Best Book of 2010: A Trip Through 80s Music

One of the most enjoyable books to be published in 2010 is Talking to Girls about Duran Duran. The title is a little misleading, since the book reminisces about the music scene of the entire 80s decade, not just the band famous for "Rio" and Hungry Like the Wolf."

Author Rob Sheffield, who has written for Rolling Stone, presents the book almost as a diary. Each chapter's title is a specific year in the 80s, with a popular song and its artist as a sub-headline.

The chapters read almost as separate entities, except for a few personal links that serve as assets to the book. Among these is Sheffield's relationship with his sisters, who introduced him to Duran Duran and other new wave artists of the 80s.

Sheffield occasionally writes lovingly about his grandpa, who was amused when they first saw David Bowie seeing "Space Oddity" on TV. In a later chapter there is a poignant recollection where Sheffield having to tend to the elderly man's daily functions.

The most humorous tie-in throughout the book is Sheffield's employment. He has hilarious anecdotes about the year he worked with a crew of roughnecks on a garbage truck. He is equally amusing when he describes the summer he drove an ice cream truck. In 1986 he worked shelving books at a library, which allowed him ample free time to listen to music. That year his favorite band was The Replacements.

The strongest chapters in the book, in spite of the title, are those that are not based on Duran Duran. Chapter Two, subtitled "Ashes to Ashes," is about Sheffield's fascination with David Bowie and his music. He opens the 1980 chapter with, "David Bowie ended life as I knew it one Sunday morning, entering my life the way a true prophet should - over a bowl of Fruity Pebbles" (p.31).

Sheffield's also dedicates a chapter, sub-titled "Maneater," to Hall and Oates. His admiration for the duo, who unlike most bands were able to transition from soft rock-pop into new wave successes, is obvious. Also obvious is Sheffield's knack for humor. He writes that, "You could argue the 1980s officially ended the day he (John Oates) shaved the mustache in 1991" (p.89).

He literally moves up from facial hair to the styles atop the members of A Flock of Seagulls in a chapter sub-titled "Space Age Love Song." Sheffield's most prominent emotion while recalling that band would be sympathy. He bemoans their lack of long-term chart success in the United States as well as their near anonymity in Great Britain. He admits, "Even a big fan of their music, like me, has to concede the point that these days, they are remembered mostly because of their coiffures" (page 130).

Perhaps the most famous artist covered in the book is Paul McCartney, in the chapter called "No More Lonely Nights." Sheffield seems puzzled by the ex-Beatle. He claims that most fans have strong feelings one way or another about the other three Beatles, but "Nobody really knows what to do with Paul" (page 153). His opening line of the chapter sums up his personal impression, when he says "It was Paul McCartney who warped my young brain with the idea that not worshipping a girl was a waste of time, an idea that has caused about 88 percent of the misery in my life." Then Sheffield adds that "The other 12 percent was caused by Say Say Say."

The latter half of the book lacks the humor and poignant reflections that makes Sheffield's writing so enjoyable. Chapters about Tone Loc, Lita Ford, Big Daddy Kane, and even New Kids on the Block seem out of place in a chronicle of mostly new-wave bands of the 80s.

The lone highlight in the second half is the chapter about The Smiths, called "Ask." Sheffield admits to a love-hate-love relationship with Morrissey's band, citing his undying worship of their self-titled debut album. Sheffield's memory of the follow-up is quite the opposite, but with their third album The Smiths regain his adoration. In perhaps the book's most memorable anecdote, Sheffield cites a conversation he once had with a fellow Smiths fan he spoke with once at a club. The dialogue was made up entirely of lines from The Smiths' songs.

Source:

Talking to Girls about Duran Duran by Rob Sheffield, Dutton Publishers, New York, NY, 2010.