Party of One
A Memoir in 21 Songs
Published on 6. June 2017
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-0-8041-8799-2 (ISBN)
Description
From former MTV VJ Dave Holmes, the hilarious memoir of a perpetual outsider fumbling towards self-acceptance, with the music of the '80s, '90s, and today as his soundtrack
Dave Holmes has spent his life on the periphery, nose pressed hopefully against the glass, wanting just one thing: to get inside. Growing up, he was the artsy son in the sporty family. At his all-boys high school and Catholic college, he was the closeted gay kid surrounded by crush-worthy straight guys. And in his twenties, in the middle of a disastrous career in advertising, he accidentally became an MTV VJ overnight when he finished second, naturally, in the Wanna Be a VJ contest, opening the door to fame, fortune, and celebrity-you know, almost.
In Party of One, Holmes tells the hilariously painful and painfully hilarious tales-in the vein of Rob Sheffield, Andy Cohen, and Paul Feig-of an outsider desperate to get in, of a misfit constantly changing shape, of a music geek who finally learns to accept himself. Structured around a mix of hits and deep cuts from the last four decades-from Bruce Springsteen's "Hungry Heart" and En Vogue's "Free Your Mind" to LCD Soundsystem's "Losing My Edge" and Bleachers' "I Wanna Get Better"-and punctuated with interludes like "So You've Had Your Heart Broken in the 1990s: A Playlist" and "Notes on (Jesse) Camp," this book is for anyone who's ever felt like a square peg, especially those who have found their place in the world around a band, an album, or a song. It's a laugh-out-loud funny, deeply nostalgic story about never fitting in, never giving up, and letting good music guide the way.
- NPR "Best Books of 2016": Staff Picks, Biography & Memoir, For Music Lovers, Funny Stuff, Non-fiction Categories
Dave Holmes has spent his life on the periphery, nose pressed hopefully against the glass, wanting just one thing: to get inside. Growing up, he was the artsy son in the sporty family. At his all-boys high school and Catholic college, he was the closeted gay kid surrounded by crush-worthy straight guys. And in his twenties, in the middle of a disastrous career in advertising, he accidentally became an MTV VJ overnight when he finished second, naturally, in the Wanna Be a VJ contest, opening the door to fame, fortune, and celebrity-you know, almost.
In Party of One, Holmes tells the hilariously painful and painfully hilarious tales-in the vein of Rob Sheffield, Andy Cohen, and Paul Feig-of an outsider desperate to get in, of a misfit constantly changing shape, of a music geek who finally learns to accept himself. Structured around a mix of hits and deep cuts from the last four decades-from Bruce Springsteen's "Hungry Heart" and En Vogue's "Free Your Mind" to LCD Soundsystem's "Losing My Edge" and Bleachers' "I Wanna Get Better"-and punctuated with interludes like "So You've Had Your Heart Broken in the 1990s: A Playlist" and "Notes on (Jesse) Camp," this book is for anyone who's ever felt like a square peg, especially those who have found their place in the world around a band, an album, or a song. It's a laugh-out-loud funny, deeply nostalgic story about never fitting in, never giving up, and letting good music guide the way.
- NPR "Best Books of 2016": Staff Picks, Biography & Memoir, For Music Lovers, Funny Stuff, Non-fiction Categories
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
NY
United States
Publishing group
Random House USA Inc
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
2 PHOTOS T/O
Dimensions
Height: 203 mm
Width: 132 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
344 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8041-8799-2 (9780804187992)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
DAVE HOLMES is a writer, comedian, and television personality who has hosted shows for MTV, CBS, Bravo, Comedy Central, E!, FX, and Ovation. Recently named one of NPR’s 10 Favorite Pop Culture Personalities, he is a editor-at-large for Esquire.com, an on-air personality on SiriusXM’s The Spectrum, and a performer at the iO West and Upright Citizens Brigade theaters . He lives in Los Angeles.