TAKING ON THE ROCK CRITIC ESTABLISHMENT

In a now infamous blog screed, Jeff Chang took on Da Capo's "Best Music Writing of..." series for perpetuating a white, male dominated world view on pop music. In doing so, he gave voice to what many of us on the sidelines had already been grumbling about for years but just assumed nothing would ever change.

Well, maybe nothing will change - it's too early to tell but Jeff writes about his experience and attitudes towards Da Capo for the SF Bay Guardian. This is a powerful, articulate piece that manages to both remind us of what's at stake when it comes to representation and media as well as bring us to a more hopeful space as to what the future of music criticism - and who is included in those ranks - will bring.