Still Relevant, Revelatory, and Reminiscent 20 Years OnFollowing Blair Tindall’s recent passing, I was reminded of my plan to take a second read through this book, and I’m pleased to say that the reasons why it was an important read have stood the test of time even 20 years after its initial publication.Tindall’s unvarnished point of view on the ins and outs on the life of a freelance musician offer one of the more forthright accounts of the less dreamy aspects of working in classical music, and despite the sensationalization of her depictions of a life fueled by sex, alcohol and passion for the work and those who do it, one of the most important parts of this book has always been her recounting of the history and rise and fall of classical music’s cultural caché in the twentieth century as well as the realities of living that path.The point of the book is not really now, nor has it ever really been, that she used sexual relationships to get work in the industry (she did, and yes, that is a real thing that happens in the industry despite some of the Pollyanna-ish and prudish protests from those in it) and certainly not that those choices somehow hindered her career (she enjoyed opportunities that most freelancers would die for despite those choices precisely because of her extraordinary ability, and making or not making them really wouldn’t have improved those odds at all): the more important point of the story is that the industry itself is a fantasy fed by the very people it exploits and those who benefit from that exploitation. Like her front tooth, it is and always has been rotten from the inside.As a musician who began my path as a classical music freelancer twenty years after she did, it’s incredible and incredibly sad how on-point her perspective is and how her perspective has been dismissed in the years following this book’s release. The history she traces of the changes in live performance, recording, audience engagement, and marketing are finely focused and have remained precisely on point.The excrescent opinions that were blathered about this work from the New York Times reviewer and other outlets that entirely and in many cases intentionally missed the point when it was first released changed the focus from the arts boardroom to her bedroom to everyone’s detriment, which more underlined her point than refuted it.I’m glad that despite the dismissals she endured following this book’s publication she found continued success from its creation. She deserves it for speaking what truth it contains, and I’m glad that it continues to stand as strong as it does with time. I wish that more people had the courage to look at what she has to say in the end of the book about the pitfalls of a musical career and her analysis for what could change.