Love is a Mix Tape, Finale

I finished this book last night. I read about Renee's death on the bus, but it didn't make me cry like I thought it would. Maybe that's because I knew it was coming for the entirety of the book? I mean, it says so right on the back. However, the final two chapters made me weep as I read before I went to bed. He talked about what it meant to be a widow, a young widow. You're this animal alone in your world. No one knows what you're going through. All your friends still have their significant others. He talked about all the new bands and songs that came about after Renee's death that she would love and how hard it was to love something without her to share it with him.

Sadder for me then her death, was Rob telling how he eventually (many years later) fell in love again. It felt like a betrayal to me, though in my heart of hearts, I know it would be important to let yourself love again. I loved this book and I highly recommend it to those who love music, all kinds of music, and those who love deeply every day.

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On a musical note, I've been listening to Liz Phair this week. I can think of no other person but Willikat when I listen to Liz Phair, and not because she met Liz or loves her to death, but because it brings me back to one of the first times I hung out with Willikat. I remember sitting on the floor of her college apartment bedroom as she played Liz songs for me over and over, and sang her favorite parts to me. Willikat makes some of the best mix CDs and I'm lucky to be the proud recipient of a couple of them myself. Just as I'm lucky to be her friend.

My bff 4you also made a very special mix CD for me, featuring lovely, but rockin', songs by PJ Harvey, Liz Phair and a bonus Offspring track. I played this CD as background music on the first several dates with hubby - we would stay up late talking, listening and laughing to this CD. Those songs will always hold a special place in my heart, bringing me back to the time I fell in love for real life and for forever.

Love is a Mix Tape, Part II

The last few chapters I've read have been about when Rob met Renee, their courting days and then their marriage. He writes about how they used to go for drives and sing along to the music, doing duets - her Mary, him Peter and Paul, etc.

This reminded me of an ultimate geekdom story from my past: Sitting on the marching band bus on the way to a parade sophomore year of high school, alternating the parts of California Dreamin' with the back of the bus. Whenever I hear that song (which is often as it's on my iPod, thank you Forrest Gump soundtrack) I think of this time in my life. Every time.

Rob also talks about adjusting to living with someone, and the fights you have. It's funny how all couples fight about pretty much the same things. When they fought, he liked to wash dishes to make himself calm down. His washing dishes mix tape was the Top 40 hits of 1992. You know, Kris Kross "Jump" (sixth grade Halloween party for me); Madonna "This Used to be my Playground" (remember A League of Their Own?); and Right Said Fred "I'm Too Sexy" (who doesn't have memories about this song?).

Love this book so far.

Love is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss One Song at a Time

Rob Sheffield is a contributing editor for Rolling Stone and his memoir, Love is a Mix Tape, tells his story through the songs on his favorite (or most significant) mix tapes. The story mostly revolves around Rob's eight years with his wife, who died unexpectedly at a very young age. The two of them bonded over music, making mix tapes for every occasion: road trips, walks, workouts, washing dishes, etc.

I've only just started reading this, but I've found it humorous (the mix tape he made for his eighth-grade dance: hello Boston and Cheap Trick), sweet (his dad spending an afternoon making a mix tape with his 12-year-old son) and sad (knowing from the beginning his wife Renee is going to die). It's a bit High Fidelity and a bit The Year of Magical Thinking. He spends his college years with headphones covering his ears, which made me think of High Fidelity's Rob: Is he depressed because he listens to pop music or does he listen to pop music because he's depressed?

One of my favorite quotes so far: "The times you lived through, the people you shared those times with - nothing brings it all to life like an old mix tape. It does a better job of storing up memories than actual brain tissue can do. Every mix tape tells a story. Put them together, and they add up to the story of a life."

More to come as I continue reading, and remembering the songs and mixed tapes/CDs of my life.