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

Having previously read Rob Sheffield’s debut Love is a Mixtape (Piatkus Books, 2010) I already had a feeling that I would like Talking to Girls About Duran Duran (Dutton, 2010). You see, Sheffield has what appears to be an effortless way of revealing himself without being over the top or boring. The quality of his writing is warm and endearing. In Love is a Mixtape he writes about the loss of his wife and whilst doing so offers the reader a raw piece of himself through not only his words but the words of the artists that feature on the series of mixtapes that accompany each chapter. I implore anyone to read that book and not be moved. Talking to Girls About Duran Duran has less of the heartache featured in Sheffield’s debut yet it is no less special. Sheffiled takes you through key moments of his life and how the soundtrack to these moments has stayed with him and has resonated enough for him to associate the memories to the songs. It would have been easy for Sheffield just to compile a silly list of songs i.e. the number one when he was born or his first slow dance (incidentally for me Karma Chameleon by Boy George was number one when I was born and I had my first slow dance to Never Ever by All Saints) but he goes deeper than that. These are songs that remind him of long hot summers in Spain or looking after this grandfather, or the girl he met whilst working as a garbage disposal man. His stories are gloriously charming, off the cuff and completely engaging. For all intents and purposes, no matter how self indulgent it may seem, this book is an example of one man’s lifelong love affair with music. Sheffield just gets it. He gets how loving a silly little piece of music is such a wonderful thing, but ultimately how it can be a lonely thing, yet with the closing of each chapter that gap of loneliness seems to get a little smaller as you realise that there are other fans out there like you. This is a glorious book that makes you examine the impact of music on your own life. And what makes it all the more compelling is that as you read it you feel Sheffield’s love of music drip off the each page. There is one downside. Much like most of my favourite songs, it ended far too soon. Talking to Girls About Duran Duran by Rob Sheffield is available now. Follow Rob Sheffied (@robsheff) on Twitter.

A nice read with a few mentions about Duran Duran; however the book is actually about more about the author's youth and his growing up in the states. Some of the music tracks mentioned i've not heard of, and i love the 80's. A nice read though and it gave me a few chuckles.

Overall a good reading.

This likeable book is a series of essays, each dedicated to one song of the 80s that sums up the year for music journalist Rob Sheffield. But what could have been just a nostalgia trip ends up being a moving look at love, family and growing up, combined with a dry, amusing style that will entertain anyone who lived through the decade that style forgot.

My high expectations were not fulfilled, this book is not as good as Rob Sheffields other works, its too uneven, it has som good observations on gender and music, though.

Exelent book! great for music fans and 80's entusiasts who like to know more about living during that awesome time.

Loved the short description on the back. Found the title hilarious. Wanted desperately to like this book. Stopped reading it after a few chapters, as I didn't understand why I should bother about him or what he has to say.

So lacking in insight as to negate the occasional funny parts. How can you make an unfunny auto biography about growing up in the eighties? How can you lack insight into your own autobiography? Somehow he does.

This book is a must read for anyone who has grown up with the music of the 80s as the soundtrack to life, love and loss. It's funny, insightful and a little whimiscal supported by a tinny backbeat of immortal walkman and vinyl tracks. Talking to girls about Duran Duran is, of course grounded in the meaning of life as defined by the Fab Five; as for many of us growing up there was no life without them (and for some of us, that's still largely the case!). However, the author reaquaints the reader with some of the most quintessential music of the 80s from Madonna to Culture Club to The Smiths. A great, entertaining, easy read. Highly recommended for the Gen X in all of us.