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
Expert Witness: The Genius of Thelonious Monk 
New in Expert Witness:
- Mast: Thelonious Sphere Monk (World Galaxy/Alpha Pup) A
- Thelonious Monk: Les Laisisons Dangereuses 1960 (Saga/Sam) A-
- Ornette Coleman: Ornette at 12/Crisis (Real Gone Music) B+
[posted by Webmaster on 2018-03-23] Expert Witness: The Desperation of Ezra Furman and Car Seat Headrest 
New in Expert Witness:
- Ezra Furman: Transangelic Exodus (Bella Union) A-
- Car Seat Headrest: Twin Fantasy (Matador) A-
- Walter Martin: Reminisce Bar & Grill (Ile Flottante) *
- Born Ruffians: Uncle, Duke and the Chief (Yep Roc) *
[posted by Webmaster on 2018-03-16] Expert Witness: The Most Afecting Political Album of Our Era 
New in Expert Witness:
- Superchunk: What a Time to Be Alive (Merge) A
- Chopteeth Afrofunk Big Band: Bone Reader (Grigri) B+
- Grant Peeples and the Peeples Republik: Settling Scores Vol. II (Gatorbone) ***
- Prophets of Rage: Prophets of Rage (Concord Music Group) *
[posted by Webmaster on 2018-03-09] Expert Witness: The Star-Studded, Kendrick-Helmed 'Black Panther' OST 
New in Expert Witness:
- Black Panther: The Album (TDE/Aftermath/Interscope) A
- Rapsody: Laila's Wisdom (Roc Nation) A-
- Rhiannon Giddens: Freedom Highway (Nonesuch) ***
- Talib Kweli: Radio Silence (3D) **
- Rapsody: Beauty and the Beast (Jamla/Culture Over Everything) **
- Rapsody: The Idea of Beautiful (Jamla/Culture Over Everything) *
[posted by Webmaster on 2018-03-02] Expert Witness: Fever Ray's 'Plunge' Into the Beyond 
New in Expert Witness:
- Fever Ray: Plunge (Mute) A-
- Shopping: The Official Body (Fat Cat) A-
- Laurie Anderson & Kronos Quartet: Landfall (Nonesuch) ***
- Kissey: Unplug the Delusional Monkey (Fool's Gold) *
[posted by Webmaster on 2018-02-23] Expert Witness: A Senegalese Icon's Undimmed Greatness 
New in Expert Witness:
- Youssou N'Dour: Raxas Bercy 2017 (self-released) A-
- Tal National: Tantabara (Fat Cat) A-
- Youssou N'Dour: Seeni Valeurs (Jive/Epic) B+
- Les Filles de Illighadad: Eghass Malan (Sahelsounds) ***
- Songhoy Blues: Resistance (Fat Possum) **
- Amadou & Mariam: La Confusion (Because) *
[posted by Webmaster on 2018-02-16] Expert Witness: Rich Krueger's Wince-Inducing Brilliance 
New in Expert Witness:
- Rich Krueger: Life Ain't That Long (Rockink) A
- Modern Mal: The Misanthrope Family Album (Mal) B+
- Scott Miller: Ladies Auxiliary (F.A.Y.) **
- Case Garrett: Aurora (Suitcase) **
- Jason Eady: Jason Eady (Old Guitar) *
[posted by Webmaster on 2018-02-09] Expert Witness: A Brilliant Beefheart Trip and Some Early Stones Standouts 
New in Expert Witness:
- Nona Hendryx & Gary Lucas: The World of Captain Beefheart (KFR) A-
- The Rolling Stones: On Air (Deluxe Edition) (Polydor/BBC) A-
- Van Morrison: Versatile (Exile/Legacy) ***
- Peter Stampfel and the Atomic Meta Pagans: The Cambrian Explosion (Don Giovanni) ***
- Frank Zappa: Zappatite: Frank Zappa's Tastiest Tracks (Zappa) **
[posted by Webmaster on 2018-02-02] Expert Witness: On Mount Eerie's 'A Crow Looked at Me,' a Brutal Listen 
New in Expert Witness:
- Mount Eerie: A Crow Looked at Me (P.W. Elverum & Sun, Ltd.) A
- Mary Gauthier: Rifles and Rosary Beads (In the Black) A-
Also did a major update to the website last week, including:
[posted by Webmaster on 2018-01-26] Expert Witness: Joey Bada$$'s Timely Consciousness 
New in Expert Witness:
- Joey Bada$$: All-Amerikkkan Bada$$ (Pro Era/Cinematic Music Group) A-
- Playboi Carti: Playboy Carti (AWGE/Interscope) A-
- Big K.R.I.T.: 4eva Is a Long Time (Multi Alumni) ***
- Eminem: Revival (Aftermath/Shady/Interscope/Goliath) **
- Vic Mensa: The Autobiography (Roc Nation) **
[posted by Webmaster on 2018-01-19] Expert Witness: Homeboy Sandman's Constant, Anti-Boredom Reincarnations 
New in Expert Witness:
- Homeboy Sandman: Veins (Stones Throw) A-
- Aesop Rock & Homeboy Sandman: Triple Fat Lice (Stones Throw) A-
- Open Mike Eagle: Brick Body Kids Still Daydream (Mello Music) A-
- CunninLynguists: Rose Azura Njano (RBC) ***
- L'Orange: The Ordinary Man (Mello Music) ***
- L'Orange: Old Soul (self-released) **
- Mr. Lif & Brass Manazeri: Resilient (Waxsimile) **
[posted by Webmaster on 2018-01-12] Expert Witness: Hip-Hop's Most Complete New Yorker Since Heems (or Nas) 
New in Expert Witness:
- Princess Nokia: 1992 Deluxe (Rough Trade) A
- Sheer Mag: Need to Feel Your Love (Wilsuns RC) A-
- Margo Price: All American Made (Third Man) B+
[posted by Webmaster on 2018-01-05] Expert Witness: Love Songs from (and to) the Arab World 
New in Expert Witness:
- Marcel Khalife/Mahmoud Darwish: Andalusia of Love (Nagam) A-
- Omar Souleyman: To Syria, With Love (Mad Decent) B+
- Sweet as Broken Dates: Lost Somali Tapes From the Horn of Africa (Ostinato) ***
- Boubacar Traoré: Dounia Tabolo (Lusafrica) *
[posted by Webmaster on 2017-12-29] Expert Witness: Some Serious Anti-Trump Music 
New in Expert Witness:
- Dawn Oberg: Nothing Rhymes With Orange (Blossom Theory) A
- Tim Heidecker: Too Dumb for Suicide: Tim Heidecker's Trump Songs (Jagjaguwar) B+
- Mavis Staples: Livin' on a High Note (Anti-) ***
- Mavis Staples: If All I Was Was Black (Anti-) **
- Downtown Boys: Cost of Living (Sub Pop) *
[posted by Webmaster on 2017-12-22] Expert Witness: Some Delta Blues Gems and Country Blues Moments 
New in Expert Witness:
- American Epic: The Best of Blues (Lo-Max/Third Man/Columbia/Legacy) A
- 24 Classic Blues Songs From the 1920's: Vol 15 (Blues Images) A-
- American Epic: The Best of Country (Lo-Max/Third Man/Columbia/Legacy) B+
[posted by Webmaster on 2017-12-15] Expert Witness: Now That's What I Call Expert Witness with Robert Christgau! 
New in Expert Witness:
- Now That's What I Call 90s Pop (Sony Music Entertainment) A-
- Now That's What I Call Tailgate Anthems (Sony Music Entertainment) A-
- 13 Days of Xmas (Bloodshot) **
- Nick Lowe: Quality Street (Yep Roc) *
[posted by Webmaster on 2017-12-08] Expert Witness: Saint Etienne and St. Vincent's Admirable Charms 
New in Expert Witness:
- Saint Etienne: Home Counties (Heavenly/PIAS) A-
- St. Vincent: Masseduction (4AD) B+
- SZA: Ctrl (RCA) ***
- Rev. Sekou: In Times Like These (Thirty Tigers) ***
- The Relatives: Goodbye World (Luv N' Haight) **
- Primate Fiasco: Massachusetts Winter (self-released) **
There's also a recent interview with Christgau in the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
[posted by Webmaster on 2017-12-01] Expert Witness: A Near-Perfect Kasai Allstars Album and Some Afrobeats 
New in Expert Witness:
- Kasai All Stars: Around Félicité (Crammed Discs) A-
- Afrobeats Hot Hits: New Urban Dance Grooves From Africa (Shanachie) B+
- Siama: Rivers: From the Congo to the Mississippi (self-released) ***
- Kasai Allstars: Tradi-Mods Vs Rockers (Crammed Discs) **
- Zaire 74: The African Artists (Wrasse) **
- Kasai Allstars: Congotronics 5: Beware the Fetish (Crammed Discs) **
- DRC Music: Kinshasa One Two (Warp) *
[posted by Webmaster on 2017-11-24] Expert Witness: Matt Berninger's Depressive Tendencies 
New in Expert Witness:
- The National: Sleep Well Beast (4AD) A-
- Deer Tick: Vol. 2 (Partisan) A-
- The Paranoid Style: Underworld U.S.A. (Bar/None) A-
- Shilpa Ray: Door Girl (Northern Spy) ***
- LCD Soundsystem: American Dream (Columbia) **
[posted by Webmaster on 2017-11-17] Expert Witness: Alt-Rock in Fraught Times 
New in Expert Witness:
- Lee Ranaldo: Electric Trim (Mute) A-
- Pere Ubu: 20 Years in a Montana Missile Silo (Cherryred) A-
- Howe Gelb: Future Standards (Fire) ***
- Thurston Moore: Rock and Roll Consciousness (Caroline) **
- Filthy Friends: Invitation (Kill Rock Stars) **
[posted by Webmaster on 2017-11-10] Most Recent -- More Recent -- More Ancient
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