As the Australian-born, New York-based cowboy critic grew older, he behaved like a grandpa egomaniac, convinced that everything new was terrible. It was at times entertaining, at times irritating, and at times you just wished he would bring his considerable talents to constructing a narrative besides the hoary decline story he'd begun championing in the '80s. Still, he stands for criticality itself, and good writing, and it's fun watching his BBC show based on the book of the same name, The Shock of the New—and thankfully, it's on YouTube.

RIP, Mr. Hughes.