Book Club: Talking to Girls About Duran Duran

I am currently reading the book, "Talking to Girls about Duran Duran," written by Rob Sheffield. This is a books about one boy of the 80s' journey through adolescence guided by his radio. I'm only about half-way through this book so I don't feel like I can give an accurate analysis of the book as a whole, but what I have read thus far has been very enjoyable.

What this book mostly makes me think of is my own journey through music and life and I feel like I could write a book called, "Talking to boys about David Bowie." His title stems from the fact that no matter what female he is talking to or how old he gets, if he mentions Duran Duran, that female will have a strong reaction in one way or another. She will tell him about the first time she dance with her girlfriends to, "Rio," or making out with her first boyfriend to, "Girls on Film." Or maybe she's one of those girls who got dumped while, "Electric Barbarella," played on the radio. The point is, every girl of his generation has a Duran Duran story. There is a strong connection between those women and those songs and you want those girls to notice and bond with you, you ask them how they feel about Duran Duran.

I feel very much the same way about the guys I've dated or thought even considered dating and their connection to Mr. David Bowie. Some guys think he's a pansy rocker who doesn't deserve all the fame he's received. Other guys worship the rocking ground he walks on and their idea of foreplay is to growl, "Oh baby, just you shut your mouth," into a girl's ear. (Not that this would work or anything...) It doesn't really matter what the feeling is, every male I know has a strong connection and memory associated with David Bowie. It really is a shame I'm not interested in dating anymore simply for the reason that I will never be able to test my theory. I would love to spend an evening in a random bar asking guys what they think about David Bowie. I think you can tell a great deal about a person's personality from their answer.


I give "Talking to Girls about Duran Duran" a grade of B-. It's a fun book but it isn't terribly insightful and I feel like the author spends a lot more time indulging in his anecdotes about tight gym shorts than actually discussing the songs and artists.