Favorite Quotes from Questlove

I was very inspired by Questlove’s interview with Terry Gross on “Fresh Air.” It has helped decorate several blog posts but I had these last two passages highlighted but couldn’t find a way to fit them into my posts. So, here they are for grins.

Amir "Questlove" Thompson

THOMPSON: And this is the one character trait in me that the people closest to me absolutely abhor, the fact that I’ve very nonchalant about everything. I’m not saying that it wasn’t a big deal, but it’s just that I’ve come to the realization that every day my life has this sort of Forrest Gump existence. Like every day is an I was there moment. So it just becomes, you know, a little redundant to get excited about every day when every day is sort of like a high.
I understand that they’re high for other people, and I vicariously get excited. Like the day that the book came out, everyone called, like aren’t you excited, aren’t you excited, aren’t you excited. And, you know, I was, like, trying to fake it, like yeah, I’m excited, I’m excited. But really I was like yeah, OK, that’s nice.
You know, that’s just how I am. I just, I don’t mourn the bad. I don’t celebrate the good. I just walk forward, that’s all.

Lauren says I’m like this. Good things happen and I smile. Bad things happen and I sigh, but theres’ no real emotional swing. I remember some of my high school friends remarking on this trait many years ago. I’ve just never seen anything as so bad that you couldn’t plan over or around it, nor have I seen something so great that it merited loss of one’s senses. It was nice to see someone else describe the world in a similarly neutral-Stoic way.

So there’s already like a scary element that attracts you. Like, you’re attracted to things that are frightening. People go see horror films, people riding roller coasters. I watched the first 30 seconds of “Soul Train.”

I never was much into “Soul Train” but that intro was SCARY and COOL and on right after cartoons ended.

GROSS: You know what I love? I love that you know that the guy who shouts soul train happens at the 10 second mark.
(LAUGHTER)
THOMPSON: That’s how obsessive I am with unnecessary information. Sorry.

Everyone who knows me knows that I love trivia: especially movies, producers, art, gestalt, influences. I don’t know why. Maybe, like Mr.

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