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A review by annieeditor
Out of the Vinyl Deeps: On Rock Music by Daphne Carr, Nona Willis Aronowitz, Ellen Willis, Sasha Frere-Jones, Evie Nagy
3.0
I like music, all kinds of music, but it's more in the vein of saying, "Oh, I really like this song," when it comes on the radio, but then five minutes later I can't remember what the song is called or who sung it. I only remember what it was I liked about the song.
So, I don't read a lot about music, a topic that produces endless amounts of material for the fanatics. Willis was obviously one of those fanatics, but I think what she was more interested in were the parts of music that stick with us than being an expert. Her writing reflects the culture of the seventies, and my favorite essays were the ones about music and feminism in that time period. It's history, but since it wasn't history to her when she wrote it, there's a vividness that makes her writing universal. Although at the same time, she does reference musicians who have been lost to posterity.
There was one very frustrating reference to a singer whose song "Night Vision" describes in such a way that I felt a strong need to hear, or to at least read the lyrics, only to find out that the singer never signed up with a record deal and it would be impossible for a non-music-expert-fanatic to find.
So, I don't read a lot about music, a topic that produces endless amounts of material for the fanatics. Willis was obviously one of those fanatics, but I think what she was more interested in were the parts of music that stick with us than being an expert. Her writing reflects the culture of the seventies, and my favorite essays were the ones about music and feminism in that time period. It's history, but since it wasn't history to her when she wrote it, there's a vividness that makes her writing universal. Although at the same time, she does reference musicians who have been lost to posterity.
There was one very frustrating reference to a singer whose song "Night Vision" describes in such a way that I felt a strong need to hear, or to at least read the lyrics, only to find out that the singer never signed up with a record deal and it would be impossible for a non-music-expert-fanatic to find.