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
Consumer Guide: December, 2025 Robert Christgau published his
Consumer Guide: January, 2025:
A post-riot-grrrl trio that hasn't given up on love; grooves that
break into tunes, sound effects, or both; alt-rappers with sonic
treats; and not-one-but-three releases from our heroes in Cincinnati.
Reviews of:
Bright Eyes,
Kim Deal,
Fake Fruit,
Inert,
Kendrick Lamar,
Willie Nelson,
Phelimuncasi & Metal Preyers,
Previous Industries,
Allen Ravenstine,
Rosali,
Lucinda Williams,
Wussy (3).
This is part of his subscription newsletter,
And It Don't Stop.
Also archived here.
[posted by Webmaster on 2025-01-09] The Big Lookback: Jimmy Carter's Inaugural Robert Christgau published a piece,
The Big Lookback: Jimmy Carter's Inaugural:
From The Village Voice, Jan. 31, 1977: "Whose People Were
at the People's Inaugural?" --
as part of his subscription newsletter,
And It Don't Stop.
Also archived here.
[posted by Webmaster on 2025-01-01] Definitions of Love Robert Christgau published a piece,
Definitions of Love:
Some thoughts on the vocabulary of marriage --
as part of his subscription newsletter,
And It Don't Stop.
Also archived here.
[posted by Webmaster on 2024-12-30] Xgau Sez Robert Christgau published his monthly
Xgau Sez q&a section --
Moral compasses and the election, coming soon to Bluesky, morning
TV avoided, the second sex comes first, Randy Newman upgrades, and
song by song by Christgau
--
in his Substack newsletter
And It Don't Stop. Like all of Xgau Sez, this is
archived here.
[posted by Webmaster on 2024-12-26] The Big Lookback: You Never Can Tell Robert Christgau published a piece,
The Big Lookback: You Never Can Tell:
Thoughts on music for a wedding celebration, from 'The Village Voice,'
March 3, 1975 --
as part of his subscription newsletter,
And It Don't Stop.
Also archived here.
[posted by Webmaster on 2024-12-11] Live From Cincinnati: Wussy Robert Christgau published a piece,
Live From Cincinnati: Wussy:
A guest post from RJ Smith on Wussy's November 15th show at the
Woodward Theater in Cincinnati. --
as part of his subscription newsletter,
And It Don't Stop.
Also archived here.
[posted by Webmaster on 2024-11-22] Xgau Sez Robert Christgau published his monthly
Xgau Sez q&a section --
Thoughts on Kamala and the election, Elton and listening time,
Young Thug and trap, bohemia (what dat?) Billy Bragg and Woody
Guthrie, and genius (again: what dat?).
--
in his Substack newsletter
And It Don't Stop. Like all of Xgau Sez, this is
archived here.
[posted by Webmaster on 2024-11-20] Consumer Guide: November, 2024 Robert Christgau published his
Consumer Guide: November, 2024:
Hip-hop from 52-year-old grandpa-to-be, demure grooves from a
31-year-old producer-frontman, dreamlike and bone-simple songs
from a Belgium-based 83-year-old, and radical politics from
the beyond.
Reviews of:
Blue Muse,
The Devil & God Meet in Church,
Eminem,
Fred Again..,
Hinds,
M.J. Lenderman,
The Linda Lindas,
LL Cool J,
MC5,
Thurston Moore,
Trout Fishing in America,
Tyler the Creator,
Neil Young & Promise of the Real,
Tucker Zimmerman & Friends.
This is part of his subscription newsletter,
And It Don't Stop.
Also archived here.
[posted by Webmaster on 2024-11-13] Louis Jordan: The Grandfather of Rock and Roll Robert Christgau published a piece,
Louis Jordan: The Grandfather of Rock and Roll:
Formally, this jump-blues pioneer presaged rock and roll, though
he was decades older than Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, or Little Richard --
as part of his subscription newsletter,
And It Don't Stop.
Also archived here.
[posted by Webmaster on 2024-10-25] Xgau Sez Robert Christgau published his monthly
Xgau Sez q&a section --
At the Apollo, in the library, ABBA reconsidered (briefly), the end
considered (also briefly, and not the one involving the Doors),
thoughts on music writing, and a reading list.
--
in his Substack newsletter
And It Don't Stop. Like all of Xgau Sez, this is
archived here.
[posted by Webmaster on 2024-10-16] Consumer Guide: October, 2024 Robert Christgau published his
Consumer Guide: October, 2024:
Guitar rock verging on the philosophical, boom-bap from an alt-rapper
here to stay like that shit in your panties, a titanic work of art
from 1956, & East African dance records from a DJ on a mission.
Reviews of:
Bad Moves,
The Dare,
Guy Davis,
Doechii,
Ekko Astral,
Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong,
Adekunle Gold,
Kampire Presents: A Dancefloor in Ndola,
Miranda Lambert,
Jenny Lewis,
Mannequin Pussy,
El Michels Affair & Black Thought,
Gurf Morlix,
Serengeti.
This is part of his subscription newsletter,
And It Don't Stop.
Also archived here.
[posted by Webmaster on 2024-10-09] Behind Closed Doors Robert Christgau published a piece,
Behind Closed Doors:
Roddy Doyle, The Women Behind the Door (2024, 262 pp.) --
as part of his subscription newsletter,
And It Don't Stop.
Also archived here.
[posted by Webmaster on 2024-09-30] Xgau Sez Robert Christgau published his monthly
Xgau Sez q&a section --
Consumer Guide music discovery, some subjects for further research,
dancing to "Africa Dances," John and Faith Hubley, the hottest young
male newcomer in the biz, and Geoffrey Stokes remembered.
--
in his Substack newsletter
And It Don't Stop. Like all of Xgau Sez, this is
archived here.
[posted by Webmaster on 2024-09-18] Consumer Guide: September, 2024 Robert Christgau published his
Consumer Guide: September, 2024:
Louis Armstrong lively ups London in '68, the Unholy Modal Rounders
do the same to NYC in '77, Chris Smither sings into the void, and
Morgan Wade sings with sweetness about the ones that got away.
Reviews of:
Laurie Anderson,
Louis Armstrong (2),
Bluesin' by the Bayou,
Zach Bryan,
Joe Fahey,
Georgia Sea Island Singers,
Illuminati Hotties,
Khaligraph Jones,
Kate Nash,
Romy,
Chris Smither,
Unholy Modal Rounders,
Morgan Wade.
This is part of his subscription newsletter,
And It Don't Stop.
Also archived here.
[posted by Webmaster on 2024-09-12] The Big Lookback: The Old 97's Robert Christgau published a piece with Carola Dibbell,
The Big Lookback: The Old 97's --
"You May Think It's Stupid, Rhett Miller Thinks It's Art,"
The Village Voice, Mar. 27, 2001
--
as part of his subscription newsletter,
And It Don't Stop.
Also archived here.
[posted by Webmaster on 2024-09-03] Xgau Sez Robert Christgau published his monthly
Xgau Sez q&a section --
Howard Keel-Tommy James-Springsteen connection explained, the Jazz
King of Corona (and everywhere else), Louis Jordan, Dylan gone
electric-acoustic-whatever, Wes Goodwin remembered, Honky Tonkin'.
--
in his Substack newsletter
And It Don't Stop. Like all of Xgau Sez, this is
archived here.
[posted by Webmaster on 2024-08-21] Consumer Guide: August, 2024 Robert Christgau published his
Consumer Guide: August, 2024:
The greatest artist of the 20th century as pop interpreter, an
r&b pro gone bluegrass, 13 songs about romantic bliss gone
bad, and a thrill seeking soprano with captivating tunes and
runaway grooves.
Reviews of:
Africa Negra,
Okaidja Afroso,
Louis Armstrong,
Swamp Dogg,
Jeff Evans Porkestra,
Lupe Fiasco,
Claudia Gibson,
Megan Moroney,
David Murray,
The Old 97's,
Amy Rigby,
Chappell Roan,
Linda Thompson,
Kathryn Williams & Withered Hand.
This is part of his subscription newsletter,
And It Don't Stop.
Also archived here.
[posted by Webmaster on 2024-08-14] The Big Lookback: Carola Dibbell on Pere Ubu Robert Christgau published a piece with Carola Dibbell,
The Big Lookback: Carola Dibbell on Pere Ubu --
"Pere Ubu Lives in This Shit!" The Village Voice, May 7, 1979
--
as part of his subscription newsletter,
And It Don't Stop.
Also archived here.
[posted by Webmaster on 2024-07-31] Grim, Funny Memories of a Vanished Manhattan Robert Christgau published a piece,
Grim, Funny Memories of a Vanished Manhattan --
C.O. Moed, "It Was Her New York: True Stories & Snapshots" (2024, 184 pp.)
--
as part of his subscription newsletter,
And It Don't Stop.
Also archived here.
[posted by Webmaster on 2024-07-24] Xgau Sez Robert Christgau published his monthly
Xgau Sez q&a section --
Getting Kinks-y, The Insect Trust, Alejo Carpentier, unexplored quiddities, underrateds & one-offs, and jazz for dinner.
--
in his Substack newsletter
And It Don't Stop. Like all of Xgau Sez, this is
archived here.
[posted by Webmaster on 2024-07-17] More Ancient
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