Jim DeRogatis

James "Jim" DeRogatis (born September 2, 1964 in Jersey City, New Jersey) is an American music critic and co-host of Sound Opinions. DeRogatis has written articles for magazines such as Spin, Guitar World and Modern Drummer, and for fifteen years was the pop music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times.

He joined Columbia College Chicago as a full-time faculty member in their Department of English in the fall of 2010.^[2]

Career

In 1982, while a senior at Hudson Catholic Regional High School in Jersey City, New Jersey, DeRogatis along with photographer Ray Zoltowski conducted one of the last interviews with rock critic Lester Bangs, two weeks before Bangs' death of a drug overdose.^[3] Over a decade later, this encounter would serve as the beginning and inspiration for DeRogatis's Lester Bangs biography Let it Blurt.^[3]

DeRogatis first joined the Chicago Sun-Times in 1992; he left in 1995 to join Rolling Stone magazine, a job that lasted eight months, and was back at the Sun-Times in three years.^[1] While at Rolling Stone magazine, he was fired after writing a negative review of Hootie & the Blowfish's album Fairweather Johnson. The review irked Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner who had it pulled from publication. DeRogatis's employment with the magazine was terminated after he revealed this incident to the public.^[4]

DeRogatis hosts Sound Opinions with fellow music critic Greg Kot. The radio talk show is heard on Chicago Public Radio and nationally syndicated by American Public Media and is available as a podcast. The program is one of the longest running talk radio shows focusing exclusively on rock music with stints on both Chicago's WXRT and an early incarnation on Q101 featuring Bill Wyman from the Chicago Reader in place of Greg Kot.^{[citation needed]} The move to Chicago Public Radio took place on December 3, 2005.

DeRogatis plays drums in the indie rock band Vortis. He previously played in the bands the Ex-Lion Tamers (Wire cover band), Airlines and Speed the Plough. Vortis has released two albums and a third is due to be released soon.

Ryan Adams

DeRogatis gained more notoriety after Ryan Adams left an angry message on his answering machine.^[5] It was in response to a scathing review DeRogatis gave of an Adams show, and in particular the critic's dismissive comparison of the singer-songwriter's talents with those of Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy.

R. Kelly trial

DeRogatis was named as a witness in the 2008 child pornography trial of musician R. Kelly. As a Chicago Sun-Times music critic, he received a videotape in 2002, allegedly featuring R Kelly and a 14-year-old girl. He turned the tape over to police.

The defense lawyers have charged that DeRogatis should be charged with child pornography for allegedly making a copy of the tape and showing it to another person after turning the original over to police.^[6]

After initially failing to appear for the trial, DeRogatis was ordered by Judge Vincent Gaughan on May 30, 2008 to report to the trial the following day.^[7] However, upon questioning by Judge Gaughan outside of the presence of the jury, DeRogatis refused to provide substantive answers, citing his First and Fifth Amendment rights as the basis for his refusal.^[8] Judge Gaughan disagrees that as a journalist DeRogatis had a First Amendment basis for refusing to testify, but excused DeRogatis from taking the stand in front of the jury based upon his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself.^[8]

Bibliography

• Let it Blurt : The Life and Times of Lester Bangs, America's Greatest Rock Critic, Broadway Books, 2000
• Milk It!: Collected Musings on the Alternative Music Explosion of the '90s, Da Capo Press, 2003
• Turn On Your Mind : Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock, Hal Leonard Publishing Co, 2003
• Kill Your Idols: A New Generation of Rock Writers Reconsiders the Classics, Da Capo Press, 2004
• Staring at Sound: The True Story of Oklahoma’s Fabulous The Flaming Lips, Broadway Books, 2006

References

External links

• Official website