Synopsis
Print. Digital.
Print. Digital.
What Readers Are Saying About
The Mixtape Manifesto
Angelnet
Hammond’s book comprises very short essays on different topics. How attractive he is. How he’s never had to work to get girl’s numbers. How it’s a hard life having to go to parties and get drunk for a living. He spends his time wondering if there will ever be a significant other in his life but, honestly, she’d struggle to get past his own ego.
That said, there are some quite interesting titbits here. His first foray into the music industry was making mixtapes for his mother because she couldn’t listen to Simon & Garfunkel and Michael Jackson on the same radio station. Reminded me of my own youth spent hunched over the tape deck on a Sunday evening trying to record my favourite chart records without the DJ cutting in!
If you are a child of the eighties and nineties there will be lots of relatable stuff in here. His interactions with his favourite TV programmes from Malcolm in the Middle to Cheers to The O.C. – all have their special place in his heart. It helps if you have a pretty good knowledge of American music and pop culture during this period otherwise the book isn’t going to make a lot of sense.
The bits that really worked were the stories about his family – Uncle Donnie and his Heineken poster were hilarious and these were the insights that made you feel a bit more positively about him. Ultimately though, it all comes over as rather self-indulgent.
Casey
I thought the chapters that were grounded in specific topics, such as shamelessly enjoying Taylor Swift's 1989, were much stronger than the rest of the book, which has a relentless fixation on why Hammond is single.
Some of the views he expresses on feminism and equality are frankly cringeworthy for someone who does attempt to educate himself on such matters, and I think he blames women entirely too much for his romantic problems.
If he were a writer with more of a national/international profile, then the insight into his background might have been more arresting. As it is, I didn't get why I'm supposed to care that girls don't give him their phone numbers unsolicited at parties anymore.
Bill Mackela
I'm really not the target audience for this book. Someone thirty years younger may get more of the topical references than I do. But, even a 66 year old guy can relate. In fact, I might get more out of this story than Hammond intended. This book really does have an underlying message.
I kept asking myself, "What is this book?" Well, it's a collection of semi-autobiographical stories that Hammond wrote over a dozen-or-so years. He discovered that he was growing up in these stories, and thought that they might be worth reading. He was right.
This collection is thought provoking. You can zip though it in one day, but then take a little time to let it stew in your brain. Maybe you can hear it speak to you, like it did to me.
I give The Mixtape Manifesto a Big Thumbs Up! If you are ready to take a little mind trip, join in, you really might learn something about your life, while reading about his.
Georgiann Hennelly
The Mixtape Manifesto tells the story of one man's life in a series of short stories. I found it to be an entertaining and enjoyable read.
Lisa Bentley
As much as I didn’t know what to expect, I did thoroughly enjoy The Mixtape Manifesto: A Pop Culture Confessional.
I don’t think I expected it to read quite like it did; a series of diary entries or blog posts. It was a truly honest book. Hammond has literally bled every thought on to the page.
My favourite entry by a mile was Taylor Swift: Why I’m a Fangirl. In this one article, SW Hammond succinctly wrote about me. Obviously he didn’t, but he accurately captured my thoughts and my feelings. Feelings that I had been feeling slightly guilty for feeling... and now, because someone else had recognised it, I realised that it was ok to feel the way I do. Cryptic, I know. Read the book to see if it makes you feel like I do.
Sheri Wilkinson
Original, entertaining, and overall enjoyable read! The photos really bring each essay home. It's neat how Hammond blended old family photos, his own photography from concerts / travel, and celebrities.
Mixtape is a fun and quirky book for guests to flip through while they wait in our lobby.
THE MIXTAPE MANIFESTO
