Talking to Girls About Duran Duran

One Young Man's Quest for True Love and a Cooler Haircut

By: Robert Sheffield

Narrated by: Scott Shepherd

The author of the national best seller Love Is a Mix Tape returns, with a different - but equally personal and equally universal - spin on music as memory. Now, in Talking to Girls About Duran Duran, Sheffield shares the soundtrack to his '80s adolescence.

When he turned 13 in 1980, Rob Sheffield had a lot to learn about women, love, music, and himself, and in Talking to Girls About Duran Duran we get a glimpse into his transformation from pasty, geeky "hermit boy" into a young man with his first girlfriend, his first apartment, and a sense of the world. These were the years of MTV and John Hughes movies; the era of big dreams and bigger shoulder pads; and, like any all-American boy, this one was searching for true love and maybe a cooler haircut.

It's all here: Inept flirtations. Dumb crushes. Deplorable fashion choices. Members Only jackets. Girls, every last one of whom seems to be madly in love with the bassist of Duran Duran.

Sheffield's coming-of-age story is one that we all know, with a playlist that any child of the eighties or anyone who just loves music will sing along with. These songs - and Sheffield's writing - will remind readers of that first kiss, that first car, and the moments that shaped their lives.

©2010 Robert Sheffield (P)2010 Penguin Audiobooks

get out of my head! (how'd you do that?)

Rob and I seem to have lived the same adolescent life, half a continent apart and under completely different circumstances. it's truly uncanny how well I related to his memoir; very cleverly constructed against a backdrop of all those hits most of us are unable to admit we loved (and still love). If you are a post baby boomer, you'll get this book- so get it. get it?

Music and Memoir: Who Could Ask for Anything More?

This audio book is a terrific blend-- part memoir, part music history.

Because many of my own memories of the 80's and 90's are knitted together with the music of that era, I truly appreciated Sheffield's ability to move between telling his own story and it's relationship with the music of that time. Music is the vehicle by which Sheffield can tell his story-- one even suspects that the story wouldn't be a story at all if music weren't part of it.

This is a terrific book for anyone who grew up in the 80's-- particularly those who can hear a song and remember, say, driving in a car up I-95 with 4 other teenage girls screaming the words to "Push it (Real Good)", or walking down the streets of NYC singing "Nothing Compares to YOOOOUUU!" with your BFF, or dancing with a crush to "Crazy For You," or cramming into a recording booth on the Wildwood Boardwalk to sing "Livin' On A Prayer" with your 3 sisters (and one of you still has the cassingle produced from said recording booth... somewhere). These are my own memories, but they might as well be Sheffield's. You'll enjoy every bit of this trip in the way-back machine.

Ehh.

This book was just ok. I enjoyed the 80's references and hearing what it was like to experience the 80's first hand. However, Half way through the book I just stopped caring. It got old. He doesn't even mention Duran Duran until the very very end. I found the assumptions he made to be annoying. FYI I'm a female. I enjoy The Clash way more than Duran Duran. It was a coming of age story, and I expected to see character build up. There was none. No big ending. Just more of the same.

If you liked 'Hot Tub Time Machine'...

...and you like books, then this one just might be for you.

Having read and enjoyed Sheffield's first book (Love Is a Mixtape), I was excited to see that he had a new book out. While that first book concerned college, marriage, and 90's indie rock, this one is focused on high school and 80's music (with a focus on synth pop and new wave). He's a funny writer, and he trusts his audience to catch the obscure 80's references he drops -- to everything from Roy Parker Jr. lyrics to scenes from ET.

Favorite quote so far: "If you were famous in the Eighties, you will never be not famous. (In theoretical physics, this principle is formally known as the Justine Bateman Constant.) "

Great trip down memory lane!

What made the experience of listening to Talking to Girls About Duran Duran the most enjoyable?

80s bands galore! The frankness of it.......

What was one of the most memorable moments of Talking to Girls About Duran Duran?

Talking about life with his sisters.

What does Scott Shepherd bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

An irony in his voice.

Any additional comments?

Rename it the title is misleading.

Before there was Team Edward...there was Team John

I was once a “Duranie.” I spent the early part of my teen years making Duran Duran scrap books with pictures I cut out of magazines like, Teen Beat. The first concert I ever went to was a Duran Duran show at Madison Square Garden when I was 13 years old. Floor seats!

This is what drew me to this audiobook. Sheffield does a great job expressing the nostalgia many of us feel toward our first music loves, and the embarrassment and slight shame our obsessive behavior left us with. This book has actually helped me to come to terms with my Duran Duran past. You’re only 13 once, and the role music takes on for most of us during this time is irreplaceable. Sheffield depicts this relationship with humor and affection which make this book a great listen, and one I would recommend to anyone who grew up in the 80’s.

The narrator does an absolutely terrific job! So much of this book references song lyrics and inside jokes that if read incorrectly would have just ruined the narrative. He obviously had a great understanding of the subject matter, and conveyed the author’s voice perfectly.

Mighty 6 90

When I was growing up, there used to be a radio station in our area called Mighty 6 90. Every afternoon when I got home from school, I used to turned to the radio and rock out to whatever was on. When I saw my very first music video on Girls on Film by Duran Duran, I was hooked. Rushing home to catch an hour of music video and hoping that they showed more videos from Duran Duran is when I hit puberty. "Talking to Girls about Duran Duran" is like opening a time capsule of pop culture from the 80's. I didn't care so much on the author's personal story on Duran Duran, but remembering of all of those bands were a trip from the past.

My feel good go to.

I’ve listened to this book so many times... and like the music of the 80’s it brings me back to my youth, a time before i knew what i know now about the world and all its shittiness.

I laugh every single time when he say’s , “I met Duran Duran before , when their name was Shaun Cassidy”

I’m going to re- listen to “Love is a mixtape “ now.

If you grew up in the 80’s and have ears, I think you will appreciate this funny, touching book about pop music and relationships thru the eyes of a quirky, thoughtful boy.

Just OK

At first I found the book extremely funny and I loved all the 80s references and music. However, about halfway through the book I seem to hit a wall and just didn't really feel the need to continue. A couple days later, I pushed myself past that wall and finished it. Not really sure what that was about, but overall the book was light, quick, and not awful. Overall disappointing though.

I hate synth, but this book makes me <3 the 80's

Rob Sheffield is the only person in the world who feels about music the way i do. [At least this is how he makes you feel] I can listen to any station and i will relive the moment i first heard that song. He uses the songs we love / loved / loved to hate in order to explain his journey in and out of girl world. We are over a decade apart in age, yet i feel like we've grown up together because of the music in our lives. I recommend this book to anyone with even the leanest knowledge of pop music. It will be a great story for you and an awesome nostalgic trip.