Pretend we're dead The rise, fall, and resurrection of women in rock in the '90s

Review by Booklist Review

In the early 1990s, the glass ceiling of rock stardom appeared to have been smashed. The charts were packed with predominantly female bands like Hole, Belly, and Garbage. A decade later, the era looked less like a sea change than a blip. Where had all the women gone? Pearson implicates cultural and political factors, including media deregulation and radio-station consolidation. Progressive local stations championed female indie artists, but as the number of radio stations shrank, so, too, did the diversity of playlists. Another factor was the post 9/11 backlash against feminism in favor of a regressive traditionalism. Shirley Manson (Garbage) insists that after 9/11, "nonconformist women were taken off the radio." Pearson supports her arguments with a wealth of oral history, letting female artists tell a story of persistence, success, and a dispiriting withdrawal of industry support. Redemption comes in the form of '90s nostalgia. Olivia Rodrigo's young fans might have been confused by her recent opening act, the Breeders, but to Pearson, it represented the celebration of a vital and all-too-fleeting moment in rock history.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Pearson (Why Marianne Faithfull Matters), founder of the Women in Rock Oral History Project, provides a vibrant account of the golden age of women's rock music and the forces that capsized it. She traces how the growth of independent record labels, college radio, and an "inclusive" grunge movement in the 1990s set the stage for the rise of Liz Phair, Veruca Salt, and others who took ownership of their sexuality with provocative lyrics, and who used their platforms to further feminist causes. Yet by the end of the decade, the advent of corporate radio and political conservatism sparked by 9/11 spurred a return to traditional gender norms, with the "transgressive" feminism of '90s music replaced by a more "commercially viable" feminism that lent itself to banal pop and scantily clad stars. This type of nonthreatening feminism persists in today's popular music, Pearson argues, describing how it aligns with the interests of the music industry's "corporate overlords" to create a succession of interchangeable pop princesses. Pearson concludes with a hopeful call for a new generation of fans and musicians to revive the transgressive spirit of the '90s, and her stirring blend of oral history and sharp cultural insight opens a fascinating window into a dynamic chapter in music history. It's a valuable complement to Alison Fensterstock's How Women Made Music. (Feb.)

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

When music was no longer a man's world. Feminist musicians who either performed as solo artists or were part of high-profile bands played significant roles in the indie music scene that dominated the last decade of the 20th century. But nearly all female '90s rock luminaries, including Hole lead guitarist Courtney Love and Garbage singer/songwriter Shirley Manson, had largely faded from view by the early aughts. Writing from her perspective as an ex-indie-musician-turned-academic and director of the Women of Rock Oral History Project, Pearson offers insights into the women and forces that shaped the world of indie music. Much of her study takes the form of interviews with women who consciously broke gender stereotypes in their work. Some, like Manson, created edgy, "100 percent opinionated" personas; others, such as Liz Phair, wrote and sang explicit songs that addressed taboo subjects like female sexuality. Others whom the author did not interview, like Alanis Morisette, unabashedly raged against gender injustice. Regardless of how they approached their art, Pearson argues that these women revealed a deep consciousness of the misogyny that dominated the "boy's club" of rock until the advent of grunge in the early '90s. This movement, along with the more accepting environment of the pre-corporatized music industry, celebrated female musicians for their innovation. But a late-'90s media backlash that culminated with an "anti-feminist, nationalist sentiment" in the wake of 9/11 once again buried female musicians in obscurity. As probing as it is intelligent, Pearson's book will appeal to fans of '90s music and beyond. A refreshing and much-needed contribution to the male-dominated history of rock 'n' roll. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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