Between 1981 and 2003, Arnold contributed to publications including Spin, Entertainment Weekly, the Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, and the Village Voice.
In 2000, SF Weekly columnist Dan Strachota wrote that "Arnold's writing usually contains three main items: fuzzy data, oversimplification, and half-assed reasoning," stating that her interest in music ended in 1994, coinciding with Kurt Cobain's suicide.
Both books were controversial, and Kiss This received negative reviews, with [6]Publishers Weekly writing that when her "informal, personal style" was "applied to larger topics about the cultural relevance of punk, for instance, Arnold's careless prose grows tedious.
If not for Arnold's access to such famous rockers as Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam and Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion, her book would be overwhelmed by her incoherent, self-contradictory arguments for and against contemporary punk.
In The Believer, Greil Marcus wrote: "Arnold is a wonderful writer: fearless, precise, full of doubt, never taking anything for granted.
[2][13] "Aroma of Gina Arnold" is the opening track of Trumans Water album Spasm Smash XXXOXOX Ox & Ass.
[14] Revolver Distribution's 1995 catalog and zine, Gym Teacher, featured a parody of "Fools Rush In", entitled "Cruel's Just In" by "Gianna Arnaud".