Is It Still Good to Ya?

Robert Christgau currently contributes a weekly record column to Noisey. In addition to four dozen Village Voice selections, Is It Still Good to Ya? collects pieces from the New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Spin, Billboard, and many other venues, including a hundred-word squib from the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. The most recent of Christgau's six previous books is the 2015 memoir Going into the City: Portrait of the Critic as a Young Man. He taught music history and writing at New York University from 2005 to 2016.

Introduction. Robert Christgau's Greatest Hits: Volume UUU  1
Prologue. Good to Ya, Not for Ya: Rock Criticism vs. the Guilty Pleasure  9
I. History in the Making
Ten-Step Program for Growing Better Ears  19
Dionysus in Theory and Practice  19
B.E.: A Dozen Moments in the Prehistory of Rock and Roll 27
Let's Get Busy in Hawaiian: A Hundred Years of Ragged Beats and Cheap Tunes  34
Rock Lyrics Are Poetry (Maybe)  42
"We Have to Deal With It": Punk England Report  48
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster: The Music Biz on a Joyride  65
Not My Fault, Not My Problem: Classic Rock  76
A Weekend in Paradise: Woodstock '94  81
Staying Alive: Postclassic Disco  96
Harry Smith Makes History: Anthology of American Folk Music  103
Getting Their Hands Dirty: Michael Azerrad's Our Band Could Be Your Life  107
A Month on the Town  111
U.S. and Them: Are American Pop (and Semi-Pop) Still Exceptional? And by the Way, Does That Make Them Better?  120
What I Listen for in Music  130
II. A Great Tradition
Pops as Pop: Louis Armstrong  135
Not So Misterioso: Thelonious Monk  140
First Lady of Song: Billie Holiday  149
Folksinger, Wordslinger, Start Me a Song: Woody Guthrie  154
Caring the Hard Way: Frank Sinatra: 1915-1998  159
Like Ringing a Bell: Chuck Berry: 1926-2017  161
Unnaturals: The Coasters with No Strings Attached  165
Black Elvis: Same Cooke  172
Tough Love: Etta James  176
The Excitement! The Terror!: Miles Davis's '70s  181
Sister, Oh Sister: Kate and Anna McGarrigle  185
Two Pieces About the Ramones:  190
1. Ramone
2. Road to Ruin
Nevermore: Nirvana  196
A Long Short Story: The Go-Betweens  200
Generation Gaps: The Spice Girls  204
Ooh, That Sound: The Backstreet Boys  206
Tear the Sky Off the Mother: 'N Sync  207
The World Is His Boudoir: Prince  208
Two Pieces About Aretha Franklin:  209
1. Queen of Pop
2. Familiar and Fabulous
Two Pieces About Bob Dylan:  214
1. Dylan Back: World Goes On
2. Secrets of the Sphinx
Ain't Dead Yet: Holy Modal Rounders  220
How to Survive on an Apple Pie Diet: John Prine  221
The Unflashiest: Willie Nelson  225
III. Millennium
Music from a Desert Storm  231
Ghost Dance  238
The Moldy Peaches Slip You a Roofie  241
Attack of the Chickenshits: Steve Earle  245
Facing Mecca: Youssou N'Dour  249
Three Pieces About M.I.A
1. Burning Bright
2. Quotations from Charmin M.I.A.
3. Right, the Record
IV. From Which All Blessings Flow
Full Immersion with Suspect Tendencies: Paul Simon's Graceland  259
Fela and His Lessers  267
Vendant l'Afrique  270
Dakar in Gear  275
A God After Midnight: Youssou N'Dour  278
Franco d Mi Amor  279
Forty Years of History, Thirty Seconds of Joy  285
Tribulations of St. Joseph: Ladysmith Black Mambazo  289
Music from a Desert War  292
V. Postmodern Times
Growing by Degrees: Kanye West  301
The Slim Shady Essay: Eminem  303
Career Opportunity: The Perceptionists  314
Good Morning Little School Girl: R. Kelly  316
Master and Sacrament: Buddy Guy  319
The Commoner Queen: Mary J. Blige  321
A Hot Little Weirdo: Shakira  323
What's Not to Like?: Norah Jones  326
No-Hope Radio: Radiohead  330
Rather Exhilarating: Sonic Youth  334
Adult Contemporary: Grant McLennan: 1958-2006  337
Titan. Polymath. Naturalist: Ray Charles: 1930-2004  338
He Got Us: James Brown: 1933-2006  339
Old Master: Bob Dylan  342
Estudando Tom Zé  343
Gypsy Is His Autopilot: Gogol Bordello  349
Triumph of the Id: Lil Wayne  353
Brag Like That: Jay-Z  357
Paisley's Progress: Brad Paisley  362
Smart and Smarter: Vampire Weekend  367
The Many Reasons to Love Wussy  372
Hearing Her Pain: Fiona Apple  377
Firestarter: Miranda Lambert  381
Monster Anthems: Lady Gaga  384
Dancing on Her Own: Robyn  388
Three More Pieces About M.I.A.:  393
1. Spread out, Reach High: M.I.A.'s Kala
2. Illygirl Steppin Up
3. Spelled Backwards It's "Aim"
The Unassumingest: Lori McKenna  400
VI. Got to Be Driftin' Along
Who Knows It Feels It: Bob Marley  407
Shape Shifter: David Bowie: 1947-2016  411
The Most Gifted Artist of the Rock Era: Prince: 1958-2016  414
Forever Old: Leonard Cohen: 1933-2016  416
Sticking It in Their Ear: Bob Dylan  419
Don't Worry About Nothing: Ornette Coleman  420
Sensualistic, Polytheistic: New York Dolls  421
Index  425