Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics,
he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional
rock critics and later became an early proponent of musical movements such as
hip hop,
riot grrrl, and the import of
African popular music in the West.
He was the chief music critic and senior editor for ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
'' for 37 years, during which time he created and oversaw the annual
Pazz & Jop critics poll. He has also covered popular music for ''
Esquire'', ''
Creem'', ''
Newsday'', ''
Playboy'', ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'', ''
Billboard'',
NPR, ''
Blender'', and ''
MSN Music;'' he was a visiting arts teacher at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
.
CNN senior writer Jamie Allen has called Christgau "the
E. F. Hutton of the music world—when he talks, people listen."
Christgau is best known for his terse, letter-graded
capsule album reviews, composed in a concentrated, fragmented prose style featuring layered
clauses, caustic wit,
one-liner jokes, political digressions, and allusions ranging from
common knowledge to the esoteric. His writing is often informed by
leftist politics (particularly
feminism[ Available a]
Rock's Backpages
(subscription required). and
secular humanism). He has generally favored song-oriented musical forms and qualities of wit and formal rigor, as well as musicianship from uncommon sources.
[Jody Rosen]
X-ed Out: The Village Voice fires a famous music critic
''Slate'', September 5, 2006. Retrieved on October 15, 2006.
Originally published in his "Consumer Guide" columns during his tenure at ''The Village Voice'' from 1969 to 2006, the reviews were collected in book form across three decade-ending volumes–''
Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981), ''
Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s'' (1990), and ''
Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s'' (2000).
Multiple collections of his essays have been published in book form,
and a website published in his name since 2001 has freely hosted most of his work.
In 2006, the ''Voice'' dismissed Christgau after the paper's acquisition by
New Times Media. He continued to write reviews in the "Consumer Guide" format for ''
MSN Music'', ''
Cuepoint'', and ''Noisey'' (''
Vice''s music section) where they were published in his "Expert Witness" column
until July 2019.
In September of the same year, he launched a paid-subscription newsletter called ''And It Don't Stop'', published on the email-newsletter platform
Substack and featuring a monthly "Consumer Guide" column, among other writings.
Early life
Christgau was born in
Greenwich Village in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, New York City,
on April 18, 1942. He grew up in
Queens, the son of a fireman.
He has said he became a
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
fan when disc jockey
Alan Freed moved to the city in 1954.
After attending public school in the city,
[ Christgau attended Dartmouth College graduating in 1962 with a B.A. degree in English. At college, his musical interests turned to ]jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
, but he quickly returned to rock after moving back to New York. He has said that Miles Davis's 1960 album '' Sketches of Spain'' initiated "one phase of the disillusionment (in him) with jazz that resulted in my return to rock and roll." He was deeply influenced by New Journalism writers including Gay Talese and Tom Wolfe. "My ambitions when I went into journalism were always, to an extent, literary", Christgau said later.
Career
Christgau wrote short stories, before giving up fiction in 1964 to become a sportswriter and later, a police reporter for the '' Newark Star-Ledger''. He became a freelance writer after a story he wrote about the death of a woman in New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
was published by '' New York'' magazine. He was among the first dedicated rock critics. He was asked to take over the dormant music column at '' Esquire'', which he began writing in June 1967. He also contributed to '' Cheetah'' magazine at the time. He then became a leading voice in the formation of a musical–political aesthetic combining New Left politics and the counterculture. After ''Esquire'' discontinued the column, Christgau moved to ''The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
'' in 1969, and he also worked as a college professor.
From early on in his emergence as a critic, Christgau was conscious of his lack of formal knowledge of music. In a 1968 piece he commented:
I don't know anything about music, which ought to be a damaging admission but isn't... The fact is that pop writers in general shy away from such arcana as key signature and beats to the measure... I used to confide my worries about this to friends in the record industry, who reassured me. They didn't know anything about music either. The technical stuff didn't matter, I was told. You just gotta dig it.
In early 1972, Christgau accepted a full-time job as music critic for '' Newsday''. He returned to ''The Village Voice'' in 1974 as music editor. In a 1976 piece for the newspaper, he coined the term "Rock Critic Establishment" to describe the growth in influence of American music critics. His article carried the parenthesized subtitle "But Is That Bad for Rock?" He listed Dave Marsh, John Rockwell
John Sargent Rockwell (born September 16, 1940) is an American music critic, dance critic and arts administrator. According to ''Grove Music Online'', "Rockwell brings two signal attributes to his critical work: a genuine admiration for all ki ...
, Paul Nelson, Jon Landau and himself as members of this "establishment".[ Available a]
Rock's Backpages
(subscription required). Christgau remained at ''The Village Voice'' until August 2006, when he was fired shortly after the paper's acquisition by New Times Media.[Rosen, Judy (September 5, 2006),]
X-ed Out: The Village Voice fires a famous music critic
. ''Slate.com''. Retrieved August 15, 2009. Two months later, Christgau became a contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' (which first published his review of Moby Grape's '' Wow'' in 1968). Late in 2007, Christgau was fired by ''Rolling Stone'', although he continued to work for the magazine for another three months. Beginning with the March 2008 issue, he joined '' Blender'', where he was listed as "senior critic" for three issues and then "contributing editor". Christgau had been a regular contributor to ''Blender'' before he joined ''Rolling Stone''. He continued to write for ''Blender'' until the magazine ceased publication in March 2009. In 1987, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...
in the field of "folklore and popular culture" to study the history of popular music.
Christgau has also written frequently for '' Playboy'', '' Spin'', and '' Creem''. He appears in the 2011 rockumentary '' Color Me Obsessed'', about the Replacements. He previously taught during the formative years of the California Institute of the Arts. As of 2007, he was an adjunct professor in the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music at New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
.
In August 2013, Christgau revealed in an article written for Barnes & Noble's website that he was writing a memoir. On July 15, 2014, Christgau debuted a monthly column on '' Billboard''s website.
"Consumer Guide" and "Expert Witness" columns
Christgau is perhaps best known for his "Consumer Guide" columns, which have been published more-or-less monthly since July 10, 1969, in the ''Village Voice'', as well as a brief period in '' Creem''. In its original format, each edition of the "Consumer Guide" consisted of approximately 20 single-paragraph album reviews, each given a letter grade ranging from A+ to E−. The reviews were later collected, expanded, and extensively revised in a three-volume book series, the first of which was published in 1981 as '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies''; it was followed by '' Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s'' (1990) and '' Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s'' (2000).
In his original grading system from 1969 to 1990, albums were given a grade ranging from A+ to E−. Under this system, Christgau generally considered a B+ or higher to be a personal recommendation. He noted that in practice, grades below a C− were rare. In 1990, Christgau changed the format of the "Consumer Guide" to focus more on the albums he liked. B+ records that Christgau deemed "unworthy of a full review" were mostly given brief comments and star marks ranging from three down to one, denoting an honorable mention", records which Christgau believed may be of interest to their own target audience. Lesser albums were filed under categories such as "Neither" (which may impress at first with "coherent craft or an arresting track or two", before failing to make an impression again) and "Duds" (which indicated bad records and were listed without further comment). Christgau did give full reviews and traditional grades to records he pans in an annual November "Turkey Shoot" column in ''The Village Voice'', until he left the newspaper in 2006.
In 2001, robertchristgau.com–an online archive of Christgau's "Consumer Guide" reviews and other writings from his career – was set up as a co-operative project between Christgau and longtime friend Tom Hull; the two had met in 1975 shortly after Hull queried Christgau as ''The Village Voice''s regional editor for St. Louis. The website was created after the September 11, 2001, attacks when Hull was stuck in New York while visiting from his native Wichita. While Christgau spent many nights preparing past ''Village Voice'' writings for the website, by 2002 much of the older "Consumer Guide" columns had been inputted by Hull and a small coterie of fans. According to Christgau, Hull is "a computer genius as well as an excellent and very knowledgeable music critic, but he'd never done much web site work. The design of the web site, especially its high searchability and small interest in graphics, are his idea of what a useful music site should be".
In December 2006, Christgau began writing his "Consumer Guide" columns for '' MSN Music'', initially appearing every other month, before switching to a monthly schedule in June 2007. On July 1, 2010, he announced in the introduction to his "Consumer Guide" column that the July 2010 installment would be the last on MSN. On November 22, he launched a blog on MSN, called "Expert Witness", which featured reviews only of albums that he had graded B+ or higher, since those albums "are the gut and backbone of my musical pleasure"; the writing of reviews for which are "so rewarding psychologically that I'm happy to do it at blogger's rates". He began corresponding with dedicated readers of the column, named as "The Witnesses" after the column. On September 20, 2013, Christgau announced in the comments section that "Expert Witness" would cease to be published by October 1, 2013, writing, "As I understand it, Microsoft is shutting down the entire MSN freelance arts operation at that time ..."
On September 10, 2014, Christgau debuted a new version of "Expert Witness" on '' Cuepoint'', an online music magazine published on the blogging platform Medium. In August 2015, he was hired by '' Vice'' to write the column for the magazine's music section, Noisey. In July 2019, the final edition of "Expert Witness" was published.
In September 2019, at the encouragement of friend and colleague Joe Levy, Christgau began publishing the newsletter "And It Don't Stop" on the newsletter-subscription platform Substack. Charging subscribers $5 per month, it has his monthly "Consumer Guide" column, podcast
A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...
s, and free weekly content like book reviews. He was skeptical of the platform at first: "Basically I told Joe that if I didn't have enough subscribers to pay what I made at Noisey by Christmas I was going to quit. I wasn't going to do it for less than that money. I had that many subscribers inside of three days." By May 2020, "And It Don't Stop" had more than 1,000 subscribers. Christgau was ambivalent about the platform at first, but has since found it "immensely gratifying" explaining that, "A man my age, who is still really intellectually active? It is tremendously flattering and gratifying that there are people who are ready to help support me."
Pazz & Jop
Between 1968 and 1970, Christgau submitted ballots in '' Jazz & Pop'' magazine's annual critics' poll. He selected Bob Dylan's '' John Wesley Harding'' (released late in 1967), The Who's '' Tommy'' (1969), and Randy Newman's '' 12 Songs'' (1970) as the best pop albums of their respective years, and Miles Davis's '' Bitches Brew'' (1970) as the best jazz album of its year. ''Jazz & Pop'' discontinued publication in 1971.
In 1971, Christgau inaugurated the annual Pazz & Jop music poll, named in tribute to ''Jazz & Pop''. The poll surveyed music critics on their favorite releases of the year. The poll results were published in the ''Village Voice'' every February after compiling "top ten" lists submitted by music critics across the nation. Throughout his career at the ''Voice'', every poll was accompanied by a lengthy Christgau essay analyzing the results and pondering the year's overall musical output. The ''Voice'' continued the feature after Christgau's dismissal. Although he no longer oversaw the poll, Christgau continued to vote and, since the 2015 poll, also contributed essays to the results.
"Dean's Lists"
Each year that Pazz & Jop has run, Christgau has created a personal list of his favorite releases called the "Dean's List". Only his top ten count toward his vote in the poll, but his full lists of favorites usually numbered far more than that. These lists–or at least Christgau's top tens–were typically published in ''The Village Voice'' along with the Pazz & Jop results. After Christgau was dismissed from the ''Voice'', he continued publishing his annual lists on his own website and at '' The Barnes & Noble Review''.
While Pazz & Jop's aggregate critics' poll are its main draw, Christgau's Deans' Lists are noteworthy in their own right. Henry Hauser from ''Consequence of Sound
''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television.
History
''Consequence of Sound'' was founded in Septem ...
'' said Christgau's "annual 'Pazz & Jop' poll has been a bona fide American institution. For music writers, his year-end essays and extensive 'Dean's List' are like watching the big ball drop in Times Square."
These are Christgau's choices for the number-one album of the year, including the point score he assigned for the poll. Pazz & Jop's rules provided that each item in a top ten could be allotted between 5 and 30 points, with all ten items totaling 100, allowing critics to weight certain albums more heavily if they chose to do so. In some years, he often gave an equal number of points to his first- and second-ranked albums, but they were nevertheless ranked as first and second, not as a tie for first. The list shows only his number-one picks.
Style and impact
"Christgau's blurbs", writes '' Slate'' music critic Jody Rosen, "are like no one else's–dense with ideas and allusions, first-person confessions and invective, highbrow references and slang". Rosen describes Christgau's writing as being "often maddening, always thought-provoking. ... With Pauline Kael, Christgau is arguably one of the two most important American mass-culture critics of the second half of the 20th century. ... All rock critics working today, at least the ones who want to do more than rewrite PR copy, are in some sense Christgauians." '' Spin'' magazine said in 2015, "You probably wouldn't be reading this publication if Robert Christgau didn't largely invent rock criticism as we know it."
Douglas Wolk said the earliest "Consumer Guide" columns were generally brief and detailed, but "within a few years ... he developed his particular gift for 'power, wit and economy', a phrase he used to describe the Ramones in a dead-on 37-word review of '' Leave Home''". In his opinion, the "Consumer Guide" reviews were "an enormous pleasure to read slowly, as writing, even if you have no particular interest in pop music... if you do happen to have more than a little interest in pop music, they're a treasure." While regarding the early columns as "a model of cogent, witty criticism", Dave Marsh in 1976 said "the tone of the writing is now snotty–it lacks compassion, not to mention empathy, with current rock."
Fans of Christgau's "Consumer Guide" like to share lines from their favorite reviews. Wolk wrote, " Sting wears his sexual resentment on his chord changes like a closet ' American Woman' fan" (from Christgau's review of the 1983 Police album '' Synchronicity''). "Calling Neil Tennant a bored wimp is like accusing Jackson Pollock of making a mess" (reviewing the 1987 Pet Shop Boys album '' Actually''); and " Mick Jagger should fold up his penis and go home" (in a review of Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
's 1980 album '' Dirty Mind'').
In 1978, Lou Reed recorded a tirade against Christgau and his column on the 1978 live album, '' Take No Prisoners'': "What does Robert Christgau do in bed? I mean, is he a toe fucker? ..Can you imagine working for a fucking year, and you get a B+ from some asshole in ''The Village Voice''?"[ - fan transcription of the ''Take No Prisoners'' album]
Christgau rated the album C+ and wrote in his review, "I thank Lou for pronouncing my name right." In December 1980, Christgau provoked angry responses from ''Voice'' readers when his column approvingly quoted his wife Carola Dibbell's reaction to the murder of John Lennon: "Why is it always Bobby Kennedy or John Lennon? Why isn't it Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
or Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
?" Similar criticism came from Sonic Youth in their song " Kill Yr Idols". Christgau responded by saying "Idolization is for rock stars, even rock stars manqué like these impotent bohos—critics just want a little respect. So if it's not too hypersensitive of me, I wasn't flattered to hear my name pronounced right, not on this particular title track."
Tastes and prejudices
Christgau has named Louis Armstrong, Thelonious Monk, Chuck Berry, the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
, and the New York Dolls
New York Dolls were an American rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground, the MC5, and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved ...
as being his top five artists of all time. In a 1998 obituary, he called Frank Sinatra "the greatest singer of the 20th century". He considers Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...
"probably favorite singer". In his 2000 ''Consumer Guide'' book, Christgau said his favorite rock album was either '' The Clash'' (1977) or ''New York Dolls
New York Dolls were an American rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground, the MC5, and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved ...
'' (1973), while his favorite record in general was Monk's 1958 '' Misterioso''. In July 2013, during an interview with '' Esquire'' magazine's Peter Gerstenzang, Christgau criticized the voters at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, saying that "they're pretty stupid" for not voting in the New York Dolls. When asked about Beatles albums, he said he most often listens to '' The Beatles' Second Album'', which he purchased in 1965, and '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''.
Wolk wrote: "When he says he's 'encyclopedic' about popular music, he means it. There are not a lot of white guys in their 60s waving the flag for Lil Wayne's '' Da Drought 3'', especially not in the same column as they wave the flag for a Willie Nelson/ Merle Haggard/ Ray Price trio album, an anthology of new Chinese pop, Vampire Weekend, and Wussy..." Christgau reflected in 2004: "Rock criticism was certainly more fun in the old days, no matter how cool the tyros opining for chump change in netzines like ''PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'' and '' Pitchfork'' think it is now."
In a broad sense, Christgau says he responds to qualities of "tone, spirit, ndmusic", disregarding, for instance, scholarly analysis of artists such as Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
. He readily admits to having prejudices and generally dislikes genres such as heavy metal, salsa, dance
Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
, art rock, progressive rock, bluegrass, gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
, Irish folk, jazz fusion, and classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...
. "I admire metal's integrity, brutality, and obsessiveness", Christgau wrote in 1986, "but I can't stand its delusions of grandeur, the way it apes and misapprehends reactionary notions of nobility". In a 2015 interview, he described heavy metal as "symphonic bombast without the intelligence and complexity, although there's a lot of virtuosity. ... That music is so masculine in a really retrograde way; I don't like that at all. It seems to me to have a very 19th-century notion of power." He said in 2018 that he rarely writes about jazz as it is "hard" to write about in an "impressionistic way", that he is "not at all well-schooled in the jazz albums of the '50s and '60s", and that he has neither the "language nor the frame of reference to write readily about them". This was even while critiquing jazz artists like Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, and Sonny Rollins; he said "finding the words involves either considerable effort or a stroke of luck". Christgau has also admitted to disliking the records of Jeff Buckley and Nina Simone, noting that the latter's classical background, "default gravity and depressive tendencies are qualities I'm seldom attracted to in any kind of art." Writing in a two-part feature on music critics for ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' in 1976, Dave Marsh bemoaned Christgau as a "classic, sad example" of how "many critics ... superimpos dtheir own, frequently arbitrary, standards upon performers." Marsh accused him of becoming "arrogant and humorless–the raves are reserved for jazz artists, while even the best rock is treated condescendingly unless it conforms to Christgau's passion for leftist politics (particularly feminism) and bohemian culture." Marsh named another prejudice of Christgau's to be " apolitical or middle-class performers" of rock music.
"Dean of American rock critics"
Christgau has been widely known as the "dean of American rock critics", a designation he originally gave to himself while slightly drunk at a press event for the 5th Dimension in the early 1970s. According to Rosen, "Christgau was in his late 20s at the time – not exactly an '' éminence grise''–so maybe it was the booze talking, or maybe he was just a very arrogant young man. In any case, as the years passed, the quip became a fact." When asked about it years later, Christgau said that the title "seemed to push people's buttons, so I stuck with it. There's obviously no official hierarchy within rock criticism–only real academies can do that. But if you mean to ask whether I think some rock critics are better than others, you're damn straight I do. Don't you?" "For a long time he's been called the 'dean of American rock critics'", wrote ''New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' literary critic Dwight Garner in 2015. "It's a line that started out as an offhanded joke. These days, few dispute it."
Personal life
Christgau married fellow critic and writer Carola Dibbell in 1974[ and they have an adopted daughter, Nina, born in ]Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
in 1986. He said that he grew up in a " born-again church" in Queens but has since become an atheist.
Christgau has been long-standing, albeit argumentative, friends with critics Tom Hull, Dave Marsh, Greil Marcus and the late Ellen Willis whom he dated from 1966 to 1969. He has mentored younger critics Ann Powers and Chuck Eddy.
Books
* ''Any Old Way You Choose It: Rock and Other Pop Music, 1967–1973'', Penguin Books
Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...
, 1973
* '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'', Ticknor & Fields, 1981
* '' Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s'', Pantheon Books, 1990
* ''Grown Up All Wrong: 75 Great Rock and Pop Artists from Vaudeville to Techno'', Harvard University Press, 1998
* '' Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s'', St. Martin's Griffin, 2000
* '' Going into the City: Portrait of a Critic as a Young Man'', Dey Street Books, 2015
* ''Is It Still Good to Ya? Fifty Years of Rock Criticism 1967–2017'', Duke University Press, 2018
* ''Book Reports: A Music Critic on His First Love, Which Was Reading'', Duke University Press, 2019
See also
* Album era
Notes
References
Citations
General bibliography
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
*
Yes, There Is a Rock-Critic Establishment (But Is That Bad for Rock?)
Users' Guide to the Consumer Guide
at '' MSN Music''
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christgau, Robert
1942 births
Living people
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
American atheists
American essayists
American former Christians
American male essayists
American memoirists
American music critics
American music journalists
American short story writers
Dartmouth College alumni
Flushing High School alumni
Journalists from Queens, New York
New York University faculty
People from Greenwich Village
Rock critics
Rolling Stone people
Sportswriters from New York (state)
The Village Voice people
Vice Media
Writers from Manhattan