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A review by nssutton
Mo' Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove by Ben Greenman, Questlove
5.0
The first book I loved in 2014. I was constantly stopping to listen to the music he referred to, and even then, I still don't feel like I did that proper justice. The book has an unorthodox style that became better developed the further into it you get, so don't let the memos and oddly bolded Q&A pages in the beginning hold you back from the rest. Once you hit the footnoted section, it's cake from there on out.
The classic celeb stories are wonderfully told - meeting Kiss on an elevator, forming The Roots, the house in Philly where almost everyone - even the pizza guy - became someone, hearing Alicia Keys for the first time, rollerskating with Prince. Actually, this whole memoir is just one big love letter to Prince, which was a wonderful surprise. The footnotes give you a perspective of Questlove outside of himself and the more recent stories are told in a moment in time snapshot that serves the overall story well.
But a feud with Tina Fey? My heart can't stand it.
I definitely have a new appreciation for Questlove after reading this, although in hindsight, I've adored him for so long. I found The Roots in high school, when I used to pick up CMJ magazine from at this little place around the corner from the YCMA I worked at. "You Got Me" was on one of the accompanying CDs and it found a home in my mix CD collection. Reading this memoir connected the dots between The Roots and The Fugees, who also hold a special place in the 7th grade corner of my heart, where we listened to Ready or Not non-stop at the weeklong basketball camp I followed my best friend to. And who hasn't enjoyed the collaboration between Jimmy Falloon and The Roots as they dominated late night?
So thanks for the stories, Questlove, and for getting me to brush off my old Neptunes playlists.
The classic celeb stories are wonderfully told - meeting Kiss on an elevator, forming The Roots, the house in Philly where almost everyone - even the pizza guy - became someone, hearing Alicia Keys for the first time, rollerskating with Prince. Actually, this whole memoir is just one big love letter to Prince, which was a wonderful surprise. The footnotes give you a perspective of Questlove outside of himself and the more recent stories are told in a moment in time snapshot that serves the overall story well.
But a feud with Tina Fey? My heart can't stand it.
I definitely have a new appreciation for Questlove after reading this, although in hindsight, I've adored him for so long. I found The Roots in high school, when I used to pick up CMJ magazine from at this little place around the corner from the YCMA I worked at. "You Got Me" was on one of the accompanying CDs and it found a home in my mix CD collection. Reading this memoir connected the dots between The Roots and The Fugees, who also hold a special place in the 7th grade corner of my heart, where we listened to Ready or Not non-stop at the weeklong basketball camp I followed my best friend to. And who hasn't enjoyed the collaboration between Jimmy Falloon and The Roots as they dominated late night?
So thanks for the stories, Questlove, and for getting me to brush off my old Neptunes playlists.