Really the Blues is just as much about the counter culture of the twenties and thirties as it is about the music. That’s what I loved most about this book, that through it I saw how much of the social movements of the last fifty years were rooted in that time. Mezzrow sometimes sounds a lot like a DIY punk, frustrated at the money makers of the music industry even seventy five years ago. Like musicians do today, there’s lots of talk about “the kids”. Even then it was the young that were embracing new forms of music and the social changes that often go with them. It made me feel hopeful that there are always people who see through false values and work towards change. But then, it’s also a reminder that the more things change, the more they stay the same.