Rob Sheffield
{{Short description|American music journalist (born 1966)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Rob Sheffield
| image = Rob Sheffield by David Shankbone (cropped).jpg
| caption = Sheffield at the 2007 Brooklyn Book Festival
| birth_name = Robert James Sheffield
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1966|2|2}}
| birth_place = Milton, Massachusetts, U.S.
| occupation = Author, columnist
| nationality =
| genre = Music
pop culture
| spouse ={{plainlist|
- {{marriage|Renee Crist|1991|1997|end=d}}
- {{marriage|Ally Polak|2006}}
}}
}}
Robert James Sheffield (born February 2, 1966) is an American music journalist and author.{{Cite web |url=http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2007/01/25/COVER-Sheffield-E.rtf.aspx |last1=Barnes |first1=Lindsay |title=COVER- Love Is a Mix Tape: Rolling Stone writer on love and loss in Charlottesville |website=The Hook |date=January 25, 2007 |archive-date=August 23, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090823061718/http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2007/01/25/COVER-Sheffield-E.rtf.aspx |url-status=dead }}
He is a long time contributing editor at Rolling Stone, writing about music, TV, and pop culture. Previously, he was a contributing editor at Blender, Spin and Details magazines. A native of Milton, Massachusetts, Sheffield has a bachelor's degree from Yale University and master's degree (1991) from the University of Virginia.{{cite web|url=http://uvamagazine.org/articles/she_lives_in_song/|title=She Lives in Song|last=Lowery|first=Samantha|work=University of Virginia Magazine|publisher=University of Virginia Alumni Association|date=April 14, 2009|access-date=August 10, 2018|archive-date=April 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425154448/http://uvamagazine.org/articles/she_lives_in_song|url-status=dead }}
Sheffield lives in Brooklyn, New York.{{Cite web|last=Dempsey|first=Luke|title=Duran Duran and the bogus era|url=https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/city-hall/story/2010/07/duran-duran-and-the-bogus-era-067684 |date=2010 |access-date=2021-12-02|website=Politico PRO|language=en|archive-date=2021-12-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202023155/https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/city-hall/story/2010/07/duran-duran-and-the-bogus-era-067684|url-status=live}}
Published works
Sheffield has written eight books. His first, a memoir published by Random House in January 2007, is titled Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time. An excerpt of the book was featured in the January 2007 issue of GQ. A national bestseller, the book was met with much acclaim.{{Cite web|last=Terzian |first=Peter |date=December 31, 2006|title=The day the music died|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-dec-31-bk-terzian31-story.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-12-02|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-12-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202022634/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-dec-31-bk-terzian31-story.html}}{{Cite web|title=Love Is a Mix Tape |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-7393-3352-5|access-date=2021-12-02|work=Publishers Weekly|language=en|archive-date=2021-12-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202022758/https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-7393-3352-5|url-status=live}}
Sheffield's sixth book, released in April 2017, is called Dreaming the Beatles: The Love Story of One Band and the Whole World. An excerpt was published online by Rolling Stone.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/rob-sheffields-new-beatles-book-read-an-excerpt-w476952 |first1=Rob |last1=Sheffield |date= April 24, 2017 |title=Rob Sheffield on the Beatles' Solo Wilderness Years|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=2017-06-29|archive-date=2018-05-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180505225909/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/rob-sheffields-new-beatles-book-read-an-excerpt-w476952|url-status=live}} USA Today gave Dreaming the Beatles three and one-half (out of four) stars and called it a "charming new collection of essays."{{Cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2017/04/25/dreaming-the-beatles-the-love-story-of-one-band-and-the-whole-world-rob-sheffield-book-review/100579990/ |date=Apr 25, 2017 |first1=Kim |last1=Willis |title='Dreaming the Beatles': We love them yeah, yeah, yeah!|work=USA Today|access-date=2017-06-29|language=en|archive-date=2017-06-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170610184557/https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2017/04/25/dreaming-the-beatles-the-love-story-of-one-band-and-the-whole-world-rob-sheffield-book-review/100579990/|url-status=live}} Spin added that "Dreaming the Beatles is equal parts history and cultural criticism, as Sheffield draws from dozens of sources to lay down the story of how the Beatles came to be, before writing about why any of it matters."{{Cite news|url=http://www.spin.com/2017/05/dreaming-the-beatles-rob-sheffield-review/|title=Rob Sheffield's Dreaming the Beatles Is a Fresh Look at the Most Popular Band Ever |first1=Jeremy |last1=Gordon |date=May 10, 2017|work=Spin|access-date=2017-06-29|archive-date=2017-07-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170705111958/http://www.spin.com/2017/05/dreaming-the-beatles-rob-sheffield-review/|url-status=live}} MTV opined that "Dreaming the Beatles is one of the best books about the band ever written."{{Cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/3013749/rob-sheffield-beatles-interview/ |first1=Sean T. |last1=Collins |date=May 17, 2017 |title=Dreaming the Beatles Author Rob Sheffield On The Fab Four's Unstoppable Pop|work=MTV News|access-date=2017-06-29|language=en|archive-date=2017-07-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701003012/http://www.mtv.com/news/3013749/rob-sheffield-beatles-interview/|url-status=dead}} Sheffield won the ASCAP Foundation's Virgil Thomson Award for Outstanding Music Criticism for Dreaming the Beatles in 2017.{{cite news |last1=Robbins |first1=Caryn |title=Journalists on Beatles & More Receive Deems Taylor/ Virgil Thomson Awards |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Journalists-on-Beatles-More-Receive-Deems-Taylor-Virgil-Thomson-Awards-20171012 |work=Broadway World |date=October 12, 2017 |language=en |access-date=April 9, 2022 |archive-date=November 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127123352/https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Journalists-on-Beatles-More-Receive-Deems-Taylor-Virgil-Thomson-Awards-20171012 |url-status=live }}
Sheffield's latest book, published in November 2024, about singer Taylor Swift, is entitled Heartbreak Is the National Anthem: How Taylor Swift Reinvented Pop Music. Writing in The New York Times, Amanda Hess praises his encyclopedic knowledge of Swift's music, fans, and business acumen, but especially her talent as a songwriter, saying "everything always leads back to her virtuosic writing".{{cite news |last1=Hess |first1=Amanda |title=Is Taylor Swift’s Superpower a Gift for Writing? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/09/books/review/taylor-swift-rob-sheffield-heartbreak-is-the-national-anthem.html |work=The New York Times Book Review |publisher=The New York Times |date=9 November 2024}} Publishers Weekly says "the unrestrained delight with which Sheffield captures his subject, [mixes] a fan’s exuberance with a music critic’s nuanced analysis."{{cite news |title=Heartbreak Is the National Anthem: How Taylor Swift Reinvented Pop Music by Rob Sheffield |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780063351318 |work=www.publishersweekly.com |date=10 September 2024}} Kirkus Reviews similarly calls it "an affectionate homage from an ardent fan".{{cite news |title=HEARTBREAK IS THE NATIONAL ANTHEM |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/rob-sheffield/heartbreak-is-the-national-anthem/ |work=Kirkus Reviews |date=27 September 2024 |language=en}}
Bibliography
- 2007 – Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time. {{ISBN|9781400083039}}
- 2009 – Bande Originale (French Edition). {{ISBN|2355840202}}
- 2010 – Talking to Girls About Duran Duran: One Young Man's Quest for True Love and a Cooler Haircut. {{ISBN|0452297230}}
- 2013 – Turn Around Bright Eyes: The Rituals of Love and Karaoke. {{ISBN|0062207628}}
- 2016 – On Bowie. {{ISBN|0062562703}}
- 2017 – Dreaming the Beatles: The Love Story of One Band and the Whole World. {{ISBN|0062207652}}
- 2019 – The Wild Heart of Stevie Nicks (Audible book). {{ASIN|B07PRK66HL}}
- 2024 – Heartbreak Is the National Anthem: How Taylor Swift Reinvented Pop Music. {{ISBN|0063351315}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|2758956}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheffield, Rob}}
Category:American music critics
Category:American music journalists
Category:Journalists from Boston
Category:People from Milton, Massachusetts