Robert Christgau, one of the preiminent music reviewers in the United States (and one who knows it, since he once famously referred to himself as “the Dean of American Rock Critics,” has been fired by the Village Voice.

The Voice had been Christgau’s home for about as long as I’ve been able to read, and it’s where he oversaw the publications’ annual Pazz and Jop critics poll, to which I’ve contributed in the past. The poll was, “in addition to being the definitive annual best-of list, both before and after the Internet, a kind of virtual powwow, a way for critics to ‘gather’ each year to talk about music and their perennially embattled profession.”

Christgau’s right up there with Bangs, Marcus, and Marsh when it comes to recognizable music critics. I’m sure he’ll bounce back, but it’s depressing to think that he had to leave at all.