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Quote by Gary Giddins

“If I'm reviewing a record, man, I play that record to death, which is ironic in a way because if I review a concert I feel very confident in myself, certainly at this point, and have for most of my career. You're only hearing it once and then you go to your typewriter and you write the review.”

Author

Gary Giddins

Gary Giddins, born on March 21, 1948, is an accomplished American music critic and writer. His work spans across various genres including jazz, pop, and classical music, known for his profound insights and unique style. more

“When I teach criticism, the first thing I say, and this sometimes pisses off younger - I mean, students, is that, opinions are the least part of criticism. We've all had the experience of going with a friend to a movie or a concert and you leave the theater and one of you loved it and one of you hated it, and that doesn't mean that one of you is an idiot. That's the way things work.”

Mean Sometimes Opinion Teach Students Criticism Idiot Hated

Author:Gary Giddins

“There are reviews that are clearly wrong. Dr. Johnson's famous Life of Savage, he's clearly wrong about the value of Savage. But it's one of the great works in English literature. You can learn more about the artistic expression and what the poet does and how to write about art from that than any number of guys who are terrible writers, who have no original ideas, but who say yes, "Hamlet" is a wonderful play. It's a meaningless statement.”

Writing Art Guy Values Literature Wonderful Poet Terrible Artistic Meaningless Great Work English Literature

Author:Gary Giddins

“Criticism ultimately at some degree is about the writer and not the subject. It's very easy if everybody else says, "He's a genius," to echo that, but then you're not functioning as a critic or as a writer in any meaningful way. You've got to take the risk of being wrong.”

Easy Risk Genius Criticism Critics Meaningful Being Wrong

Author:Gary Giddins

“If you're genuinely candid and expressive then you're never wrong, even when you are wrong.”

Author:Gary Giddins

“Even my colleagues don't read classic criticism. And my feeling is that if you don't do that then you're not really practicing your craft. That's how you learn how to do it. You don't learn how to write about jazz just from listening to jazz. You learn how to write by reading the great writers and how they worked, the great music critics.”