I had a feeling I was going to like this book – and the Almost Famous references were two of many immediate indicators. Right after the Table of Contents is the quote where William Miller reminds Penny Lane that he is “THE ENEMY” and the Lester Bangs quote, which probably launched (or deterred!) many music journalists, is on page 113: “You have to make your reputation on being honest and unmerciful.” While one could write these references off as being obvious, I found them inspirational because they solidified that Mike Hilleary’s book, On the Record, would be helpful to me in some way (more on that later). Additionally, the fact that two of my favorite music writers – Rob Sheffield and Chuck Klosterman – are part of the cast of characters is another reason I picked up a book written about two of my favorite things: music and journalism. In the Acknowledgements the author states, “music literally changed my life” Mine too.
Hilleary introduces his book by pointing out something important that a lot of people probably don’t realize about writers: we are alone a lot. Writing, as great as it is, means you are by yourself most of the time. You sit down to write an article, bio, profile, critique, etc. and next thing you know you’ve been on your own for hours. So it makes sense that Hilleary “needed to connect, to actually talk to, identify with, and share a real conversation with others about this job, this life, and find out what being a music journalist meant to someone else.” I hear you.
He acknowledges that when he first started writing On the Record, he didn’t know what it was going to be which was the same for me with Wookie Is Not His Real Name. “I was just enjoying the fact that people whose work I admired were messaging me back with equal enthusiasm…That connection that I was craving was taking shape.” He adds that he “likes to think of this book as a massive roundtable discussion.” There’s nothing like a group of writers, who are also music fans, talking about writing and music. Those conversations can change the world.
In the Bylines chapter, Hilleary introduces the full cast of characters and the list is beyond impressive. Magazine editors and contributors (Rolling Stone, SPIN, Pitchfork, New York Times Magazine, Fader, The New Yorker), book authors (Jessica Hopper, Sheffield, Klosterman), writing professors, and freelance writers – who mostly live, write, and teach in New York City. Reading what these people recall about how music shaped them, how writing became their profession, and how they made writing about music a career is fascinating – especially since I can relate to so much of it on a smaller level. As Hilleary points out, “Music journalism is a simple marriage of combined interests: a love of music and a love of writing. The love of music almost always comes first. Its access is easier, and its effects are much more immediate. An appreciation and love of writing takes more time, requiring a skill set that has to be taught and developed.”
When the writers discuss their childhoods, I could not help but think of mine and Fleet of course. Lizzy Goodman talks about how she’s been writing in journals since she was five years old which is exactly what I see with Fleet. She also says that being able to sit down and tell a reader exactly what she means is a “great relief on an existential level.” Amanda Petrusich recalls working for The New York Times and learning “the importance of writing one really good, really sharp descriptive line.” Reading this book was like going back to my middle and high school memories when I spent hours reading and writing about music – just for me. It stirred something up in my soul to learn that others were doing the same thing.
The Interviews chapter is one of my favorites because the writers talk about the differences between a reporter and a journalist and what it takes to get the quotes you want from a subject – all of which touches on such a significant part of my work over the last 17 years. Adds T. Cole Rachel, “I love interviewing people. I love talking with people about where they’re from and how they started and why they make what they make.” Me too – it’s one of the most fascinating aspects of the job. Allana Kaplan says, “I want to know what prompted them to create what they do best” which highlights why some writers get into this business in the first place – curiosity. Wanting to know information is the very essence of journalism! One of my favorite quotes from this chapter is from Andy Greene: “I’ve had people tell me they’ll talk to me if they get copy approval and I’ll be like, ‘What are you talking about? That’s not happening.’” I love this because that’s the kind of nonsense I’ve had to deal with my entire career!
An aspect of the book that is disconcerting is the idea that musicians don’t need writers anymore because they can tell their own story and control their own narratives via social media. Although that is true to a degree, I strongly believe that people still want to learn about artists, bands, and the music they create from the perspective of others. Emily J. Lordi adds that “often what a critic says about a work is more interesting than what an artist might say because they place it in a context.” Clearly social media has changed the game in terms of musicians having a platform that cuts out journalists if they want, but the public does not always want to read the curated, insistently formulated idea of who someone is created by their own PR people.
In the Criticism chapter, Hilleary discusses how music critics “are contributing to a conversation about what that artist or event means in the cultural landscape’s past, present, and potential future.” He also makes an extremely important point about how “critical music writing is thriving in its modern form because it’s no longer just about the music but also what it is playing parallel to in the wider world.” Investigative criticism– which is a term I had never heard before reading this book (thank you Jim DeRogatis) – is really what most people are looking for because it entails backing up your opinion with actual “context, evidence, and insight.” The idea is letting the review articulate what the reader can’t. Another excellent point made in this chapter is how the role of the music critic has changed because everyone has access to new music at the same time. Gone are the days of reading an album review and deciding to buy it based on that review. Anyone can listen to anything via iTunes, Spotify, social media, etc. It doesn’t matter if you were raised in a town with a record store or not (I can’t imagine) because now, as stated by Ryan Dombal, “you can just assume the reader can listen to what you’re writing about.”
One of the most fascinating aspects of writing about music is when you have to write about a band you don’t love and a big part of the review is taking into consideration the type of people a particular band attracts. Klosterman uses Insane Clown Posse and the Grateful Dead as examples because those bands tend to have “a greater emphasis on the ancillary culture than the content of what the band is producing.” So true. Even though I love Lzzy Hale, I probably won’t see Halestorm live because the people who go to the shows are way too intense.
Regardless of the type of writing, keeping the audience in mind is vital. Adds Jillian Mapes, “When I review a record, I’m less interested in the really technical. I’m more interested in how music works for the people who are listening to it.” And that goes for print and digital – both of which continue to be important regarding music and pop culture. The author points out that “print has essentially become the publishing equivalent of vinyl.” Since I graduated from college, I’ve been told that print media was going away and, 17 years later, that’s still not the case – especially with local publications. Mark Richardson makes the best point about this: “there’s been nothing online that competes with a magazine cover in terms of impact. It just doesn’t have a digital equivalent.” Exactly. And Wendy Lynch Redfern adds, “you’re not going to find a webpage in your attic in fifty years.” Another issue with online writing (and therefore a reason print still matters) is, as stated by Eric T. Miller, “it’s always a rush to be first, not a rush to be right.” There’s something to be said about breaking the story but not at the expense of writing the best piece you possibly can.
In the Why Music Matters chapter, Hilleary explains that music journalists have an intrinsic yearn to know who, what, when, where, and why a piece of music was created. He also says that that “whether you’re in love, had your heart broken, feel lost, confused, confident, empowered, have deep questions pertaining to your identity, the world, and where you’re supposed to fit into it, there’s going to be a song that can successfully tap into and reflect what you’re feeling in ways maybe you hadn’t thought about before.” No truer words. Music opens up cultures and doors and provides emotional connections for people. Adds Gabriela Tully Claymore, “discovering new music could turn my who day around.” I totally agree. Music builds bridges, allows you to get to know someone, helps you find your place and your people, and relate to the world. It’s everything and every single person quoted in this book feels that. I feel that.
Quotes from the author:
“Music is one of those few art forms that embeds itself in memory.”
“That discovery becomes yet another place marker, a pushpin, for the events of your life to latch on to like a homing beacon.”
“Music journalists simply look back at their [starting points] with a different perspective, an origin story to something more.”
“Music, like any other art form, comes with context. A song, an album, is always framed by the artist that made it. Influence. Intent. Process.”
Carvell Wallace: “Music is a response to the world.”
“Learning how to observe is a lifelong art.”
Jayson Greene: “I don’t know how to really be without writing. I require writing to exist.”
“Writing is reading and reading is writing. I don’t separate the two of them. I don’t really read books. I read and annotate them.” (Exactly what I was doing as I was reading this quote).
“I think that good profile journalism is very much about – without exhaustively noting a bunch of trivial details – putting someone into a scene where they feel like they’re there too. I can remember really great profiles that I’ve read and felt very much along for the ride. I think that’s the key phrase.”
Amanda Petrusich: “Sitting down with all this stuff you’ve gathered – information or impressions or notes or quotes or observations – and finding a way to synthesize that grist into a cohesive, coherent narrative that might mean something to somebody else…It’s such a privilege, and I love doing it so much.”
“Music journalism combined the two things that I really loved, reading and records. As a kid, I remember devouring SPIN and Rolling Stone and just thinking, “I can’t believe people get to do this for a living.” (I did the exact same thing as a kid).
Rob Sheffield: “It’s no coincidence that the golden time for music writing is right now and most of my favorite writers ever are ones who are doing it now.”
Christian Hoard: “There is a symbiotic relationship between the music and learning about the person that made it.”
“Hopefully people still see the value of having trained professionals write about music. I think it’s really important. We as an industry have to make sure we’re not ever just doing people’s PR. That’s not our job.”
Ryan Dombal: “With reviews, it’s more like you’re teaching other people. But when I interview people for a feature, I often feel like I’m enriching myself. With a reported feature story, you don’t have to know everything about a person or subject before you start to write it. That’s kind of the point – learning.”
“It’s funny, being a journalist gives you this license to ask.”
Chuck Klosterman: “My perspective was always that music criticism is for people who like music so much that they enjoy thinking about it, even when they’re not actively listening to it.”
“I want to be clear, I want to be interesting, and I want to be entertaining.” (YES!)
“What you’re really doing when you’re reviewing a record or reviewing a song is you are literally trying to translate an emotional experience into letters and sentences.”
Joe DeRogatis: “The core concepts of storytelling and affecting people with the power of words and criticism, no matter how they are delivered…those are really important.”
“I think that this stuff – journalism, criticism – are too important not to endure…we can’t imagine not doing it.”
Craig Jenkins: “I wouldn’t necessarily recommend [writing as a career] to everyone, but for the people who are interested, they need to be fearless and be constantly learning how to change.”
Lizzy Goodman: “I want to write culture pieces that often have to do with musicians because music is the lens through which I view the changing shape of culture.”
Steven Hyden: “I want people to come to me because they like what I’m doing and feel like they can trust my voice.”
Ben Ratliff: “My assumption is that there will be some use and value for patient, clear, and discerning writing. That won’t completely go away.”
“Having been in journalism for a while you see people make predictions about what the future is going to be and they end up being totally wrong.”
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