Did he just say "cross-promotional recontextualization?"

Thought so. Sorry about that Xgau story, to which I linked before I thinked. Next time I read through before making with the hypertext. There are nuggests of critical thinking in there, but somewhere around "the proper study of discourse is other discourse" I began to experience the sweaty palms and "phantom turtleneck itch" that suggest the onset of a semiotics flashback. You were in college in 1989, too? Gotta figure Christgau's deanship comes with tenure, or there's no way he makes it beyond "functional pop that fetishizes its own status as aural construct." Alright, Baudrillard in the house.

Here, to make amends, one of my all-time favorite bits of rock crit. Hoary? You bet. Relevant? I bet.