Hopper, music critic and former senior editor at Pitchfork, follows up her groundbreaking feminist treatise on the punk, independent, and mainstream music scenes of the past 20 years with this revised and expanded edition that hits just as hard. Historically, she argues, women have been ignored in the boys' club of studio producers, promoters, and record makers. These 55 pieces--covering a great variety of artists including Kim Gordon, Rickie Lee Jones, and Nicki Minaj--serve as a scorching critique of the endless hoops female musicians have had to jump through in the male-dominated music scene. In a 2015 Pitchfork review, pop-country star Kacey Musgraves is heralded for transcending the "bro-country" vibe pervasive at the Country Music Awards, while a 2018 profile of Cat Powers discusses how the artist's talent gets overshadowed by fans' obsession with her mental health. Essays on Fiona Apple, Liz Phair, and Joni Mitchell underscore the harsh criticism ambitious female performers constantly face ("The year Mitchell issued Blue, an album that would be a landmark in any artist's career, Rolling Stone named her 'Old Lady of the Year' "), but emphasize how, despite their unjust treatment by industry and critics, women continue to drown out the noise with their music. This fiery work is the literary equivalent of a maxed-out Marshall stack. Agent: Claudia Ballard, WME. (July)

In this re-release of her 2015 book, featuring new pieces and a foreword by fellow Chicago-native culture writer Samantha Irby, prolific and inimitable writer Hopper lays bare a storied career and a true gift for music journalism. From Chicago to L.A.; from Kendrick Lamar's tour bus to a London hotel room with Björk; from the 1990s punk scene to the false silver lining creativity seemed to offer in the Trump era, Hopper's writing spans decades and genres. The previously published pieces included here serve a poignant throughline: that music, no matter the time, place, or social climate, indelibly molds the human experience. Memorable interview subjects include Indigenous singer/songwriter Lido Pimienta; the women who took control of Rolling Stone in the 1970s; and Jim DeRogatis, the primary Chicago reporter on the alleged crimes of R. Kelly. Fans of Springsteen, Chance the Rapper, Rickie Lee Jones, Fleetwood Mac, Courtney Love, and so many more will meet their heroes in these pages. Hopper profiles M.I.A.'s Sri Lankan upbringing, the calculated and constant performance of Lady Gaga, and Janelle Monáe's Dirty Computer. Hopper is an artist whose curiosity about creativity has produced a stunning body of work, both in breadth and skill, and this is her lyrical, observant magnum opus.