New Expert Witness post:

• Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band / Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga / Leonard Cohen

Recent Expert Witness posts:

• Oct. 10: Young Thug / Migos / Future / Rich Gang / Gucci Mane
• Oct. 17: Jason Derulo / Chromeo / Pharrell / Cherub / will.i.am / Prince
• Oct. 24: Baseball Project / Hamell on Trial / Richmond Fontaine / Delines / Stick Against Stone / Ry Cooder / Modern Baseball

New Expert Witness:

• Lee Ranaldo and the Dust / The Dismemberment Plan / The New Pornographers / Spoon / Arcade Fire / The Hold Steady

Added several months of recent files to the website (many still under time lock). Also collected all of Christgau's NAJP Articles blog posts, including comments. Did not update the Consumer Guide database.

New Expert Witness:

• Road to Jajouka / Hassan Hakmoun / Rough Guide to the Music of The Sahara / Tinariwen / Bambara Mystic Soul / Oumar Konate / Rough Guide to Mali / Rough Guide to Arabic Café / 1970's Algeria / Rough Guide to Palestine / Orchestra National de Mauritanie / Wayo

Robert Christgau has returned to writing his Expert Witness blog, now at Cuepoint, the music publication of Medium:

• Expert Witness: The Story Till Now
• September 12: Atmosphere, The Roots, Homeboy Sandman, Open Mike Eagle
• September 19: Shaver, Billy Joe Shaver, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, John Hiatt, All My Friends, Hard Working Americans

Recent articles:

• Iggy Azalea's 'New Classic' Is Plenty Authentic--and Damn Good to Boot
[posted by Webmaster on 2014-09-19]

Recent articles:

• Get On Up: Putting James Brown's Music First
[posted by Webmaster on 2014-09-01]

Recent articles:

• Anti-Rockism's Hall of Fame: review of Bob Stanley's Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!: The Story of Pop Music from Bill Haley to Beyoncé.

Also, Robert Christgau now has a Twitter account. Use the link to follow him.

Robert Christgau will be writing a monthly column at Billboard. The first column, plus an obituary, have been published:

• Tommy Ramone, Mysteroius Heart of the Ramones
• Pop Art: In It for the Art

Also:

• NPR Review of Amy LaVere: Runaway's Diary.
• An Appointment with the Dean: Radio New Zealand interview with Christgau.

• Two Dollar Radio interview with Carola Dibbell

Recent articles by Robert Christgau:

• English Oceans, by Drive-By Truckers [March 6, NPR]
• Bob Dylan in the '80s Tribute Comp Gives a Maligned Era the Respect It Deserves [March 19, Spin]
• A Tuneful Conversation With a Sometimes Distant God: Withered Hand [March 25, NPR]

Recent articles by Robert Christgau:

• They Bet Your Life [April 2]
• More Generous Than That [April 25]
• Wussy: Battle Cries & Butterflies [May 6]

Updated the website today. It now includes consumer guide entries for all Expert Witness reviews, plus articles up to the current date, plus a few golden oldies. For details, see Changelog.

Recent articles by Robert Christgau:

• Latyrx: Still Deft and Defiant After Two Decades [2013-11-12]
• The Cynic and the Bloke: book reviews on Donald Fagen and Rod Stewart [2013-11-13]
• The Lost World of 'Llewyn Davis': Christgau on the Coen Brothers [2013-12-04]
• Unruly Reading [2013-12-27]
• The Consensus Has Consequences [2014-01-24]
• The 2013 Dean's List [2014-01-24]

Also:

• Thank Your Lucky Stars: Spinning Out of Orbit, in Black Friday Special: 2013.

Recent articles by Robert Christgau:

• Omar Souleyman's Intense, Swooning Wenu Wenu Brings Dabke to the Club-Kid Masses: album review [Spin]
• Toesucker Blues: Robert Christgau's Farewell Salute to Lou Reed: obituary [Spin]

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

• Odds and Ends 037:
  • Afuche: Highly Publicized Digital Boxing Match (Cuneiform '11) ***
  • Sun City Girls: Funeral Mariachi (Abduction '10) ***
  • Ben Folds/Nick Hornby: Lonely Avenue (Nonesuch '10) ***
  • Jenny Owen Youngs: An Unwavering Band of Light (self-released '12) **
  • The Wailing Wall: The Low Hanging Fruit (JDub '10) **
  • Ashton Shepherd: Where Country Grows (MCA Nashville '11) **
  • The Superions: Destination . . . Christmas! (Fanatic '10) **
  • Toby Keith: Clancy's Tavern (Show Dog/Universal '11) *

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

• Blind Lemon Jefferson/Rokia Traore/Robert Sarazin Blake With Jefferson Hamer and the Powderkegs:
  • Blind Lemon Jefferson: The Rough Guide to Blues Legends: Blind Lemon Jefferson: Reborn and Remastered (World Music Network) A
  • Rokia Traore: Beautiful Africa (Nonesuch) B+
  • Robert Sarazin Blake With Jefferson Hamer and the Powderkegs: Put It All Down in a Letter (Same Room '11) A-
• Kansas City Lightning:
  • Stanley Crouch: Kansas City Lightning (It Books)

Also at MSN Music:

• Afropop on stage: Vibrant African artists salute a groundbreaking radio franchise

These, by the way, are the last posts scheduled to appear in the Expert Witness blog at MSN Music.

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

• Odds and Ends 036:
  • Femi Kuti: No Place for My Dream (Knitting Factory) ***
  • Nona Hendryx: Mutatis Mutandis (Righteous Babe) ***
  • Firewater: International Orange! (Bloodshot) **
  • Steve Earle & the Dukes (& Duchesses): The Low Highway (New West) **
  • Kobo Town: Jumble in the Jukebox (Cumbancha) **
  • Roger Knox and the Pine Valley Cosmonauts: Stranger in My Land (Bloodshot) *
  • 121212: The Concert for Sandy Relief (Columbia) *
  • Frank Turner: England Keep My Bones (Xtra Mile/Epitaph) *
• Nuggets/Flamin Groovies:
  • Nuggets (Rhino) A-
  • Flamin Groovies: Supersnazz (CBS Special Products '90) A

Also at MSN Music:

• Elvis Costello and the Roots Pump It Up

Christgau also wrote a note on the late Marshall Berman, published in Dissent.

Christgau also wrote the following notice in the comment section of the Expert Witness blog:

Just woke up so I won't go into too much detail at the moment, but now I can make it official. As rumored, Expert Witness will be no more at MSN as of October 1. As I understand it, Microsoft is shutting down the entire MSN freelance arts operation at that time, including its film coverage, where the estimable Glenn Kenny has done so much good work, as well as my music colleagues Maura Johnston, Alan Light, and the other bloggers. I got this news 12 days ago, at which time I'd stockpiled enough reviews to get me through my last scheduled post on September 27, and since I do write for money stopped all CG-style writing at that time. I'll have more to say in the hours and days to come, but that's the nub of it. Thanks to all who comment here and all who lurk and all who never look at the comments because in the online world that's usually such a waste of time, as it has never been here.

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

• ZZK Sound:
  • ZZK Sound Vol. 3 (ZZK/Waxploitation) A-
  • ZZK Sound Vol. 1--Cumbia Digital (ZZK '08) B+
• No Age/Burial:
  • No Age: An Object (Sub Pop) A-
  • Burial: Truant/Rough Sleeper (Hyperdub) A-

Also at Barnes and Noble Review:

• No Hitting: Norman Rush

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

• The Julie Ruin/Neko Case:
  • The Julie Ruin: Run Fast (TJR) A
  • Neko Case: The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You (Anti-) A-
• Lloyd Price:
  • Lloyd Price: Greatest Hits (MCA '94) A-
  • Lloyd Price: Specialty Profiles (Specialty '06) B+

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

• Odds and Ends 035:
  • The Pozniaks: Pozniak Street (Jamrag) ***
  • Ezra Furman & the Harpoons: Mysterious Power (Minty Fresh '11) ***
  • The Child of Lov: The Child of Lov (Domino) ***
  • Crazy & the Brains: Let Me Go (Baldy Longhair) **
  • Kreayshawn: Somethin 'Bout Kreay (Columbia) **
  • Land of Pines: The Long Defeat 12" EP (Fin) *
  • Billy Hough & the X-Loves: Venice (Garagedog) *
  • Wavves: Afraid of Heights (Mom + Pop) *
• Sam Baker/James McMurtry:
  • Sam Baker: Say Grace (self-released) A-
  • James McMurtry: Live in Aught-Three (Compadre '04) A-

Also at Barnes and Noble Review:

• Tell All