Talking to Girls About Duran Duran
One Young Man's Quest for True Love and a Cooler Haircut
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3.7 • 118 Ratings
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
From the bestselling author of Love Is a Mix Tape and Turn Around Bright Eyes, "a funny, insightful look at the sublime torture of adolescence".—Entertainment Weekly
The 1980s meant MTV and John Hughes movies, big dreams and bigger shoulder pads, and millions of teen girls who nursed crushes on the members of Duran Duran. As a solitary teenager stranded in the suburbs, Rob Sheffield had a lot to learn about women, love, music, and himself. And he was sure his radio had all the answers.
As evidenced by the bestselling sales of Sheffield's first book, Love Is a Mix Tape, the connection between music and memory strikes a chord with readers. Talking to Girls About Duran Duran strikes that chord all over again, and is a pitch-perfect trip through '80s music-from Bowie to Bobby Brown, from hair metal to hip-hop. But this book is not just about music. It's about growing up and how every song is a snapshot of a moment that you'll remember the rest of your life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this tuneful coming-of-age memoir, the glamorous New Wave band Duran Duran presides spiritually over the all-consuming teenage male efforts to comprehend the opposite sex. Music journalist Sheffield (Love Is a Mix Tape) chronicles his passage through the 1980s in a series of chapters in which period groups from headliners like Roxy Music and Prince to one-hit wonders like Haysi Fantayzee of Shiny Shiny semifame provides musical accompaniment to his adolescent angst. They are the soundtrack to his fumbling attempts to dance or make passes at girls, to weather a winless stint on the high school wrestling team, to survive a summer job as an ice-cream truck driver. The relationship insights he arrives at chiefly, the imperative of unquestioning submission to female whims are no more or less cogent than the song lyrics he gleans them from. The book really shines as a collection of free-form riffs on the glorious foolishness of Reagan-era entertainment the movie E.T., he writes, was about a sad muppet who thought he was David Bowie and its weirdly resonant emotional impact. The result is a funny, poignant browse from a wonderful pop-culture evocateur.
Customer Reviews
Music Geeks Will Find A Lot To Love Here
Very funny and touching tales of love and music geek-dom in the 1980s. If you didn't come of age in this era, I'm not sure you will get a lot of the references, but it is well crafted enough that this should not detract from your enjoyment of the book.
Excellent read for a kindred spirit
First off, this is not a solicited review, just a quick note that if you cried reading Mix Tape, then you'll be smiling while reading Duran Duran. Who wouldn't, right?? Cheers.....
Wow! Can I relate!
I related to this book on so many levels. As someone who loves music, especially new wave from the late 70's and early 80's, Rob Sheffield sums it up in true music geek fashion. I also found his recollection of his family very poignant and touching. This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. A definite read for any music junkie or 80's phile!