The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic, by Jessica Hopper, 426 pgs
Much of the time, reading criticism of someone else's artistic work is pure drudgery, but this book is just the opposite. Jessica Hopper's glorious prose is witty, hyperbolic and aggressive--just like a rock critic should be. This book is essentially a collection of articles and interviews from the last twenty years of the author on a band circuit in Chicago, where she built her own career without any schooling or professional network--a monumental task for anyone in this field. She wrote her heart out for music, chronicling the rise of Chance the Rapper, lamenting the capitalist take-over of meaningful punk rock venues and applying feminist theory to outdated ideas of rock music--the lack of inclusion and tearing down the punk rock "boys" club--band by band. Particularly fascinating is her transcription of an interview with Jim Derogatis, a fellow music critic working at the Chicago Tribune, who details how his investigative work led to R. Kelly being prosecuted for sexual assault. Each essay is more or less a memoir of Hopper's fixation on music and how it helps her learn more about herself and ourselves. The great thing about reading music criticism is getting to listen to the music after you've read something--try to hear what Hopper is hearing--and in so doing, you become a more involved listener.
