Music Is History
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-10-17 09:50:56
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Ahmir Questlove Thompson
- ISBN：1419751433
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Music Is History combines Questlove’s deep musical expertise with his curiosity about history， examining America over the past fifty years。
Focusing on the years 1971 to the present， Questlove finds the hidden connections in the American tapes- try， whether investigating how the blaxploitation era reshaped Black identity or considering the way disco took an assembly-line approach to Black genius。 And these critical inquiries are complemented by his own memories as a music fan， and the way his appetite for pop culture taught him about America。
A history of the last half-century and an intimate conversation with one of music’s most influential and original voices， Music Is History is a singular look at contemporary America。
Focusing on the years 1971 to the present， Questlove finds the hidden connections in the American tapes- try， whether investigating how the blaxploitation era reshaped Black identity or considering the way disco took an assembly-line approach to Black genius。 And these critical inquiries are complemented by his own memories as a music fan， and the way his appetite for pop culture taught him about America。
A history of the last half-century and an intimate conversation with one of music’s most influential and original voices， Music Is History is a singular look at contemporary America。
Reviews
Debby
，
I’m thrilled to have gotten early access to this fascinating and delightful book about connections between popular music and history。 Read my full review here。#MusicIsHistory #NetGalley #RBMedia I’m thrilled to have gotten early access to this fascinating and delightful book about connections between popular music and history。 Read my full review here。#MusicIsHistory #NetGalley #RBMedia 。。。more
Nette
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This book is for music lovers， historians， and anyone that enjoys a trip through memory lane。 Questlove is， of course， a talented artist and his storytelling is perfect。 I am so glad that he’s reading the book， audiobook version， because it makes it that more interesting。 We are lucky to have Questlove as a part of our history and this is definitely a book you will go back to because the gems he drops， you’ll have to go hear them again and see how different the song feels to you after he breaks This book is for music lovers， historians， and anyone that enjoys a trip through memory lane。 Questlove is， of course， a talented artist and his storytelling is perfect。 I am so glad that he’s reading the book， audiobook version， because it makes it that more interesting。 We are lucky to have Questlove as a part of our history and this is definitely a book you will go back to because the gems he drops， you’ll have to go hear them again and see how different the song feels to you after he breaks down its history。Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Abrams Books for allowing me to review。 。。。more
Kristine
，
Music is History by Questlove is a free NetGalley ebook that I read in early October。This book extends chronologically from 1971 into the present-day and is concerned with learning about music and history through associated meaningful events and experiences versus by rote， memorized， quantitative， testable facts。 Some of the news ticker events at the beginning of each chapter are like， “Oh， yeah， everybody knows when that happened，” while the actual body of the chapter （always related to music w Music is History by Questlove is a free NetGalley ebook that I read in early October。This book extends chronologically from 1971 into the present-day and is concerned with learning about music and history through associated meaningful events and experiences versus by rote， memorized， quantitative， testable facts。 Some of the news ticker events at the beginning of each chapter are like， “Oh， yeah， everybody knows when that happened，” while the actual body of the chapter （always related to music with nods to pop culture of the day， plus its implications unto the future） elicits a “Hmm， that’s new， tell me more about that。” And， boy howdy， does Questlove tell you more; though I assure you that his prose is descriptive in an in-depth sort of way， like a documentary film put into words， i。e。 with 1974 and the concept of Black Cool， 1976 and Stevie Wonder by way of “Sir Duke”， 1998 and OutKast， 1985 and Prince （though， with much love， I exuberantly refer to him as ‘Puh-RAY-unce’）， 1989 with Tears for Fears with the deaths of black men and women into 2020 & 2021 as a valid backbone。 。。。more
Ady
，
Questlove: “There are many nonparallel histories， messily intertwined， multiply interdependent， and they remind you that you can't learn one without the other， and also that anything you're seeing is also something you're not seeing。" I LOVED this book that reminds me that there is no history that is not documented in music。 Our history on this planet and our own personal history are both shaped by and documented by singers， songwriters， arrangers， and musicians。 Questlove speaks about this hist Questlove: “There are many nonparallel histories， messily intertwined， multiply interdependent， and they remind you that you can't learn one without the other， and also that anything you're seeing is also something you're not seeing。" I LOVED this book that reminds me that there is no history that is not documented in music。 Our history on this planet and our own personal history are both shaped by and documented by singers， songwriters， arrangers， and musicians。 Questlove speaks about this history passionately。 I cannot recommend this book enough。 I listened to an advanced copy on audiobook and it was terrific。 。。。more
Dan
，
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Abrams for an advanced copy of this musical history book。 Music is a reflection of the times。 Music also has the ability to be timeless。 You truly can't understand an era where momentous events occurred without understanding the culture that both added too and was in turn affected by events。 Ahmir Questlove Thompson in his latest tome Music is History has decided to cover the last 50 or so years of music， covering his time on this planet， one song a year， My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Abrams for an advanced copy of this musical history book。 Music is a reflection of the times。 Music also has the ability to be timeless。 You truly can't understand an era where momentous events occurred without understanding the culture that both added too and was in turn affected by events。 Ahmir Questlove Thompson in his latest tome Music is History has decided to cover the last 50 or so years of music， covering his time on this planet， one song a year， with many asides with a little history to give the song its place in history。 Being the same age， and yet culturally removed， I loved this book。 I have always loved music， creativity and history， and Questlove has done a wonderful job of mixing all three in his book。 Each chapter covers a year， until the 2000's， with a brief list of momentous events， a little biography of Questlove's life at the time， then a discourse on songs， artists， movements genres and more。 Grab some paper for you will be writing song titles and band names down。 Also included are playlists with various themes， from songs that were close to being perfect to best cover songs and more。 The writing is clear and concise with research featuring not just the music but what was going on in the world at the time。 As a reader I knew that Questlove was enjoying himself as he wrote， and that feeling was infectious。 I've been remiss in reading his other books， one that I will have to remedy。 Perfect for music lovers of any kind， of for people who need something in these continuing days of COVID to feel better。 Great reading。 Great tunes。 You can't go wrong。 。。。more
Joe
，
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review。 There are a lot of things to take away from this book， and the style it was written in reinforced one of them。 Questlove pushes the reader to think critically about history， to ask questions about history， and to work at a better understanding of history。 The style of writing made this book slower paced to get through， but that's meant as a compliment， although it may not seem like one。 Each chapter/year is dense with information I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review。 There are a lot of things to take away from this book， and the style it was written in reinforced one of them。 Questlove pushes the reader to think critically about history， to ask questions about history， and to work at a better understanding of history。 The style of writing made this book slower paced to get through， but that's meant as a compliment， although it may not seem like one。 Each chapter/year is dense with information and references， in addition to the ideas that Questlove presents。 Due to this density， I often found myself needing to set the book down and think through what I had just read instead of blasting through to the next page。 The history presented in the book demonstrates the push and pull between the granular and universal scales that we often view history through， although Questlove often falls more on the granular side of history， in particular for the stories of citizens whose stories are often looked over。 Presenting each year with a song that encapsulates the idea that encapsulates the year （although there isn't always a song。 Sometimes it's an album， sometimes it's an artist， sometimes it's a genre）， Questlove dives deep into the viewpoint of history and what we can and should take away from it。 As a society， we're becoming increasingly aware of the fact that our written history is leaving out a great deal of information and is painting specific people and groups in much more flattering ways than they perhaps deserve。 In the book， Questlove addresses this awareness， but presents it in a question， rather than a statement。 He then proceeds to provide a great deal of information as to the "why" of the question， and then leaves the reader to ponder the question on their own。 A lot of the information presented is intertwined with popular music in general， and music made by black artists more specifically。 To be honest， my knowledge of the artists and songs swung about 50/50。 Even then， the 50% that I would know was only by name - the reference didn't always conjure up a sound in my head。 That was an experience that was both frustrating and enlightening and I would assume， intentional。 Questlove is famous for being an extensive curator of music， and if I recognized all the songs and artists he mentioned， it would have been surprising。 I read under the assumption that Questlove was pushing the reader to seek out these songs/albums/artists on their own and develop a more thorough understanding of history by doing so。 I feel that history books should both answer questions for you and develop additional questions and curiosity as you read and finish the book。 Questlove's book certainly did so for me。 I finished the book thinking about who I would like to share it with， something that would likely be a goal of Questlove's - history is to be shared once you learn it。 。。。more
Shareca
，
I absolutely loved this self-reflected look into Culture with Music Is History by Questlove。 I absolutely love music， and this is really the best of all worlds。
Trish
，
Questlove writes about music as a part of American history， world history and his own personal history。 In doing so， he brings to life the years of his youth， the music of his life， and the world he has moved through。 This book will have you re-thinking how you were taught history， and how you absorb it。 As he says， there are many "nonparallel histories， messily intertwined， multiply interdependent， and they remind you that you can't learn one without the other， and also that anything you're see Questlove writes about music as a part of American history， world history and his own personal history。 In doing so， he brings to life the years of his youth， the music of his life， and the world he has moved through。 This book will have you re-thinking how you were taught history， and how you absorb it。 As he says， there are many "nonparallel histories， messily intertwined， multiply interdependent， and they remind you that you can't learn one without the other， and also that anything you're seeing is also something you're not seeing。" 。。。more
Martin Maenza
，
I was allowed early access to this title's galley in exchange for an honest review。As someone for whom music has played an important backdrop of my own life， I found it very fascinating to see Questlove talk about the intersections of music and history in his own life （from 1971 through 2001， and then a bit touching on the beyond of that point）。 His experiences as both a musician and educator， and just as a fan also， brought an interesting take on music history touchstones。 Of course， I totally I was allowed early access to this title's galley in exchange for an honest review。As someone for whom music has played an important backdrop of my own life， I found it very fascinating to see Questlove talk about the intersections of music and history in his own life （from 1971 through 2001， and then a bit touching on the beyond of that point）。 His experiences as both a musician and educator， and just as a fan also， brought an interesting take on music history touchstones。 Of course， I totally bond with him on his love of Prince， whom he refers to quite a bit。 There were plenty of songs and records I was familiar as well as plenty of those that I might have a passing acquaintance。 I liked the lists he also intersperses in the book as well。 It helped bring out some unique themes and linkages across the decades。All in all， this is one I definitely would recommend for music fans who have a broad music library of their own。 。。。more
Kendra
，
I loved this trippy， detailed， passionate book about Questlove's journey through music and major world events。 Every chapter offers fresh commentary on songs and artists and producers， noting connections I'd never known about and making a lot of songs make so much more sense。 I'd happily put music students of any genre in a classroom with Questlove and let him teach how music is history and how music history is an enormous ever-changing web of singers and songwriters and arrangers and experts in I loved this trippy， detailed， passionate book about Questlove's journey through music and major world events。 Every chapter offers fresh commentary on songs and artists and producers， noting connections I'd never known about and making a lot of songs make so much more sense。 I'd happily put music students of any genre in a classroom with Questlove and let him teach how music is history and how music history is an enormous ever-changing web of singers and songwriters and arrangers and experts in every single genre all contributing to sounds t hat transmit meaning。 。。。more
Vnunez-Ms_luv2read
，
Very intense book about music during particular years。 I love Questlove’s thoughts and feelings about each year and various things associated with it。 I aalways have enjoyed his writing， but this book in my opinion， is his bed。 Outstanding read。 Thanks to Netgalley， the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review。 Receiving this book in this manner had no bearing on this review。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Music Is History
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Music Is History&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Music Is History&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0