ethanmmc's review against another edition
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.25
A little uneven, but lots of gems.
nlkirch's review against another edition
5.0
Jessica Hopper wanted me personally to read The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic, and you, too. In the afterword of the 2021 edition, she notes how essential it is to create and consume media outside the culturally accepted norm. Female critics like Hopper provide a much-needed perspective on artists that would otherwise go undervalued. It is empowering to read reviews from a feminist view, and the reader uses their purchasing power to uplift the author.
Hopper puts pieces of herself in the reviews. We see her growth from fangirl to respected writer and her journey from Midwest suburbia to Chicago to Los Angeles and beyond. We see the music that shapes her worldview and the music that breaks its boundaries. Her path is both similar to her peers and uniquely her own. Hopper’s story could be yours, and that is what makes this collection powerful. She is a mentor through text.
Not every review is written with a feminist focal point. However, when her sharpened pen targets the masculine majority opinion, there is no mercy. No genre is safe: punk, country, rap, and rock. Hopper champions women forgotten and maligned. Her piece on Rolling Stone‘s editorial department highlighted those who blazed the path that Hopper would later trek. There’s enough meat for a Hidden Figures treatment of their story.
In both the afterword and throughout the collection, Hopper reaches out to women in all parts of the music industry. From fan to artist she says thank you, I hear you, keep being you. We need each other to build a better industry. If there’s no space for you in the pit, elbow your way in and stay there, and bring your squad.
https://soundgirls.org/review-of-the-first-collection-of-criticism-by-a-living-female-rock-critic/
Hopper puts pieces of herself in the reviews. We see her growth from fangirl to respected writer and her journey from Midwest suburbia to Chicago to Los Angeles and beyond. We see the music that shapes her worldview and the music that breaks its boundaries. Her path is both similar to her peers and uniquely her own. Hopper’s story could be yours, and that is what makes this collection powerful. She is a mentor through text.
Not every review is written with a feminist focal point. However, when her sharpened pen targets the masculine majority opinion, there is no mercy. No genre is safe: punk, country, rap, and rock. Hopper champions women forgotten and maligned. Her piece on Rolling Stone‘s editorial department highlighted those who blazed the path that Hopper would later trek. There’s enough meat for a Hidden Figures treatment of their story.
In both the afterword and throughout the collection, Hopper reaches out to women in all parts of the music industry. From fan to artist she says thank you, I hear you, keep being you. We need each other to build a better industry. If there’s no space for you in the pit, elbow your way in and stay there, and bring your squad.
https://soundgirls.org/review-of-the-first-collection-of-criticism-by-a-living-female-rock-critic/
justine014's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I stumbled upon Jessica Hopper’s essay “Emo: Where the Girls Aren’t” over a decade ago as an angsty teen scrolling a corner of Tumblr that was very much entrenched in the emo scene. I remember trying to shrug it off at as “too much of a downer,” as nearly all of the bands I worshipped at the time were dominated by men. But it continued to fester in the recesses of my mind, and as the years went on, I found myself drawn, mostly organically and occasionally intentionally, more and more to music created by women (or anyone who was not a man). Despite reading more of Jessica’s work over the years, I had nearly forgotten about this essay until I picked up this collection about a month ago, and reading it as an adult I actually don’t think it’s one of her stronger pieces. I found the feature on Warped Tour, which precedes it, to be more detailed and interesting.
Jessica Hopper is one of, if not the most, thoughtful and empathetic music critics I’ve read. I was engaged even with the works on artists who I don’t particularly follow or care about. It’s clear just how much she truly loves, and believes in, music as a force for and creator of community. I would recommend this to anyone who, like me, is a complete and absolute nerd who lives for understanding every inch of the music scenes they care about.
Jessica Hopper is one of, if not the most, thoughtful and empathetic music critics I’ve read. I was engaged even with the works on artists who I don’t particularly follow or care about. It’s clear just how much she truly loves, and believes in, music as a force for and creator of community. I would recommend this to anyone who, like me, is a complete and absolute nerd who lives for understanding every inch of the music scenes they care about.
emily_nelson's review against another edition
5.0
This should be required reading for anyone who wants to write about music, listen to music, talk about music, anything having to do with writing or talking about or experiencing music. Jessica Hopper writes with such precision and has that quality of all great music writers to use the exact word or phrase to nail an artist's sound that is just so satisfying to read. Furthermore, her writings on the business side of music, advertising, and the artifice and ambition of pop music are in-depth and fascinating. She writes not one, but three essays on Lana Del Rey, and by the time I finished I had changed my mind about hating LDR myself. As other reviewers (most famously Tavi Gevinson) have written, Hopper's writing makes music vital and reminds me why I listen to music and what it is we seek in listening. Highly highly HIGHLY recommend.
connorslyon's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
4.5
oohsarracuda's review against another edition
4.0
This book needed a better editor (multiple uses of "of" instead of "have" - "should of" "would of" - and "it's" instead of "its") but Hopper is such a good writer. Even when she's writing about things/people I could not care less about, I'm still into it, because she's such a good writer. Reading in bed, I laughed so hard at "tape-hiss horn of plenty Sebadoh" that I was afraid I'd wake my husband up.