RSSXgau Sez
These are questions submitted by readers, and answered by Robert Christgau. New ones will appear in batches every third Tuesday.
To ask your own question, please use this form.
July 17, 2026
Once more into the Swamp Dogg doc, Mungo Jerry and Richie Valens preferences explained, AI aversion ditto, Portishead still sour times, criticism vs. whoever, Willie vs. Waylon.
[Q] Have you seen the movie Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted (on Amazon Prime)?. Says the NY Times writer, "I had never heard of the songwriter, producer and performer Swamp Dogg (née Jerry Williams Jr.) before pressing play on this affectionate bio-documentary." As an avid Consumer Guide reader, I, of course, have. After watching it, I searched out a couple of his B+ albums. As an avid Consumer Guide reader, I, of course, already own all the A's and Total Destruction. What's next in the series? Peter Stampfel Goes to the Post Office? Last, was that Ira and Georgia at Swamp Dogg's 80th birthday party? -- Rick Henry, Frederick, Maryland
[A]
Carola and I saw the Swamp Dogg movie two years ago at a Brooklyn film
festival at the invitation of Paul Lovelace, an editor and producer on
that documentary as well as on
The Last Critic
who we've known for many years. (Footage from his
1999 NYU student film Rock n' Roll Animal, the subject of which is
yours truly, is used in
The Last
Critic.) I thought the Swamp Dogg doc was both funny and
informative, especially in re the r&b business.
[Q] Hello! Enjoyed reading your response to the following: "This has been going around on Bluesky and I figured you'd have interesting answers: Ten musicians you wish you'd gotten to see but didn't, the more top of head the better." [Xgau Sez, June, 2026: "Charlie Parker, Robert Johnson, Gilberto Gil, Hank Williams, Billie Holiday, Marvelettes, Platters, Mungo Jerry, Ritchie Valens, Nat King Cole, Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra."] Noted the majority of the artists you mentioned had all received positive reviews from yourself for albums or compilations. However, why Mungo Jerry and Ritchie Valens? I don't recall you writing about them before, though there are two B graded albums for Mungo Jerry. Why would you have liked to have seen these two perform live? -- James, Liverpool
[A]
Mungo Jerry because they were funny. Valens because he was one of the
first "rock and rollers" to assume an aggressive persona.
[Q] Would you read a novel written by AI? -- Tom Jones
[A]
I remain a stubborn fan of humanity, so I doubt it. But were some
dubious claim to start circulating I'd think about it.
[Q] You seem to really love the Bristol-born Trip-hop genre—you gave A+ ratings to both Endtroducing . . . and Maxinquaye—yet you didn't rate Portishead highly. Given that their music even served as a major inspiration for Kanye's Late Registration album, would you consider re-evaluating Portishead? -- Aseem Arora, London
[A]
Being knocked out by two exemplars of a genre, sub-genre, or whatever
isn't the same as being knocked out by the genre, sub-genre, or
whatever itself. Portishead was a long time ago by me, with a fanbase
who were clearly attracted to what I wasn't and what I called at the
time "shows of misery" and
"solipsistic melodrama." Part of
the job is articulating why you like what you like and why you
don't. Having done so, I see no need to revisit. But if they come up
in some unforeseen context I'll probably recall your query.
[Q] Has rock criticism ever gotten you into trouble with powerful people, like movie criticism did for Pauline Kael? Altercations, fights, death threats, etc.? Or are music folks more relaxed than movie folks? You can skip Lou Reed and Sonic Youth if you want to. -- Muhammad Ahmad Abdul Jabbar
[A]
For the record, I'd be pleased if Lou and SY had paid me more respect
than they did, but am happy with my modest SY connections and regard
Lou as pretty much an asshole where criticism is concerned. As for
Pauline Kael, if she had an enemies list I missed it, but as a matter
of principle am on her side. Kael was a great critic. Did some movie
people put her down? Possibly I suppose for specific offenses
Hollywood resented. Fuck them.
[Q] You reviewed dozens of Willie Nelson albums over the years but only two (2!) by the other great outlaw of country music Waylon Jennings. Have you never found a top-shelf grade-A collection of his best work? Surely he must have at least a few A- records in his catalogue -- Ben Riffen, Grand Rapids, Michigan
[A]
Five, actually, if you count three
Waylon and Willie
records, including the
unfortunately yclept WWII, a B− of which I said "the idea is to
acknowledge that all this outlaw myth is shuck-and-jive and then make
the shuck-and-jive itself seem mythic." Outlaw mythos aside, Willie
Nelson is one of the greatest pop singers of all time. Jennings is
not. Period.
June 17, 2026
Dream concerts, the Smiths not reevaluated, 'Last Critic' still on the festival circuit, Shakira's hips still not lying, once more to Monterey, whither the vinyl, and the sameyest great artist ever.
[Q] This has been going around on Bluesky and I figured you'd have interesting answers: Ten musicians you wish you'd gotten to see but didn't, the more top of head the better. -- Michaelangerlo Matos, St. Paul
[A]
Top of head, fine, but why stop at ten?
Charlie Parker,
Robert Johnson,
Gilberto Gil,
Hank Williams,
Billie Holiday,
Marvelettes,
Platters,
Mungo Jerry,
Ritchie Valens,
Nat King Cole,
Michael Jackson,
Frank Sinatra.
[Q] Has your opinion of The Smiths changed after all these years? Looking back, wouldn't you agree they were an ace pop band? Admittedly, more of a singles band than an album band, but still . . . I mean, only B+ for Louder Than Bombs? And their 1995 comp called Singles has to be an A, no? -- Ray Tavares, Brooklyn
[A]
The Smiths never did much for me, and I gave them their chance more
than once—very much a UK band I always thought. This bit from my
Louder than Bombs review
still seems fair at a distance: "Morrissey's nattering volubility can
get annoying, but the cadence itself always has its charms, and just
when you think you've had it he gets off a good line." But since
albums are my professional specialty, never felt obliged to put in big
time on their "hits." Could have been wrong, which doesn't mean I feel
compelled to check back. You have every right to your own call, on
this as on anything else. I've made my living and my rep trusting my
own.
[Q] Will The Last Critic be streaming anywhere? -- Hal, Florida
[A]
That's the expectation, but no details yet. For now, check
here for updates on
future festival screenings—I hear tell it'll be part of a
Manhattan-based festival come fall.
[Q] Why can Shakira impress you but Rosalía can't? -- Luciano Rasenberg, Buenos Aires
[A]
She has a more fetching sense of rhythm. Also less attached to the
European classical tradition. Which in some ways is the same thing.
[Q] Re Xgau Sez May 2026: So you salvaged a piece of Jimi Hendrix's guitar at Monterey and then went on to completely excoriate his performance in your Esquire article? ("He was terrible . . . a psychedelic Uncle Tom . . . vulgar parody of rock theatrics . . . he can't sing"). Along with a pretty snooty mention of audience members scrambling for chunks of Jimi's guitar that left out the fact you were in that scrum, wrenching scraps of fretboard from the hands of crying hippie girls (at least that's how I imagine it). Wouldn't it have been kinder to leave the remnants for the people who actually enjoyed the show? Maybe the subletter tossing it out was karmic justice. -- Steve O'Neill, South Korea
[A]
You imagine it inaccurately; the chunk I grabbed landed pretty much at
my feet. Given my arguably misguided misgivings about the brouhaha
Hendrix was obviously aiming for, I just couldn't resist grabbing a
piece.
[Q] What will become of your record collection upon your death? Any chance it will go to a university or museum for public viewing? Or perhaps someone could start "Christgau's Record Bar," one of those trendy Japanese-style listening bars? -- Keith Shelton, San Diego
[A]
Answering that thorny question, which has been on my mind for years as
how could it not be, makes me wish I was younger than 84, but I'm
not. Just have to see what happens when. I may have the chance to
finalize some rapprochement and I may not. But I do have a long
relationship with as well as geographical proximity to NYU, where I
taught for a fairly long spell. Note, however, that what the hell a
"Japanese-style listening bar" might be I have no idea, although I'm
assured it's more or less what you'd think.
[Q] Gregory Isaacs. Just as George Jones possessed the "greatest" voice in country music, to my ears Isaacs is the most exquisite vocalist to ever sing Jamaican music, but both are unknown beyond fans of the genre. It's unfortunate—listening to Isaacs from '73-'82 is to hear him evolve from rocksteady crooner into a complex tension of rastafarian determination, rural suffering, and black eroticism. And he did this while being a premiere hitmaker in Jamaica for the better part of two decades. Eat your heart out, Marley. In the early '90s you reviewed his '77-'78 material, calling him "a master" and "the sameyest great artist in pop history"—which still contains the phrase "great artist," so I'll take it. But after that he never resurfaced for you. Probably because like Jones, he suffers from being over-recorded, re-recorded, and endlessly compiled (plus, drugs). Do you think he's due a critical and commercial re-evaluation like his great white country counterpart received so long ago? -- Nick, Milwaukee
[A]
You have every right to prefer something else, but not the authority
or detail to make me fear I've missed something major. I mean,
historically and aesthetically, Marley is one of a kind.
"The aural image of an unconquerable,
ganja-guzzling serenity," is another nugget from the review you
cite (an A−). That serenity may be why I barely remember Isaacs
anymore, but whatever congruences of recording history or substance
consumption there may be I see no reason to equate him with George
Jones, a vocally blessed genius I never forget. This note may well
noodge me into playing Isaacs a little. But I would not so humbly
suggest you spend more time with Jones and also that you give a look
at
the obit I wrote about him.
May 29, 2025
Upgrades/downgrades, salvaging Hendrix's guitar at Monterey Pop, listening to the Eagles, not listening to classical music, and coming to a theater near you (if you're in D.C. or Provincetown).
[Q] Hi Bob, it looks like a bunch of the albums that top this year's Dean's List received A minuses (e.g. Margaret Glaspy, CMAT, Body Type, S.G. Goodman) while a bunch of straight A's (e.g. Tyler Childers, Amanda Shires, Danny Brown, Margo Price) land much farther down the list. What gives? -- Eric Grossman, New York City
[A]
I decided to construct that list NOT by replaying the many albums that
got straight A's, a herculean timesuck of a task, but by scanning the
list and seeing what had taken up some kind of residence in my memory,
which means in turn that they had played an active role in my
life. That means some albums were left off, and so be it. It also
means others that I did replay were upgraded, most notably CMAT and,
obviously, Glaspy, which started sitting on my shoulder and whispering
in my ear at the very start of the process. Of the downgrades you
mention, the ones that stir the most regret are Tyler Childers and
Amanda Shires. Least: Danny Brown though of course you never
know. Might there be others were I to devote another day to checking
everything out yet again? How could there not be? But working late in
the game due to health reasons and eager to move on to the April and
May Consumer Guides, I had no intention of doing so.
[Q] Hi there. I was re-watching Monterey Pop the other night, and there's a guy in the crowd pictured applauding at the end of Ravi Shankar's filmed performance, and it shore do look like you. No lengthy response required, unless you want to expound. But, aware you were there: is it? -- David Poindexter, Illinois
[A]
That is me, definitely. I wrote a
big piece for Esquire
about Monterey that's in Any Old Way You Choose It. Was sitting
up front and salvaged a hunk of Hendrix's guitar that was thrown out
as garbage that by a subletter a few years later. Arrrghh.
[Q] Reading your essays on the enduring power of the Rolling Stones, I am consistently curious (certainly not surprised per se, as the band is highly polarizing amongst the rockists) about your general dislike of the Eagles—the band, I believe, to a very great extent that continued on the Stones dichotomy of iconographically fronting the excess whilst inwardly always acting as detached, and gritty observers of it. Only the Henley and Frey band did it within broadly-defined corporate rock; but Hotel California album milieu speaks of highly literate narratives that are both functional for the image and stimulating for the intellect/self-criticism beneath it. Doesn't "The Long Run" opening speak to you as the same sort of exhausted bravado Eagles describe, that the Stones did on "Rocks Off"? And, far beyond accusations of misogyny, "Those Shoes" actually a poignant take on females being preyed upon by predatory males? -- Jakub, Poland
[A]
When I was at Newsday I wrote a piece called
"Trying to Understand the Eagles."
(Relevant aperçu: "Listening to the Eagles has left me feeling
alienated from things I used to love.")
Eagles fans hated it. I'm still
proud of it myself.
[Q] I am 61 years old and have a broad spectrum of musical interests, but find very few personal acquaintances who share my musical interests or variety. From time to time I have a question about music, but don't have a person to turn to and discuss it with. Can I use you as a source? My first question would be: I enjoy the Kronos Quartet. They are classical virtuoso musicians who appear to perform non-traditional arrangements. What rock band would be a good comparison to them? -- John A. Davis, Nebo, North Carolina
[A]
I liked a
2017 collaboration of theirs
with a Malian supergroup. But asking me questions about classical
music is a waste of time for everyone involved.
[Q] Hello, Enjoyed seeing your Dean's List as if anything I find it interesting how you compile such a review of all your reviewed albums for the year. Easy to assume A+s make it to the top, with full As following, then the A−s arrange afterwards, with maybe the occasionally the odd B+ being buoyed up after a whole to digest. In recent years, it appears that if the list reflects anything, it reflects your current response to a record when creating the list, in which your previous opinion may have waned or even grown. Examples, Beyonce's Renaissance (an A+) coming second to Selo i Ludy Performance Band (a full A). Or Charli XCX's Brat (B+) coming above several full As. Looking at this year's list I notice several full As be ranked rather low (Skrillex: F*ck U Skrillex You Think Ur Andy Warhol But Ur Not, dead last; Corook: Committed to a Bit, 49). What changed your opinion, if anything? Also noticed Lorde's Virgin wasn't present. -- James, Liverpool
[A]
See above. Might my response levels change over the months and years?
Of course. But at a certain point I play what I feel like playing or a
guest has requested and find out from there. In the case of Selo i
Ludy I had a conversion experience that hung in there for a while, and
although I've only played it a few times since, it always sounds
good. Remember: I OWN A LOT OF ALBUMS!!!
[Q] My name is Michael, and I am a budding film critic/essayist from Milwaukee, WI. I had recently seen the documentary about you, The Last Critic, and I was floored. What I truly loved about the doc is your openness to discuss the craft of writing, and I felt immensely inspired to go home and write (which I am doing). -- Michael Viers, Milwaukee
[A]
I'm glad you liked it. I had my doubts about the project but I'm very
proud. It's currently showing around the country at film festivals,
and I expect it to get to a Manhattan festival later this year.
March 11, 2026
Growing up pop, band dreams vs. critical practice, The Only Ones on record and in print, Yankee Hotel Mea Culpa, the Tallahatchie Bridge not taken, and sixteen live ones.
[Q] Hello, I'm curious how you got to where you are. What first drew you to music, what continues to draw you to it? What prompted you to pursue this as your career, and did you ever wonder whether you'd made the right choice? I love reading your work, thank you for doing what you do. -- Eli Krash, Richmond, Virginia
[A]
Although both my parents and for that matter my more dexterous maiden
aunt Mildred played piano, I thought lessons were boring when I could
have been playing stoopball outside, hence have zero formal knowledge
of music. But the big living room radio console my fireman father
splurged on was always part of my life, not least because it came with
a phonograph he converted 78s to LPs when they became a thing. Plus I
loved baseball, particularly the Yankees, which means my brother and I
had a radio in the basement, where we slept. What I can no longer
remember is whether WINS was the Yankee station back then, because it
was the (first) Alan Freed station, and it was Freed who leaned down
on the biracial pop music he dubbed rock and roll. Plus there was DJ
Peter Tripp on WMGM nearby and at the upper end of the dial WWRL, a
black-oriented (and Harlem-based?) station that played only r&b. My
parents were also good dancers. And my beloved grandfather Tom Snyder
was the first person I knew who owned a 45 RPM record player. So there
was always plenty of music, especially pop music, in my life, and by
the time I was 10 I was into it. At Dartmouth I hung out with the tiny
bohemian clique insofar as they tolerated me, and they hipped me to
jazz. By the time I was out of college I played pop radio all the time
and also occasionally visited jazz clubs, where
Thelonious Monk was my special
fave. All of which is to say that not just that for most of my
life I was a serious rock and roll fan. Add to that my night-gig boss,
the painter Bob Stanley, who was glad to play the radio at F.I. Dupont
where we filed margin calls and before too long the pop art movement
was under way, which added an extra layer of validation to my
attraction to pop music, which Bob liked too—there's a Shirelles
piece of his hanging in my living room and a Ringo in the dining
room. Aesthetically, the-"high"-art-to-pop-art switcheroo made it
easier to write critically and with aggressive respect about pop
music. Hence: rock criticism.