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 -- Unhappy news, the one-man campaign to render "Mr. Lee" a recognized classic, working with the State Department, McCartney (not Paulie), genius and generations, whining from down under. -- in his Substack newsletter And It Don't Stop. Like all of Xgau Sez, this is archived here.

Hanging in There Till the Living End

Robert Christgau published a piece, Hanging in There Till the Living End -- Joy Harvey, 1943-2023 -- as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.

Consumer Guide: September, 2023

Robert Christgau published his Consumer Guide: September, 2023: Lovequests, sobriety songs, combustible guitar effects, and the last will and testament of 91-year-old believer, mother, artist, over, sister, and grandmother. Reviews of: Atmosphere, Rodney Crowell, Dave and Central Cee, Gloss Up, Killer Mike, Ashley McBryde, Janelle Monae, Thelonious Monk, Bobbie Nelson and Amanda Shires, Noname, Olivia Rodrigo, Speedy Ortiz, Chris Stamey, Morgan Wade. This is part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.

Xgau Sez

Robert Christgau published his monthly Xgau Sez q&a section -- Episode 1 million of "Why Haven't You Reviewed . . .," Prince x Dickens, the depressive A list, digging the Band (or not), Sun Ra and a 1969 dispatch from Slug's, and music for rethinking eternity. -- in his Substack newsletter And It Don't Stop. Like all of Xgau Sez, this is archived here.

Peter Stampfel's Latest Miracle

Robert Christgau published a piece, Peter Stampfel's Latest Miracle -- A story of a voice lost and found -- as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.

Consumer Guide: August, 2023

Robert Christgau published his Consumer Guide: August, 2023: Unabashed eroticism, commonplace maturity, baseballese guitar rock, and three songs from four decades ago that will kick your ass. Reviews of: Dzambo Agusevi Orchestra, Amaarae (2), The Baseball Project, Miles Davis, Jad Fair and Samuel Locke Ward, Fokn Bois, Lori McKenna, Nakhane, Nastyfacts, Nia Archives, Palehound, SZA, Wreckless Eric. This is part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.

Auriculum (Ep. 7)

Robert Christgau posted a podcast, Auriculum (Ep. 7): RJ Smith on Chuck Berry, as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.

Fixing a Hole (Or Wikipedia)

Robert Christgau published a piece, Fixing a Hole (Or Wikipedia) -- On the vagaries of the Wikipedia entry for "Cheetah" magazine, and an excerpt of a piece from the February, 1968 issue. -- as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.

Xgau Sez

Robert Christgau published his monthly Xgau Sez q&a section -- -- in his Substack newsletter And It Don't Stop. Like all of Xgau Sez, this is archived here.

Consumer Guide: July, 2023

Robert Christgau published his Consumer Guide: July, 2023: Sweet melodies buoying up existential weight, trying Jesus when other men let you down, sad and brilliant tales of failed relationships, and jazz with a pop-friendly sense of identity and purpose. Reviews of: African Head Charge, Buck 65, Carook (2), Elle King, L'Orchestre National Mauritanien, Allen Lowe, Baaba Maal, Parodner, Bill Scorzari, Straw Man Army, Tinariwen, Billy Woods, Young Fathers. This is part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.

Three by Steve Anderson

Robert Christgau published a piece, Three by Steve Anderson -- From the "Village Voice" music section, reviews of Joan Jett, Slowdive, and the Ramones -- as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.

Auriculum (Ep. 6)

Robert Christgau posted a podcast, Auriculum (Ep. 6): Rob Sheffield and the first Quarterly Pazz & Jop Report, as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.

Paging Steve Anderson

Robert Christgau published a piece, Paging Steve Anderson -- a review of his novel, As the Day May Determine (2021, 280 pp.) -- as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop.

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.

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