Name: Shareca's review of Music Is History by Questlove
Item: Music Is History
Rating: 5
Author: Shareca

Questlove

Questlove collects the 500 songs that have changed not just popular music, but also the world Questlove's Music Is History is an in-depth look into the 500 most influential songs in the history of music. Most famously known as a the drummer and joint frontman for the Grammy Award-winning band The Roots, Questlove is also an astute musicologist and voracious historian. In this book, Questlove dives into musical history from every decade of twentieth century, choosing one essential track from each year. The author thoughtfully and insightfully unpacks each song's cultural significance by placing it in its historical context, discussing real world events that shaped both the song's creation and its lasting impact. Analyses of iconic classics like "Sir Duke" by Stevie Wonder include tangents into the histories of science, politics, and pop culture. Questlove moves fluidly from the personal to the political, from Curtis Mayfield to the history of Black representation in cinema to musings on the Nixon presidency. Complete with comprehensive playlists organized around personal, playful themes like "Songs That Got Shafted" or "Songs With a Part I Really Like Even Though I Don't Like the Whole Song," this book is so full of Questlove's essential recommendations that it feels like a conversation with the industry's coolest music obsessive. Music Is History is a masterclass in music by a contemporary icon--a new American musical canon from one of music's most influential and unique voices.

Music Is History

Matt Soria

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.

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.

Kristen Claiborn

This book might have gone WAY over my head. I like to say I enjoy music, but I am nowhere near the level of music lover Questlove shows himself to be through this book. 
	Questlove gives an almost autobiographical detail of every year from 1971 to 2020. He runs through events from each year, then influential music from each year. He ties in how music responds to current events, and how sometimes events respond to music. There is an intimate attention to detail, including how pretty much each piece of music affected his own life. I would say he did an unbelievable amount of research, but I get the feeling that most of this book was off the top of his head…like he knows all of this at the drop of a hat. It’s a truly impressive piece of literature. 
	I admit I didn’t love it as much as I had wanted to, but I really didn’t know so much of the music referenced so it was beyond my own knowledge. This was a library book, so I had a limited amount of time to digest the whole thing, and I feel like I might have gained more from this book if I had more time and was able to look up and listen to the music in the book. I didn’t even know many of the artists he writes about, so I just felt lost through much of it. This is not a reflection of the book. This book is exceptionally well-researched and well-written. It is a great book, it was just a little beyond my sad amount of knowledge.

This was a pretty good book and the premise is very cool. I learnt some things but a good portion of the book was beyond my technical knowledge of music. The premise is that Questlove, DJ and drummer for the Roots, highlights something related to music in every year of his life from birth, 1971, to present. He piles in the last 20 or so years into one chapter. I learnt a lot more about Bill Withers and have since downloaded his Live at Carnegie album and especially love the song Questlove highlights, I can’t write left handed. It gives me the shivers! The 1982 album is a big Thriller highlight and I also appreciated his highlighting The Police and how their music influenced his childhood. It was good but not all that I was hoping it would be. It is a reallybeautiful book though, I love the cover!

Matt Soria &
Music Is History by Questlove

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Matt Soria &
Music Is History by Questlove