Music Is History

Music Is History by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson (2021) The dedication is “to scientists of sound”—then a good intro about how history in school was just “memorization.” Where was this book when I was growing up and hated history, as a subject? At least one teacher I had in high school would have delighted in teaching this. Anyway, I’m in. (Even though, as far as music goes, for the past three decades or so I’ve been “out to lunch.”) A series of essays about the important music in his life in relation to contemporary American history, and at the same time, a big essay on what history is, exactly, and why it’s interesting, and why it’s important—and how it’s related to popular culture, and in particular, music. Questlove made the decision to start with the year of his birth, 1971, in order to contain things, a bit—which is great for me, because that’s the year (I’m 11 years older) that culture really started to have an impact on me. He recalls stuff from a remarkably young age—he seemed to get involved early. He then frames the book by year, starting each chapter with a series of big moments—including major political events, tragedies, milestones in Black history, sometimes sports, and mostly music. Then each year is essentially its own essay, focusing on a particular subject that that year’s events best illuminate. For me, reading this, naturally I put myself at the beginning of each of those years—where was I in my own history? It’s interesting to be reminded of what the world looked like at each of these junctures, and how it was reflected through culture—how the times affected the music—and how the music processed the times. Even if you’re someone who constantly goes back and reflects and keeps reading about the past, you do need to refresh—you can’t keep it all in your brain all the time. Naturally, the view here is Questlove-central—but as someone who must be revisiting the culture a lot, reprocessing it, and keeps learning (he’d have to be, to write this)—so you’re in good hands. He’s opinionated, which makes it fun, but he’s fair and thorough, and he’s also funny—sometimes even a little goofy. There is nothing dry about this book, and the criticism that (some) people have of “history” is that it’s dry—but not so here. This is a great book for young people, of course, but really anyone who wants to expand their mind a little (or a lot).

9.23.23