lola425's review against another edition
4.0
Once again, a woman's strong voice is buried under the din of the more well-known, popular male voices in the field. Willis' observations on music are interesting and I find myself wishing she had stuck with it, and more fully integrated her feminist sensibility into her rock writing. It is interesting to watch it develop. I almost wish that the anthology were arranged chronologically rather than thematically.
summsummsummer's review
challenging
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.0
i often think of the 60's and 70's music counter culture with a critical hindsight. that "i would have never fallen for all that bc, and i wouldve called out all that male chauvinist garbage" ands its refreshing to see that there were women who were saying the same thing at the time. while i dont agree w willis on a lot its refreshing to see a women face the dilemma of loving rock and roll while also critiquing it as a boys club and how women only fit in in if they serve the liberation of men, but still enjoying the music none the less. a lot of the essays are dense and it takes time to not only read but process which is difficult but very fun for music review and journalism. her critiques of david bowie are very funny bc it shows something that happens a lot in music, and that you just dont get it and its not for you. as a huge bowie fan i find her bemusement of ziggy stardust and his theatrics very funny. for a feminist writer there was a noticeable gap of women musicians she wrote on, mentioning herself that theyre werent many "good women in the scene" or something similar, it felt a little lazy bc there was a wealth of women in rock and roll she just didnt like them. but there were a wealth of reviews and essays and mentions of bob dylan. it did make me hate bob dylan tho. i just dont care about bob dylan.
lowellette's review against another edition
4.0
The last section of the book, The Sociologist, is superb. Unfortunately, EW spends too much time discussing the extremely obscure Miss Clawdy. Her preface to Trouble Girls: The Rolling Stone Book of Women in Rock was the most disappointing essay I may have ever read as its scope was so limited. Nonetheless, her thoughts on Dylan, The Who, and the last section more than make up for this problem. I am so glad I am now familiar with her work.
radballen's review against another edition
4.0
excellent rock criticism. so glad i got this for christmas!
clarehitchens's review
I liked this, although as with any collection of essays I liked some better than others. What I liked most was a look at the albums and artists we now consider classic from the perspective of someone hearing them in their time and who wasn't easily impressed. I'd like to read more of her feminist essays.
wrightfi's review
3.0
I found this book quite up and down structurally. Her stuff on Dylan and The Stones was great, I also loved the Woodstock piece and Jonie’s blue, but I felt like the quality of content was really up and down and didn’t always flow.
Whilst I liked a lot of Dylan, I found some of it repetitive- especially regarding discussions of his work post blonde on blonde and pre blood on tracks/desire. She restructured the same idea 3 or 4 times in her pieces. Which is fine and I wouldn’t notice in essays separated by years, but one after the other was quite obvious and thus is a problem with the editors as this book was compiled after her passing.
Whilst I liked a lot of Dylan, I found some of it repetitive- especially regarding discussions of his work post blonde on blonde and pre blood on tracks/desire. She restructured the same idea 3 or 4 times in her pieces. Which is fine and I wouldn’t notice in essays separated by years, but one after the other was quite obvious and thus is a problem with the editors as this book was compiled after her passing.
interrobang's review
4.0
I liked this so much that it just reminded me how much I usually hate reading music criticism.
From the intro: "Ellen would surely agree that we won't see a revival of revolutionary sentiment until we learn to make it fun. In that respect, Ellen, Emma Goldman, and Abbie Hoffman are part of a lost tradition - radicals of desire."
One great sentence: "Using other people's and other eras' forms, making sure we heard the innocence or the silliness or the melodrama, Midler communicated her need to love and be loved, but without stripping herself naked."
The end of an article about Grand Funk Railroad that seems prophetic: "The fragmentation of the rock audience is just one symptom of social and political developments that cut pretty deep; I doubt whether one person or one band, no matter how potent, can put it back together— not now, anyway. And when we're ready for the next cultural upheaval, the catalyst may not be teenagers— or even music."
From the intro: "Ellen would surely agree that we won't see a revival of revolutionary sentiment until we learn to make it fun. In that respect, Ellen, Emma Goldman, and Abbie Hoffman are part of a lost tradition - radicals of desire."
One great sentence: "Using other people's and other eras' forms, making sure we heard the innocence or the silliness or the melodrama, Midler communicated her need to love and be loved, but without stripping herself naked."
The end of an article about Grand Funk Railroad that seems prophetic: "The fragmentation of the rock audience is just one symptom of social and political developments that cut pretty deep; I doubt whether one person or one band, no matter how potent, can put it back together— not now, anyway. And when we're ready for the next cultural upheaval, the catalyst may not be teenagers— or even music."
jodiwilldare's review
5.0
If you care at all about Rock & Roll or Pop music you should read Out of the Vinyl Deeps: Ellen Willis on Rock Music. If you ever subscribed to Spin or Rolling Stone you should read Out of the Vinyl Deeps. If you ever searched for most of your adult-life for a smart, female perspective on being a Rock & Roll fan and all but gave up on it, you should read this book.
To say Out of the Vinyl Deeps changed my life sounds like hyperbole, but it’s not. I don’t listen to music the same way after reading Ellen Willis. And I definitely don’t read music criticism the same way.
read more.
To say Out of the Vinyl Deeps changed my life sounds like hyperbole, but it’s not. I don’t listen to music the same way after reading Ellen Willis. And I definitely don’t read music criticism the same way.
read more.