Saharan musical traditions ancient and modern, in a region riven by conflict.

In I Dreamed I Was a Very Clean Tramp, a punk icon issues a wailing rock memoir.

A pair of courageous new memoirs from married music makers.

From Channel Orange to a Syrian wedding party.

A year's worth of essential listening.

Das Racist may be gone, but they shouldn't be forgotten soon.

David Byrne looks back on a life turning questions into ecstacy -- and Jonathan Lethem unpacks the Talking Heads' signature work of nervous transport.

In Michael Chabon's new novel, a record store in a troubled bohemia proves a setting as fantastic as any in the author's recent work.

A new study grapples with the long, complex legacy of blackface minstrelsy in performance.

Fiona Apple can be hard to like. Love is a different matter.

Before the era of the phonograph and radio, Americans were opening their ears.

"Outlaw country" singer-songwriter Todd Snider's storytelling talent is its own religion.

How a pair of best friends from Cincinnati are leading the best band in America.

Etta James's voice was a great beauty -- but she never forgot how to play rough.

Robert Christgau's annual rundown of the year's best in pop music.

Looking ahead sometimes means looking back.

Can a wordsmith read his way to comprehension of the global financial mess?

Two of rock's greatest critics, and why they moved on.

Arrogance—and mastery—in the rhymes of Jay-Z and Kanye West.

Mining the past for musical pleasures that offer more than than nostalgia.

Four new books explore the nexus of business, crime, and the making of popular music.

Behind Lady Gaga's postmodern spectacle, a voice of surprising power.

A new reissue of early recordings reveals a heartbreaking work of sibling genius.

The Southern songcraft of the Drive-By Truckers keeps a steady hand on the wheel. Robert Christgau listens to Go-Go Boots.

Robert Christgau gets moved by Swedish pop star Robyn's infectious beats and pugnacious lyrics.

The year in pop music: not momentous, so it happens, but still expanding.

A critic's rundown of a year in pop music.

A visit to Dakar in pursuit of Senegal's musical treasures.

Why the world needs to know about Brazil's mad musical genius, Tom Zé.

Four biographies of rock'n'roll greats try to place music legend in the world of documentable fact.