Fargo Rock City : A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota
by Chuck Klosterman
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 1693)
Read in February, 2007
I have kind of a love/hate relationship with Chuck Klosterman. I’ve read all his books (I left this one till last, because it’s about heavy metal and that’s not a subject I’m desperately interested in) and I think he’s frequently incredibly funny and often very insightful. But man, does he piss me off sometimes. In Fargo Rock City, that occurred when he decided to ...more
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Read in August, 2007
There's something about Chuck Klosterman's writing that I literally eat up. I blew through this book in two days, ignoring my job, TV, and my girlfriend in the process. It felt like a vacation from normal book reading because I wasn't studying some socially relevant topic I'd recently deemed important to know, I was reading critical analysis of popular music that I can't help but love and obsess over. CK is perfect for guys like me: the kind of guy that tells himself he's got to read 50 more pag...more
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recommends it for:
Midwesterners born between 1972 and 1976
Good storytelling about a topic about which I could give two shits. Granted, Chuck is 8 years older than I, and I'm at least familiar with most of the bands he references on the most basic of levels. They were still around and in heavy rotation when I was going to the skating rink on friday nights in elementary school. Probably because the DJ was also from Chuck's generation and had the same affinity for the same bands mentioned here.
The book has some wit at times, but ultimately comes across ...more
The book has some wit at times, but ultimately comes across ...more
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recommends it for:
chuck klosterman
i have little to no knowledge of metal, but i am a music lover; 'fargo rock city' has me wishing i were more familiar with klosterman's array of metal references merely for the sake of comic appreciation. reading through much of the book, i howl with laughter at his descriptions and my vague memories of the bands connected to them. however, at the same time, his apparent misogyny and sexism ostracizes and offends me as a female reader. (for instance, re: riot grrl music, p 102 "boys are sim...more
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Read in January, 2003
Chuck Klosterman slept beneath a pentagram for most of his teenage life. He did so while sporting a “Richie Cunningham haircut” and growing up in Wyndmere, North Dakota, a town where the hottest local dispute in the 1980s centered around which kind of tractor was the superior model. This is his story. Part memoir, part critical analysis, all page-turningly hilarious, "Fargo Rock City" reevaluates the lasting worth of the most ridiculed period in recent pop history, the Hair Metal E...more
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Read in July, 2008
I get the project, and I support the project. I was absolute4ly in love with Poison in fourth grade, and I still get super semi-ironically excited about a lot of the music he's writing about, in just the ways he describes. But Chuck, did you have to be such a douche?
The section on sexism in 80s glam rock is the most tautological, non-informative series of non-arguments I've ever read, which seems to culminate in the argument 'these bands were sexist, but in capitalism, who cares?' Which is ...more
The section on sexism in 80s glam rock is the most tautological, non-informative series of non-arguments I've ever read, which seems to culminate in the argument 'these bands were sexist, but in capitalism, who cares?' Which is ...more
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Read in June, 2008
I'm torn about this book: on one hand, it is a humorous review of heavy metal music, yet on the other the author takes himself and his subject way too serioulsly. His original intention is good -- he noticed that there were absolutely no critical reviews of this era of music, because all of the critics believe that this type of music isn't worthy of critical consideration. He shows how heavy metal music was important, if only to those who loved this type of music -- those who grew up listening...more
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Read in January, 2008
The thesis: Popular 1980's heavy metal music like Warrant and Poison is culturally relevant due to it's popularity at the time of it's release.
I agree.
The book starts in the early '80s when the writer's brother brings home a Motley Crue tape. The loose narrative follows the writer's life into the late '90s, discussing the hard rock that was popular at different points in the writer's life. Poison at the beginning of high school, Guns 'n' Roses at the end and grunge in college, ending wit...more
I agree.
The book starts in the early '80s when the writer's brother brings home a Motley Crue tape. The loose narrative follows the writer's life into the late '90s, discussing the hard rock that was popular at different points in the writer's life. Poison at the beginning of high school, Guns 'n' Roses at the end and grunge in college, ending wit...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
metalheads
Having recently discovered Klosterman by reading Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, I expected to be blown away by this novel all about my favorite 80s-early 90s genre of music -- hair metal. But, I was quite disappointed. I just didn't find it as interesting or as well-written as S,D,&CP. And, Klosterman, despite his claims to not be, often comes off as a pretentious music-snob hipster. Although, I do believe his claim to genuinely love this genre of music. I did, however, truly enjoy the subject...more
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Read in August, 2007
"Fargo Rock City" is Chuck Klosterman's first stab at writing more than an album review in SPIN or a story about Marilyn Manson in the Akron Beacon-Journal. And it shows.
The premise is ambitious, and therefore admirable: An entire book about heavy metal from 1980-1990. Essentially, the hair/glam scene that was taking place in Los Angeles and how it all shaped him as a youngster growing up in rural North Dakota.
It's about 100 pages too long and goes horribly askew when he take...more
The premise is ambitious, and therefore admirable: An entire book about heavy metal from 1980-1990. Essentially, the hair/glam scene that was taking place in Los Angeles and how it all shaped him as a youngster growing up in rural North Dakota.
It's about 100 pages too long and goes horribly askew when he take...more
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Chuck Klosterman is a giant dick. Seriously, if we could ask him right now if he's a huge wang, the answer would be yes. Knowing that going into reading this book made the book slightly more enjoyable. The biggest problems I had with it included: 1. I didn't know enough about the subject to keep all the bands distinguished in my head 2. Klosterman comes off as smarmily sexist in an almost-manufactured way and 3. it really had nothing to do with the title or subtitle. Number 3. he tries to an...more
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Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
anyone
If you haven’t read Fargo Rock City by author and rock critic Chuck Klosterman you should go get a copy. It is an interesting tale of a metal head growing up in North Dakota in the 1980’s, a time when heavy metal ruled the world.
I think what made me like it more is that I can somewhat relate to him and what he is saying. He was born and raised in Wyndmere, North Dakota and listened to the radio station out of Fargo. He tackles many of the issues facing metal when it hit the mainstream su...more
I think what made me like it more is that I can somewhat relate to him and what he is saying. He was born and raised in Wyndmere, North Dakota and listened to the radio station out of Fargo. He tackles many of the issues facing metal when it hit the mainstream su...more
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
die-hard chuck klosterman fans, heavy metal folks
Holy crap does Chuck Klosterman love heavy metal. And glam metal and hair metal and death metal and every other type of metal music known to man. This book took me a LONG time to get through, which is unlike every other Klosterman title I've read. I guess that's because he is so single-mindedly devoted to picking apart every aspect associated with metal music from the early 80s to the late 90s, that some passages feel like a slog in their almost painful detail (do I need to know your thoughts...more
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Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
music lovers
Okay, a warning is in order. If you read this book, you may experience side effects such as a yearning to go to CD Warehoue and buy a Guns-n-Roses album or maybe the entire Ozzy solo discography. Or not. Either way, if you were exposed to rock radio in the 80's and early 90's (or just have watched multiple episodes of Behind the Music on VH1) then you will have many of the songs referenced in this excellent memoir stuck in your head for days, maybe weeks.
I like Klosterman because he's fi...more
I like Klosterman because he's fi...more
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I see a lot of people read this book without much interest in metal music, and have then cited that as the reason they didn't enjoy the book. It seems like a pretty logical conclusion to come to without reviewing it negatively.
This book is a creation for fans of metal music...most people will probably not be as pulled into the stories, get the jokes, or even be able to distinguish all the bands without having at least LIKED some metal. So, if you aren't a fan of metal, you will easily be b...more
This book is a creation for fans of metal music...most people will probably not be as pulled into the stories, get the jokes, or even be able to distinguish all the bands without having at least LIKED some metal. So, if you aren't a fan of metal, you will easily be b...more
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Read in July, 2007
Loved it. Even when I'm not into what he's writing about, Klosterman's writing makes me happy, but here, I was totally into most of this music when I was a young'un, so it was even better than usual.
It's kind of sold as a memoir, but it isn't really-- it's more of a deconstruction/history of "hair" or "glam" metal. There are some autobiographical anecdotes to illustrate his point, but mostly it's a more of Klosterman's usual pop culture analysis. In fact, I felt that when...more
It's kind of sold as a memoir, but it isn't really-- it's more of a deconstruction/history of "hair" or "glam" metal. There are some autobiographical anecdotes to illustrate his point, but mostly it's a more of Klosterman's usual pop culture analysis. In fact, I felt that when...more
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I grew up in Chicago, another urban heavy metal bastion, so I can relate to Mr. Klosterman's love/embarassment/love relationship with Marshall stacks and singers who screech like castratos. Klosterman does a great job of describing how he first discovered metal, what drew him to the music, and why he likes what he likes. Also, he loves TALKING about music, and if you love music, you probably like talking about music almost as much as listening to music. Klosterman gets it. There's a great st...more
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Read in March, 2008
Fargo Rock City by Chuck Klosterman
I like Chuck Klosterman, I like his books, I like the way he writes. This book didn't "speak" to me. Normally I enjoy his writing because I understand where he is coming from, I know what he is talking about. This book is mainly about "hair" metal bands and growing up in North Dakota. Unfortunately, "hair" metal bands didn't have that much effect on my life. To be honest, the majority of bands he talks about I had never hea...more
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
people who hate metal
As someone who grew up on 1980s hair metal, I can say this with utmost confidence: Fargo Rock City is the best book ever written on the subject.
This book is great to the degree that it is personal, artful and passionate about its subject, just as Elie Faure's treatment of the history of art was personal, artful, passionate, or as Spengler's study of western civilization -- a kind of writing we don't get much these days.
And the more Klosterman abandons the accepted Spin/Rolling Stone ar...more
This book is great to the degree that it is personal, artful and passionate about its subject, just as Elie Faure's treatment of the history of art was personal, artful, passionate, or as Spengler's study of western civilization -- a kind of writing we don't get much these days.
And the more Klosterman abandons the accepted Spin/Rolling Stone ar...more
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Who would have thought a book about 80s hair metal would be so much fun. It's not your typical piece of rock journalism though; it's more of a memoir of growing up in a cultural wasteland and desperately wanting to rock, yet the only thing available to teach you is glam-metal. You learn your lessons like everyone else and you grow up and apply them to your life in positive ways. Looking back it seems ridiculous, but without those formative experiences how could we become who we are?
Chuck men...more
Chuck men...more
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