Part two of Christgau's two-part African trip diary:

• Dakar Diary Part II: Journey to the Capital of African Pop

New posts this week in Robert Christgau's Expert Witness blog:

• Das Racist:
  • Das Racist: Shut Up, Dude (Mishka download) A-
  • Das Racist: Sit Down, Man (Mad Decent download) A-
• Corin Tucker Band/Robyn:
  • The Corin Tucker Band: 1,000 Years (Kill Rock Stars) A
  • Robyn: Body Talk (Konichiwa/Cherrytree/Interscope) A-

Part one of Christgau's two-part African trip diary:

• Dakar Diary: Journey to the Capital of African Pop

New posts this week in Robert Christgau's Expert Witness blog:

• Eminem: Recovery (Aftermath/Interscope) A-
• Big Boi: Sir Lucious Left Foot . . . The Son of Chico Dusty (Def Jam) A-
• Nicki Minaj: Pink Friday (Young Money/Cash Money) A
• Far East Movement: Free Wired (Cherrytree/Interscope) B+

New posts this week in Robert Christgau's Expert Witness blog:

• Rachid Taha: Bonjour (Knitting Factory) A
• Rachid Taha: Diwan 2 (Wrasse '06) A
• Care Bears on Fire: Girls Like It Loud (S-Curve download) A
• Sleigh Bells: Treats (Mom + Pop) A-

Posts from previous weeks:

• Bouncing Cats: Hip-Hop Heroes
• Systems Solar: Systems Solar (Chusma) A-
• D.O. Misiani and Shirati Jazz: The King of History (Sterns Africa) A-
• Scissor Sisters: Night Work (Downtown/Polydor) A-
• Of Montreal: False Priest (Polyvinyl) A-
• Tabu Ley Rochereau: The Voice of Lightness Vol. 2: Congo Classics 1977-1993 (Sterns Africa) A
• Angola Soundtrack (Analog Africa) B+
• Allo Darlin': Allo Darlin' (Fortuna Pop!) A-
• Jon Langford & Skull Orchard: Old Devils (Bloodshot) B+
• The Roots: How I Got Over (Def Jam) A
• Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (Roc-a-Fella) A
• Shad: TSOL (Black Box/Decon) A-
• Tricky: Mixed Race (Domino) A-

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

• Discovering Teranga

First new consumer guide reviews since whenever, on Christgau's Expert Witness blog:

• M.I.A.: Maya (Deluxe Edition) (Interscope) A
• The Arcade Fire: The Suburbs (Merge) A-

Also, some more on The Return of Consumer Guide.

Robert Christgau has a new blog for MSN Music, called "Expert Witness." The general link to the blog is here. The first entry is an introduction:

• This Blog--The Whats, Whys, and Wherefores

• Kings of Leon: Fighting for the Right to Rule Arenas

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

• Estudando Tom Zé

There is also an earlier (October 7) piece on Luaka Bop's Tom Zé boxset, at MSN:

• Zé Theory: A Brazilian Original

• Why this year's CMA Awards front-runner rocks and rules: Miranda Lambert

Two recent reviews on NPR's All Things Considered:

• Of Montreal's Humanist Sermon on False Priest
• No Age Shrieks and Soothes on Everything in Between

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

• Ain't That a Shame: Bruce Pegg: Brown Eyed Handsome Man: The Life and Times of Chuck Berry, Rick Coleman: Blue Monday: Fats Domino and the Lost Dawn of Rock 'n' Roll, David Kirby: Little Richard: The Birth of Rock 'n' Roll, and Joe Bonomo: Jerry Lee Lewis: Lost and Found.

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

• Maturity for Modern Kids: The Arcade Fire: The Suburbs

Christgau writes: "Linked below find the second dispatch in my unexpected new role as NYC dance music reporter for MSN Music. If I stumble onto another great show, there may be a third. The main subject is Swedish ex-teenqueen Robyn."

• Robyn: Dancing Into Rock

With the Consumer Guide discontinued, Christgau will continue to write occasional Music News items for MSN Music:

• Split Decision: M.I.A.'s Hard Festival Trial

• Tokyo Police Club Slows the Pace With Champ
• Macy Gray: A Spiritual Comeback With The Sellout
[posted by Webmaster on 2010-07-29]

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

• Illygirl Steppin Up: M.I.A.: Maya

New Consumer Guide for July 2010. Featured albums:

• Bako Dagnon: Sidiba (Discograph) [B+]
• The Dead Weather: Sea of Cowards (Third Man/Warner Bros.) [B+]
• Bad Reputation: Pierre de Gaillande Sings Georges Brassens (Barbès) [A-]
• Étoile de Dakar: Once Upon a Time in Senegal: The Birth of Mbalax (Sterns Africa) [A]
• Macy Gray: The Sellout (Concord) [A-]
• LCD Soundsystem: This Is Happening (DFA/Virgin) [A-]
• The National: High Violet (4AD) [A-]
• The Pernice Brothers: Goodbye, Killer (Ashmont) [A-]
• Tokyo Police Club: Champ (Mom + Pop) [A-]
• Rokia Traoré: Tchamantche (Nonesuch) [A-]
• Them Crooked Vultures: Them Crooked Vultures (DGC/Interscope) [B-]

Honorable Mentions: Laurie Anderson, African Pearls: Sénégal -- Echo Musical, John Prine, The Soft Pack, Salif Keita, Uffie; Eccentric Breaks & Beats, A.C. Newman, Erykah Badu, Blk Jks, Sweet Talks, Mates of State; Mimicking Birds, Deer Tick, Youssou N'Dour, Jason Collett, Renée Fleming, Soft Machine, Devin the Dude, The White Stripes, The Black Keys, Raise Hope for Congo, The New Pornographers, Preservation.

Choice Cuts: Michael Jackson, Those Darlins, Josh Ritter, The Herbaliser, Ozomatli, Bettye LaVette, Screaming Females.

More Duds: Animal Collective, Toni Braxton, Jackson Browne/David Lindley/El Vivo Con Tino, Karen Elson, Alec Ounsworth, Tribute to a Reggae Legend.

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

• Who Knows It Feels It: Chris Salewicz: Bob Marley: The Untold Story