New Rock & Roll & column at Barnes & Noble Review:

• Smart and Smarter: Vampire Weekend: Contra

New Consumer Guide for February 2010. Featured albums:

• The Dirty Projectors: Bitte Orca (Domino) [B+]
• Fruit Bats: The Ruminant Band (Sub Pop) [A-]
• Group Bombino: Guitars From Agadez Vol. 2 (Sublime Frequencies) [A-]
• Paul Kelly: Greatest Hits: Songs From the South; Volumes 1 & 2 (Capitol) [B+]
• Jeffrey Lewis & the Junkyard: Em Are I (Rough Trade) [A-]
• The Mountain Goats: The Life of the World to Come (4AD) [A-]
• Rail Band: Rail Band 2: Mansa (Belle Epoque) [A-]
• Rail Band: Rail Band 3: Dioba (Belle Epoque) [B+]
• Peter Stampfel: Dook of the Beatniks (Piety Street Files & Archaic) [A-]
• The Decemberists: The Hazards of Love (Capitol) [C]

Honorable Mentions: Vieux Farka Touré, The Very Best, Jill Sobule, Group Doueh, Tinariwen, Willowz, Dr. Boogie Presents Heavy Jelly, Freedy Johnston, Tea Cozies, The Very Best [mixtape], The Red Krayola With Art & Language, Ghana Special, Chuck Prophet, Rosanne Cash, La Drivers Union Por Por Group, Thao With the Get Down Stay Down, Bibio

Choice Cuts: Menya, Bruce Robison, Julian Casablancas, Norah Jones, Kris Kristofferson

More Duds: Andrew Bird, The Boxer Rebellion, Dan Deacon, Deradoorian, Jolie Holland, Noah and the Whale, A Sunny Day in Glasgow

New Rock&Roll& column at Barnes & Noble Review, wrapping up 2009.

• Resuscitations and Business Plans: The Best Albums of 2009
• Robert Christgau's 2009 "Dean's List"

New Consumer Guide for January 2010. Featured albums:

• The Chemical Brothers: Brotherhood (Limited Edition) (Virgin) [A-]
• Death Cab for Cutie: The Open Door (Atlantic, EP) [A-]
• Ghostface Killah: Fish N Chips (Mick Boogie Entertainment) [B+]
• Ghostface Killah: Ghostdini Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City (Def Jam) [A-]
• God Help the Girl: God Help the Girl (Matador) [A-]
• Richard Hell: Destiny Street Repaired (Insound.com) [A-]
• A Place to Bury Strangers: Exploding Head (Mute) [A-]
• Shakira: She Wolf (Epic) [A-]
• Q-Tip: Kamaal the Abstract (Battery) [B-]

Honorable Mentions: Amerie, Mi Loco Tango, God Help the Girl, Ralph Carney's Serious Jass Project, Soulico; Regenerated Headpiece, Wyclef Jean, Khingz, Massive Attack, Themselves, M.O.P., John Mayer, Rihanna, Jamie T, Themselves, Clipse, A Place to Bury Strangers; Brother Ali, Rakim, Q-Tip, KRS-One & Buckshot, Grand Puba, Big Star, Third Eye Blind

Choice Cuts: John Fogerty, Wale, Ian Hunter, Ghostface Killah

More Duds: Mariah Carey, Chester French, 50 Cent, M.O.P., Me'Shell Ndegeocello, Subtle, Swollen Members, Rob Thomas

Robert Christgau's ballot for Rolling Stone's The Decade's Best Songs & Albums.

New Rock&Roll& column at Barnes & Noble Review, on Thelonious Monk, Not So Misterioso.

• Not So Misterioso

New Consumer Guide for December 2009. Featured albums:

• Mulatu Astatke: New York-Addis-London: The Story of Ethio Jazz 1965-1975 (Strut) [A-]
• Eva & the Heartmaker: Let's Keep This Up Forever (Sony) [B+]
• Girls: Album (True Panther/Fantasy Trashcan) [A-]
• Veda Hille: This Riot Life (Ape House) [A-]
• Nirvana: Live at Reading (DGC) [A]
• Jay Reatard: Watch Me Fall (Matador) [A-]
• The Rough Guide to Gypsy Revival (World Music Network) [B+]
• Tegan and Sara: Sainthood (Vapor/Sire) [A-]
• tUnE-yArDs: BiRd-BrAiNs (4AD) [A]
• The xx: The xx (XL/Young Turks) [A]
• Lynyrd Skynyrd: God & Guns (RoadRunner/Loud & Proud) [C+]

Honorable Mentions: Kottarashky, Gogol Bordello, Joe Nichols, NOFX, The Asteroids Galaxy Tour, BalkanBeats: A Night in Berlin, The Raveonettes, The Black Crowes, Scream Along With Billy, Talk Normal, Sam Baker, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, The Ettes, A Hawk and a Hacksaw, Vivian Girls, Tommy T

Choice Cuts: Tim McGraw, Asylum Street Spankers, Musafir, Toby Keith, Kitka, Taylor Swift

More Duds: Ingrid Michaelson, Noisettes, Karen O and the Kids, Susana and the Magical Orchestra, Wavves, Wye Oak

New Rock&Roll& column at Barnes & Noble Review, on Brad Paisley, American Saturday Night.

• Paisley's Progress

New Consumer Guide for November 2009. Featured albums:

• The Avett Brothers: I and Love and You (American) [A-]
• Franco: Francophonic Vol. 2 (Sterns Africa) [A+]
• Nellie McKay: Normal as Blueberry Pie: A Tribute to Doris Day (Verve) [A]
• Modest Mouse: No One's First, and You're Next (Epic) [A-]
• Jemina Pearl: Break It Up (Universal Motown) [B+]
• Various artists: The Rough Guide to Tango Revival (World Music Network) [A-]
• Loudon Wainwright III: High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project (161) [A]
• White Denim: Fits (Downtown) [A-]
• Arctic Monkeys: Humbug (Domino) [B]

Honorable Mentions: Kid Sister, No Age, Telekinesis, Amira Sagati, Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band, Maria Muldaur & Her Garden of Joy, Bygones, Basement Jaxx, Richmond Fontaine, Think Global: Tango, The Backsliders, The Donnas, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Lightning Bolt, Blitzen Trapper, La Roux, The Rough Guide to Tango, The Pica Beats, Mission of Burma, Loudon Wainwright III, Monsters of Folk, The Avett Brothers, Future of the Left, Paramore, Phoenix

Choice Cuts: White Denim, The Slits, Anjulie, Lightning Bolt

More Duds: The Avett Brothers, Franz Ferdinand, Tango Around the World, Telepathe, Martha Wainwright, Wild Beasts

New Rock&Roll& column at Barnes & Noble Review, reviewing R. Crumb, The Book of Genesis Illustrated.

• A Classic Illustrated

NPR music review: Nellie McKay's Love Letter to Doris Day.

New Consumer Guide for October 2009. Featured albums:

• The Black Eyed Peas: The E.N.D. (Interscope) [A]
• Goran Bregovic: Alkohol (Wrasse) [A-]
• Jay-Z: The Blueprint 3 (Roc Nation) [A-]
• Miranda Lambert: Revolution (Columbia) [A-]
• Various artists: Now That's What I Call Party Hits! (Capitol) [A-]
• Various artists: The Rough Guide to Merengue Dance (World Music Network) [A-]
• Seprewa Kasa: Seprewa Kasa (Riverboat) [B+]
• Serengeti: Conversations With Kenny & The Legacy of Lee (Goldenfloyd) [B+]
• They Might Be Giants: Here Come the 123s (Disney Sound) [A-]
• Ginuwine: A Man's Thoughts (Asylum) [C]

Honorable Mentions: Raekwon, Geoff Muldaur and the Texas Sheiks, Major Lazer, They Might Be Giants, Son de Madera, Wonderlick; Amsterdam Klezmer Band, Grant Peeples, Sila & the Afrofunk Experience, Speech Debelle, Living Colour, Yo La Tengo, Chris Smither; Grant Langston, Chrisette Michele, The Rough Guide to the Afrobeat Revolution, Cage, Nickodemus, Michael Hurley, Slavic Soul Party, Maxwell, Tanya Morgan.

Choice Cuts: Wonderlick, Jamie Foxx, DJ Quik & Kurupt, They Might Be Giants, Balkan Beat Box, Robert Earl Keen.

More Duds: Chris Cornell, Ledisi, LeToya, Ziggy Marley, Bobby V.

Update today adds the last four months of Consumer Guides to the database. Note also that the external world has been treating us rudely: Barnes and Noble Review did a redesign that broke all of their existing links; MSN's recent Consumer Guide redesign more or less did the same thing; NPR changed their search page. Those at least are the ones I know about.

New Rock&Roll& column at Barnes & Noble Review: Thurston Moore/Byron Coley: No Wave; John Cook: Our Noise; Stuart Berman: This Book Is Broken.

• Constructed Social Scenes

New Consumer Guide for September 2009. Featured albums:

• The Dead Weather: Horehound [A-]
• Deer Tick: Born on Flag Day [A-]
• The Morells: The Best Bar Band Ever! Live in '84 [B+]
• Willie Nelson: American Classic [B+]
• Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel: Willie and the Wheel [A]
• Brad Paisley: American Saturday Night [A]
• Various artists: The Panic Is On [A-]
• Bobby Pinson: Songs for Somebody [A-]
• Wilco: Wilco (The Album) [A-]
• Rascal Flats: Greatest Hits Volume 1 [C+]

Honorable Mentions: The Bottle Rockets, Willie Nelson, Hank III, In the Pines, Tanya Tucker, Swamp Dogg; Kitty, Daisy & Lewis; Deer Tick, Levon Helm, John Anderson, The Wingdale Community Singers, Elvis Costello, The Monks, Aaron Tippin, James Luther Dickinson, Kissing Cousins, Pat Green, Zac Brown Band, Eric Church, Rodney Carrington.

Choice Cuts: Willie Nelson, Brad Paisley, Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks, Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women, Charlie Robison, Keith Urban, The Boxmasters.

More Duds: Jason Aldean, Rodney Atkins, Billy Curlington, John Doe and the Sadies, Lady Antebellum, Martina McBride, Sonseed, Yim Yames.

New Rock&Roll& column at Barnes & Noble Review:

• Unbeautiful Winner: Leonard Cohen

New Consumer Guide for August 2009. Featured albums:

• An Horse: Rearrange Beds (Mom & Pop) [A-]
• J Dilla: Jay Stay Paid (Nature Sounds) [B+]
• Patterson Hood: Murdering Oscar (And Other Love Songs) (Ruth St.) [A-]
• Kronos Quartet: Floodplain (Nonesuch) [A-]
• The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (Slumberland) [A-]
• Panama! 2 (Soundway) [A-]
• The Rough Guide to Dub (World Music Network) [A-]
• Oumou Sangare: Seya (Nonesuch) [A-]
• Regina Spektor: Far (Sire) [A-]
• Grizzly Bear: Veckatimest (Warp) [C+]

Honorable Mentions: The Rough Guide to Cuban Street Party, J Dilla, Metric, Bjork, Ida Maria, Crystal Castles, The Asteroids Galaxy Tour, Général Defao, Tiny Masters of Today, Touchers, Jarvis Cocker, The Clean, The Rough Guide to Latin Street Party, Busdriver, Manchester Orchestra, The Rough Guide to the Music of Brazil: Rio de Janeiro, Mika Miko, Xrabit + DMG$

Choice Cuts: The Juju Orchestra, Grizzly Bear, Sultana, Los Exagerados, Megapuss

More Duds: Crystal Antlers, Crystal Stilts, Department of Eagles, Grizzly Bear, Jason Lytle, The Music Tapes, Eddi Reader

New Rock&Roll& column at Barnes & Noble Review:

• Forty Years of History, Thirty Seconds of Joy: Rhumba Rules: The Politics of Dance Music in Mobutu's Zaire

New review in the July 9-23, 2009 Rolling Stone:

• Olatunji: Drums of Passion ***(*)

New Consumer Guide for July 2009. Featured albums:

• Mulatu Astatke/The Heliocentrics: Inspiration Information (Strut) [A-]
• Rhett Miller: Rhett Miller (Shout! Factory) [A-]
• Moby: Wait for Me (Mute) [A-]
• Mos Def: The Ecstatic (Downtown) [A]
• Serengeti: Dennehy (Lights, Camera, Action!) (audio8.com) [A]
• Todd Snider: The Excitement Plan (Yep Roc) [B+]
• Sonic Youth: The Eternal (Matador) [A-]
• Allen Toussaint: The Bright Mississippi (Nonesuch) [A-]
• Jozef van Wissem: A Rose by Any Other Name: Anonymous Lute Solos of the Golden Age (Incunabulum) [A-]
• Green Day: 21st Century Breakdown (Reprise) [C]

Honorable Mentions: Helicoentrics, Pet Shop Boys, Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara, Nils Petter Molvaer, Marshall Crenshaw, Hi-Fidel, Cracker, Rancid, Busta Rhymes, Tom Morello/Boots Riley, Dubblestandart, DJ Muggs & Planet Asia, Cut Copy, Roy Nathanson, Bell Orchestre, Placebo, Yoome, A.R. Rahman, Airborne Toxic Event, Bike for Three, Friday Night.

Choice Cuts: Joey + Rory, Serengeti & Polyphonic, Justin Townes Earle.

More Duds: The Brighton Port Authority, Steve Earle, Tom Morello: The Nightwatchman, Thermals.