RSSDiplomatic Ties
Robert Christgau published a piece, Diplomatic Ties, on Antony Blinken ("the first rock critic Secretary of State"). This is part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.
[posted by Webmaster on 2020-11-27]
Two new essay collections, published by Duke University Press
Book Reports features reviews of not only the pop-music tomes you'd predict but also literary fiction, Marxist-adjacent cultural commentary, feminist debates over pornography, and even books about the past decade's financial crisis. It follows a collection that Christgau published last year, Is It Still Good to Ya? Fifty Years of Rock Criticism, 1967-2017, which includes Christgau's takes on, among many other things, classic rock, Kanye West, the music of Desert Storm, Lollapalooza, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and so-called guilty pleasures--a category that Christgau rejects, since, for rock critics, as he puts it, "pleasure is where meaning begins." Together, these collections make the sneaky case that Christgau is not just the Dean of American Rock Critics, his self-awarded and perhaps slightly off-putting nickname, but one of America's sharper public intellectuals of the past half century, and certainly one of its most influential--not to mention one of the better stylists in that cohort. Fun is a big part of why.
--David Cantwell, The New Yorker
And It Don't Stop
Robert Christgau's Consumer Guide continues beyond its 50th anniversary in his subscriber-supported newsletter, And It Don't Stop. Read about it, sample the merchandise, and subscribe.
News
Xgau Sez
Robert Christgau published his monthly Xgau Sez q&a section -- Some thoughts on family, work, dancing, and the permanent-collection CDs that come out at mealtime. Also: country songs about systematic oppression & screwing with the hegemony of classical aesthetics -- as part of his subscription newsletter And It Don't Stop. Like all of Xgau Sez, this is archived here.
[posted by Webmaster on 2020-11-18]
Consumer Guide: November, 2020
Robert Christgau published his Consumer Guide: November, 2020, with reviews of: Will Butler, Elizabeth Cook (2), Slim Gaillard (2), Low Cut Connie, Thelonious Monk, Margo Price, Lee Ranaldo & Raül Refree, Rodney Rice, Sad13 (2). This is part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.
[posted by Webmaster on 2020-11-11]
Twentieth Century Low Life, Illuminated
Robert Christgau published a piece, Twentieth Century Low Life, Illulminated, a review of Luc Sante, Maybe the People Would Be the Times (2020, 328 pp.). This is part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.
[posted by Webmaster on 2020-10-28]
Xgau Sez
Robert Christgau published his monthly Xgau Sez q&a section -- Streamed lectures and streamed music, the jazz apple and the rock orange, the enduring skippability of Oar, the Lion King vs. the Black Panther, and the power of "WAP." Special guest: Carola Dibbell -- as part of his subscription newsletter And It Don't Stop. Like all of Xgau Sez, this is archived here.
[posted by Webmaster on 2020-10-21]
Consumer Guide: October, 2020
Robert Christgau published his Consumer Guide: October, 2020, with reviews of: Cornershop, Dramarama, Hanging Tree Guitars, Island Presents Rock Steady, Skip James, Rich Krueger, Dua Lipa, Ashley McBryde, Dawn Oberg, On the Road, Public Enemy, The Rough Guide to African Blues, Ebo Taylor, Toots and the Maytals. This is part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.
[posted by Webmaster on 2020-10-14]
Flag Still There
Robert Christgau published a piece, Flag Still There, a new version of his 2019 Los Angeles Time article on Jimi Hendrix's "Star Spangled Banner" at Woodstock in 1969. This is part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.
[posted by Webmaster on 2020-09-24]
Love & Kisses / Lists and Lists and Lists
Robert Christgau published two pieces -- Love & Kisses, on Isabel Miller's novel, Patience & Sarah (1969), and Lists on Lists on Lists -- as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.
[posted by Webmaster on 2020-09-24]
Stanley Crouch
Robert Christgau wrote an appreciation for the Los Angeles Times: Stanley Crouch, a Towering Critic, Loved a Good Fight.
[posted by Webmaster on 2020-09-21]
Xgau Sez
Robert Christgau published his monthly Xgau Sez q&a section -- Several 30 seconds of greatness, formalists formally considered, Ray Davies informally considered, list-making explained, hip-hop unexplained, and the "The Harry Smith B-Sides" expurgated -- as part of his subscription newsletter And It Don't Stop. Like all of Xgau Sez, this is archived here.
[posted by Webmaster on 2020-08-16]
Heart of Darkness
Robert Christgau published a piece, Vote! It Ain't Illegal Yet!, on how to do more than just vote to defeat "the fascist fraudster turned impeached president Donald J. Trump." This is part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop. It is also on the website here.
[posted by Webmaster on 2020-09-14]
Consumer Guide: September, 2020
Robert Christgau published his Consumer Guide: September, 2020, with reviews of: Black Thought [& Salaam Remi], The Chicks, Nat King Cole Trio, The 81's, The Human Hearts, The Magnetic Fields, No Age, No Joy, Billy Nomates, Oddisee, Jenny Reynolds, Peter Stampfel & the Bottle Caps, Taylor Swift. This is part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.
[posted by Webmaster on 2020-09-09]
Heart of Darkness
Robert Christgau published a piece, Heart of Darkness, a review of Jeff Sharlet's book. This is part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.
[posted by Webmaster on 2020-08-26]
Xgau Sez
Robert Christgau published his monthly Xgau Sez q&a section, as part of his subscription newsletter And It Don't Stop. Like all of Xgau Sez, this is archived here.
[posted by Webmaster on 2020-08-19]
Consumer Guide: August, 2020
Robert Christgau published his Consumer Guide: August, 2020, with reviews of: Arbor Labor Union, Birds of Prey, The Boswell Sisters, Car Seat Headrest, John Chibadura, City Girls, Deap Vally, Dream Wife, Emily Duff, Haim, Kehlani, Lori McKenna, X. This is part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.
[posted by Webmaster on 2020-08-12]
Quarantine Me to the Ball Game
Robert Christgau published a piece, Quarantine Me to the Ball Game, on baseball during the pandemic. This is part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.
[posted by Webmaster on 2020-08-10]
Zoology 101
Robert Christgau published a piece, Zoology 101, on The Zoo (Animal Planet series 2017-). This is part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.
[posted by Webmaster on 2020-07-22]
Xgau Sez
Robert Christgau published his monthly Xgau Sez q&a section, as part of his subscription newsletter And It Don't Stop. Like all of Xgau Sez, this is archived here.
[posted by Webmaster on 2020-07-15]
Consumer Guide: July, 2020
Robert Christgau published his Consumer Guide: July, 2020, with 14 reviews. This is part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.
[posted by Webmaster on 2020-07-08]
After the Flood
Robert Christgau published a piece, After the Flood, on Ned Sublette's memoir, The Year Before the Flood. This is part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.
[posted by Webmaster on 2020-05-24]