girls" and " Protection ", and
8550-431: Was no horn section on it. The songs were just great." Studio versions of " I Want You Back " (a Jackson 5 cover) and " Mercury Poisoning " were originally issued on a 45 rpm 7" single which was included with early copies of the album. In 1996, Arista Records issued Squeezing Out Sparks + Live Sparks with the original ten tracks followed by live versions of the same songs, in the same order, plus live versions of
8645-501: Was ranked at No. 45, while Howlin' Wind came in at No. 54. The album features several of Parker's most famous songs, including " Passion Is No Ordinary Word ", " You Can't Be Too Strong ", and the singles " Local Girls ", " Protection ", and " Discovering Japan ". The companion live album Live Sparks , was sent to US radio stations as part of a concerted promotional campaign. The jettisoned brass section continued to play on other people's records, credited as The Irish Horns (on
8740-469: Was recorded and mixed in two weeks. Songs of No Consequence was recorded with The Figgs in 2005. A show from the ensuing tour with the Figgs was broadcast on FM radio and released as an album in 2006. In March 2007, a new full-length album, Don't Tell Columbus , was released. In addition to his records, Parker published an illustrated science fiction novella, The Great Trouser Mystery in 1980. He published
8835-646: Was released in 1977, and Jackson's first solo single in late 1978). Jackson said of Parker in a 1979 interview, "Graham Parker I really like. I think he's very genuine." Graham Parker and the Rumour appeared on BBC television's Top of the Pops in 1977, performing their version of The Trammps ' "Hold Back the Night" from The Pink Parker EP , a top 30 hit in the UK Singles Chart in March 1977. At this point, Parker began to change his songwriting style, hoping to break into
8930-468: Was skeptical of the platform at first: "Basically I told Joe that if I didn't have enough subscribers to pay what I made at Noisey by Christmas I was going to quit. I wasn't going to do it for less than that money. I had that many subscribers inside of three days." By May 2020, "And It Don't Stop" had more than 1,000 subscribers. Christgau was ambivalent about the platform at first, but has since found it "immensely gratifying" explaining that, "A man my age, who
9025-477: Was stuck in New York while visiting from his native Wichita . While Christgau spent many nights preparing past Village Voice writings for the website, by 2002 much of the older "Consumer Guide" columns had been inputted by Hull and a small coterie of fans. According to Christgau, Hull is "a computer genius as well as an excellent and very knowledgeable music critic, but he'd never done much web site work. The design of
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