They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us

Just really incredible. Abdurraqib is so insightful, and like half of the sentences in this are punches to the throat in the best of ways. The first four essays alone would give this book five stars, but the rest of the book keeps going, wades through all this time--it's also a piece of historical writing in some ways, on the precipice of the 2016 election and subsequent aftermath, without painting that moment as being the only bad thing happening at the time. His love of and appreciation for music in so many forms is incredible; he manages to weave together these stories to make his points that are so broad in their connections and yet make so much sense all at once. I'm seriously in awe. I want to buy this book (I borrowed it from the show more library) so I can mark it up properly and really dig into it, but it's still an incredible read even just reading it and trying to carefully copy out the parts that hit me in the moment. show less

Hanif’s poetry and essays have a way of cutting straight to your heart without you realizing it. On the surface he’s talking about music and critiquing concerts he’s attended. But when you dig deeper, he’s processing his life events: deaths, exclusion, crushes, and so much more. He’s walking us through the ways music can make us feel connected to both ourselves, who we’ve been in the past, and the people who have helped shape us. It’s beautiful.

Abdurraqib is so dang READABLE that I really had to make myself slow down because every essay in this collection is so powerful. This is a book I wish I could give to everybody because I want to discuss it and every other possible conversation that might come out of it.

Wow I’m so happy I took my time with this. I could’ve sped my way through this book cause I never wanted to put it down but having the time I did to let it sink in really showed me how great the writing is. This has to be one of the realest things I’ve read. Hanif writes about real emotion and I don’t know how else to explain that other than saying I have not read real emotion in a long time. This is so much more than Hanif writing about his life and the impact of certain music. This is about collective and intimately individual emotions and experiences. This was a beautiful impactful collection and will 100% be reading more of his work.

Para empezar, si un libro incluye un ensayo sobre Carly Rae Jepsen seguramente se lleve la máxima puntuación venga lo que venga a continuación. Por suerte, el resto de ensayos es igualmente sensacional, y ofrece una perspectiva más que necesaria sobre el presente norteamericano, más concretamente sobre el terrible 2016.

Los ensayos son breves, personales, e invitan a la reflexión. La música es omnipresente a lo largo de ellos, y Abdurraqib es uno de esos fantásticos articulistas que parece saber más de los artistas que ellos mismos. El otro gran tema es la discriminación racial y religiosa, que el autor conoce perfectamente, y que se trata con una franqueza demoledora. Ya solo por eso es una lectura esencial.

One of my favorite things about reading is experiencing things from a completely different perspective from my own. Hanif Abdurraqib is a millennial black man from the midwest who grew up Muslim (raised by parents who converted and changed their names in the 1970s). He's a poet, an art and pop culture writer, a music fan, and many other things. Above all, he's a damn good writer who ties a variety of topics together into very personal, evocative essays. Some of his shorter pieces straddle the line of poetry & prose.

This collection got me listening to a variety of artists to whom I normally wouldn't listen. (Of these, I liked Chance the Rapper most and Carly Rae Jepson least.) I'd definitely be up for reading more collections by show more Abdurraqib.

Nonfiction November 2024: Book #3 show less

very hard to make good art out of one’s past without giving in to the easy illusions & realizations of nostalgia & abdurraqib refuses to be that kind of saccharine. really loved this book maybe bc we were at some of the same shows screaming the same words we now cant remember or wish we didnt or maybe still kinda hold closer than any common sense wld dictate. amazing essays abt toxic masculinity & misogyny in pop punk & learning to love & appreciate life after being raised by music abt wanting to die that i feel like i've been waiting a long time to read