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4.61 AVERAGE
4.61 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
Everyone must read this set of essays.
Abdurraquib takes us through his experience as a Black man living in the United States, and yet takes the time to hold our hand and make it more palatable by combining his love of music. Incredibly, he sees music as a philosophy of life, and spends most essays breaking down a song or an album or a band, and relating each to his life. Every essay gave me something to ponder over.
As a music lover and someone who considers themself socially conscious, I didn't need to know much about this book to dive in and I firmly believe it should be required reading.
Abdurraquib takes us through his experience as a Black man living in the United States, and yet takes the time to hold our hand and make it more palatable by combining his love of music. Incredibly, he sees music as a philosophy of life, and spends most essays breaking down a song or an album or a band, and relating each to his life. Every essay gave me something to ponder over.
As a music lover and someone who considers themself socially conscious, I didn't need to know much about this book to dive in and I firmly believe it should be required reading.
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
one of the best collections of essays i've ever read. the audiobook was incredible and i don't even know how i went so long without reading this. god bless hanif abdurraqib and god bless carly rae jepsen
Hands down my favorite book I have read this year. Social commentary through popular culture, particularly music, in essay form. Hanif Abdurraqib is brilliant. I couldn’t put it down.
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I think this book of essays was beautifully written. The only reason why I didn't give it 5 stars was because it's in a lot of ways talking to people that love music and I didn't know a lot of the music he was talking about, so I felt like I couldn't appreciate it to its full extent. But I still got a lot of out of it, including a bunch of music recommendations. It's also given me a lot to reflect on, and would definitely benefit from a reread.
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Excellent essays/pieces. Love how deep they go. The subject matter is highly specific, so it could be off putting to some. But the main areas of focus are music, pop culture, racism, class, identity, trauma and mental health. I love the way the author writes too. Such beautiful ways of exploring connections among things and presenting personal viewpoints.
this book is brilliant, truly. had me from the first praise of carly rae jepsen. listened to the audio which was amazing because of the poetry style and delivery by the author, but i still find myself wanting a physical copy to annotate and reread my favorite chapters when i need them. this one is for the people who think deeply about the intersection of music, pop culture, and our emotional and lived realities. there is a chapter earlier on that caused a screeching halt in my mind- where he said that it is a lie that life is too short, that life is too long, too difficult for those dealing with grief and depression. hearing a person validate all the thoughts that had been swimming in my mind for 21 years was so thought provoking it had me wanting to write a substack think piece (still probably will).
This is my favourite non-fiction book I have read ever. It's a great in sight to the world of music, from punk to rap, from a point of view you don't hear often. It shows how race is present every where and with every action and how it also defines your actions and relationships.
It makes it relatable and so distant at the same time. It's amazing.
It has some of the best one liners and my copy is completely scribbled and underlined.
I cried several times. The fall out boy essay is one of the best love letters to a friend that I have ever seen, even if it doesn't sound like that a the beginning. It also gave me a brand new perspective on Carly Rae Jepsen. Also it features a essay on my favourite album from the Wonder Years.
I learned so many new things about music, about race, about perception, about friendship...
It's a must must read for everyone.
It makes it relatable and so distant at the same time. It's amazing.
It has some of the best one liners and my copy is completely scribbled and underlined.
I cried several times. The fall out boy essay is one of the best love letters to a friend that I have ever seen, even if it doesn't sound like that a the beginning. It also gave me a brand new perspective on Carly Rae Jepsen. Also it features a essay on my favourite album from the Wonder Years.
I learned so many new things about music, about race, about perception, about friendship...
It's a must must read for everyone.
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced