Scan barcode
Reviews tagging 'Racism'
Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop by Danyel Smith
4 reviews
aus10england's review against another edition
informative
2.75
Quite the undertaking of a book, the writing was hard for me to get into, but I liked learning about the lives of the divas mentioned! The author has a very unique insight.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Sexism
samanthamurk's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
5.0
This is such a great book. One I think i will have to reread. I would love a list of every song mentioned but i couldn’t find one, i did find a playlist made by the author: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5ZB4NiEucrrz45WpFDGO2x?si=Ou78RDZbSK-JAyoZbiQXAw
This whole book is beautifully written, inspiring and important! I did find the timeline difficult to follow at times, but i don’t think that took away from the book.
This whole book is beautifully written, inspiring and important! I did find the timeline difficult to follow at times, but i don’t think that took away from the book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Sexism
Minor: Domestic abuse
pun1sher's review
4.0
Damn, what a book.
If you're going to read Shine bright, come prepared. Keep your Spotify open and you headphones recharged, because you will need them.
Speaking on the social side, Shine bright is amazing. It's part memoir and part music history galore and Black history documentary. I think you should read it regardless of your skin color or your country of birth because this is the story of those who were overlooked for so long.
At the same time, the writing overflows with data. There is names and places and songs and dates I had no idea existed. It might be different for an American but God was I bugging. That was the worst part, because I wanted to go on but the data was frying my brain. I didn't know many of the singers and none of the producers. I got lost in between connections. If you're a music geek, this might be a 5 star read but I was struggling at times :/
If you're going to read Shine bright, come prepared. Keep your Spotify open and you headphones recharged, because you will need them.
Speaking on the social side, Shine bright is amazing. It's part memoir and part music history galore and Black history documentary. I think you should read it regardless of your skin color or your country of birth because this is the story of those who were overlooked for so long.
At the same time, the writing overflows with data. There is names and places and songs and dates I had no idea existed. It might be different for an American but God was I bugging. That was the worst part, because I wanted to go on but the data was frying my brain. I didn't know many of the singers and none of the producers. I got lost in between connections. If you're a music geek, this might be a 5 star read but I was struggling at times :/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs
simplybibliophiles's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
As a veteran music journalist, Danyel Smith has had (and still does have) an undeniable impact on the culture and music journalism as a whole. Her entire career has set a journalistic precedent that I’m not sure anyone else could meet. She has interviewed and written articles about some of the foremost artists across musical genres, mainly black and brown artists, of the last 60 years over her 30+ year career.
Can she write? Duh.
Does she have great taste in music? Duh.
Did this book require countless hours of writing, organizing, and fact-checking? Without a doubt.
Does she excel in providing several examples and giving context to the repeated erasure of Black musical artistry over the history of popular music? Yes.
When the synopsis says, “A weave of biography, criticism, and memoir,” did this necessarily work in practice? No.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Physical abuse
Minor: Addiction, Racism, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, and Suicide
More...