Courtney E. Smith is the author of the forthcoming RECORD COLLECTING FOR GIRLS: UNLEASHING YOUR INNER MUSIC NERD, ONE ALBUM AT A TIME. It is an exciting debut from a fresh voice in music writing (Mariner Paperback Original • September 6, 2011). In the tradition of Chuck Klosterman and Rob Sheffield—but from a female perspective—Smith tackles the music world in sharp, funny essays filled with her own edgy observations and relatable anecdotes.  

Cover of Record Collecting for Girls

Q: Your book is titled Record Collecting for Girls: Unleashing Your Inner Music Nerd, One Album at a Time. Is there a fundamental difference between how females and males collect music?

A: Record collecting is the same no matter what sex, age, or race you might be. I’m not even sure there’s a major difference in the way men and women relate to music. What I am sure of is that men have been doing an awful lot of the writing about music and that music books are largely marketed to men. And I wanted very much to do something that flew in the face of that standard.

Q: You are writing this book after 8 years at MTV. Can you elaborate on why you left and does it have anything to do with the type of programming the station seems to favor?

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