The Music Library has more resources available than physical items. We’re highlighting some of our digital resources, and including information about them as told by our student employees.

Today’s digital resource is:

Rock’s Backpages

Archive of rock and pop music journalism from mainstream publications and niche magazines.

Here is what student manager Cole (class of 2021) had to say about Rock’s Backpages:

“Rock’s Backpages is an online archive of popular music journalism, from industry standards like Pitchfork and Rolling Stone, to more obscure and international publications, such as Stereo Review and Melbourne Weekly. Although the site catalogues a wide array of content (including reviews, letters, obituaries, book excerpts, press releases, columns, and more), the advanced search function makes it easy to filter by subject, author, original publication, and format.

My favorite use of the site is to read old reviews of albums and artists that I like, to get a sense of contemporary critical reception. In a 1980 review of U2’s debut album Boy, Paul Mory calls the group’s music “not radical, in many ways… traditionalist.” Seven years later, in a review of the band’s seminal album The Joshua Tree, Simon Reynolds writes that the band’s very existence is “at once radical and reactionary.” I find this not-conversation of radicality especially amusing considering the band’s current reputation among my generation as that dad-rock group whose 2014 album was forced upon anyone with an iPhone— an idea that would be humorously unfathomable for those critics writing in the 80s.

The Rock’s Backpages archive is the perfect tool to read music journalism from years past, uncolored by retrospection.”

And here is student assistant Alex’s (class of 2021) take on this resource:

“Rock’s Backpages is a fascinating resource and a deep dive into the views on musicians in their prime. If you have ever wondered what mainstream journalists thought of The Beatles in 1963 or AC/DC in 1975, this resource is right for you. You can use the “Free Articles” section on the left side of the screen under the resource’s Library to find an assortment of 1000s of articles on pop and rock stars through the ages. You can also easily search for any article you want to read and filter by artist, genre, publication, or writer. Rock and Pop music took the world by storm in the 20th century and you can read all about it as it happened with this amazing resource.”