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Talking to Girls about Duran Duran: One Young Man's Quest for True Love and a Cooler Haircut
The author of the national bestseller Love is a Mix Tape returns, with a different-but equally personal and equally universal- spin on music as memory. "No rock critic-living or dead, American or otherwise-has ever written about pop music with the evocative, hyperpoetic perfectitude of Rob Sheffield." So said Chuck Klosterman about Love is a Mix Tape, Sheffield's...more
Hardcover, 274 pages
Published
by Dutton Books
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I grew up saturated with music in my household, my father could have opened a record store in our house with the amount of vinyl and cassette's he had (now cds omg... oh so many). All genres too, so I was exposed to everything, except Madonna and Prince he wasn't a fan of them whatsoever, so I could really relate to everything he says in Love is a Mixtape (80's & 90's) and Talking to Girls about Duran Duran (ALL 80's with a dash of 90's, minus the Madonna part). I can imagine his articles for Ro...more
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It took me less than three days to finish Rob Sheffield's equivalent of a sophomore album - his second book, Talking to Girls About Duran Duran. I was a huge fan of his memoir, Love is a Mix Tape, so I had high hopes for this book too.
Now I didn't live through the 80s, I'm not a Duran Duran fan, not Irish Catholic, and didn't recognize the majority of these songs by name, but I ripped through this book. I would get to the end of a chapter (each chapter title a different song) and think, "oh
...more
Brian
added it
I read Life is a Mixtape on the recommendation of a friend late last year, and found it to be a really poignant biography of life and loss with music as a tremendously powerful backdrop. Talking to Girls About Duran Duran is similar in construct, but is more of a series of memoirs about growing up in the 80s, once again using music as the backdrop to all of life's lessons. While I found many of these stories funny, and in some cases even insightful, it never really came together for me as a unif...more
Talking to Girls About Duran Duran is Rob Sheffield's personal story about being a teenager in the 80's and the effect 80s music had on his life. He begins the book when he is 13 years old and each chapter's title is a song from the 80s. He holds nothing back no matter how embarrasing it might be, his awkwardness around girls, his years living as a hermit listening to The Smiths, his glory days as the ice cream man, all are discussed in the book with the music he loved mixed in to help tell t...more
Rob Sheffield is a writer for Rolling Stone, so he knows music and he knows how to craft a story. Sometimes this is book a bit more memoir-y than I might like, but he does do a good job of explaining why particular songs meant so much or taught him something at certain points in his coming-of-age. What didn't work for me so much is the specific line-up of songs because he's four years older than I am and a great number of them are from 1982 -- right before I started listening to pop music. Also,...more
Being a fan of Duran Duran and being a fan of talking to girls, this book was right up my alley. It helped that I am an 80s kid who remains a big 80s fan. This is the type of book that I used to resent reading when it was about the baby boom era for the baby boomers. They always seemed full of obnoxious glorification of an era that was mediocre at best when viewed against the greatness of the eras that preceded it. However, this is my book, for me, that is glorifying my mediocre era, and I just ...more
A friend gave this to me to help me get over my Hunger Games withdrawal. After trying to read at least 3 other books, this is the one that worked. The Introduction just reeled me in with its slick, easy, conversation-like style and I read it in two sittings: going from LGA-CVG and then a couple of hours last night. It's like sitting at a bar and talking to a super-cool guy about your shared music obsessions. One of those conversations that while you're in the middle of it you hope it doesn'...more
Rob Sheffield's Talking With Girls About Duran Duran is less about Duran Duran and more about the ways boys in the 80s (and any era, really) accessed music to help them articulate what they can't quite say to girls or each other. The book also reads like the memoir of a polite, Catholic indie-rock fan who fears/adores his three sisters, sells ice cream from a truck, and really, really wants a girlfriend.
Sheffield likes to portray himself as a wuss with a weakness for shiny pop bu...more
Sheffield likes to portray himself as a wuss with a weakness for shiny pop bu...more
You ever have someone try and turn you on to something that just doesn’t quite fit you, but you can still tell it’s really, really awesome? Even if you don’t enjoy it as much as you probably ought to? You know, like The Dave Matthews Band, or imported stinky cheeses, or anal sex.
Yeah. So I just read Talking to Girls About Duran Duran. That’s kinda how I feel about the book. It’s good. Very good! It’s just…well…I think I lack the balls to appreciate it fully.
I mean, bas...more
Yeah. So I just read Talking to Girls About Duran Duran. That’s kinda how I feel about the book. It’s good. Very good! It’s just…well…I think I lack the balls to appreciate it fully.
I mean, bas...more
In a series of short chapters, Sheffield reminisces about growing up in the 80s (his teenage years and early twenties). It's the same approach he used in his earlier Love Is a Mix Tape, but without the strong central theme that held that one together. As a result, the book jumps around quite a bit, from the summer he spent as an ice cream man to his summer abroad in Spain, to more abstract musings on why cassingles are so great and the lasting appeal of 80s movies. I'm sure that'll be frustratin...more
In the movie version of High Fidelity, Rob Gordon mentions that he's organizing his albums autobiographically. In TtGADD, Rob Sheffield goes one step further and writes essays for his defining songs and moments from the 80s. The result is a deeply surprising and emotional book about 80s pop and new wave. In Love Is A Mixtape, a book which I absolutely adored, Rob discussed the unbreakable relationship between love and music. In Talking to Girls About Duran Duran, Rob talks about why he loves hi...more
I've seen Rob Sheffield on VH1 a fair amount over the years, and I usually feel like I'm not buying whatever he's selling. So I was surprised to find that I enjoyed this series of essays about various 80's and 90's songs and episodes in his life that they call to mind. The essays are by turns funny, charming and sad. If you listened to as much music as I did during the 80's, you'll also appreciate the fact that Sheffield manages to seamlessly weave obscure lyrics into the essays. My biggest ...more
Nearly four stars for this musical memoir from Rob Sheffield that is based on music and stories connected to that wonderful time known as "the '80s." I enjoyed Sheffield's other memoir about loss and music through the mix tape philosophy a bit more than this but that's not to say there's not a lot to enjoy for music fans here. Sheffield defends his stance on a lot of cringe-worthy bands from the era--Hayzee Fantayzee for one!-- while writing about a lot of bands that I actually like an...more
I recently finished reading Rob Sheffield’s book, “Talking to Girls About Duran Duran: One Young Man’s Quest for True Love and a Cooler Haircut.” I ask you, what woman (who came of age in the 80’s) could resist picking up a book with such a profound title? Probably thousands if my more cynical counterparts are to be believed, but we won’t even discuss what large rock they were trapped under during such a totally awesome time in music history. Let’s face it, it is the only reasonable explanation ...more
This is a fun look back at the music (and culture) a lot of us grew up on. I enjoyed the chapters on Duran Duran, why John Hughes films are still relevant (one word: Duckie), and cassingles. I wasn't crazy about some of Sheffield's other musings, like those about religion and Morissey (from the Smiths), but I still liked the book overall. The best part was going to YouTube to look up the songs (and videos) and remembering what my life was like then. That is basically what Sheffield writes ab...more
Talking to Girls About Duran Duran: One Young Man's Quest for True Love and a Cooler Haircut by Rob Sheffield
Okay, before we get too far into this, everyone should know that this book doesn't come out for a whole week.
This is very exciting for me.
Not only did I hold the book in my hands before the unwashed, unshaven, apparently wholly uneducated about hygiene masses, but the version I held was special. And not just because it was an uncorrected proof. Not just because...more
Okay, before we get too far into this, everyone should know that this book doesn't come out for a whole week.
This is very exciting for me.
Not only did I hold the book in my hands before the unwashed, unshaven, apparently wholly uneducated about hygiene masses, but the version I held was special. And not just because it was an uncorrected proof. Not just because...more
I was 22 - 31 in the 80s. I lived in lower Manhattan. When it was first released I watched ''Planet Earth'' on a huge screen in a downtown club and was suitably impressed. I wanted to like this book but found it uneven. It's not a good sign when you keep wondering if you should put it aside because you have so many other books you want to get to and don't want to waste time on something you aren't that into. But I persevered because I knew it wouldn't take that long, and hey, I still like s...more
Maybe if the songs he chose to frame each chapter around were nearer and dearer to my heart this would have been a 5 star, but probably because they weren't, I valued the stories even more. Duran Duran was my first big concert in 6th grade for the Seven and Ragged Tiger tour (thanks mom for letting me go!) and I had a poster of them on my bedroom wall, and even loved nick rhodes and john taylor, but I don't consider myself ever to be the infamous "Duranie," as Rob Sheffield likes to ca...more
Kristen
rated it
Recommends it for:
ladies: the douchey guys in your life that talk down to you about music because of your ladyparts.
Shelves:
music
I should've known what I was getting into, but I found the intro to be extremely patronizing. "This is just the way we [men] dissect the things we love. But it's tougher to talk to women about the Clash. (They love "Stand by Me" but they don't care that it's really called "Train in Vain" instead of "Stand by Me.")" Yeah, he's not saying all women are like this, but it's sort of a sad attempt at humor through perpetuated gender stereotypes and it ends up an...more
Rob Sheffield has been one of my favorite music reviewers in Rolling Stone...mostly because he is too kind. Which is a nice change of pace for critics in RS, but also it means that he is an appreciator of nearly every form of pop music. He knows it isn't always about the quality of music, but how it makes the listener feel, or how some random listener will be taken to another place and time when listening to it. More than most music critics, Mr. Sheffield reminds me of myself. I associate songs ...more
Hey, do you remember the 1980s? Remember how much fun they were? Don't you love reminiscing about Duran Duran, Morrissey, and John Hughes movies? Don't you get a little thrill when a writer mentions a song or pop singer that you love, causing you to gasp "Hey! I had that record, too!"
Rob Shevvield's book is a well-written account of his adolescence dissected, deconstructed, and annotated by the pop radio hits of 1980-1989. It's droll and insightful and has some great on...more
Rob Shevvield's book is a well-written account of his adolescence dissected, deconstructed, and annotated by the pop radio hits of 1980-1989. It's droll and insightful and has some great on...more
I was a big fan of Rob Sheffield's last book, Love Is a Mixtape, so I was excited when I received this one as a Christmas gift. I really enjoyed it. Sheffield has an easy, conversational style that makes reading his work like talking about music to your best friend.
This book is charming, funny, and occasionally sad as Sheffield details the songs and experiences that defined his teenage years and early twenties during the 1980's. He appears to have a near-encyclopedic knowledge of music...more
This book is charming, funny, and occasionally sad as Sheffield details the songs and experiences that defined his teenage years and early twenties during the 1980's. He appears to have a near-encyclopedic knowledge of music...more
There is only one 80's band missing from this book: U2! Why was there no mention of U2??
Overall, this is such a fun book. Each chapter explores a different song, and how it relates to a particular time in the author's life. I related to so many experiences, thoughts, and musical journeys.
Some of my favorite parts are exploring David Bowie's many changing persona's, Human League lore, and an entire chapter dedicated to Haysi Fantayzee - a band I thought no one knew but m...more
Overall, this is such a fun book. Each chapter explores a different song, and how it relates to a particular time in the author's life. I related to so many experiences, thoughts, and musical journeys.
Some of my favorite parts are exploring David Bowie's many changing persona's, Human League lore, and an entire chapter dedicated to Haysi Fantayzee - a band I thought no one knew but m...more
alas, the text didn't live up to the totally awesome title. how sad it is when that happens ... as i mentioned whilst reading, the intro starts with some fairly stupid broad gender statements that i hoped would be limited to the introduction. sadly, not so much. the habit of saying things like "girls like this" and "boys do that" is repeated frequently and it was never not-annoying. i get it: you're making a joke. i think. unfortunately, it's not really funny. and that's mayb...more
Soo.... I was going to wait to write this until after I discussed it at book club tonight but now is when I'm thinking about it so book club buddies, spoiler alert!
Firstly, I would like to say that I was not an 80s youth. My age in the 80s peaked at 6 and the music I was into was the soundtrack of Annie, Muppet movies, the Elephant Show and various Wee Sing tapes. There are some musicians from the 80s that I've listened to on and off but the majority of the bands Sheffield talked abo...more
Firstly, I would like to say that I was not an 80s youth. My age in the 80s peaked at 6 and the music I was into was the soundtrack of Annie, Muppet movies, the Elephant Show and various Wee Sing tapes. There are some musicians from the 80s that I've listened to on and off but the majority of the bands Sheffield talked abo...more
Can't remember what list I saw Talking to Girls About Duran Duran on, but the title alone grabbed me. I'm an 80's girl through and through and Duran Duran was my favorite. The book is a humorous journey through a teenage boy's childhood, a seriously backward geek who let his three sisters dress him up for a school dance for which he has no date. Each chapter relates to a song from the 80's (sometimes directly, sometimes rather loosely) and leads up to Duran Duran's "All She Wants Is"...more
Having read Love is a Mix Tape, I figured that Talking to Girls About Duran Duran would be an enjoyable read, even if it didn't have the previous book's poignancy. In a way, that was ok with me, because, honestly, I thought that first book was pretty hard to take. I guess I just relate a little too strongly with the music nerd who feels immensely lucky to have found a fitting partner. To bear literary witness to the too-soon loss of that love had stuck with me, years after I read it.
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I really liked some of Rob Sheffield's riffs here in this quasi coming-of-age memoir, on loving '80s music and having crushes and how love hurts and the dynamic between fans and their idols. For instance, on how weird (or, at least, rock-star unique) it is that all of the Beatles enjoyed long, happy marriages, in what is the least 80s but I thought best chapter, on Paul McCartney and Wings. And how Duran Duran's staying power can be attributed to their unashamed, unrelenting shallowness. And I d...more
Thoughts prior to beginning:
I loved "Love is Mix Tape" and read it in the days before my only child's birth, during labor, and in the days after she was born, so I have specific, vivid memories tied to that tale. I hope this one is even half as memorable.
Review:
Well... it wasn't quite as good as "Love is a Mix Tape," but in retrospect, how could it have been? I mean... how can you compare to childbirth and the unimaginable love that ensues???? and the tragic...more
I loved "Love is Mix Tape" and read it in the days before my only child's birth, during labor, and in the days after she was born, so I have specific, vivid memories tied to that tale. I hope this one is even half as memorable.
Review:
Well... it wasn't quite as good as "Love is a Mix Tape," but in retrospect, how could it have been? I mean... how can you compare to childbirth and the unimaginable love that ensues???? and the tragic...more
Larry Hoffer
added it
Rob Sheffield and I have a few things in common. Music is a defining characteristic in both of our lives (although he's a writer for Rolling Stone and I just have 15,000+ songs on my iPod) and we're both children of the 80s. (Ok, so the similarities end there.) Both topics are at the forefront of his funny new book, Talking to Girls About Duran Duran: One Young Man's Quest for True Love and a Cooler Haircut.
Sheffield, who wrote the absolutely fantastic Love is a Mixtape (one of the best books I...more
Sheffield, who wrote the absolutely fantastic Love is a Mixtape (one of the best books I...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win 1 of 5 copies-Contest Ends 9/7/10 | 1 | 8 | Sep 06, 2010 10:35am | |
| I heart Robert Sheffield | 1 | 19 | Mar 30, 2010 09:58pm |
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Rob Sheffield is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine. In addition to writing music reviews and profile stories, Sheffield also writes the Pop Life column in the Mixed Media section of the magazine. His work has also been featured in The Village Voice and Spin. A native of Boston, Sheffield attended Yale and the University of Virginia, and is six foot five.
His first book, Lo...more
More about Rob Sheffield...
His first book, Lo...more
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“My sisters were the coolest people I knew, and still are. I have always aspired to be like them and know what they know. My sisters were the color and noise in my black-and-white boy world-how I pitied my friends who had brothers. Boys seemed incredibly tedious and dim compared to my sisters, who were always a rush of energy and excitement, buzzing over all the books, records, jokes, rumors and ideas we were discovering together. I grew up thriving on the commotion of their girl noise, whether they were laughing or singing or staging an intervention because somebody was wearing stirrup pants. I always loved being lost in that girl noise.”
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14 people liked it
“But bringing people together is what music has always done best.”
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10 people liked it
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