Village Voice

Independent Journalism and Commentary on Politics & Culture

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Black History Month: The Great Black Hope
Village Voice - by Tom Robbins
Lorain, Ohio — The kind of hope Barack Obama promised to deliver was nowhere craved more deeply on Election Day than in this battered old …
New York City
Black History Month: Post-Soul Culture Circa 1992
Village Voice - by Nelson George
When did it happen? Was it when “Richard Pryor’s blues-based life experience humor gave way to Eddie Murphy’s telegenic, pop-culture–oriented …
New York City
When Ralph Nader Put His Thumb in Our Eye
Village Voice - by The Voice Archives
Back in 2000, the Voice editorial staff (or at least part of it) didn’t think a whole lot of Al Gore for president. On a cover referencing Don …
New York City
The Joke was Always on President Ford
Village Voice - by The Voice Archives
On November 27, 1973, the U.S. Senate voted 92-3 to confirm Gerald R. Ford as Richard Nixon’s vice president after the elected veep, Spiro Agnew, had …
New York City
2005 Pazz Jop: Listening in Real Time
Village Voice - by Robert Christgau
It is 2045 and the protagonist of Bruce Sterling’s 1998 novel Distraction, a young pol named Oscar Valparaiso who happens to be a clone, repairs to a …
Pazz Jop Comments: It’s Bigger Than Hip-Hop
Village Voice - by The Editors
Popular music, at its top-dollar best, is either music to drive to or music to grill to; at its bestest best, it’s both. By my reckoning, track by …
Pazz Jop Comments: My My, Hey Hey, Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay
Village Voice - by The Editors
Auckland’s Beths might be the 4,000th indie rock band from ever-fecund New Zealand — let alone the entire globe. But others don’t have Elizabeth …
Pazz Jop Comments: Ladies First
Village Voice - by The Editors
For these lists, I always gravitate toward music that says something about the year, whether it’s the world at large or simply my little place in it. …
New York City
Pazz Jop: A Promise Realized
Village Voice - by Lizzy Goodman
I like to think about all 45 (or 46) years the Pazz & Jop poll results have been tallied. I like to think about all the different iterations of …
New York City
Pazz Jop Comments: Let Us Now Praise Kacey Musgraves
Village Voice - by The Editors
2018 was the year of the non-consensus. Publications and blogs were all over the place in their choices for album of the year, which I think is a …
New York City
Pazz Jop: What’s in a Number?
Village Voice - by R.C. Baker
Did you ever try to figure out how old some famous person was when he or she died? Take, for example, the virtuosic writer Lester Bangs, who was born …
New York City
Pazz Jop: Welcome to the Cardi Party
Village Voice - by Carol Cooper
Over Super Bowl weekend, Cardi B cheerfully eclipsed this year’s televised halftime show by appearing in Atlanta at a series of related events that …
New York City
Pazz Jop: Fighting a Sense of Stuckness
Village Voice - by Sasha Geffen
Early on Twin Fantasy, the most recent album from the Seattle rock band Car Seat Headrest, singer Will Toledo recalls the time he came out to his …
New York City
2004 Pazz Jop: Freedom for Every-Which-Where!
Village Voice - by Robert Christgau
Whine about Lil Jon and Ashlee Simpson if you want. There was still plenty of good news in popular music this year, and it’s all over the 31st or …
New York City
Critical Democracy: Robert Christgau, Ann Powers, and Rob Harvilla on Pazz Jop’s Past and Present
Village Voice - by Joe Levy
The four former Village Voice music editors who discussed this year’s results collectively oversaw Pazz & Jop for 37 (or 38) out of its 45 (or 46) …
New York City
Pazz Jop: The Dean’s List
Village Voice - by Robert Christgau
Having invented this poll twice — in 1971 on my way out the Voice’s door and in revamped invitation-only form when I returned in 1974 — and run it till …
New York City
2003 Pazz Jop: Reasons to Bother
Village Voice - by Robert Christgau
How laughable, cracked wiseacres in re the 30th or 31st Pazz & Jop Critics’ Poll, for hopefuls in this nation’s other flawed, fragmented democratic …
New York City
Pazz Jop Voters Ballots: 2018 Singles
Village Voice - by The Editors
Click the names below to see which singles our critics voted for in this year’s poll. To see which albums they voted for, click HERE. Name Single Artist
New York City
Pazz Jop Voters Ballots: 2018 Albums
Village Voice - by The Editors
Click the names below to see which albums our critics voted for in this year’s poll. To see which singles they voted for, click …
New York City
Pazz Jop: This Is Black Genius?
Village Voice - by Tirhakah Love
It’s hard to hate on what the mainstreamiest skinfolk were diggin’ into in 2018. On its face, it seems they’ve been getting into each other. If …
New York City
Pazz Jop: So, Are Women Here Yet?
Village Voice - by Jessica Hopper
This year, I spent more time listening to the radio than I have since high school, when the college station was still my primary method of music …
New York City
Pazz Jop: The Top 50 Singles of 2018
Village Voice
New York City
Pazz Jop: The Top 100 Albums of 2018
Village Voice
New York City
2002 Pazz Jop: Party in Hard Times
Village Voice - by Robert Christgau
The worst one-two finish in the history of the Pazz & Jop Critics’ Poll couldn’t have come in a worse year, and it’s my sworn duty to tell you why. …
New York City
2001 Pazz Jop: Not Just Your Old Man’s Takeover
Village Voice - by Robert Christgau
Want to know something else that happened September 11? Sure you do. The Voice’s since-downsized Web radio station first “aired” a show we’d recorded …
New York City
2000 Pazz Jop: Albums While They Last
Village Voice - by Robert Christgau
Guess who didn’t win the 27th or 28th Pazz & Jop Critics’ Poll. C’mon, I’ll even give you a hint. If you were rooting for him, you didn’t give him …
New York City
1999 Pazz Jop: Flak on Both Sides
Village Voice - by Robert Christgau
Rock critics are nerds. We like it that way. We like staying home and listening to records, then trading them in for other records (even, heh heh, …
New York City
1998 Pazz Jop: La-Di-Da-Di-Di? Or La-Di-Da-Di-Da?
Village Voice - by Robert Christgau
The 25th or 26th Pazz & Jop Critics’ Poll was the most closely contested since 1984, when Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A. held off Prince’s …
New York City
1997 Pazz Jop: The Year of No Next Big Thing
Village Voice - by Robert Christgau
Because the 24th or 25th Pazz & Jop Critics’ Poll was the biggest-and-bestest ever, it tempted me to come out shilling for our big fat turnout and …
New York City
1996 Pazz Jop: Don’t Believe the Gripe
Village Voice - by Robert Christgau
Let’s see now. Hem, haw. It was the worst year for music since, er…1995. Guess that won’t do, will it? Well, how about — gripe, mumble — it was the …

Village Voice

Magazines

Summer Reading List 2017

New York Summer Guide 2017

Village Voice

Flips

Black History Month: The Great Black Hope

Black History Month: Post-Soul Culture Circa 1992

When Ralph Nader Put His Thumb in Our Eye

The Joke was Always on President Ford

2005 Pazz Jop: Listening in Real Time

Pazz Jop Comments: It’s Bigger Than Hip-Hop

Pazz Jop Comments: My My, Hey Hey, Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay

Pazz Jop Comments: Ladies First

Pazz Jop: A Promise Realized

Pazz Jop Comments: Let Us Now Praise Kacey Musgraves

Pazz Jop: What’s in a Number?

Pazz Jop: Welcome to the Cardi Party

Pazz Jop: Fighting a Sense of Stuckness

2004 Pazz Jop: Freedom for Every-Which-Where!

Critical Democracy: Robert Christgau, Ann Powers, and Rob Harvilla on Pazz Jop’s Past and Present

Pazz Jop: The Dean’s List

2003 Pazz Jop: Reasons to Bother

Pazz Jop Voters Ballots: 2018 Singles

Pazz Jop Voters Ballots: 2018 Albums

Pazz Jop: This Is Black Genius?

Pazz Jop: So, Are Women Here Yet?

Pazz Jop: The Top 50 Singles of 2018

Pazz Jop: The Top 100 Albums of 2018

2002 Pazz Jop: Party in Hard Times

2001 Pazz Jop: Not Just Your Old Man’s Takeover

2000 Pazz Jop: Albums While They Last

1999 Pazz Jop: Flak on Both Sides

1998 Pazz Jop: La-Di-Da-Di-Di? Or La-Di-Da-Di-Da?

1997 Pazz Jop: The Year of No Next Big Thing

1996 Pazz Jop: Don’t Believe the Gripe