Talking to Girls About Duran Duran: One Young Man's Quest for True Love and a Cooler Haircut [Paperback]

A song can really transport you back to a specific time and place more than just about anything else, and this book may have you frantically googling for videos of the obscure 80's bands described so you can head back there for just a little while. The memories triggered by music are the driving force behind this book.

"Talking to girls..." is Rob Sheffield's second book after Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time. I wasn't sure how this book would hold up after "Mix Tape" because the latter story was so absolutely gut-wrenching and beautiful all at once; it had the feel of a completely singular work of art. But I have to say that Sheffield, a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, delivers a second time.

This memoir is about growing up in the `80s, and is told through experiences with many different songs from that time. Sheffield gives us a guided tour (with soundtrack) through the everyday life experiences that we can all relate to--crummy jobs, first loves, first music that got us excited. He does this with as much warmth and humor as he did with "Mix Tape". The only place where this book does not hold up in comparison is obvious, because it couldn't possibly. Whereas Mix Tape was a love letter to his wife who so tragically died young, this book does not pack that kind of emotional punch. It's more of a sweet, breezy walk down memory lane. His love for his family and friends is abundantly clear, and the warmth of this book has made me happy since I picked it up.

My only (minor) criticism is that the writing does get a bit uneven in places, and if you are unfamiliar with some of the bands and music described, you will indeed have to google away to get yourself caught up. My MAJOR criticism is that Mr. Sheffield clearly hates Tom Petty...and this is simply unacceptable. And "Shiny Shiny" by Haysi Fantayzee may actually be the worst song ever to grace the airwaves. His love for this song is inexplicable. Nonetheless Sheffield is such an excellent writer that I won't deduct any stars for these somewhat disturbing character flaws.

Bottom line: recommend, most especially for music fans and kids who grew up in the '80s.

A few of the bands that shaped my teen-dom are missing. There's no ABC, there's no Adam Ant. But what is there is pure genius. Your 40 year old self will look back with longing? embarrassment? I'm not sure what - but you'll look back and laugh your butt off. If you were that kid in the record store in the back corner where they kept the imports looking for the EP of the song that you heard that morning on college radio in 1984 you will love this book. It's written for us! Highly recommend!

My 11 year old son hates it when I listen to the oldies station, because listening to all of those great 80's hits always generates lots of stories that start out "when I was in high school...'' The author has offered firm evidence of something I've known all along. In the 80's, it was all about the music. I am ashamed to admit that I don't remember much of what was going on geopolitically during the 1980s, but I have very vivid memories of the launch of MTV and exactly where I was for the premiere of Michael Jackson's Beat It. The author offers up some hilarious riffs on music lyrics, movies, and his own experiences with a crazy bunch of sisters. His descriptions of his summer jobs brought back memories of some of my own summers spent with Walkman firmly in place, trying to decipher just exactly what some of those lyrics were and the hidden "true meanings" behind them.

The pop culture references come pretty rapid fire and I was able to keep up with most of them, but Haysi Fantayzee? Really? That one threw me. Sometimes the author gets pretty out there, so you have to be pretty up on your 80's new wave if your'e going to ride along, but it's all done in a very affable manner that makes for an easy read. This is a fun book that I would recommend to anyone who spent their formative years in this crazy decade. It brought back a lot of fond memories and quite a few cringes as I remembered things that were better off locked in the vault. It also kind of made me feel better for liking some of the music that I'm still pretty fond of. I must admit though, that with about 50 pages to go, I was getting tired of the 80's all over again and was ready to move on... at least until my next turn at the oldies station.