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4.61 AVERAGE
4.61 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
Aside from the first essay that deliriously glazes Chance The Rapper this is a phenomenally written collection
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
You can really tell this man is a poet, based on both the way he writes and the way he narrates.
Beautiful, evocative writing; at once personal and universal. I loved the way he used music as a way to process his own feelings or life events. He is a very talented writer and provides a very wise and interesting lens through which to consider pop culture and recent history. I can't wait to read more from him.
I do feel that there were maybe a few too many essays in this collection. Maybe I was just listening too fast, though. Also, though I appreciate his poetic writing style, I didn't always love having it recited straight into my ears. Some of the run-on sentences made my brain overflow lol. Definitely a me problem, but still affected my experience.
Beautiful, evocative writing; at once personal and universal. I loved the way he used music as a way to process his own feelings or life events. He is a very talented writer and provides a very wise and interesting lens through which to consider pop culture and recent history. I can't wait to read more from him.
I do feel that there were maybe a few too many essays in this collection. Maybe I was just listening too fast, though. Also, though I appreciate his poetic writing style, I didn't always love having it recited straight into my ears. Some of the run-on sentences made my brain overflow lol. Definitely a me problem, but still affected my experience.
Important, thought provoking, more relevant than ever. Also the essay on Prince is perfect.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
A beautiful collection of essays on a wide range of topics but mostly centring on music, culture, living in a Black body in America and grief.
As someone who was heavily into third-wave emo music during my adolescence, I especially appreciated all of the essays about that era. Abdurraqib’s decision to critique the toxic masculinity of third-wave emo through the lens of Cute Is What We Aim For in “The Return of the Loneliest Boys in Town” couldn’t have been more on the nose. “Curse of Curves” was beloved by me in the mid 2000s, and divorcing myself from that nostalgia after learning about the lead singer’s support for Brock Turner, and his belief that “rape culture isn’t real,” sucked. And that’s not to mention the terrible message behind the song’s lyrics. I know I’m not the only one who has conflicting feelings of about that nostalgic era of emo music, and Abdurraqib captured that sentiment perfectly.
But there are also essays in this book about how emo music brought people together, how it fostered community. In “Death Becomes You: My Chemical Romance and Ten Years of the Black Parade,” the author offers some very interesting reflections on the many forms of death. And in “Fall Out Boy Forever,” he uses the common thread of Fall Out Boy concerts to take the reader on a heartbreaking journey through a friendship, from start to finish.
In the essays on his experience as a Black person, Abdurraqib’s descriptions of the fear that goes along with having a Black body in American society were powerful, and some of the images he paints, such as the first time he gets stopped by the police in “My First Police Stop,” will stick with me for a long time.
Finally, closer to the end of the book, another standout essay for me was “Survivng on Small Joys,” which speaks to the challenges of being queer and trans and the need for community. In its opening paragraph, the author questions how some among us have no trouble asking “how will I explain this person in the bathroom to my child?” or “how will I explain those two people kissing to my child?” but too rarely ask “how will I explain to my child that people die and we do nothing?”
As is always the case with essay collections, some of these resonated with me more than others, but the ones that did made the read worth five stars. This is definitely a book I see myself revisiting.
As someone who was heavily into third-wave emo music during my adolescence, I especially appreciated all of the essays about that era. Abdurraqib’s decision to critique the toxic masculinity of third-wave emo through the lens of Cute Is What We Aim For in “The Return of the Loneliest Boys in Town” couldn’t have been more on the nose. “Curse of Curves” was beloved by me in the mid 2000s, and divorcing myself from that nostalgia after learning about the lead singer’s support for Brock Turner, and his belief that “rape culture isn’t real,” sucked. And that’s not to mention the terrible message behind the song’s lyrics. I know I’m not the only one who has conflicting feelings of about that nostalgic era of emo music, and Abdurraqib captured that sentiment perfectly.
But there are also essays in this book about how emo music brought people together, how it fostered community. In “Death Becomes You: My Chemical Romance and Ten Years of the Black Parade,” the author offers some very interesting reflections on the many forms of death. And in “Fall Out Boy Forever,” he uses the common thread of Fall Out Boy concerts to take the reader on a heartbreaking journey through a friendship, from start to finish.
In the essays on his experience as a Black person, Abdurraqib’s descriptions of the fear that goes along with having a Black body in American society were powerful, and some of the images he paints, such as the first time he gets stopped by the police in “My First Police Stop,” will stick with me for a long time.
Finally, closer to the end of the book, another standout essay for me was “Survivng on Small Joys,” which speaks to the challenges of being queer and trans and the need for community. In its opening paragraph, the author questions how some among us have no trouble asking “how will I explain this person in the bathroom to my child?” or “how will I explain those two people kissing to my child?” but too rarely ask “how will I explain to my child that people die and we do nothing?”
As is always the case with essay collections, some of these resonated with me more than others, but the ones that did made the read worth five stars. This is definitely a book I see myself revisiting.
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Stunningly beautiful writing that pulls you back into music that you already know and love, and introduces you to artists you've never listened to but thanks to Abdurraqib's writing makes them feel like an old friend. I would read his grocery lists and listen to him talk about the weather.
One small thing - the audiobook version (at least the one shown on my Spotify) just didn't have two of the essays?? Seems kind of odd, and something that doesn't seem fair to listeners who don't have a physical copy of the book in front of them like I did.
One small thing - the audiobook version (at least the one shown on my Spotify) just didn't have two of the essays?? Seems kind of odd, and something that doesn't seem fair to listeners who don't have a physical copy of the book in front of them like I did.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Highly recommend the audiobook
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
Beautiful, beautiful book. He's such an amazing writer and I'm so so happy I finally read this. I can't wait to go back to the essays over the years.
This didn't get a full five stars from me because I feel like some essays felt out of place. While I loved him talking about sports and other topics (can't wait to read his essay collection on basketball!!) it felt jarring here when they weren't connected to music because he opened with a strong lead into music and about 90% of the essays are focused on songs, albums and artists. I wish that had been the case the whole time.
But I did love every essay here (the white Rapper one I could have done without!!)
This didn't get a full five stars from me because I feel like some essays felt out of place. While I loved him talking about sports and other topics (can't wait to read his essay collection on basketball!!) it felt jarring here when they weren't connected to music because he opened with a strong lead into music and about 90% of the essays are focused on songs, albums and artists. I wish that had been the case the whole time.
But I did love every essay here (the white Rapper one I could have done without!!)