A Month on the Town

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. INTRODUCTION. Robert Christgau’s Greatest Hits: Volume III 1
4. PROLOGUE. Good to Ya, Not for Ya 9
5. I. History in the Making
6. Ten-Step Program for Growing Better Ears 19
7. Dionysus in Theory and Practice 19
8. B.E. A Dozen Moments in the Prehistory of Rock and Roll 27
9. Let’s Get Busy in Hawaiian 34
10. Rock Lyrics Are Poetry (Maybe) 42
11. “ We Have to Deal with It” 48
12. Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster 65
13. Not My Fault, Not My Problem 76
14. A Weekend in Paradise 81
15. Staying Alive 96
16. Afternoon of the Roar 100
17. Harry Smith Makes History 103
18. Getting Their Hands Dirty 107
19. A Month on the Town 111
20. A Month on the Town 121
21. What I Listen For in Music 130
22. II. A Great Tradition
23. Pops as Pop 135
24. Not So Misterioso 140
25. First Lady 149
26. Folksinger, Wordslinger, Start Me a Song 154
27. Caring the Hard Way 159
28. Like Ringing a Bell 161
29. Unnaturals 165
30. Black Elvis 172
31. Tough Love 176
32. The Excitement! The Terror! 181
33. Sister, Oh Sister 185
34. Two Pieces About the Ramones 190
35. Nevermore 196
36. A Long Short Story 200
37. The Go-Betweens 206
38. Tear the Sky Off the Mother 207
39. The World Is His Boudoir 208
40. Two Pieces About Aretha Franklin 209
41. Ain’t Dead Yet 220
42. How to Survive on an Apple Pie Diet 221
43. John Prine 225
44. III. Millennium
45. Music from a Desert Storm 231
46. Ghost Dance 238
47. The Moldy Peaches Slip You a Roofie 241
48. Attack of the Chickenshits 245
49. Facing Mecca 249
50. Three Pieces About M.I.A. 252
51. IV. From Which All Blessings Flow
52. Full Immersion with Suspect Tendencies 259
53. Fela and His Lessers 267
54. Vendant l’Afrique 270
55. Dakar in Gear 275
56. A God After Midnight 278
57. Franco de Mi Amor 279
58. Forty Years of History, Thirty Seconds of Joy 285
59. Tribulations of St. Joseph 289
60. Music from a Desert War 292
61. V. Postmodern Times
62. Growing by Degrees 301
63. The Slim Shady Essay 303
64. Career Opportunity 314
65. Good Morning Little School Girl 316
66. Master and Sacrament 319
67. The Commoner Queen 321
68. A Hot Little Weirdo 323
69. What’s Not to Like? 326
70. No Hope Radio 330
71. Rather Exhilarating 334
72. Old Master 342
73. Estudando Tom Zé 343
74. Gypsy Is His Autopilot 349
75. Triumph of the Id 353
76. Brag Like That 357
77. Paisley’s Progress 362
78. Smart and Smarter 367
79. The Many Reasons to Love Wussy 372
80. Hearing Her Pain 377
81. Firestarter 381
82. Monster Anthems 384
83. Dancing on Her Own 388
84. Three More Pieces About M.I.A. 393
85. The Unassumingest 400
86. VI. Got to Be Driftin’ Along
87. Who Knows It Feels It 407
88. Shape Shifter 411
89. The Most Gifted Artist of the Rock Era 414
90. Forever Old 416
91. Don’t Worry About Nothing 419
92. Sticking It in Their Ear 421
93. Sensualistic, Polytheistic 421
94. Index 425