But he isn't. He's thinking about The Look of Love, as sung by Dusty Springfield. He really thought that the look of love would land on him without him doing a thing to earn it. The message of High Fidelity is what Rob half-suspects. Pop music can mess you up permanently.
People worry about kids playing with guns, and teenagers watching violent videos.
The unhappiest people I know, romantically speaking, are the ones who like pop music the most. But Hornby is writing about an obsession that is particularly common among loser blokes. Pop music titles become a shorthand for emotion and careful thought. You used to be a person. Then you became a bloke.