Ink on the Tracks

Reviews / Votes

A remarkably wide-ranging collection of essays that stresses the extraordinary power of Rock and Roll to generate first-rate criticism and commentary. The essays are impressively eclectic, touching everything from the philosophy of Adorno to the poetics of liner notes. * Timothy Hampton, author of Bob Dylan, How the Songs Work * You may be drawn to particular entries in Rock and Roll Writing's extraordinary range of topics and approaches, and you should stay for this entire exemplary collection. Throughout the entire anthology, whether a discussion of Patti Smith's elegiac writings, a challenge to Adorno's disparagement of popular music, a deep and informed look at the Grateful Dead's digital life - it's truly impossible to do justice to the collection's diversity - Rock and Roll Writing proves that intellectual seriousness can inspire your relationship with the music you love. * Nina Goss, editor of Tearing the World Apart: Bob Dylan and the 21st Century (2017) and Dylan at Play (2011) * A stellar exploration of the multifarious connections between rock music and the written word, Rock and Roll Writing examines classic and more unexpected formats, offering fresh perspectives on crucial, contemporary issues. * Claude Chastagner, Professor of American Popular Culture, Universite Paul-Valery Montpellier 3, France * Editors McKeown and Grafe have produced a vigorous rock concert of a book, each essay a hit in its own way. This well-researched and lively volume enables readers, whether scholars or aficionados, to tune in to the peculiarly enlightening heterogeneity of writing about Rock and Roll. * Emily Taylor Merriman, Associate Director of the Writing Center, Amherst College, USA *