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November 05, 2009

An Appreciation of Robert Hilburn, and the End of an Age for a Certain Type of Rock Critic...

AHB/Alec Bemis/Brassland | Read Full Story >

Point being: Hilburn thought Gen X and Gen Y musicians could be central voices of our age; I, however, think it’s safe to say their young fans care more about their singing voices. It’s too early to tell if the increasingly abstract sound of indie rock today (i.e. Grizzly Bear, Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors, Bon Iver) will be emblematic of 21st century music. But today’s artists are certainly tilting toward a less strident kind of politic — one that’s more about bohemian lifestyles than change-the-world hippie protests.

I’m writing now to praise Bob Hilburn not to bury him. He wasn’t a “fuck you” critic lambasting what he found unworthy of attention; he was a “you’re going to love this” friend, pointing us toward the work he admired. I believe it’s more difficult to praise art than it is to fling clever bon mots declaiming it, so I celebrate his method & his means. That said, I wonder if he represented the end of a certain line.

Is there room for heroes in an era of niches and endlessly Catholic tastes?



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