Courtney E. Smith

Four stars, if only because it is the ONLY book I've seen written on this particular subject. However, I found a lot of the ideas regarding girls and women rather dated. It felt a bit like window into 90's culture regarding feminism with some music thrown in at times. Not terrible, but it just feels dated. Music is of course a quickly moving and youth oriented art form but it did make it rather hard to read at times in the wake of Me Too and a lot of contemporary politics, especially given artists who have avoided politics like Taylor Swift have continued to dominate the music landscape while more politically outspoken female artists haven't. Also, you might want to avoid if the Smiths are your favorite band or if your more of a Stones girl than the Beatles (and no mention of the Dead?!):).… (mehr)

I'm a self-proclaimed music snob just like Courtney E. Smith and I've NEVER met another girl as into music as me so I was instantly drawn to this book when it popped up as a recommendation by Amazon while looking for - you guessed it - music. It was a quick and easy read with a few moments of head nodding but, most of the time, I felt a generation gap between me and the author or maybe it was really an experiential gap since the author and I are less than 10 years apart in age. I've never worked for MTV, lived in New York City, or slept with a guy in a band. I'm probably the only music snob I know whereas the author is a music snob among a world of music snobs. Instead of sitting down with my new best friend, I felt a little like I was on the outside looking in. I really wanted more and just didn't find it but I definitely found something I'd never found before - a girl as into music as me.… (mehr)