'Great Expectations': Reflections of a Writer & Rock Critic.

'Great Expectations'. 

Autobiographical Reflections of a Writer and Rock Critic.

By Stephanie Lynne Thorburn

In her candid memoirs, writer and rock critic Stephanie Lynne Thorburn reflects on her mercurial youth, spent in the company of some evocative aficionados of the music and media industry. Lucid recollections of some classic debutante moments are juxtaposed with reflections on the role of both writing and popular music in ensuring freedom of expression in contemporary culture.

Writing My Lifeblood.

The necessity to write can be described in psychodynamic terms as the simple distinction between 'need' and 'want'. Writing for the compulsive author like myself conjures a vocabulary of belonging and longing; the writer belongs within and craves the solace of adequate self-expression, describing objects of desire and fantasy. This maxim is especially true of the rock critic, driven by a need to fulfil the basic instincts of the id, with the most celebrated rock ´n roll journalists seeking to re- define moments in the history of the musical revolution and iconography of the sixties, often type casting our most loved heroes into roles using some irresistible rhetoric’s- the ´heroes and heroin´, cultural folk legends, hyperbole and demoniacs.. Whilst my writing often richly fulfils the hunger of basic need, the irony still remains that a writer’s ego and pocket are subject to a ´survival of the fittest´ in an age where text is now often expected free at the point of delivery. Nevertheless, I cannot remain too philosophical about an activity like writing that for me is simply a primal passion.

Primal Passions- From the Rolling Stones to Bohemia.

Here in these autobiographical memoirs of my experiences as a music journalist, I have compiled a rock critic’s style blog that I hope will evoke the encounters I have enjoyed with some great characters and protagonists in the music industry, whilst reflecting too on a range of more sobering thoughts. From my perspective as a female writer, I am exploring my own approach to writing and creativity- I have also experienced first hand the economic and practical obstacles that need to be faced and overcome to succeed in this profession. My life journey and the reality I have known is a stark one, like avant-garde music it is neither instantly palatable, nor harmonic in conforming to rules have given reality. For me, writing is just about articulating the hermeneutics of everyday life.

Author Biography: Stephanie Lynne Thorburn.

Stephanie Lynne Thorburn is freelance writer, artist and Reiki master with an interest in holistic health. She writes features primarily focused on music and nascent areas of social science, including Sociology and Parapsychology. She holds an MA in Sociology: Qualitative Research from Goldsmiths College, London UK and has undertaken a range of vocational diplomas. She is a lifetime fellow of the Institute for Meridian Psychotherapy, (energy healing,) and is an advisor to the Journal of Anomalous Sciences.

Stephanie has freelanced extensively for press, especially Los Angeles Chronicle and PR-Inside.com. She contributes to a selection of official music sites and journals including Blues Matters and Record Collector. She worked in an organisational role on the Executive Committee of the London Screenwriters' Workshop from 2002-2004. Stephanie has a keen interest in sports, including snooker and cricket. Over time, Stephanie Lynne has authored a series of music related eBooks, notably ‘  Incendiary Soul’, a succinct biography of the Sales Brothers and ‘Blues Scholars’, a compendium eBook of her features on blues greats including Robert Johnson and John Lee Hooker. Ongoing works include a satirical text, ‘From Burlesque to Bohemia’ and her continuing postgraduate published works. She edits her own webzine ‘Nuance’.

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