It was a wild ride but I finally landed a job with the EU: a six-month contract gig in the field of human rights. Alicia and I will be moving temporarily to Paris during the contract term, which begins November 15.
Things looked pretty bleak for a while. The EU had pushed back the start dates on two of the jobs I’d interviewed for to March 2025. The two UN positions I applied for were reduced to two-month gigs with no guarantee of funding after December 31. The UN had already slashed its budget before I applied but it seems that the top brass are worried about an even bigger hit if Trump and the GOP win the election (which looks increasingly likely, for fuck’s sake).
Worried that the only remaining EU job on my list would get the ax, I contacted the woman who encouraged me to apply and politely asked her what the fuck was going on. She told me that the recent parliamentary elections had spooked some of the higher-ups but she had no reason to believe that the job I wanted was in jeopardy and promised to look into the holdup. I received a call a couple of days later to set up the final interview and the offer arrived this past Friday. When I circled back to my contact to thank her, she told me that the hiring team especially liked my volunteer work in domestic violence shelters, my experience running a business in the EU and my American birthplace. I found the latter rather puzzling, but she explained that whatever the outcome of the election, what happens in America will impact the EU and they hope I can provide insight regarding American actions and motivations.
I told her, “Eh bien, c’est facile. Si c’est Trump, nous sommes tous foutus.” (That’s easy. If it’s Trump, we’re all fucked.)
I wasn’t particularly keen about moving to Paris given the political climate in France but the work is very interesting and I know the city well, having managed a satellite office there for two years. A new job in a new field in a new city would have been too much, so living in Paris allows me to focus on the job and confirm whether or not international relations is the place for me.
This means that it’s time to bid a fond but permanent farewell to the altrockchick. My WordPress subscription ends on April 2, 2025, at which time I will delete the website. In the interim, the home page will automatically refresh once a week. I will eventually get around to closing the Comments feature beginning with the oldest reviews first. I’ve already removed all my photos (except for the teeny-tiny pics in the header) as I don’t want my employer to find out they’ve hired a pervert (though I suspect that half the hiring team falls into that category).
This departure feels different because I don’t have a long list of albums I’m dying to review. The only piece of music I regret not covering is Schubert’s Great C Major Symphony but I had to admit that the desire was self-indulgent and unlikely to draw much interest from my audience. I think I’m pretty much spent, and rather than slipping into mediocrity, it’s best that I move on.
Some of you may remember that back in 2016 I launched a collaboration with an editor in the hope of publishing my reviews in book form. That bubble burst when my editor calculated that the total word count had reached over one million. “It would be longer than War and Peace,” he told me. I’ve probably added another few million to that total, so a book is out of the question. I do want to preserve my work to have something to reflect on when I’m an old lady in a rocking chair, so in my spare time (assuming I have any) I hope to create EPub or PDF versions of my reviews (organized by the buttons on the menu bar) and allow visitors to download their favorite reviews before I sail off into the sunset. I would also like to rewrite some of my early contemporary reviews that deserve the full altrockchick treatment rather than the “keep it short and sweet” approach I used back then because it was recommended by “experts” in the blogosphere. Because WordPress will probably recognize them as new reviews, subscribers may receive emails from time to time. Feel free to ignore them if you’re not interested.
My final contribution to the music scene will appear next Sunday. See you then!
Be sure to visit Bordeaux a lot. I lived there for a year and a half, hunting for music I could engage in. Out by Arcachon I played in a folk dance band. Dogs wandering on the stage, accordians, lots of guitars, and my mandolin, with the dancers swirling in Gascon circles in front of us. Driving around out there I went by a casino and Pink Martini was playing. At the time I didn’t know what a band from Portland Or was doing out there. But I found out.
I play and sing covers. My French 3 song set is
Sympathique
Champs Elysees
La Mer
Sometimes I get tips for La Mer.
I’ve lived in France since 2013 (2 years in Paris, 11 in Nice, now back to Paris) and visited the country frequently thanks to a mother who made sure I was granted French citizenship at birth. I love Bordeaux and try to visit every year. The French aren’t really into rock ‘n’ roll and I can understand why Pink Martini would have some appeal (but not Modest Mouse).
So what happened to The Year Of The Cat?
Every once in a while I reread the review of Where’s The Money. Will it disappear next April?
A: I’m not an Al Stewart aficionado. B: All the reviews will disappear. I might convert them into downloadable formats for e-readers before I go, assuming I have time.
Good luck on your journey, and thanks for all these years!
Weeeeeelllllll, You suck! I only found you about 10 minutes ago, and you’re going away. Tch Anyway good luck with your new position. I am afraid you are correct, if cheetolini wins we are all fucked. Gods help us all.
Yes, I suck . . . in so many ways. But the site will be open for at least five or so months, so dig in!
Well, drat. I’m thrilled to have found your site, and have absolutely LOVED your writing and reviews. I’ve been inspired to delve into a lot more music I hadn’t considered before. I’ve enjoyed writing some music reviews here, and for whatever reason, the realm of music reviews has always held a fascination for me. You’ve shown just how excellent, incisive, and enlightening a review can be, and it’s been a delight to read everything.
So bummed I just found your website a few short months ago, and here we are. Best wishes in your new line of work…the offices in Paris are lucky to have you on board.
Thank you! I’ll do my best to save the world to compensate for my departure!
***That should read…..continue your path of putting good karma out here….😊
How sad you will not be writing more reviews, and I really hope we can access your work somewhere down the line…..I always find something new and interesting and your reviews are so well done! It would be a shame for people who like to dig a little more in depth to great music to miss out on all your hard work.
But I want to thank you so much and wish you a happy new chapter in your life! Thanks for making the world a better place…This website has been a gem, and it sounds like your new job will continue your path or putting good karma out here.
Take care!
Thank you! I have one more post this Sunday and much to my surprise I found another review I forgot to publish . . . so you’ll probably hear from me a few more times.
Shame , stumbled on your site a year or so ago , read all the reviews pretty much , especially the XTC ones which I commented on , not quite great minds think alike but on the same wavelength about music for sure . So you find her then its like the great Lieber & Stoller song -Where’s the girl?
Thank you! I think I’ve developed a new addiction—I’ve been replaying XTC constantly!
Hopefully you are giving Wasp Star a whirl and the final track , the best “end of ” track since The End :-The Wheel & the Maypole , has a certain resonance in the context of this article.
It’s taken me a few days to respond, for no particular reason, but I want to say a hearty goodbye and good luck to you! You have been an inspiration to me for your articulate, witty, and deeply informed commentary on all sorts of great music, most of which came well before I was born into Generation Z (while I have great friends, I certainly feel a little out of place in my generation in several ways), and while I may have hoped to correspond more in the comments sections, I still got a lot out of your reviews, including some new favorite artists and albums and interesting alternate perspectives on some of my old favorites. Best wishes as you become an inspiration to the world in a new and brilliant way – we really need more people like you fighting for the forces of good in a chaotic world.
Anyway, I would love to continue reading your reviews forever, but I understand if you can’t make it work with WordPress. I like the idea down below of uploading everything to someone else’s site, but (I’m not tech-savvy, this is just a random idea) I think it might be nice to create a pretty plain, early web-style HTML site – you’ll no longer need WordPress’s newsletter feature, so instead you can just put all the text of your reviews in a nice neat archive. Anyway, I’ll still take PDFs if it comes to that, and if you can’t even manage that (I totally understand), I will probably end up copying all of your reviews into Google Docs for my personal reading enjoyment, but that’s not something I can share with all the rest of your readers, so that would be pretty selfish of me.
If this is the end, I’d want to say that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed your run with this — and best wishes on your new job.
Altrockchick Cannot Die. Altrockchick is a Super Hero. Altrockchick Rocks.
Pussycat c’est la vie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxBy86S6Mwo
I have loved your detailed insights – the mix with your commentary provides a unique product! Thank you for your dedication and throwing all this wonderfulness into the unknowing and unresponsive void
All the best for your new endeavours.
Best of luck to you. I have enjoyed your unique musical insights and your gift of expression for many years. I am now a fan of many artists and bands that I’ve discovered through your reviews, that I doubt would I’d have stumbled upon otherwise . And you’ve deepened my appreciation of some music that I already kinda liked as well as changed my mind about a few things. You will be missed.
Thank you—and I’m glad I helped you find some new music to enjoy!
Wish I had found you sooner. hejira
Congratulations on your next chapter. I have only recently discovered your web page which is obviously brilliant. I hope you find a way to keep all your reviews available to the public. Perhaps load them up without the comments into an Amazon E-book format?
Anyway, although you are one of the greatest contrarians in all of rock music, your work is awesome. Your review of “A Passion Play” by itself transcends this mortal realm and elevates you into some kind of supernatural status.
Aw, shucks. Thank you! I am considering the E-book option if I close the site and it has to be Kindle-friendly because I couldn’t bear living without my Kindle!
Thank you for every precious moment with your words, best always to you, your wife and your family. I am forever at your service if the winds blow you ( cue beavis and butthead laugh) to Mexico City, Hamburg and SF, my three homes and a hearty ‘Hail Tull’.
I was waiting for your articles and loved to reread them, block time to disover the music you wrote about and just think about how great it was to have you somwhere and how sad it was I would never meet people like you in real life. I’m happy for you if your job makes you happy, you’ll be closer here in Paris (the only consolation) but I also think mediocrity will win without you. Please don’t erase your blog. Will miss you
au revoir. Will check out Tracking Angle then.
““Eh bien, c’est facile. Si c’est Trump, nous sommes tous foutus.””…? You may be shocked by French literature about the war with Ukraine which mostly describes how Obama, Biden, EU… brought us on the brink of war with Russia. At least, when they drop the big one, your life and mine will end the same minute since we are going to be living real close to one another. Thanks for the great reviews and good luck in Paris… so hoping we will be safe.
Not shocked at all! There is some truth to the criticism—ever since Truman left office, the GOP has bashed the Democrats for being soft, so they overcompensate by trying to show us how tough they are—LBJ and Obama in particular—but I don’t think you can blame the Democrats for the Russo-Ukraine war as that was all Putin (and that’s why Putin’s buddy Trump is so dangerous). I share your hope—stay safe!
Sad to hear that you are leaving. Your reviews have been great, and you’ve introduced me to a lot of music that I had overlooked, particularly 1950s rock and roll. When I do google searches for album reviews, I often come across yours. That must be a good feeling. It would be great if your reviews could continue to be accessible on the Internet in some form. Maybe there is someone out there with a website who would be willing to maintain an altrockchick archive.
I’ve considered trying to start a music website, but it’s too much work. I admire you for putting in the effort to write all of these in-depth reviews that are completely original and don’t just repeat what everyone else writes. My usual experience with reviews is that once I’ve read two or three of them for the same album, it’s all repetition after that. That’s never been the case with yours.
I’ve always wondered why YOU weren’t writing about music because your commentary was so insightful . . . but now I know. It IS a lot of work. Thank you for the kudos and for your contribution to music dialogue!
My God I’m going to miss your work. The most perceptive and humane reviews I’ve ever read about albums or individual songs, the insights I often missed about the political horrors unfolding in the USA and Europe, the laugh out loud things you stated so often, the complete honesty that permeated your writing…and I felt like I actually knew you, your (now) spouse, and your parents, at least to some degree. The altrockchick was, for me, about so much more than music. I’m very happy for you, but not for me! However, if anyone can make some impact in the field of human rights, it is you. Take care of yourself, and, maybe, there will be some way in which your readers can follow your further adventures. You were a beacon of sanity to me, I really mean that…
Oh, you made me cry! You’ll be happy to learn that my final contribution was inspired by a visit to my father last summer. And I might just pop in from time to time to update people on my adventures in the bureaucracy!
That would be wonderful, if you have the time, and can write about your further adventures in a manner that doesn’t land you in any trouble! And…some of your writings brought me to tears as well, of both laughter as well as, occasionally, sadness…
Well, ok. You have been like all the great lovers and entertainers in this life. Meaning, “always leave them wanting MORE”. Insert cigarette joke here, perhaps? While I wish your scope was bigger(insert cock joke here, perhaps?), I find your reviews amongst the very top of the heap, and I will absolutely miss reading your thoughts. And I second the notion of somehow keeping these words available to the not-yet-initiated to your little corner of the world. Congrats and best of everything to you. And to not say thank you would be fuckin’ tacky. Thank You for all of it.
Ah. Sadness is my feeling about today’s post. Generally when I see an email from altrockchick I am invariably delighted and can’t wait to see what fresh take you are offering on music I love or music I don’t know.
That said, and, as you are aware, I frequently engage in the comments section so you will be missed. I absolutely love the snark, the wit, the discussion of the musicality behind the song including chords, scales, etc.
Best of luck in your new gig. I’m sure you will be extremely successful and one can dare hope a future UN Director in the making.
Bonne chance!
Thank you so much for your support and insightful comments. The first thing I’d do as UN Director would be to move it out of the United States!
Your vivid writing, elevated critical thinking, humor, taste and verve brightened my life. I’ll miss your energy and the way your unwinds. Your take on Passion Play, in particular, was brilliant. All good things for you and Alicia.
After I posted my farewell comment I had pang of regret to not have mentioned APP review, glad you did!
Thank you! Passion Play was important on a personal level because it was the first time I felt my writing was starting to click.
Well, it is a pity, but of course: Life goes on – and very welcome here in Europe.
Thank you for the time, heart, and soul you poured into these articles. Thoroughly enjoyed the work and wish you the best in your new adventures.
Thank you for the kind words!
You are the Pauline Kael of music reviews so an e-book makes a lot of sense… Thanks again!
Oh, that’s sad for us! For you, a great opportunity. If I may, au revoir, rather than goodbye. And thanks for several million words!
Bonne chance! You have brought dome true pleasure to me with these reviews, and I will miss them. While I think you might make a bigger contribution to world peace if you trained as an assassin (see me for a target list) I think you will continue to provide Tikkun Olam in your own way.
You are utterly brilliant as a writer and I am stunned you are hanging it up, despite these obvious changes. Much more comprehensive writing including understanding music theory (as well as notation) means that you are vastly more important than most on Pitchfork or pretty much any other. You clearly do your homework and you have SO much great here.
Why not work for the Tracking Angle.com and be a sometimes contributor? OR even ask him to push your reviews to his website. Michael Fremer might be old, but he isn’t going anywhere. And outside of bespoke audio gear, it’s really all about the music. His massively deep music knowledge and DNA is a match and the world needs more insightful women in this world of music. I would at least email him via the website to discuss his input to your situation of archiving. He is always open to everyone! PS- I just love and post comments to the website- nothing more. Blessings and great luck on your new journey!
Thank you! I wasn’t aware of TrackingAngle.com but I’ve bookmarked it and will check it out once I find an apartment and settle in. I used to share my reviews with 50thirdand3rd.com but stopped because it was too much of a hassle and their audience wasn’t all that interested in music history.
Please check it out and reach out. Fremer bathes in music history and I think there is something here to prevent these words disappearing into the ether forever!
Sorry to see you go. Indeed, I only came upon your site when I read your review of Francoise Hardy’s “La Question”. I wish I paid more attention to her work when she was alive. Needless to say, “La Question” and how Hardy shaped your very being is quite illuminating. Before bidding you Bonne Chance, I have a question for you. I get the sex and I get the music. How does the baseball fit within your raison d’etre?
Thank you! As for baseball, my parents had partial season tickets with the Giants and I fell in love with the game and its history. I’m probably one of the few people who have read the Baseball Encyclopedia from cover to cover and about every fourth book I read today involves baseball history. The combination of strategy, probability and surprise appeals to me. That said, there are many aspects of today’s game I don’t care for—the ridiculous salaries, the emphasis on power and the decline of small ball, pitch counts, over-expansion that dilutes the quality of play and that stupid extra innings rule with a runner planted on second base. When done right, baseball is a thinking-person’s game and I even when I play I like using my brain.
Congrats on the new gig and best of luck in Paris!
Congratulations. May great times await you, and all of us.
That’s a shame. I’m still working my way through your reviews and articles. I’ll miss your racy style. Don’t know how these things work but couldn’t you leave the site up ? You never know how things turn out and we don’t want to lose you !
Thank you! I’ve considered keeping the site open because you’re right—you never know how things are going to play out. I don’t have to make a final decision until April. The one variable that may be problematic is that WordPress has stopped offering my current plan, so I’ll have to see if their new plans will work for me in terms of cost and limitations (they’ve been trying to push bloggers to use their new format, which would require me to cut and paste 600+ reviews).