Mojo And The American Female

by S.W. Hammond

OUT OF PRINT - see The Mixtape Manifesto: A Pop Culture Confessional.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

91 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 7, 2015

About the author

Sean William Hammond is an author and content creator. His writing style is often compared to Chuck Klosterman with countless references to pop culture, especially music. Hammond's honest approach creates an easy camaraderie with the reader, then tests the bounds with emotion and sensitive subject matter. Philosophy, ethics, and virtue square off against a world struggling to find its way.

SWH actively engages with his audience, continually making guest appearances at book festivals, pop culture events, and comic cons throughout the country. Hammond has been a guest on several talk shows and podcasts discussing writing, philosophy, and existentialism. He is also a panelist contributing to a variety of topics, most notable discussions include artificial intelligence, mythology, and science fiction.

Hammond has a unique background as a music and sports industry professional. He has worked in the Commissioner's Office of Major League Baseball, for the Kansas City Royals minor league system, and operated Spring Training stadium audio for the Los Angeles Angels. He has also worked for Sony Music Entertainment, the Vans Warped Tour, and WAR Records / United Interests Management.

SWH doesn't participate in most social media. Goodreads and X are the best places to ask questions and interact with him.

–The Ballad of Stevie Pearl
–The Final Book: Gods
–The Mixtape Manifesto

Check out the soundtrack to Stevie Pearl: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi...

Reviews

[Angelnet · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up as the blurb sounded quite interesting. Hammond is a music industry professional in the US working for Sony and it promised some interesting anecdotes about his life and work. Sadly it has a very different feel to it and is more in the style of Augusten Burroughs but with less wit and heart.

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.

Supplied by Net Galley and the Publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

From music industry professional SW Hammond

The story of one mans life told in short essays (stories). Through the Authors voice we learn how he feels about movies, television shows, relationships, and more. We hear his opinion on how he felt about about each, and how these feelings affect his life. Working on the road for Sony Music and Warped Tour, he also reflects on his life during that time of his life.

I found The Mixtape Manifesto: A Pop Culture Confessional, to be an original, entertaining, and overall enjoyable read. SW Hammond writes with passion, originality and a flair for life. I highly recommend to all.

[Casey · Rating 1 out of 5]

I typically enjoy essay collections that flit between pop culture and personal experience, but unfortunately I just did not connection with SW Hammond's work. 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. I was expecting way more about music, so I couldn't help but be disappointed.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

[Georgiann Hennelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Mix tape Manifesto tells the story of one man's life in a series of short stories. I found the Mix Tape Manifesto: A pop culture confessional to be an entertaining and enjoyable read.

[Chrystal Mahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mixtape Manifesto is a humorous, introspective, and wildly nostalgic look at one man’s emotional coming-of-age through the lens of pop culture. Author SW Hammond, with his unique blend of sarcasm and sincerity, crafts an anti-love story stitched together from his encounters with music, movies, and media icons—from Axl Rose to Taylor Swift and The O.C. to Riot Grrrl punk.

At its heart, the book is less about finding romantic enlightenment and more about understanding how pop culture influences our views on relationships, identity, and masculinity. Hammond’s essays feel like confessions—funny, self-deprecating, and sometimes uncomfortably honest. His rants on John Stamos and reflections on Kathleen Hanna offer both entertainment and insight, while his Kevin Arnold–esque inner monologue ties it all together with emotional relatability.

Richly illustrated with photos from his time working in the music industry, the book also serves as a visual time capsule of the rock 'n' roll era and Hammond’s personal evolution.

Some readers might find the tone a bit erratic or the humor bordering on indulgent, but that’s part of the charm. It reads like a mixtape of emotional highs and lows—some tracks hit hard, others feel like fillers, but together they tell a compelling story.

Perfect for readers who grew up on late-'90s and early-2000s culture, The Mixtape Manifesto is equal parts pop culture memoir, philosophical musing, and emotional unraveling.

[Adele · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, this was not the book I thought it was. Less about lots of musical mixtapes and more short stories about the authors life and, oh my word, how boring they are. Not one thing that he wrote about was of any interest to me, took all my concentration to make it to the end of the book.

[Jehnie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Holy cow this is not good. Not all internal monologues need to become blog posts. And not all blog posts need to be collected into memoirs.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really not the target audience for this book. My son or daughter may even be slightly too old to get all the movie and television references, but they would get more of them than I do. Now I can connect to the music. I always keep current, so when Mr. Hammond is commenting about the Riot Grrrl movement, I get it. But those TV shows, I never did watch "Full House", and who is John Stamos, and why should I care? Someone thirty years younger may get more of the topical items than I do, but I still relate to the actual message that this book is trying to convey.

And another thing! The blurb about Mojo and the American Female seems to indicate that this book is a collection of short stories. I don't think so. This is more a print version of articles that were first published on Mr. Hammond's website. If you call something a short story, that implies that it has some sort of a plot and a character or two. Short stories also mean fiction. But these articles are more autobiographical. Mr. Hammond may have distorted the truth, but that still doesn't make this a book of fictional short stories. He may have changed some facts to fit the story that he wanted to tell, but I think it strongly follows his own life.

And speaking of story. This book really does have an underlying message. Even a 66 year old guy can relate. If fact, I might get more out of this story than Mr. Hammond intended. He has one section of this book where he is talking about me. He figures that the only thing I have left is to wait until I die. I've got him fooled! My life is everything he is looking for in this book, and more. I found my perfect mate. I don't have to prove anything to anyone anymore. I just get to have fun and that includes spending time with my family that I love and with my children and grandchildren who love me too! I've got what he only wishes he could find.

But back to the book. What is it? I think that this is a collection of semi-autobiographical stories that Mr. Hammond has written over the past dozen years. He discovered that he really was growing up in these stories, and thought that his struggles might be worth reading. Well, he was right. This collection is thought provoking. You can zip though it in one day, but 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 Mojo and the American Female 4 1/2 Stars out of 5, and 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.

I received a Digital Review Copy from the publisher.

[Lisa Bentley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t really know what to expect when I started The Mixtape Manifesto: A Pop Culture Confessional. It just looked appealing. To be fair, it was an interesting read.

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.

As much as I didn’t know what to expect I did thoroughly enjoy The Mixtape Manifesto: A Pop Culture Confessional. 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 his accurately captured my thoughts and my feelings. Feelings 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.

The Mixtape Manifesto: A Pop Culture Confessional by SW Hammond is available now.

For more information regarding SW Hammond (@SWHammond) please visit www.swhammond.com.

For more information regarding Surf Star Media (@SurfStarMedia) please visit www.surfstarmedia.com.

[Jana]

I received a free copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't like the writing in this and the way topics were approached at all, so I ended up putting it down.

[Lobstah207 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick and light read, the iPad version with photos and graphics was beautiful. The pictures really connect what's happening in each essay and makes it more human. It felt like reading Cosmo Confessions but for people who like music and movies. I thought it was foolish and fun, while also making you think a time or two. Very unique.