Love Is A Mix Tape
What can you say about a twenty five year old girl who died?
Well, maybe she was a couple of years older than that. But one day, Rob Sheffield’s wife, Renee, just keeled over and died. Just like that. No illness, no warning, just kaput.
How do you cope with that?
By writing a book. After you can’t find a place to put your hurt, your loss.
I hate Rob Sheffield on principle. Anybody who takes the bait and gets airtime on VH1 is suspicious to me. They called me in, I told them I wouldn’t do it. Maybe if they built a whole show around me, maybe… But to be a talking head, commenting on some evanescent rock moment… God, I’d look like the rest of the talking heads on that channel, LIKE I LIVE WITH MY PARENTS!
And there’s more to hate about Rob in this book. Saying what an outsider/loser he is, then dropping the fact that he went to Yale. Hey ROB! This makes it hard to root for you. And I was rooting for you before that. You didn’t quite have me from hello, but not deep into your memoir, "Love Is A Mix Tape", I was drawn into your world. And, don’t you know the literary code for Yale is NEW HAVEN?
You see Rob was a geek. Who fell instantly and madly in love with a southern girl with flair. One with personality, a force of nature. And in not that long a time, she reciprocated. He was in heaven.
They went to see indie bands together. They got fucked up in the backyard. And they made mix tapes.
I can’t say that this was an avocation of mine. Oh, I did it for a while. But, setting levels was too much of a pain in the ass.
Then again, I got the CDs for free. But, eventually, so did Rob and Renee. They started writing reviews, still they assembled cassettes, reflecting their loves of the moment. Not only hipster alternative, but Top Forty. They shared a love for Top Forty.
That impacted me, the love. Oh, at the end of the book Rob details his disillusionment with the format. But what he loved in the old days I’ve come to love in today’s country. Sure, too much of it is manufactured, but you don’t have to think to listen, it’s a great accompaniment, you live to turn on the radio.
The way Rob delineates his love for Renee is positively infectious. She gains weight, but his affection for her never wanes. They fight, but they’re still together. They got married too young, but this one seemed destined to last.
When I finished this book at 3 a.m., I wanted to jump up and write just then. But I was at the beach, I had no computer. And I haven’t been in the mood since. Not until I just got an e-mail from someone asking me HOW COULD I LOVE THIS COUNTRY CRAP! DIDN’T I TESTIFY ABOUT JAMES MCMURTRY?
Then, I said I had to write about Sheffield’s book. Because, despite his CV, it’s sans attitude, he’s not trying to look good. He just needs to tell his story.
We all need to tell our stories. So we don’t feel alone.
When you read "Love Is A Mix Tape", you won’t only feel Rob’s pain, but an incredible sense of connection. Maybe you liked different tracks, but the passion for music, you had it too.
This is one great rock book. Maybe because it’s not about rock, but life. But isn’t rock about life?
