The writing here is phenomenal, so despite focusing on a topic I don't have a lot of thoughts on (music/music culture) I ate this up. This approaches the topics from the viewpoint of a Black man who is intimately connected to and influenced by the music worlds he exists in. The audio is read by the author and he has conversational interstitials amidst the essays with background information. I loved this, tho I imagine someone who feels strongly on the music covered here may have more to say. ( )

I love how mr Abdurraqib speaks. I enjoy this book. This book is important to me because it helped me to regenerate broken inside me. The way it is written, you know, this book heals. ( )

5 stars plus infinity. I laughed, cried, reflected, raged, felt both massive guilt and massive pride. I have never read something so emotionally raw and truthful. I do not have the gift for words that Hanif does, so it is absolutely impossible for me to review this. All I can say is that I am grateful that this beautiful man shared his soul. I will read this book over and over. ( )

Goodreads tells me that I've been reading They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us since 2017.

Which is to say I've been reading and rereading and afraid to mark as "read' a book that feels like something I can't put away. I'm marking it as read, but I think I'll just keep reading it forever.

If you haven't read it yet, I hope you do. I hope you don't figure out how to stop reading it for years. ( )

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. ( )

Abdurraqib’s self-possessed introspection is a balm to soothe 21st century American malaise. His anger, sorrow, and humor are never compromised despite the restraint he shows in his extremely readable prose. One might assume this self control comes from a lifetime of conditioning to keep a cool head no matter the trigger. His observations on seemingly frivolous aspects of pop culture and music present themselves as anything but, often building up to an insightful take on deeper social issues that the music reflects back on us. ( )

Simply one of the best books in memory about music, culture and this profound moment of change in America. Bighearted, kind, real, unshakably black and for everyone. ( )

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 ( )

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 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. ( )

Holy shit. ( )