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
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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
This Week in Expert Witness
New posts this week in Robert Christgau's
Expert Witness blog:
- Etta James:
- Etta James: The Dreamer (Verve Forecast) A-
- Etta James: Matriarch of the Blues (Private Music '00) B+
- Skrillex/Clams Casino:
- Skrillex: Bangarang (Owsla/Big Beat/Atlantic) A-
- Clams Casino: Instrumental Mixtape (free download) A-
Also at Barnes & Noble Review:
[posted by Webmaster on 2012-02-17] This Week in Expert Witness
New posts this week in Robert Christgau's
Expert Witness blog:
[posted by Webmaster on 2012-02-10] This Week in Expert Witness
New posts this week in Robert Christgau's
Expert Witness blog:
Also at NPR:
[posted by Webmaster on 2012-02-03] This Week in Expert Witness
New posts this week in Robert Christgau's
Expert Witness blog:
- Himanshu/Tha Grimm Teachaz:
- Himanshu: Nehru Jackets (free download) A-
- Tha Grimm Teachaz: There's a Situation on the Homefront (Breakfast) A-
- Ani DiFranco/Bhi Bhiman:
- Ani DiFranco: ¿Which Side Are You On? (Righteous Babe) A-
- Bhi Bhiman: Bhiman (Redeye) A-
Also at NPR:
[posted by Webmaster on 2012-01-27] This Week in Expert Witness
New posts this week in Robert Christgau's
Expert Witness blog:
- Odds and Ends 005:
- St. Vincent: Strange Mercy (4AD) ***
- The Weeknd: House of Balloons (XO download) ***
- Adele: 21 (XL/Columbia) **
- Drake: Take Care (Cash Money/Universal Republic) **
- Girls: Record 3: Father, Son, Holy Ghost (True Panther/Fantasy Trashcan) **
- Wye Oak: Civilian (Merge) **
- Fleet Foxes: Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop) *
- The Black Keys: El Camino (Thrill Jockey) *
- Mekons/Destroyer:
- Mekons: Ancient & Modern: 1911-2011 (Sin) A-
- Destroyer: Kaputt (Merge) B+
[posted by Webmaster on 2012-01-20] This Week in Expert Witness
New posts this week in Robert Christgau's
Expert Witness blog:
- Odds and Ends 004:
- Yes We Can: Songs About Leaving Africa (Out Here) ***
- Afro-Beat Airways (Africa Analog) ***
- The Rough Guide to African Guitar Legends (World Music Network) ***
- Boubacar Traoré: Mali Denhou (Lusafrica) **
- Seun Anikulapo Kuti & Egypt 80: From Africa With Fury: Rise (Knitting Factory) **
- Sia Tolno: My Life (Lusafrica) *
- Femi Kuti: Africa for Africa (Knitting Factory) *
- Sidi Touré & Friends: Sahel Folk (Thrill Jockey) *
- Gill Scott-Heron and Jamie xx/Gorillaz:
- Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx: We're New Here (XL) A-
- Gorillaz: The Singles Collection 2001-2011 (Virgin) A-
[posted by Webmaster on 2012-01-13] Rock & Roll &: Dad-Rock Makes a Stand
New Rock & Roll & column at Barnes & Noble Review:
[posted by Webmaster on 2012-01-11] This Week in Expert Witness
New posts this week in Robert Christgau's
Expert Witness blog:
- Odds and Ends 003:
- Canibus: C of Tranquility (iM) ***
- Scroobius Pip: Distraction Pieces (Strange Famous) ***
- Del the Funky Homosapien: Golden Era (The Council) ***
- Murs: Love and Rockets Vol 1: The Transformation (DD172/Bluroc) **
- Open Mike Eagle: Unapologetic Art Rap (Mush) **
- Awol One & Factor: The Landmark (Fake Four) **
- Lupe Fiasco: Lasers (Atlantic) *
- Pharoahe Monch: W.A.R. (We Are Renegades) (W.A.R. Media/Duck Down Music Inc.)
- Piano Blues/19 Classic Blues Songs From the 1920s:
- Piano Blues: A Film by Clint Eastwood (Columbia/Legacy '03) A
- 19 Classic Blues Songs From the 1920's: Vol. 9 (Blues Images) A-
[posted by Webmaster on 2012-01-06] This Week in Expert Witness
New posts this week in Robert Christgau's
Expert Witness blog:
[posted by Webmaster on 2011-12-30] Rock & Roll &: Dark Night of the Quants
New Rock & Roll & column at Barnes & Noble Review:
Dark Night of the Quants: Ten books on banking:
- Michael Lewis, The Big Short
- John Lanchester, I.O.U.
- Ha-Joon Chang, 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism
- Richard Posner, A Failure of Capitalism
- Matt Taibbi, Griftopia
- Robert Scheer, The Great American Stickup
- Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua Rosner, Reckless Endangerment
- Danny Schechter, The Crime of Our Time
- Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera, All the Devils Are Here
- Henry M. Paulson, Jr., On the Brink
[posted by Webmaster on 2011-12-27] This Week in Expert Witness
New posts this week in Robert Christgau's
Expert Witness blog:
- Rihanna/David Guetta:
- Rihanna: Talk That Talk (Deluxe Edition) (Def Jam) A-
- David Guetta: Nothing but the Beat (Astralwerks/Capitol) B+
- Bachata Roja/Vijana Jazz Band:
- Bachata Roja: Amor y Amargue (iASO) A-
- Vijana Jazz Band: The Koka Koka Sex Battalion: Rumba, Koka Koka & Kamata Sukuma: Music From Tanzania 1975-1980 (Sterns) B+
[posted by Webmaster on 2011-12-23] This Week in Expert Witness
New posts this week in Robert Christgau's
Expert Witness blog:
[posted by Webmaster on 2011-12-16] Update Notes Update today: Consumer Guide database up to date, new articles
(or at least stubs), new old articles, better cross-references.
For details, see:
[posted by Webmaster on 2011-12-14] This Week in Expert Witness
New posts this week in Robert Christgau's
Expert Witness blog:
Also of interest:
[posted by Webmaster on 2011-12-09] This Week in Expert Witness
New posts this week in Robert Christgau's
Expert Witness blog:
- Pietra Montecorvino/The Sway Machinery:
- Pietra Montecorvino: Napoli Mediterranea (Taranta Power/Rai Trade) A-
- The Sway Machinery: The House of Friendly Ghosts, Vol. 1: Featuring Khaira Arby (JDub) B+
- Tom Waits/Pusha T:
- Tom Waits: Bad as Me (Anti-) A-
- Pusha T: Fear of God II: Let Us Pray (GOOD/Decon/Re-Up Gang) A-
Also new, in The New York Times' Sunday Book Review:
[posted by Webmaster on 2011-12-02] This Week in Expert Witness
New posts this week in Robert Christgau's
Expert Witness blog:
- 40 Odd Years:
- Loudon Wainwright III: 40 Odd Years (Shout Factory)
- Mates of State:
- Mates of State: Team Boo (Polyvinyl '03) B+
- Mates of State: Re-Arrange Us (Barsuk '08) A-
Also new, in The New York Times' Sunday Book Review:
-
Enthusiasms: review of Jonathan Lethem's The Ecstasy of Influence
[posted by Webmaster on 2011-11-25] Rock & Roll &: Pioneer Days
New Rock & Roll & column at Barnes & Noble Review:
[posted by Webmaster on 2011-11-21] This Week in Expert Witness
New posts this week in Robert Christgau's
Expert Witness blog:
- Wussy:
- Wussy: Strawberry (Shake It) A
- Wussy: Funeral Dress II (Shake It) A
- Odds and Ends 002:
- Wilco: The Whole Love (Anti-) ***
- The Mountain Goats: All Eternals Deck (Merge) ***
- Radiohead: The King of Limbs (XL/TBD) **
- Comet Gain: Howl of the Lonely Crowd (What's Your Rupture?) **
- Giant Sand: Blurry Blue Mountain (Fire) **
- Faust: Something Dirty (Bureau) **
- Wire: Red Barked Tree (Pink Flag) **
- New York Dolls: Dancing Backwards in High Heels (429) *
[posted by Webmaster on 2011-11-18] This Week in Expert Witness
New posts this week in Robert Christgau's
Expert Witness blog:
[posted by Webmaster on 2011-11-11] This Week in Expert Witness
New posts this week in Robert Christgau's
Expert Witness blog:
- Mayer Hawthorne/J. Cole:
- Mayer Hawthorne: How Do You Do (Universal Republic) A-
- J. Cole: Cole World: The Sideline Story (Roc Nation/Columbia) B+
- Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton/Nils Petter Molvaer:
- Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton: Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton Play the Blues: Live From Jazz at Lincoln Center (Reprise Jazz) A-
- Nils Petter Molvaer: Baboon Moon (Thirsty Ear) A-
[posted by Webmaster on 2011-11-04] Most Recent -- More Recent -- More Ancient
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