A review by moodreader89
Fangirls: Scenes from Modern Music Culture by Hannah Ewens

informative reflective slow-paced

3.0

I am glad I finished it, but I almost DNF’d this book about half way through. I’m glad I read the last 100-150 pages. 

You know when you write or read an essay, and it becomes painfully clear the person turned in the first draft they came up with because the end of the paper makes clearer points than the intro and first paragraph did? Reading this felt like that. I don’t know what I necessarily expected this to be, but for the first 1/4 to 1/2 of the book I was getting information, but really not feeling compelled to continue. I don’t know if it’s because the first half covers bands and artists that I just have no interest in hearing about, that it was too cursory or shallow an analysis of the experiences for each category created (imo), or maybe the very dry writing structure that never really seemed to land on the point.  

I usually can engage with music critique, bios, and pop culture pieces that I don’t love, or have connection to, if the author’s style can keep me reading: it didn’t for most of it. Fan experience and the nostalgia of some of it does need to be documented but this was a struggle. The second half of the book really hit for me and I’m thinking it would be because the review/subjects shifted from male bands to female bands/artists and discussing the way the media, culture, fans and Artist are connected and each in turn impacts the other. It felt like the first draft thesis didn’t really come together until the end of the book. If it had been flipped in order, maybe it would be an entirely different read?