Sigma Alpha Iota

58 Fall 2025 • sai-national.org Bk Reviews HOW WOMEN MADE MUSIC: A REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY FROM NPR MUSIC Edited by Alison Fensterstock HarperCollins Publishers, 2024 What will it take for Women in Music to get their due?" is the opening sentence of Ann Powers' introduction to How Women Made Music: A Revolutionary History from NPR Music and the central issue of the book. Despite the fact they have been integral to popular music since the earliest blues musicians, women were frequently relegated to the sidelines and treated as a novelty (think of the "girl groups" of the 1960s). Powers then proceeds to describe how she, alongside music editor Alison Fensterstock and Lincoln Center producer/programmer Jill Sternheimer, have worked to resolve this issue by creating NPR's Turning the Tables: a multi-platform series about women in music from the early days of records through the current era. This book, as the latest contribution to that effort, plumbs the archives at NPR for fifty years' worth of coverage about women musicians. It includes quotes and interviews, analysis of some of the 150 greatest albums made by women (the subject of Turning the Tables' first season), and longer form essays about the impact of individual musicians and groups. Rather than keeping a strict chronology, the book aims to be a starting point for an evolving discussion and is grouped into the following categories: Tradition Bearers and Breakers (leading off with Bessie Smith); Warriors; Teenage Kicks; Listen to Your Body; Live (the power and influence of live performance); Scream Queens; Shredders (featuring Meg White); Shape Shifters; Story Tellers; Empaths; and Sweet Inspiration. The book closes with the products of Turning the Tables first two seasons: "The 150 Greatest Albums Made by Women" and "The 200 Greatest Songs by 21st Century Women," which is a great resource for more in-depth listening and exploration. What makes this book, and the associated program, stand out as a "revolutionary history" is that it doesn't bring women in from the sidelines and equate their achievements to that of men (i.e. there's no discussion of Simon and Garfunkel compared to the Indigo Girls). It eliminates men from the conversation almost entirely. The reader is now obliged to consider these women through their own experiences and on their own merits. This frame of reference also allows the reader to discover artists that would otherwise be overshadowed by male artists. While it may be strange to consider the 80s without Prince or Michael Jackson, it facilitates a compelling perspective on Madonna or Cyndi Lauper and would be fascinating reading for any popular music history buff. HIP-HOP IS HISTORY Questlove with Ben Greenman AUWA Books, 2024 For those unfamiliar with Questlove (born Ahmir K. Thompson), he is a DJ, drummer, music producer, movie director, music journalist, author, and co-founder of the hip-hop group/ Tonight Show house band The Roots. He opens his latest book, Hip-Hop is History, by recounting his efforts to organize the 50th anniversary celebration of hip-hop for the 2023 GRAMMY Awards. Describing this undertaking serves to highlight the incredible richness and variety of hip-hop over the last half-century, but it also establishes his bona fides as an expert guide to this genre. The introduction also outlines the way that different interpretations of the title have impacted the writing of this book. The first interpretation, Hip-Hop is (Revisionist) History, outlines the way the author has to constantly reevaluate songs, events, trends, and performers in light of new information or further reflection. In Questlove's opinion, even the commonly-accepted origin of rap music needs to be reconsidered considering different historical influences. Another interpretation, Hip- Hop is (Recurring) History, provides the narrative structure for the book. He states that hip- hop reinvents itself every five years with a different culture, technology, and drug of choice; he aligned his chapters to encompass the same time frame. The most informative interpretation is Hip-Hop is (My) History, in that his book views the history of hip-hop entirely through Questlove's experience, which is incredibly vast but not objective. As an example, he freely admits his initial struggles warming to "Trap" and "Dirty South" music and discounting groups when The Roots were struggling. However, he also describes the efforts he makes to listen broadly (he includes his playlist as an appendix) to overcome his blind spots and remain curious about the genre. At one point, Questlove states that he has thought about hip-hop nearly every day for the last forty years. The depth of thought and writing in this book bears this out. This book is a great starting point for those new to the hip-hop world and can serve as a primary source for those interested in further research and exploration. Robert Bruns has recently retired from the US Army after leading bands throughout the continental US and Europe. He is an SAI Friend of the Arts and an alumnus of Ithaca College (BM 1998, MM 2003), where he studied trombone with Dr. Harold Reynolds.

• Cover