Robert Thomas Christgau is an American essayist and music journalist. One of the earliest professional rock critics, he spent 37 years as the chief music critic and senior editor for The Village Voice, during which time he created and oversaw the annual Pazz & Jop poll. He has also covered popular music for Esquire, Creem, Newsday, Playboy, Rolling Stone, Billboard, NPR, Blender, and MSN Music, and was a visiting arts teacher at New York University. Among the most revered and influential of music critics, he has been described by CNN senior writer Jamie Allen as "the E.F. Hutton of the music world – when he talks, people listen."
Bricks Are Heavy is the third studio album by American rock band L7, released on April 14, 1992 by Slash Records. The album peaked at number 160 on the US Billboard 200 and number one on the Heatseekers Albums chart.
Rust Never Sleeps is a live album by Canadian / American singer-songwriter Neil Young and American band Crazy Horse. It was released on June 22, 1979, by Reprise Records. Most of the album was recorded live, then overdubbed in the studio. Young used the phrase "rust never sleeps" as a concept for his tour with Crazy Horse to avoid artistic complacency and try more progressive, theatrical approaches to performing live.
Mint Records is a Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based independent record label founded in 1991, by friends and campus radio enthusiasts Randy Iwata and Bill Baker. Mint has put out over 150 releases, several of which have won Juno Awards.
Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper The Village Voice and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year absence from the Voice, each year from 1974 onward. The polls are tabulated from the submitted year-end top 10 lists of hundreds of music critics. It was named in acknowledgement of the defunct magazine Jazz & Pop, and adopted the ratings system used in that publication's annual critics poll.
Strong Persuader is the fifth studio album by American blues singer and guitarist Robert Cray. It was recorded by Cray at the Los Angeles studios Sage & Sound and Haywood's with producers Bruce Bromberg and Dennis Walker, before being released on November 17, 1986, by Mercury Records and Hightone Records. Strong Persuader became his mainstream breakthrough and by 1995 it had sold over two million copies. The record was later ranked #42 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest albums of the 80's.
Controversy is the fourth studio album by American recording artist Prince, released on October 14, 1981 by Warner Bros. Records. It was produced by Prince, written by him, and he also performed most of the instruments on its recording. Controversy reached number three on the Billboard R&B Albums chart and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It was voted the eighth best album of the year in the 1981 Pazz & Jop, an annual critics poll run by The Village Voice.
Wild Gift is the second studio album by American rock band X, released in March 1981 by Slash Records. It was very well received critically, and was voted the year's second best album in The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop poll. Wild Gift was later ranked at number 333 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Los Angeles is the debut studio album by American rock band X, released on April 26, 1980 by Slash Records. It was produced by ex-Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek and includes a cover of the 1967 Doors song "Soul Kitchen".
Let It Be is the third studio album by American rock band The Replacements. It was released on October 2, 1984 by Twin/Tone Records. A post-punk album with coming-of-age themes, Let It Be was recorded by the band after they had grown tired of playing loud and fast exclusively as on their 1983 Hootenanny album; the group decided to write songs that were, according to vocalist Paul Westerberg, "a little more sincere."
Buhlo͞one Mindstate is the third studio album by American hip hop group De La Soul. It was released on September 21, 1993, by Tommy Boy and was the group's last record to be produced with Prince Paul.
Sweet Old World is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams. It was released on August 25, 1992.
Lucinda Williams is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams. It was produced by Williams with Dusty Wakeman and Gurf Morlix, and released in 1988 by Rough Trade Records. An alternative country and roots rock record about the complexities of romantic relationships, Lucinda Williams was met with critical acclaim upon its release and has since been viewed as a leading work in the development of the Americana movement.
Trouble in Paradise is the seventh album by American composer Randy Newman. It spawned local anthem "I Love L.A.", and minor hit, "The Blues," a duet with Paul Simon.
Clem Snide is an alt-country band featuring Eef Barzelay, Brendan Fitzpatrick (bass) and Ben Martin (drums).
Illadelph Halflife is the third studio album by American hip hop band the Roots, released September 24, 1996 on Geffen Records. It features a tougher and broader sound than their previous album, Do You Want More?!!!??! (1995). The album also contains integration of programmed drums and guest contributions by R&B musicians such as Amel Larrieux and D'Angelo, as well as jazz musicians such as David Murray, Steve Coleman, Cassandra Wilson, Graham Haynes. In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums. In 2006, the album was selected as one of Hip Hop Connection's 100 Best Rap Albums from 1995 to 2005. The master tapes for the album were destroyed in a fire at the Universal Studios back lot in 2008.
And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out is the ninth studio album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released on February 22, 2000 by record label Matador. The album received positive reviews from critics.
The Moldy Peaches is the eponymous debut album by American indie rock band The Moldy Peaches. It was primarily recorded in a basement in Port Townsend, Washington and was released in 2001. The album has the dubious distinction of being released in the U.S. on September 11, 2001, the date of the attacks on the World Trade Center, and coincidentally containing the song "NYC's Like a Graveyard".
The Best Best of Fela Kuti is a 2-CD compilation album by Nigerian Afrobeat artist Fela Kuti, released in 1999 by MCA Records. It was issued in the United States in 2000 as part of a reissue series of Kuti's albums. The album was reissued as The Best of the Black President in 2009 by Knitting Factory Records and received universal acclaim from music critics. A companion 2-CD compilation, also released in 1999, was reissued in the U.S. in 2013 by Knitting Factory as The Best of the Black President 2.
Some Stupid With a Flare Gun is the fifth studio album by Cincinnati-based indie rock band Ass Ponys. It was released on April 11, 2000, on the Chicago-based indie label Checkered Past, and was produced by Brad Jones. The album's title is taken from a line in the Deep Purple song "Smoke on the Water." The album won "CD of the Year" in 2001 at the Cammy Awards.
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