When Rob Sheffield writes, I read. This is my mantra. No matter the subject, I am on board. I respect the hell out of his chops, and his passion for and knowledge of pop music are nonparallel. He is the geek’s geek, and he can geek better than you. Sheffield, who is now a good friend and (full disclosure) penned the foreword to my next book, has written a new one about Taylor Swift. And it is, spoiler alert: Just great.
Also, full disclosure (I promise, the last one): I have been at best a casual acquaintance of Swift’s music. I did not care and still don’t give any part of a hoot for the details of her personal life, her political influence, her impact on pro football, or the bevy of lovers that have failed her or she has failed. This makes Rob Sheffield’s efforts –in that wonderfully fun-loving entertaining method of his – a rousing success in helping me understand how all these things have been emotionally and effectively dumped into her songs and how those songs have resonated with more people than any artist alive enjoys as a fanbase.
In this and many other ways, Sheffield has written a primer for the casual listener while simultaneously offering a bible for Swifties, as many in my family (I picked up two signed copies at a NYC book-signing this winter) are dedicated members of that club and are thrilled by Heartbreak is the National Anthem.
Mostly, this is an important book for its times. Taylor Swift is currently our biggest pop star. She has navigated her way through an evolution of several iterations and genres and conquered them all as a key woman figure for a generation of young women singer-songwriters. Sheffield makes sure we understand this as much as the minutiae that makes up her biggest hits and seminal albums. This, and the Herculean level of details contained in Heartbreak is the National Anthem makes it a must-read if you’re like me, a curious interloper in the Swiftie universe wondering what the hell the hoopla is about and for those steeped in that hoopla.
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