Robert Christgau published Brian Wilson: 1942-2025: "A guest post from Tom Smucker, author of Why the Beach Boys Matter" -- as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop. Also archived here.
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 NewsBrian Wilson: 1942-2025 Robert Christgau published Brian Wilson: 1942-2025: "A guest post from Tom Smucker, author of Why the Beach Boys Matter" -- as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop. Also archived here. [posted by Webmaster on 2025-06-16] Consumer Guide: June, 2025 Robert Christgau published his Consumer Guide: June, 2025: Reviews of: Arcade Fire, Buck 65, Jeff Evans Porkestra, Robert Forster, Ms. Ezra Furman, Ghost Wolves, Girl Scout, Justin Golden, Lambrini Girls, Willie Nelson, Billy Nomates, Eli "Paperboy" Reed, Bruce Springsteen, Tune-Yards. This is part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop. Also archived here. [posted by Webmaster on 2025-06-11] The Big Lookback: The Grateful Dead Robert Christgau published a piece, The Big Lookback: The Grateful Dead: "The Grateful Dead in Four Dimensions," from The Village Voice, June 13, 1977 -- as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop. Also archived here. [posted by Webmaster on 2025-06-04] Temporary Website Outage The website was unavailable for several hours today. The problems, which were mostly a matter of highly automated miscommunication, have been resolved. [posted by Webmaster on 2025-05-30] Graffiti Artist Robert Christgau published a piece, Graffiti Artist: Ramon Guthrie, "Graffiti" (1959, 72 pages) -- as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop. Also archived here. [posted by Webmaster on 2025-05-28] Xgau Sez Robert Christgau published his monthly Xgau Sez q&a section -- On guitar: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Bones check, the spiritual exhaustion of the Must to Avoid, quality albums never to be heard again, the excellence of the A minus, and Xgau on film. -- in his Substack newsletter And It Don't Stop. Like all of Xgau Sez, this is archived here. [posted by Webmaster on 2025-05-21] Consumer Guide: May, 2025 Robert Christgau published his Consumer Guide: May, 2025: A must-own from 1959, 13 songs that are unfailingly melodic and undeniably sincere, spare sonics contemplating mortality, and a capsule history of British imperialism and its aftermaths. Reviews of: Julien Baker & Torres, Blondshell, The Buttress, Ray Charles, Common/Pete Rock, Lucy Dacus, Horsegirl, Jenny Hval, Jason Isbell, Salilf Keita, Low Cut Connie, The Mekons, Model/Actriz, Joanna Wang. This is part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop. Also archived here. [posted by Webmaster on 2025-05-14] The Big Lookback: Gang of Four Robert Christgau published a piece, The Big Lookback: Gang of Four: "We Condemn the Gang of Four (Just Kidding)," from the Village Voice, July 27, 1982 -- as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop. Also archived here. [posted by Webmaster on 2025-04-30] Gang of Two Plus Two Robert Christgau published a piece, Gang of Two Plus Two: The Gang of Four, Sony Music Hall, April 24th, 2025 -- as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop. Also archived here. [posted by Webmaster on 2025-04-04] Xgau Sez Robert Christgau published his monthly Xgau Sez q&a section -- Essential pre-internet reference works, El Lay vs L.A., more music from the Great White North, de gustibus non disputandum est, roll over Beethoven, and party politics briefly considered. -- in his Substack newsletter And It Don't Stop. Like all of Xgau Sez, this is archived here. [posted by Webmaster on 2025-04-16] Consumer Guide: April, 2025 Robert Christgau published his Consumer Guide: April, 2025: Flawlessly executed down-and-out Americana tales, a gentler approach to a veteran speed soukous master, Pepto-Bismol and other troths explored, and hilarious noises that may make your eardrums bleed. Reviews of: MC Paul Barman, Champeta w/ Edna Martinez, Corook, The Delines, Craig Finn, Jeffrey Lewis, Mike, Gurf Morlix, PremRock, Schoolboy Q, Shakira, Skrillex, Spectacular Diagnostics, Tyla. This is part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop. Also archived here. [posted by Webmaster on 2025-04-13] The Big Lookback: In Tiny Tim's Footsteps Robert Christgau published a piece, The Big Lookback: In Tiny Tim's Footsteps: A report from Sly Stone's Madison Square Garden wedding, from "Newsday," June 7, 1974. -- as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop. Also archived here. [posted by Webmaster on 2025-04-04] Making Sly Fresh Again Robert Christgau published a piece, Making Sly Fresh Again: 'Sly Lives! (AKA The Burden of Black Genius)' -- as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop. Also archived here. [posted by Webmaster on 2025-03-27] Database Update We did a database update today. Please let the webmaster know if you see anything amiss. [posted by Webmaster on 2025-03-19] Xgau Sez Robert Christgau published his monthly Xgau Sez q&a section -- Music of the True North, boxing days, the Bobbsey Twins as vocabulary builders, no soul radio (see also: Mark. 8 Verses 34 to 38), patriotic verb clusters, and remembering David Johansen. -- in his Substack newsletter And It Don't Stop. Like all of Xgau Sez, this is archived here. [posted by Webmaster on 2025-03-19] Consumer Guide: March, 2025 Robert Christgau published his Consumer Guide: March, 2025: A centenarian's big band experiment, catchy pop-rock making a big romantic leap, varied songwriting suffused with darkness and detail, and desert guitar in search of justice. Reviews of: Marshall Allen, Anatonio Andrade, Towa Bird, Charly Bliss, Helene Cronin, FACS, Funkrust Brass Band (2), GloRilla, Patterson Hood, Mdou Moctar (2), Eric Schmitt, Wavy Bagels With Driveby. This is part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop. Also archived here. [posted by Webmaster on 2025-03-12] The Big Lookback: New York Dolls Robert Christgau published a piece, The Big Lookback: New York Dolls: "Sensualistic, Polytheistic," from The Village Voice, August 8, 2006 -- as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop. Also archived here. [posted by Webmaster on 2025-02-05] An Immigrant's Tale Robert Christgau published a piece, An Immigrant's Tale -- Maruta Lietiņš Ray, "Refugee Girl: A Memoir" (2021, 248 pages) -- as part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop. The piece has been archived here. [posted by Webmaster on 2025-02-26] Xgau Sez Robert Christgau published his monthly Xgau Sez q&a section -- Louis Armstrong and the Beatles in book form, 'Brat' but it's a lowish A but also still 'Brat,' Emmylou Harris and Wussy grades grubbed, and combating the evil which is going on. -- in his Substack newsletter And It Don't Stop. Like all of Xgau Sez, this is archived here. [posted by Webmaster on 2025-02-19] Consumer Guide: February, 2025 Robert Christgau published his Consumer Guide: February, 2025: A smart and sexy woman's frustrating quest for true love, a polyrhythmic meeting of Peruvian electronica and Congolese guitar, mean jokes and next-level feminism, and gnomic wisecracks postpunk style. Reviews of: Amadou & Mariam, Amyl and the Sniffers, Robert Sarazin Blake, Sabrina Carpenter, Manu Chao, Dingonek Street Band, El Khat, Future & Metro Boomin', Ale Hop & Titi Bakorta, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Jax, Nobro, Jack White. This is part of his subscription newsletter, And It Don't Stop. Also archived here. [posted by Webmaster on 2025-02-12] More Information |