There Goes Gravity

April 21, 2014
During her 40 plus years as a music writer and columnist (New Musical Express, NY Post, Vanity Fair), Robinson has conducted a wealth of high-profile interviewsâPatti Smith, Led Zeppelin, Michael Jackson, Jay Z, Eminem. These immersive tales from the hotels and backstage rooms of many larger-than-life musicians form a fly-on-the-wall adventure through the last half century of music. Growing up the daughter of a judge in Manhattan, Robinson used to sneak out to hear Thelonious Monk at the Village Vanguard before ending up in the offices of her future husband, writer and music label insider Richard Robinson. At a time when the feminist movement was still in its infancy, Robinson established herself as part of a rarified circle of women who had truly free access. She had early success with interviews because, initially, she didn't see herself as a rock critic (often writing gossip about fashion) and was cautious to judge, leaving the drug exposes to others. Tellingly, although she was entertained by the likes of Jagger and enthrall by Led Zeppelin, when Robinson was in New York she would head straight to CBGB's to see Television and The New York Dolls, of whom she has been a longstanding champion. For Robinson, writing about the scene "felt like a âcalling'." Whether I was in a private plane with the Rolling Stones or standing in two inches of beerâ¦at CBGB'sâit was exactly where I wanted to be." Her excitement is palpable and will leave you wanting to put your lighter in the air.

Starred review from February 15, 2014
A lifetime of memories from classic rock's heyday by one of the finest rock journalists of her generation. It wouldn't be surprising if Cameron Crowe's misty-eyed classic Almost Famous comes to readers' minds as they troll through this book by longtime New York Post and Vanity Fair journalist Robinson. The author covers her career from joining the Rolling Stones on tour in 1969 to more recent profiles of megastars like Eminem, Kanye West and Lady Gaga. It's a fantastic collection of stories, partially due to the fact that Robinson is a top-notch writer and partly since she enjoyed completely unfettered access and the genuine friendship of figures ranging from John Lennon to Phil Spector. Most of the chapters cover major figures--David Bowie, Led Zeppelin and an elegiac remembrance of Michael Jackson, to name just a few--but Robinson also seems to have a foot in two worlds. While she jetted around the world with champagne in hand, she was also deeply embedded in the origins of the legendary New York City club CBGB. In its orbit, she bonded with gutter rats like the Ramones and introduced David Bowie to Lou Reed for the first time. There's also a bittersweet melancholy that underpins much of the book. On the recent Zeppelin reunion, she writes, "I didn't go. I prefer to remember them the way they were. It's been a long time. The song couldn't possibly be the same." On learning there's a "Joey Ramone Place" in the Bowery now, she recalls some lyrics by Bob Dylan: "They're selling postcards of the hanging." On punk rock: "Scenes aren't meant to last. The best of them sneak or burst into the consciousness of a few. They blow up into something they weren't to begin with. And then, they eventually burn out." All of these movements have been written about before, but the scope of Robinson's memoir lends it an extraordinary spirit. A backstage pass to the greatest circus of the 20th century.

COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 1, 2014
Journalist Robinson, currently a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, has four decades' worth of personal stories about the many rock 'n' roll stars she hung with and wrote about. She knew Mick Jagger before he got his teeth fixed, for example, and she colorfully details her times with rock soon-to-be-superstars David Bowie, Lou Reed, and such before moving on to her many years of interviews and meetings with music luminaries like Michael Jackson, Bono, Eminem, and Lady Gaga. Robinson has an astute memory, reel-to-reel party tapes, and even breakfast-order notes that captured the minutest aspects of her musical journey. The excerpts from her long interviews with, say, John Lennon, are fascinating and worth the price of the book; no worries that Robinson digresses and rambles here and there. Plenty of music fans will be more than ready for this circuitous, genial, and opinionated walk on the wild side.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

March 15, 2014

Pioneering music journalist Robinson (contributing editor, Vanity Fair) combined in-depth access to artists' inner circles, an uncanny ability to get in on the ground floor of hot new acts, and an outsider's perspective as a professional woman in the male-dominated world of rock to make her columns and interviews among the most influential of her generation. Here she collects behind-the-scenes stories with some of the greatest performers of the last several decades. From the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin to Eminem and Lady Gaga, each chapter is centered on a single artist or group. Readers should expect several dozen amusing cameos and digressions along the way, though. The focus may be on the artists, but it is Robinson's voice, straightforward and intimate, that makes this work stand out from the pack. VERDICT A particularly entertaining rock and roll memoir that will appeal to a wide audience. Highly recommended for music or cultural historians and fans of road diaries. [See Prepub Alert, 11/1/13.]--Neil Derksen, Pierce Cty. Lib. Syst., Tacoma

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2013

Having covered the rock scene for four decades, Vanity Fair contributing editor Robinson can tell us about introducing David Bowie and Lou Reed, discussing nail polish with tweener Michael Jackson, making sure that Elvis Costello got a record deal, and standing by as Led Zeppelin's manager pulled out a gun. Whoa!

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.