Turn Around Bright Eyes: The Rituals Of Love & Karaoke (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
Read Rob Sheffield’s latest fanboy-obsessive music tome, “Turn Around Bright Eyes: The Rituals of Love and Karaoke.” Sheffield, together with Chuck Klosterman and Bill Simmons, are Generation X’s foremost chroniclers of pop culture. I’d rank Sheffield’s latest a notch or two below his previous efforts, the excellent “Love is a Mix Tape” and the very good “Talking to Girls About Duran Duran,” mostly because I don’t share Sheffield’s near religious-like devotion to karaoke. But when he’s waxing rhapsodic or philosophical about Rod Stewart, or David Bowie, or Neil Diamond, or the Pixies, or about the people in his life -- his dad, mom, grandparents, and second wife all receive nice tributes -- Sheffield turns into that platonic soul mate or BFF we all imagine our favorite writers to be. In Turn Around Bright Eyes, Rob Sheffield does many things by grounding them in his confessed love for karaoke. He takes us inside the world of a "karaoke pro." He recalls much of his time living in New York City during 9/11. In one of the highlights of the book, Sheffield dishes on what it's like to be a part of a rock 'n roll fantasy camp.Those things all make for good reads and Sheffield is an able writer with a wicked sense for deploying deep cuts of popular culture to illustrate his point of view and they make the book worth reading. However, they are not what this book is truly about.What this book is mostly about is Sheffield's relationship with Ally, the woman who becomes his second wife. If you don't know Sheffield's work from Rolling Stone, you probably know his memoir Love is a Mix Tape wherein he walks readers through his wonderful, tragic first marriage, couching it in his efforts to sum up the relationship with a perfect cassette compilation. Here, Sheffield uses karaoke (in its' many forms) as a backdrop for his burgeoning relationship with Ally in much the same format as that previous effort.While not as emotionally resonant as his earlier book, there's a rapturous, joyful quality to Turn Around Bright Eyes I love, in that it's about a guy who thought he was finished finding out that he has a second chance at love. Hopeful and earnest isn't easy to pull off in such a cynical world but Sheffield does it in spades. While this book isn't as cohesive as his last two efforts, it's still well worth a look, especially for fans of the author's debut memoir.
What do You think about Turn Around Bright Eyes: The Rituals Of Love & Karaoke (2013)?
This was a very moving book and I look forward to reading his other works.
—mary
Rush is probably the most hated band ever. I can totally agree.
—Munazza
If music makes your world go round - this book is for you.
—Aleyn
His first book, Love is a Mix Tape, is still his best.
—ADRIAN
