Robert Christgau: Dean of American Rock Critics

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And It Don't Stop on Substack

Robert Christgau's newsletter And It Don't Stop appears three (or four) times a month on Substack. Subscribe here.

Robert Christgau's Big-Hearted Theory of Pop

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

News

Xgau Sez

Robert Christgau published his monthly Xgau Sez q&a section -- Artistic vitality and momentousness considered, the blind pull, metallic K.O. without arrogance, journalistic angels, and some thoughts about the Beatles. -- in his Substack newsletter And It Don't Stop. Like all of Xgau Sez, this is archived here.

Consumer Guide: June, 2023

Robert Christgau published his Consumer Guide: June, 2023: Lovestruck avowals, stealth-ethical jokers, Black pop standards, and lovers smart enough to understand how much worse it could be. Reviews of: África Negra, Bar Italia, Big Joanie, Lewis Capaldi, Brandy Clark, Ernesto Djédjé, The Ekphrastics, Fokn Bois, Larkin Poe, Taj Mahal, The Nude Party, Water From Your Eyes, Wednesday. This is part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.

The Big Lookback: David Johansen

Robert Christgau published a piece, The Big Lookback: David Johansen -- "Kid Patriarch Makes His Move," The Village Voice, June 12, 1978 -- as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.

Xgau Sez

Robert Christgau published his monthly Xgau Sez q&a section -- The King of the Gentle Blues Singers, uncountable grooves and subgrooves, brevity, a fun job (as jobs go), octogenarians who keep on truckin', and Carola's favorite science-fiction novels -- in his Substack newsletter And It Don't Stop. Like all of Xgau Sez, this is archived here.

Blokeishly Extraordinary to a Hilarious Extent

Robert Christgau published a piece, Blokeishly Extraordinary to a Hilarious Extent -- Lewis Capaldi, Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent (Capitol) -- as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.

Consumer Guide: May, 2023

Robert Christgau published his Consumer Guide: May, 2023: Melodies that mitigate pain and navigate stumbling relationships, a spiritual force on tour, 25 songs or rants about (among other things) street life, racism, automobile fetishism, and ice cream. Reviews of: Algiers (2), Boygenius (2), Fever Ray, Holy Modal Rounders, Ice Spice, Jinx Lennon (2), Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens, David Murray, Peter Stampfel & Baby Gramps, Withered Hand. This is part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.

Just Enough Before It's Too Late

Robert Christgau published a piece, Just Enough Before It's Too Late: David Johansen Meets Martin Scorsese -- Personality Crisis: One Night Only, directed by Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi -- as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.

Xgau Sez

Robert Christgau published his monthly Xgau Sez q&a section -- To B+ or not to B+, all-time Yankees, pondering the limitations of AI singer-songwriting, reelin' in the Minutemen, God and Clapton in Pasadena, and 15 cultural fundaments (Backstreet Boys included). -- in his Substack newsletter And It Don't Stop. Like all of Xgau Sez, this is archived here.

Consumer Guide: April, 2023

Robert Christgau published his Consumer Guide: April, 2023: Honed and loud pronouncements from a 67 year old, indelible copyrights from a 77 year old, some 58-year-old saxophone wisdom, and uniquely individualistic hip-hop from two born-in-the-'80s rappers. Reviews of: Gina Birch, Bktherula, R.A.P. Ferreira, The Hold Steady, JPEGMafia & Danny Brown, Gurl Morlix (2), Willie Nelson, 100 Gecs (2), Oranj Symphonette, Rust Dust, Wayne Shorter. This is part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.

Curioser and Curioser: Marcel the Shell With Shoes On

Robert Christgau and Carola Dibbell published a piece, Curiouser and Curiouser: Marcel the Shell With Shoes On -- The amazing adventures (and tragic elements) of being tiny in a human-size world -- as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.

A Consumer Guide to the Music I've Devoted My Life To

Robert Christgau published a piece, A Consumer Guide to the Music I've Devoted My Life To -- From New Orleans to Kharkiv, with stops in between for the invention of rock & roll, the greatest ballad singer this side of Frank Sinatra, Africa's biggest pop star, and, of course, fried ice cream -- as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.

Xgau Sez

Robert Christgau published his monthly Xgau Sez q&a section -- Laughter in review, Afrobeats eartime and Afropop explorations, an audio book recommendation, the artistic gas crisis, and infirmity keeps creeping -- in his Substack newsletter And It Don't Stop. Like all of Xgau Sez, this is archived here.

Consumer Guide: March, 2023

Robert Christgau published his Consumer Guide: March, 2023: From the UK, a trustworthy superstar. From Canada, shoegazing power-pop. From Brazzaville, rhythms that rock as much as they roll. And from an ex-fundamentalist, courage, idealism, and self-sacrifice. Reviews of: Adele, Alvvays, Balka Sound, Robert Sarazin Blake, Built to Spill, Iris DeMent, Girl Scout, Lyrics Born, Grant Peeples, Quasi, Homeboy Sandman, Stephen Ulrich, Wednesday, Yo La Tengo. This is part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.

The Big Lookback: Christina Stead

Robert Christgau published a Big Lookback piece, Christina Stead -- Three pieces, two writers, one novelist -- as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.

The Big Lookback: Huey "Piano" Smith

Robert Christgau published a Big Lookback piece, Huey "Piano" Smith -- A lecture from the 2015 EMP Pop Conference in Seattle -- as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.

Xgau Sez

Robert Christgau published his monthly Xgau Sez q&a section -- Rock & roll's early days, the limits of the megastar pop life, Beyoncé and the road to an A plus, S − Y = ?, "Beth Ann and Macrobioticism," books that read like butter (and some that don't). -- in his Substack newsletter And It Don't Stop. Like all of Xgau Sez, this is archived here.

Consumer Guide: February, 2023

Robert Christgau published his Consumer Guide: February, 2023: High IQ catchiness from Ireland, death defying songs from Australia, persuasive and heartbreaking outtakes from New York City, and some truth and uplift from London. Reviews of: Charlotte Adigéry and Bolis Pupul, Carsie Blanton, Bo Burnham, CMAT, Dry Cleaning, Robert Forster, S.G. Goodman, Jeffrey Lewis, Little Simz, Billy Nomates, Margo Price, Maggie Rogers, Rosalía, Shygirl. This is part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.

Emily Rose Marcus, 1969-2023

Robert Christgau published a piece, Emily Rose Marcus, 1969-2023, as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.

The Big Lookback: Tom Verlaine/Television

Robert Christgau published two Big Lookback pieces following the death of Tom Verlaine: Tom Verlaine -- on the glory of Marquee Moon, from his memoir Going Into the City -- and Television's Principles -- from The Village Voice, June 19, 1978 -- as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.

Christgau's Dean's List: 2022 has now been archived, split into essay and list. The usual links from the latter to Consumer Guide reviews are not yet available.

Dean's List: 2022

Robert Christgau published a piece, Dean's List: 2022, as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop. The piece has not yet been archived in the Pazz & Jop section, but when it is it will be split into essay and list.

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