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Turn Around Bright Eyes: A Karaoke Journey of Starting Over, Falling in Love, and Finding Your Voice Paperback – May 20, 2014
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Once upon a time I was falling apart. Now I'm always falling in love.
When Rob Sheffield moved to New York City in 2001, he was a young widower trying to start a new life in a new town. One night, some friends dragged him to a karaoke bar—and that night turned into many nights in many karaoke bars. Karaoke became a way to be someone else if only for the span of a three-minute song, and through the sublime ridiculousness of karaoke, Rob began to find his voice.
And then the unexpected happened. A voice on the radio got Rob's attention. And the voice came attached to a woman who could name every constellation in the sky, every Depeche Mode B side, and could belt out a mean Bonnie Tyler. Turn Around Bright Eyes is a journey of hilarity and heartbreak with a karaoke soundtrack. It's about finding the courage to move on, clearing your throat, and letting it rip—and how songs get tangled up in our deepest emotions.
- Print length288 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateMay 20, 2014
- Dimensions5.5 x 0.72 x 8.25 inches
- ISBN-100062207636
- ISBN-13978-0062207630
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“Sheffield explores the healing properties of the much-mocked, beloved karaoke culture. He turns the ridiculousness of the aural horror show into something noble and meaningful.” — USA Today
“In Sheffield’s hands, pop music is more than an object of cultural consumption―it becomes the language through which to navigate and negotiate his most intimate moments.” — The Atlantic
“[What’s] remarkable about Sheffield’s new book is how deep he gets writing about how karaoke―bellowing pop songs to the accompaniment of canned backing tracks in front of supportive friends and drunken strangers―lifted him out of his existential gloom.…He examines the healing power of communal singing.” — Los Angeles Times
“Sheffield is fundamentally a gifted essayist.” — Entertainment Weekly
“Sheffield comes across as an impressive storyteller, encyclopedic in his knowledge of both high and low culture and convincing in his presentation of loss and redemption through music.” — Time Out New York
“Sheffield muses on love, loss, life, Rod Stewart, female Rush fans and much more in an homage to the art and attitude of karaoke.…Eschewing cynicism, [he] writes with a seemingly effortless blend of evocative pathos and spot-on humor that moves and inspires. …Sheffield nails it.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Part love story, part ode to music by a lifelong fan…Sheffield doesn’t just know about songs, he feels them and what they do to him, and his fervent writing―part disciple, part critic-makes you feel the music, too. His insights into music’s importance for life and love are refreshing.” — Booklist
“Rob Sheffield understands music’s power to not only individuate ourselves, but to connect people to one another. His prose keeps such kind, sharp company. In Turn Around Bright Eyes he writes about what, and who, he loves without sentimentality. The world is a better place with Rob Sheffield.” — Julie Klausner, comedian, host of the comedy podcast How Was Your Week and author of I Don't Care About Your Band
“Why in God’s name would anyone immerse themselves in the world of karaoke? Well, here’s your answer―and it’s a surprising trip out of some real darkness, set to a soundtrack of cheesy ballads, yelping rockers, and mangled standards. Turn Around Bright Eyes is an absolute treat.” — Patton Oswalt, comedian, actor, and New York Times bestselling author of Zombie Spaceship Wasteland
“Romantic and addictive, Turn Around Bright Eyes is the most passionate and energetic performance. It could just be the funniest book ever written about music.” — John Taylor, bassist of Duran Duran and New York Times bestselling author of In the Pleasure Groove
“Turn Around Bright Eyes is a touching homage to ‘99 Luftballoons’ and other important chunks of our cultural heritage.” — Gary Shteyngart, bestselling author of Super Sad True Love Story and Absurdistan
About the Author
Rob Sheffield is a columnist for Rolling Stone, where he has been writing about music, TV, and pop culture since 1997. He is the author of the national bestsellers Love Is a Mix Tape: Love and Loss, One Song at a Time; Talking to Girls About Duran Duran: One Young Man’s Quest for True Love and a Cooler Haircut; Turn Around Bright Eyes: A Karaoke Journey of Starting Over, Falling in Love, and Finding Your Voice, On Bowie and Dreaming the Beatles: The Love Story of One Band and the Whole World. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Product details
- Publisher : It Books; Reprint edition (May 20, 2014)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 288 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0062207636
- ISBN-13 : 978-0062207630
- Item Weight : 9.2 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.5 x 0.72 x 8.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #602,835 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,585 in Rock Band Biographies
- #1,718 in Rock Music (Books)
- #17,670 in Memoirs (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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About the author

Rob Sheffield has been a music journalist for more than twenty years. He is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, where he writes about music, TV, and pop culture, and regularly appears on MTV and VH1. He is the author of the national bestseller Love is a Mix Tape, which has been translated into French, German, Swedish, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and other languages he cannot read. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
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I just received my copy of Turn Around Bright Eyes: The Rituals of Love and Karaoke and am half-way through. As always, I am digging Rob’s tapestry of humor and heart and cannot wait to see how it all turns out. Rob’s writing is fun, nostalgic and it is easy to relate to him. I cannot wait to finish this book.
I get why they may have delayed the book. Maybe sent him back to the drawing board. To those that didn't understand or read the first two books, it's easy to right off Rob and his current wife as... Blah... But to have read the first book, to read about his insurmountable pain, you just know, the beat gift Ally gave to him was the ability to pretty much perpetually smile. It may not be deep, it may not be romantic, but it was the impossible and she made it possible. You must read the other two books to know how much he needs her.
I laughed my a** off during much of the book. Made my boyfriend or teenage daughters re-read chapters... But the acknowledgements at the end? I bawled my eyes out in the middle of a topless pool in Vegas... It was the end of an era. If he never writes another book, these three will be in my reading list again and again for years to come.
Karaoke not only changed the author's life, it saved his life. After the sudden death of his wife, he could not pull himself out of grief and depression until going to Karaoke with friends. I've been doing Karaoke for 13 or 14 years. There is not much more in life that I have enjoyed more.
So, if you love karaoke, or if you are wondering what the fuss is about, be sure to check out this book.







