Robert Thomas Christgau is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and 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. Christgau 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 critics 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. CNN senior writer Jamie Allen has called Christgau "the E. F. Hutton of the music world – when he talks, people listen."
Either/Or is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. Either/Or was recorded in several locations, mostly in Portland, Oregon – while Smith was still a member of Heatmiser – and was produced by Smith, Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf. Either/Or was released on February 25, 1997, on the Kill Rock Stars record label, following Heatmiser's dissolution. Book-ended by its two singles, "Speed Trials" and "Ballad of Big Nothing", Either/Or did not chart in the US, but was acclaimed by critics.
The Who by Numbers is the seventh studio album by English rock band the Who, released on 3 October 1975 in the United Kingdom through Polydor Records, and on 25 October 1975 in the United States by MCA Records. It was named the tenth-best album of the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll.
Brighten the Corners is the fourth studio album by American indie rock band Pavement, released on February 11, 1997 by Matador Records. The album received very positive reviews from critics.
Cornershop are an English indie rock band best known for their single "Brimful of Asha", originally released in 1997 and, in a remixed version, topping the UK chart in 1998. The band was formed in 1991 by Wolverhampton-born Tjinder Singh, his brother Avtar Singh, David Chambers (drums) and Ben Ayres, the first three having previously been members of Preston-based band General Havoc, who released one single in 1991. The band name originated from a stereotype referring to British Asians often owning corner shops. Their music is a fusion of Indian music, indie rock, alternative and electronic dance music.
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. As of June 2000, Bricks Are Heavy has sold 327,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen Soundscan.
Court and Spark is the sixth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. Released in January 1974, it infuses the folk rock style of her previous albums with jazz elements.
"Brimful of Asha" is a song by English alternative rock band Cornershop from their third album, When I Was Born for the 7th Time (1997). The recording originally reached number 60 on the UK Singles Chart in 1997. After a remixed version by Norman Cook became a radio and critical success, the song was re-released and reached number one on the UK chart and number 16 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The lyric is a tribute to Asha Bhosle.
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.
Call the Doctor is the second studio album by the American punk rock band Sleater-Kinney. It was released on March 25, 1996, by Chainsaw Records to critical acclaim.
I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One is the eighth studio album by the American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released on April 22, 1997, by Matador Records. It was produced by Roger Moutenot and recorded at House of David in Nashville, Tennessee. The album expands the guitar-based pop of its predecessor Electr-O-Pura to encompass a variety of other music genres, including bossa nova, krautrock, and electronic music. Most of the songs on the album deal with melancholy emotions and range from short and fragile ballads to long and open-ended dissonance.
Woman's Gotta Have It is the second album by Cornershop, released in 1995.
Handcream for a Generation is the fourth studio album to be recorded by the British rock band Cornershop. It was released on 1 April 2002 by Wiiija. Following the release of their third studio album When I Was Born for the 7th Time (1997), the band abstained from touring for the majority of 1998. During their hiatus, frontman Tjinder Singh and guitarist Ben Ayres worked as disc jockeys (DJs), formed the side project Clinton and released an album under that moniker while Singh was suffering from fatigue. Between mid-2000 and June 2001, Cornershop recorded their next album at West Orange Studios in Preston, Lancashire, and Eastcote Studios in Ladbroke Grove, London. Singh produced the album and Rob Swift co-produced two of the songs.
Hold On It Hurts is the 1994 debut album by Cornershop. It failed to reach commercial success, but went some way in helping the band find its niche in the following years.
Black Eye is the only full-length studio album by the English punk rock band Fluffy, released in 1996 by The Enclave. It was recorded at Metropolis Studios in London and produced by punk rock veteran Bill Price, who had recorded albums by Sex Pistols and The Clash. The album was recorded live in the studio and the music was not arranged by the producer in order to achieve a rough, live sound. The record contains loud punk songs that explore social issues such as sex and abuse.
Judy Sucks a Lemon for Breakfast is a 2009 studio album by British band Cornershop. It was their first album in seven years following 2002's Handcream for a Generation. The band were dropped by Beggars Banquet Records after disagreements about the promotion of their previous album, and Tjinder Singh explained the reasons for the seven-year gap before this album: "We needed to take a break from doing music. I didn't stop working but the climate didn't seem very fertile for what we were doing. It was really a case of waiting for a time when it was more receptive." The band also made a film in that time, which has yet to be released, and set up their own Ample Play record label. The band released the album independently through their website and in local shops.
Cornershop and the Double 'O' Groove Of... is a 2011 studio album by the British band Cornershop. It follows their 2009 album Judy Sucks a Lemon for Breakfast. The album had been six years in the making and is a collaboration album with Bubbley Kaur, a previously unrecorded Punjabi singer. The funds for its release were raised via Pledgemusic.
Elvis Sex-Change is a compilation album by the British indie rock band Cornershop, released in 1993. It compiles the band's first two EPs In the Days of Ford Cortina and Lock Stock & Double Barrel.
England Is a Garden is a studio album by British indie rock band Cornershop. It was released on 6 March 2020 under the band's own label, Ample Play Records.
