false 4 0 false false Tue Oct 06 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 01 19:13:43 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 06 16:01:00 -0700 2009
I was really surprised at how much I liked The Big Rewind. A lot of times when I read books like this, I feel as though the author is more interested in mythologizing themselves rather than telling an interesting story... if they even have something interesting to say to begin with. Rabin has a lot of rough stuff happen to him in his adolescence and he mines that material to great effect. There are some insightful thoughts on his time living in a home for emotionally troubled teenagers that I liked particularly. He's good with a one-liner and while the thread of the memoir falls off a bit when he hits the section about his time working on a failed movie review show for AMC, it's still a fun read.

His approach to pop culture as a trope for introducing chapters is a little overworked thematically, but I found a lot of his conclusions to be right on the money. In particular, his defense of gangsta rap to be totally insightful.]]>