Sara Marcus on Ellen Willis’s escape from the music ghetto (reviewing Out of the Vinyl Deeps in the Los Angeles Review of Books). Willis understood rock to be not the solid monolith its name might suggest, but rather a permeable pavilion through which currents of cultural change flow, and within which agglomerations of human desires gather. As we see throughout Vinyl Deeps, she was concerned … Continue reading Cherry Bomb
Nona Willis Aronowitz is a political and cultural writer based in New York, and an Associate Editor at Good Magazine, where she blogs regularly. She is also the editor of one of the rock critical events of the season, Out of the Vinyl Deeps: Ellen Willis on Rock Music. Willis-Aronowitz, in case you hadn’t figured it out, is also the daughter of Ellen Willis. Vinyl … Continue reading Rockcritics Podcast: Interview with Nona Willis Aronowitz
1) Carl Wilson’s “5 propositions and maxims that reading Out of the Vinyl Deeps made me think should guide more criticism today.” 2) Helena Fitzgerald’s Heroine: Ellen Willis on Rock Music Continue reading Two New Willis Reviews
I’ve been harping on a fair bit lately about Ellen Willis and Paul Nelson, thanks to the terrific recent books (Kevin Avery‘s Nelson bio/compilation comes out in the fall) which have revitalized, in particular, my interest in the period of time in which I first discovered rock criticism — the late ’70s and early ’80s. (Well, sort of. My brother Paul subscribed to Creem from … Continue reading More Half-formed Thoughts About Willis, Nelson, Early Eighties, Shipwrecks, Things Dying, etc.
available at the Ellen Willis Tumblr page. And the first demurral I’ve seen of Out of the Vinyl Deeps, from longtime rockcritics.com reader/inquisitor, Beppe Colli, over at his website, Clouds and Clocks. It’s not entirely clear to me what Beppe’s issues with Willis are, but this sentence might be a hint: “Reading this book, it immediately dawned on me that, though their styles are quite … Continue reading Full roundup of Willis Press Clippings…
“[Willis] never stressed much about coverage while writing her Rock, Etc. column, and especially in her writing that followed; she tracked every move of the Who, Bob Dylan, the Stones, Janis, and the Velvet Underground as she blatantly ignored others.” – Nona Willis Aronowitz, introduction to Out of the Vinyl Deeps: Ellen Willis on Rock Music “‘I get so many records,’ Paul said, ‘but I … Continue reading Willis and Nelson: anti-eclectics?
A sampling (not comprehensive, possibly more to come, etc.) of critical responses to Out of the Vinyl Deeps, the new Ellen Willis anthology, interjected on occasion with a few thoughts from yours truly as one possible way of overcoming the perpetual writers block which has thus far prevented me from laying down my own actual thoughts on the thing: Ken Tucker, Entertainment Weekly: “Willis writes … Continue reading Meme of the Week: Ellen Willis (I)
1) Everything is an Afterthought: The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson (edited by Kevin Avery). Available for pre-order. (See Kevin Avery’s journal here.) 2) Out of the Vinyl Deeps: Ellen Willis on Rock Music (edited by Nona Willis Aronowitz). Also available for pre-order. (More info about Willis and the book here.) Continue reading Two anthologies to watch out for
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