Does Marcus explain his animosity for Williams somewhere? I thought I recalled some antipathy for the affectation in her voice but this is so much more. How many of us have read Ambler and how many will in the next year? Love the purple prose ab Bangs, of course. BTW, didn’t see the performance of which he speaks, but that is the only song by Halsey I’ve liked. Lana Del Rey is better, more interesting, sure, but not that much better.
I’ve thought about this forever, and the snark running Williams’ way from Marcus is pretty fool proof. You could be just as condescending as Marcus claims she is (“it’s a projection!”) (“wherever was Marcus defending middle-age White singer songwriters?”), but when I think about it, it comes down to Williams emerging from a post-Dylan world of Seventies songwriting his criticism has never shown much interest in. All a long-winded way to say, I have the same question!
Williams’ remake of “Sweet Old World” is unlistenable: it sounds like an overly indulgent self-parody of the decline of her vocal ability. And then there is a sense that she feels entitled; ‘my father is …’, ‘man what i’ve been through’, … . I read some Ambler in 2017 and have two more ready to go. Lana Del Rey is that much better than Halsey … and the rest of the (non)-competition.
GreilMarcus.net 
Does Marcus explain his animosity for Williams somewhere? I thought I recalled some antipathy for the affectation in her voice but this is so much more. How many of us have read Ambler and how many will in the next year? Love the purple prose ab Bangs, of course. BTW, didn’t see the performance of which he speaks, but that is the only song by Halsey I’ve liked. Lana Del Rey is better, more interesting, sure, but not that much better.
I’ve thought about this forever, and the snark running Williams’ way from Marcus is pretty fool proof. You could be just as condescending as Marcus claims she is (“it’s a projection!”) (“wherever was Marcus defending middle-age White singer songwriters?”), but when I think about it, it comes down to Williams emerging from a post-Dylan world of Seventies songwriting his criticism has never shown much interest in. All a long-winded way to say, I have the same question!
Williams’ remake of “Sweet Old World” is unlistenable: it sounds like an overly indulgent self-parody of the decline of her vocal ability. And then there is a sense that she feels entitled; ‘my father is …’, ‘man what i’ve been through’, … . I read some Ambler in 2017 and have two more ready to go. Lana Del Rey is that much better than Halsey … and the rest of the (non)-competition.