High Fidelity is a 1995

1995 in literature

The year 1995 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*The Dylan Thomas Centre in Swansea is opened by Jimmy Carter....

 British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

 by Nick Hornby

Nick Hornby

Nick Hornby is an English novelist, essayist and screenwriter. He is best known for the novels High Fidelity, About a Boy, and for the football memoir Fever Pitch. His work frequently touches upon music, sport, and the aimless and obsessive natures of his protagonists.-Life and career:Hornby was...

. It was adapted into a 2000 film

High Fidelity (film)

High Fidelity is a 2000 American comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears and starring John Cusack and the Danish actress Iben Hjejle. The film is based on the 1995 British novel of the same name by Nick Hornby, with the setting moved from London to Chicago and the name of the lead character...

 directed by Stephen Frears

Stephen Frears

Stephen Arthur Frears is an English film director.-Early life:Frears was born in Leicester, England to Ruth M., a social worker, and Dr Russell E. Frears, a general practitioner and accountant. He did not find out that his mother was Jewish until he was in his late 20s...

 and starring John Cusack

John Cusack

John Paul Cusack is an American film actor and screenwriter. He has appeared in more than 50 films, including The Journey of Natty Gann, Say Anything..., Grosse Point Blank, The Thin Red Line, Stand by Me, Con Air, Being John Malkovich, High Fidelity, Serendipity, Runaway Jury, The Ice Harvest,...

. It also served as the basis for a 2006 Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 musical

Musical theatre

Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...

 of the same name

High Fidelity (musical)

High Fidelity is a musical with a book by David Lindsay-Abaire, lyrics by Amanda Green, and music by Tom Kitt. Based primarily on the Nick Hornby novel rather than the subsequent film version it inspired, the plot focuses on Rob Gordon, a Brooklyn record shop owner in his thirties obsessed with...

.

Plot summary

Rob Fleming is a London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 record store owner in his mid-thirties whose girlfriend, Laura, has just left him. At the record shop — named Championship Vinyl — Rob and his employees Dick and Barry spend their free moments discussing mix-tape aesthetics and constructing "top-five"

Desert Island Discs

Desert Island Discs is a BBC Radio 4 programme first broadcast on 29 January 1942. It is the second longest-running radio programme , and is the longest-running factual programme in the history of radio...

 lists of anything that demonstrates their knowledge of music.

Rob, recalling his five most memorable breakups, sets about getting in touch with the former girlfriends. Eventually, Rob's re-examination of his failed relationships and the death of Laura's father bring the two back together. Their relationship is cemented by the launch of a new purposefulness to Rob's life in the revival of his disc jockey

Disc jockey

A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...

 career.

Also, realising that his fear of commitment (a result of his fear of death of those around him) and his tendency to act on emotion are responsible for his continuing desires to pursue new women, Rob makes a symbolic commitment to Laura.

Most memorable split-ups (chronological order)

1. Alison Ashworth
2. Penny Hardwick
3. Jackie Allen
4. Charlie Nicholson
5. Sarah Kendrew

Rob's top 5 subtitled films (p. 28)

1. Betty Blue
2. Subway
   Subway (film)
   Subway is a 1985 French film directed by Luc Besson, starring Isabelle Adjani and Christopher Lambert and is part of the Cinema du look movement.-Plot:...
   
   
3. Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!
   Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!
   Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! is a 1990 Spanish film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, a dark romantic comedy starring Antonio Banderas and Victoria Abril. The plot follows a recently released psychiatric patient who kidnaps an actress in order to make her fall in love with him...
   
   
4. The Vanishing
   The Vanishing (1988 film)
   The Vanishing is a French/Dutch film adaptation of the novella The Golden Egg by Tim Krabbé, released October 27, 1988. Directed by George Sluizer and starring Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, the film is about the disappearance of a young Dutch woman and her lover's obsessive search...
   
   
5. Diva
   Diva (film)
   Diva is a 1981 film directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix, adapted from a novel of the same name by Daniel Odier . It is one of the first French films to let go of the realist, harsh mood of 1970s French cinema and return to a colourful, melodic style, called cinema du look...
   
   

Rob's Top Five Films (p. 28)

1. The Godfather
   The Godfather
   The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...
   
   
2. The Godfather Part II
   The Godfather Part II
   The Godfather Part II is a 1974 American gangster film directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a script co-written with Mario Puzo. The film is both a sequel and a prequel to The Godfather, chronicling the story of the Corleone family following the events of the first film while also depicting the...
   
   
3. Taxi Driver
   Taxi Driver
   Taxi Driver is a 1976 American drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. The film is set in New York City, soon after the Vietnam War. The film stars Robert De Niro and features Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel, and Cybill Shepherd. The film was nominated for four Academy...
   
   
4. Goodfellas
   Goodfellas
   Goodfellas is a 1990 American crime film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a film adaptation of the 1986 non-fiction book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Scorsese...
   
   
5. Reservoir Dogs
   Reservoir Dogs
   Reservoir Dogs is an American crime film marking debut of director and writer Quentin Tarantino. It depicts the events before and after a botched diamond heist, but not the heist itself. Reservoir Dogs stars an ensemble cast: Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, and...
   
   

Floor-fillers at The Groucho (p. 87)

1. "It's a Good Feeling" by Smokey Robinson
   Smokey Robinson
   William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...
   
    and The Miracles
   The Miracles
   The Miracles are an American rhythm and blues group from Detroit, Michigan, notable as the first successful group act for Berry Gordy's Motown Record Corporation . Their single "Shop Around" was Motown's first million-selling hit record, and the group went on to become one of Motown's signature...
   
   
2. "No Blow No Show" by Bobby Bland
   Bobby Bland
   Robert Calvin Bland better known as Bobby "Blue" Bland, is an American singer of blues and soul. He is an original member of the Beale Streeters, and is sometimes referred to as the "Lion of the Blues"...
   
   
3. "Mr. Big Stuff
   Mr. Big Stuff
   "Mr. Big Stuff" is a song by R&B singer Jean Knight. Released from her 1971 debut album of the same title, it became a huge crossover hit. The song spent five weeks at number-one on Billboard's Best Selling Soul Singles and peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. "Mr. Big Stuff" would...
   
   " by Jean Knight
   Jean Knight
   Jean Knight is an African-American soul/R&B/funk singer, best known for her 1971 Stax Records hit single, "Mr. Big Stuff".-Early years:...
   
   
4. "The Love You Save
   The Love You Save
   "The Love You Save" is a 1970 number-one hit single recorded by The Jackson 5 for the Motown label. It held the number-one spot on the soul singles chart for six weeks. It held the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for two weeks, from June 27 to July 4, 1970...
   
   " by The Jackson Five
5. "The Ghetto
   The Ghetto (song)
   "The Ghetto" is a socially conscious, mostly instrumental Jazz/Latin Jazz flavored anthem, released as the first single off American soul singer Donny Hathaway's debut album, Everything Is Everything, released as a single in 1970 on Atlantic Records....
   
   " by Donny Hathaway
   Donny Hathaway
   Donny Edward Hathaway was an American soul singer-songwriter and musician. Hathaway contracted with Atlantic Records in 1969 and with his first single for the Atco label, "The Ghetto, Part I" in early 1970, Rolling Stone magazine "marked him as a major new force in soul music."His collaborations...
   
   

Rob's Top Five Elvis Costello Songs (p. 98)

1. "Alison
   Alison (song)
   "Alison" is the fifth track on Elvis Costello's first album, My Aim Is True, released in 1977. Because "Alison" was recorded before Elvis Costello and the Attractions formed, his backing band was Clover...
   
   "
2. "Little Triggers
   This Year's Model
   This Year's Model is Elvis Costello's second album and his first with The Attractions, released in 1978 . It was recorded mainly at Eden Studios in West London....
   
   "
3. "Man Out of Time"
4. "King Horse"
5. "Everyday I Write the Book
   Everyday I Write the Book
   "Everyday I Write the Book" is a song written by Elvis Costello, from Punch the Clock, an album released in 1983 by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. The song peaked at 28 on the UK Singles Chart and was their first hit single in the United States, placing in the Billboard Top 40.-Lyrics:The...
   
   "

Rob's Dad's Top Five Films (p. 137)

1. Genevieve
   Genevieve (film)
   Genevieve is a 1953 British comedy film produced and directed by Henry Cornelius and written by William Rose. It starred John Gregson, Dinah Sheridan, Kenneth More and Kay Kendall as two couples comedically involved in a vintage automobile rally...
   
   
2. The Cruel Sea
   The Cruel Sea (film)
   The Cruel Sea is a 1953 British film from Ealing Studios starring Jack Hawkins and Donald Sinden, with Denholm Elliott, Stanley Baker, Liam Redmond, Virginia McKenna and Moira Lister...
   
   
3. Zulu
   Zulu (film)
   Zulu is a 1964 historical war film depicting the Battle of Rorke's Drift between the British Army and the Zulus in January 1879, during the Anglo-Zulu War....
   
   
4. Oh! Mr. Porter
5. The Guns of Navarone
   The Guns of Navarone (film)
   The Guns of Navarone is a 1961 British-American Action/Adventure war film based on the 1957 novel of the same name about the Dodecanese Campaign of World War II by Scottish thriller writer Alistair MacLean. It stars Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn, along with Anthony Quayle and Stanley...
   
   

Rob's Mum's Top Five Films (p. 137)

1. Genevieve
   Genevieve (film)
   Genevieve is a 1953 British comedy film produced and directed by Henry Cornelius and written by William Rose. It starred John Gregson, Dinah Sheridan, Kenneth More and Kay Kendall as two couples comedically involved in a vintage automobile rally...
   
   
2. Gone with the Wind
   Gone with the Wind (film)
   Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American historical epic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. It was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming from a screenplay by Sidney Howard...
   
   
3. The Way We Were
   The Way We Were
   The Way We Were is a 1973 American romantic dramatic film co-starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford, directed by Sydney Pollack. The screenplay by Arthur Laurents was based on his college days at Cornell University and his experiences with the House Un-American Activities Committee.A box...
   
   
4. Funny Girl
   Funny Girl (film)
   Funny Girl is a 1968 romantic musical film directed by William Wyler. The screenplay by Isobel Lennart was adapted from her book for the stage musical of the same title...
   
   
5. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Rob's top 5 episodes of Cheers

Cheers

Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...

(p. 142)

1. The one where Cliff found a potato that looked like Richard Nixon
2. The one where John Cleese offered Sam and Diane counseling sessions
3. The one where they thought the chief of staff of the US armed forces had stolen Rebecca's earrings
4. The one where Sam got a job as a Sports Presenter on TV
5. The one where Woody sang his stupid song about Kelly

Rob's Five Best Side One Track Ones (p.147)

1. "Janie Jones
   Janie Jones (song)
   "Janie Jones" is a song by the Clash on their eponymous debut album. The subject of the song, Janie Jones, was a famous madam in London during the 1970s and had been a pop singer during the 1960s....
   
   ", The Clash
   The Clash (album)
   The album received positive reviews from critics and peaked at number 12 in the UK charts. In December 1979, critic Robert Christgau named it his favorite album of the 1970s....
   
   , by The Clash
   The Clash
   The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
   
   
2. "Thunder Road
   Thunder Road (song)
   "Thunder Road" is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen, and the opening track on his 1975 breakthrough album Born to Run. It is ranked as one of Springsteen's greatest songs, and often appears on lists of the top rock songs of all time.Rolling Stone magazine placed it as #86 on its...
   
   ", Born to Run
   Born to Run
   The album's release was accompanied by a $250,000 promotional campaign by Columbia directed at both consumers and the music industry, making good use of Landau's "I saw rock 'n' roll's future—and its name is Bruce Springsteen" quote. With much publicity, Born to Run vaulted into the top 10 in its...
   
   , by Bruce Springsteen
   Bruce Springsteen
   Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
   
   
3. "Smells Like Teen Spirit
   Smells Like Teen Spirit
   "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a song by the American grunge band Nirvana. It is the opening track and lead single from the band's second album, Nevermind , released on DGC Records...
   
   ", Nevermind
   Nevermind
   Nevermind is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991. Produced by Butch Vig, Nevermind was the group's first release on DGC Records...
   
   , by Nirvana
   Nirvana (band)
   Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
   
   
4. "Let's Get It On
   Let's Get It On (song)
   "Let's Get It On" is a song and hit single by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released June 15, 1973 on Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records. The song was recorded on March 22, 1973 at Hitsville West in Los Angeles, California. The song features romantic and sexual lyricism and funk instrumentation by...
   
   ", Let's Get It On
   Let's Get It On
   Let's Get It On is the twelfth studio album by American soul musician Marvin Gaye, released August 28, 1973, on Tamla Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during June 1970 to July 1973 at Hitsville U.S.A. and Golden World Studio in Detroit, and at Hitsville West in Los Angeles...
   
   , by Marvin Gaye
   Marvin Gaye
   Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
   
   
5. "Return of the Grievous Angel", Grievous Angel
   Grievous Angel
   Grievous Angel was the second solo album by Gram Parsons, compiled from 1973 sessions and released four months after his death. It received great critical acclaim upon release, but failed to find commercial success, a fate shared with his previous efforts solo and with The Flying Burrito Brothers....
   
   , by Gram Parsons
   Gram Parsons
   Gram Parsons was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre; he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called "Cosmic American Music"...
   
   

Rob's Top Five Bands or Musicians Who Will Have To Be Shot Come the Musical Revolution (p.160)

1. Simple Minds
   Simple Minds
   Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band who achieved worldwide popularity from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. The band produced a handful of critically acclaimed albums in the early 1980s and best known for their #1 US, Canada and Netherlands hit single "Don't You ", from the soundtrack of the...
   
   
2. Michael Bolton
   Michael Bolton
   Michael Bolton is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton originally performed in the hard rock and heavy metal genres from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s, both on his early solo albums and those recorded as the frontman of the band Blackjack...
   
   
3. U2
   U2
   U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
   
   
4. Bryan Adams
   Bryan Adams
   Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
   
   
5. Genesis
   Genesis (band)
   Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
   
   

Rob's Five Dream Jobs (p. 290)

1. NME
   NME
   The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
   
   journalist
   Music journalism
   Music journalism is criticism and reportage about music. It began in the eighteenth century as comment on what is now thought of as 'classical music'. This aspect of music journalism, today often referred to as music criticism , comprises the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of...
   
   , 1976-1979
2. Producer, Atlantic Records
   Atlantic Records
   Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
   
   , 1964-1971
3. Musician
   Musician
   A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
   
    (any kind except for rap or classical
   Classical music
   Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
   
   )
4. Film director
   Film director
   A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
   
    (any kind except for German or silent
   Silent film
   A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
   
   )
5. Architect
   Architect
   An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
   
    (eventually changed to owner of a record store)

Favourite Records (singles) (p. 313)

1. "Let's Get It On"
   Let's Get It On (song)
   "Let's Get It On" is a song and hit single by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released June 15, 1973 on Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records. The song was recorded on March 22, 1973 at Hitsville West in Los Angeles, California. The song features romantic and sexual lyricism and funk instrumentation by...
   
    by Marvin Gaye
   Marvin Gaye
   Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
   
   
2. "The House That Jack Built" by Aretha Franklin
   Aretha Franklin
   Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
   
   
3. "Back in the USA"
   Back in the U.S.A.
   "Back in the U.S.A." is a song by Chuck Berry, which was first issued in 1959 as a single a-side and on Berry's 1962 album More Chuck Berry, . The song's lyrics were supposedly written based upon Berry returning to the USA following a trip to Australia and witnessing the living standards of...
   
    by Chuck Berry
   Chuck Berry
   Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
   
   
4. "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais
   (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais
   " In Hammersmith Palais" is a song by The Clash, self produced and first released as a 7" single, backed with the track "The Prisoner", in June 1978....
   
   " by The Clash
   The Clash
   The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
   
   
5. "Tired of Being Alone
   Tired of Being Alone
   In 1992 Scottish band Texas covered "Tired of Being Alone", which became a substantial hit in the United Kingdom, reaching no. 19 on the official UK Singles Chart...
   
   " by Al Green
   Al Green
   Albert Greene , better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer. He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1970s, with hit singles such as "You Oughta Be With Me", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Love and Happiness", and "Let's Stay Together"...