Love Is a Mix Tape
Life and Loss, One Song at a Time
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Narrated by:
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Rob Sheffield
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By:
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Rob Sheffield
About this listen
“The happiest, saddest, sweetest book about rock ‘n’ roll that I’ve ever experienced.”—Chuck Klosterman
Mix tapes: We all have our favorites. Stick one into a deck, press play, and you’re instantly transported to another time in your life. For Rob Sheffield, that time was one of miraculous love and unbearable grief. A time that spanned seven years, it started when he met the girl of his dreams, and ended when he watched her die in his arms. Using the listings of fifteen of his favorite mix tapes, Rob shows that the power of music to build a bridge between people is stronger than death. You’ll listen to these words, perhaps surprisingly, with joy in your heart and a song in your head—the one that comes to mind when you think of the love of your life.
Praise for Love is a Mixtape
“A memoir that manages, no small feat, to be funny and beautifully forlorn at the same time.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Humorous, heartbreaking, and heroic.”—Entertainment Weekly
“The finest lines ever written about rock ‘n’ roll . . . Like that song on the radio, every word of Rob’s book is true. Love is a mix tape.”—Rolling Stone
“Many of us use pop culture as a mirror of our emotional lives, but Sheffield happily walks right through the looking glass.”—Los Angeles Times
“Sheffield writes with such aching remembering, you feel like you are invading his privacy . . . and it’s the truth of those details that make this memoir so touching.”—Newsweek
©2007 Rob Sheffield (P)2007 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"No rock critic- living or dead, American or otherwise- has ever written about pop music with the evocative, hyperpoetic perfectitude of Rob Sheffield. Love is a Mix Tape is the happiest, saddest, greatest book about rock'n'roll that I've ever experienced."–Chuck Klosterman, bestselling author of Fargo Rock Cty, Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, Killing Yourself to Live and Chuck Klosterman IV
"This is a lightly-handed, skillful and sincere celebration of pop, of love, sad songs, bad songs and the long, nearly unbearable ache of being a young widower. Witty and wise; a true candidate for the All-Time Desert Island Top 5 Books About Pop Music."–Kirkus, starred review
"I can't think of many books as appealing as Rob Sheffield's Love is a Mix Tape; Sheffield writes beautifully about music, he's hilarious, and his story is alternatingly joyous and heartbreaking. Plus, everyone knows there's no better way to organize history and make sense of life than through the mix tape."–Haven Kimmel, bestselling author of She Got Up Off the Couch, A Girl Named Zippy and The Solace of Leaving Early
Featured Article: The top 100 memoirs of all time
All genres considered, the memoir is among the most difficult and complex for a writer to pull off. After all, giving voice to your own lived experience and recounting deeply painful or uncomfortable memories in a way that still engages and entertains is a remarkable feat. These autobiographies, often narrated by the authors themselves, shine with raw, unfiltered emotion sure to resonate with any listener. But don't just take our word for it—queue up any one of these listens, and you'll hear exactly what we mean.
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Mike Doughty first came to prominence as the leader of the band Soul Coughing then did an abrupt sonic left turn, much to the surprise of his audience, transforming into a solo performer of stark, dusky, but strangely hopeful tunes. He battled addiction, gave up fame when his old band was at the height of its popularity, and drove thousands of miles, alone, across America, with just an acoustic guitar.
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I Got on an Emotional Rollercoaster w. M. Doughty
- By Hilary on 03-02-12
By: Mike Doughty
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Every Anxious Wave
- By: Mo Daviau
- Narrated by: Zach Villa
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Why would we need music if our lives were exactly as we wanted them to be? Karl Bender is a quiet guy who lives in three places: his bar, his apartment, and the cheap Mediterranean place on the corner that keeps him well fed with his daily portion of hummus and chicken shwarma. But that's all about to change. When he stumbles upon a time-traveling wormhole, Karl develops a business selling access to people who want to go back in time to hear their favorite bands.
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Frustrating
- By Brit N Jonn Designs on 03-31-16
By: Mo Daviau
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I'm the One That I Want
- By: Margaret Cho
- Narrated by: Margaret Cho
- Length: 4 hrs and 57 mins
- Abridged
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I'm the One That I Want, based on her show of the same name, is filled with dead-on insights about the experience of being a woman with attitude, of flowing with the highs and lows of life, and of creating one's own identity and acceptance. It is every bit as hilarious, shocking, and irreverent as she is.
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Hilarious and deeply engrossing
- By Ling on 04-10-03
By: Margaret Cho
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Your Band Sucks
- What I Saw at Indie Rock's Failed Revolution (But Can No Longer Hear)
- By: Jon Fine
- Narrated by: Jon Fine
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Jon Fine spent nearly 30 years performing and recording with bands that played various forms of aggressive and challenging underground rock music. And, as he writes in this memoir, at no point were any of those bands "ever threatened, even distantly, by actual fame". Yet when members of his first band, Bitch Magnet, reunited after 21 years to tour Europe, Asia, and America, diehard longtime fans traveled from far and wide to attend those shows.
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Life in a band-the ups, downs and truth!
- By C Christopher Taylor on 07-10-18
By: Jon Fine
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Chelsea Girls
- A Novel
- By: Eileen Myles
- Narrated by: Eileen Myles
- Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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In this breathtakingly inventive autobiographical novel, Eileen Myles transforms life into a work of art. Told in her audacious voice, made vivid and immediate in her lyrical language, Chelsea Girls cobbles together memories of Myles's 1960s Catholic upbringing with an alcoholic father, her volatile adolescence, her unabashed "lesbianity," and her riotous pursuit of survival as a poet in 1970s New York.
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fascinatingly skanky
- By Megon J. Walker on 07-15-16
By: Eileen Myles
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God-Shaped Hole
- A Novel
- By: Tiffanie DeBartolo
- Narrated by: Rachael Warren
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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When Beatrice Trixie Jordan replies to a personal ad, she meets Jacob Grace, a charming, effervescent 30-something free-spirit writer passionately seeking life. He possesses his own turns of phrase and ways of thinking and feeling that dissonantly harmonize with Trixie's off-center vision. As they rollercoaster through the joys and furies of their wrenching romance, they try to come to terms with the hurt brought about by both of their distant fathers who, in different ways, forsook them.
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To see a fortune teller or not to see one...
- By Renee on 08-08-18
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Born to Run
- By: Bruce Springsteen
- Narrated by: Bruce Springsteen
- Length: 18 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2009, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed at the Super Bowl's halftime show. The experience was so exhilarating that Bruce decided to write about it. That's how this extraordinary autobiography began. Over the past seven years, Bruce Springsteen has privately devoted himself to writing the story of his life, bringing to this audio the same honesty, humor, and originality found in his songs.
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Me Springsteen's book moved me beyond words...
- By Ellen O'Brien on 12-12-16
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I Can Barely Take Care of Myself
- Tales from a Happy Life Without Kids
- By: Jen Kirkman
- Narrated by: Jen Kirkman
- Length: 6 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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"You'll change your mind." That's what everyone says to Jen Kirkman - and countless women like her - when she confesses she doesn't plan to have children. But you know what? It's hard enough to be an adult. You have to dress yourself and pay bills and remember to buy birthday gifts. You have to drive and get annual physicals and tip for good service. Some adults take on the added burden of caring for a tiny human being with no language skills or bladder control.
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Funny. Not fall down laughing funny, but funny
- By david on 05-22-13
By: Jen Kirkman
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Sex, Drugs, Ratt & Roll
- My Life in Rock
- By: Stephen Pearcy, Sam Benjamin
- Narrated by: Stephen R. Thorne
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Stephen Pearcy was a scrawny, horny, thrill-seeking teenager with an electric guitar who had graduated from backyard parties in San Diego to half-empty dives in Los Angeles before he and his band broke through at Whiskey a Go Go. Cranking out metal just as metal got hot, Ratt was the perfect band at the perfect time, and their hit single "Round and Round" became a top-selling anthem.
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Stephen Pearcy is one sad mf
- By Awkward Frog on 12-28-20
By: Stephen Pearcy, and others
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Beat the Devil
- By: Mishka Shubaly
- Narrated by: Mishka Shubaly
- Length: 3 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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In Beat the Devil, addict, alcoholic and best-selling Kindle Singles author Mishka Shubaly returns to battle his ultimate demon: his obsession with rock 'n' roll. Over three decades, his affliction has spawned immeasurable chaos and destruction (and, yes, maybe some debauched good times). While his rivals have graced the covers of Spin and Rolling Stone, Shubaly's projects have always flamed out in the 11th hour. At 36, sober and stable, Shubaly is poised to finally achieve the rock 'n' roll glory he has lusted after for years... or walk away from his lifelong dream forever.
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An honest man
- By Terry Bowman on 11-24-23
By: Mishka Shubaly
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Punk Rock Blitzkrieg
- My Life as a Ramone
- By: Rich Herschlag, Marky Ramone
- Narrated by: Corey M. Snow
- Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Having outlived his bandmates, Marky is the only person who can share the secrets and stories of the Ramones' improbable rise from obtuse beginnings to induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But it wasn't all good times and hit songs, and Marky doesn't shy away from discussing his own struggles.
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Dedicated Punk Fans Must Read
- By Leostriple on 03-26-15
By: Rich Herschlag, and others
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Tammy Wynette
- Tragic Country Queen
- By: Jimmy McDonough
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 15 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Best-selling biographer Jimmy McDonough tells the story of the small-town girl who grew up to be the woman behind the microphone, whose meteoric rise led to a decades-long career full of tragedy and triumph. Through a high-profile marriage and divorce, her dreadful battle with addiction and illness, and the struggle to compete in a rapidly evolving Nashville, Tammy Wynette turned a brave smile toward the world and churned out masterful hit songs though her life resembled the most heartbreaking among them.
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Loved It!
- By Eileen on 03-19-10
By: Jimmy McDonough
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Bettyville
- By: George Hodgman
- Narrated by: Jeff Woodman
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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When George Hodgman leaves Manhattan for his hometown of Paris, Missouri, he finds himself - an unlikely caretaker and near-lethal cook - in a head-on collision with his aging mother, Betty, a woman of wit and will. Will George lure her into assisted living? When hell freezes over. He can't bring himself to force her from the home both treasure - the place where his father's voice lingers, the scene of shared jokes, skirmishes, and, behind the dusty antiques, a rarely acknowledged conflict...
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Title Should Be Georgeville-It's All About George
- By Sara on 10-08-15
By: George Hodgman
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I Am Brian Wilson
- By: Brian Wilson, Ben Greenman - contributor
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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As a cofounding member of the Beach Boys in the 1960s, Wilson created some of the most groundbreaking and timeless popular music ever recorded. With intricate harmonies, symphonic structures, and wide-eyed lyrics that explored life's most transcendent joys and deepest sorrows, songs like "In My Room", "God Only Knows", and "Good Vibrations" forever expanded the possibilities of pop songwriting.
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Surviving the Minor Keys in Life - Love Overcomes
- By Russell on 12-01-16
By: Brian Wilson, and others
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The Hour I First Believed
- A Novel
- By: Wally Lamb
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 25 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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When high-school teacher Caelum Quirk and his wife, Maureen, move to Littleton, Colorado, they both get jobs at Columbine High School. In April 1999, while Caelum is away, Maureen finds herself in the library at Columbine, cowering in a cabinet and expecting to be killed. Miraculously, she survives. But when Caelum and Maureen flee to an illusion of safety on the Quirk family's Connecticut farm, they discover that the effects of chaos are not easily put right.
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excellent all around yarn
- By G. on 01-10-09
By: Wally Lamb
What listeners say about Love Is a Mix Tape
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Amazon Customer
- 06-19-21
Only a few know the power of the Mix Tape
Growing up a shy geek in the 80s, Mix Tapes were my go-to for really opening my heart to someone. I understood the power of selecting the perfect songs and recording them in the perfect order to take someone on a 45 minute ride of emotions.
When Rob met Renee he knew that he wanted to be in her life, so he made her a Mix Tape. Their love of music, and each other grew and several Mix Tapes later they were married. Like all great love stories, theirs came crashing down with the sudden death of Renee. Rob struggled to exist in the void left by her absence, but with time (a lot of time) he learned to move forward. He learned the Renee had touched so many other lives in ways that he couldn't ever had imagined. What he did with Renee's hats got me all choked up.
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Overall
- Ladonna
- 02-18-07
Best love story I've ever read
This book is a must have for anyone who has ever been in love. I don't typically read and couldn't stop listening. I listened to the whole book in one night! Check out more reviews for the book don't just take my word for it.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 01-24-22
I've Never Listened to a Mixtape
If I was going to have someone explain to me what a mixtape was, I would want it explained exactly like this. Well. Maybe with a different ending. I love a good cheesy ending where the guy gets the girl. This book has moments of funny, feel-good perfection, but it also has parts that break you apart with a single line of lyrics.
This is the best book about music that I've ever read; it’s also the only book about music I've ever read. In general though, I would have to say this is one of the best books that I've ever read.
And I would also say that if you don't listen to the audiobook, you're missing out on a lot.
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- Placeholder
- 11-23-20
the best
One of my all time favorite books! I still have my much loved, read many times, dog eared and doodled paperback copy from when I was a teenager. It was amazing hearing Rob read this out loud, bringing Rene to life. I'm sure I re-listen to this one again and again. Think I'll even splice in some of his narrations between songs on my own mixtapes that I still make too.
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- Anonymous User
- 07-29-24
Rob’s emotions heard in every word
Just listen, I promise you will be forever grateful to the author for reminding you of forgotten feelings.
Enjoy
You’re welcome
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- Natalia
- 04-08-10
A sad story in a happy wrapper.
I really enjoyed this book. Music is the way i relate to people or memories and this author just gets it. You follow his life through the mix tapes he made and even though it is a story of loss you cannot help, but smile. You fall in love with Renee and you feel Rob's emotions through out the story. You are in love when he is and you are at the point of tears when he is grieving. This is a must read/listen. Oh and for a similar book, for you fellow audiophiles I recommend Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby.
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8 people found this helpful
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- fatfitnessguy
- 05-30-22
nostalgia and emotions for days
makes me wish there was an expanded version where you hear every song, or at least a clip
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- ES
- 02-06-24
Good Grief.
This was so witty and charming and self-deprecating and lyrical and memorable and oh my God so painful. So beautiful and so tough. I loved it and it scared me and I just might have to sit here and think about it for a while.
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- Mister mister
- 06-03-16
Performance
While I understand the prestige of having the author read, and sometimes it does work like Toni Morrison reading Beloved, this was a terrible idea for this book. Rob is a fantastic writer, but him reading ruins this book.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Tom Richards
- 10-11-17
Beautiful, funny, and heartbreaking
Rob Sheffield has done it again with this
beautiful, funny, and heartbreaking book. Highly recommended for anyone who loves 90s music, or pop music in general!
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