Email Author Robert Christgau

2005 Stories by Robert Christgau

• Extraordinary Machines

  published December 27, 2005

  PICK HITS THELONIOUS MONK QUARTET Thelonious Monk... More >>

• Who Needs Boxes 2005

  published December 13, 2005

  THE SOUND OF THE CITY: NEW ORLEANS (EMI) Surely some exploiter will step forward, or wouldn't it be nice if the Smithsonian... More >>

• Master and Sacrament

  published November 29, 2005

  It was a courtesy call. Eighty-year-old B.B. King aside, Buddy Guy is the most honored bluesman standing, such a big deal he's on RCA-linked... More >>

• New Wonderland

  published November 29, 2005

  "Got a brand new blues that I can't explain," explains John Mayer on the opening "Who Did You Think I Was." No longer "the one who plays the quiet... More >>

• Music

  published November 29, 2005

  Buddy Guy & Junior Wells Buddy Guy & Junior Wells Play the Blues Rhino Handmade The classic Guy-Wells album... More >>

• Turkey Shoot 2005

  published November 15, 2005

  Duds BURT BACHARACH At This Time More >>

• Bobby and Dave

  published November 1, 2005

  Averse to nostalgia in general, folkies in particular, the Americana tendency in middlebrow rock criticism, and the Bob Dylan industry, I skipped... More >>

• Recyclables

  published November 1, 2005

  There was never a performer who crossed so many lines as Harry," says Dylan of this Harlem lefty turned matinee idol. "He appealed to everybody,... More >>

• We Have to Deal With It: Punk England Report

  published October 18, 2005

  January 9, 1978 I recently spent nine days pursuing punk rock in England without once trying to contact the Sex Pistols. I just... More >>

• Christians and Heathens

  published October 18, 2005

  Pick Hits DABY BALDE Introducing Daby... More >>

• Can't Stop the Music

  published October 18, 2005

  I wanted to shout how crucial Voice music writing was from the git, but evidence was lacking. Voice columnist Jean Shepherd... More >>

• Paint a Vulgar Picture

  published October 18, 2005

  Surely there have been filmmakers who knew less about music going into their first music documentary than Greg Whiteley, but none springs to mind.... More >>

• Preservation Scuzz

  published October 4, 2005

  I got scooped by Jon Pareles in the Times two months ago, which was just what I wanted. The headline, "You Want Punk Rock? Close CBGB, Say... More >>

• Music

  published October 4, 2005

  HUEY "PIANO" SMITH & HIS CLOWNS Having a Good Time With Huey "Piano" Smith & His Clowns: The Very Best of, Volume 1 More >>

• Craft and Lies

  published September 20, 2005

  Pick Hits AMY RIGBY Little Fugitive... More >>

• Growing by Degrees

  published August 30, 2005

  Kanye West did not arrive unheralded. Between his production credits and his Jay-Z connection, The... More >>

• Music

  published August 30, 2005

  Convicted sexual batterer and sole actually talented No Limit rapper Mystikal remains at his fiercest on 1997's Unpredictable, issued by... More >>

• Gypsy Part of Town

  published August 9, 2005

  Pick Hits GOGOL BORDELLO Gypsy... More >>

• Men Like Them

  published July 26, 2005

  Leading George Strait's Somewhere Down in Texas, "If the Whole World Was a Honky Tonk" is a he-man fantasy in which stepping outside... More >>

• Music

  published July 26, 2005

  Too many country artists who start strong fall off artistically as they work their market niche. So Alan Jackson's improvement is a... More >>

• 'Young Rebels'

  published July 26, 2005

  Young Rebels is an unpretentious little documentary about Cuban hip-hop, a subject of less significance than the principals believe. There... More >>

• Laptop for Desktoppers

  published July 12, 2005

  Pick Hits ENCRE ( More >>

• All This Useless Beauty

  published July 5, 2005

  This Is Spinal Tap is the greatest of all rock movies because Spinal Tap are dorks. Dorks are easy, whereas actual rock stars are nearly... More >>

• Baby One More Time

  published June 28, 2005

  Almost any two-disc set can be improved by paring it down to one. This goes double for an outtakes-and-oddments collection, and triple for... More >>

• Music

  published June 28, 2005

  I've never been entranced enough by Eric Burdon to decide whether he was clueless clod or sneaky smart, but for sure he's one of the Rock and Roll... More >>