A memoir that's not quite a memoir

So I started reading Fargo Rock City aka the supposed memoir of Chuck Klosterman, which is definitely not really a memoir. Its a giant criticism of rock music in general, starting with his first rock influence. It s quite interesting to read about the rock music I love, but from someone who was actually there when it came out. He sticks with his writing style almost completely, the only change is that it is less formal than his essays. The humor is still rib splitting and the random comments are amazing, but I don't know how I am going to read the whole thing. I am 1/4 of the way done and already I am beginning to feel the strain of these research logs and annotated bibliographies. Well, wish me luck. I will post again when I'm half done.

Here It Is. The First Step Into The World Of Klosterman.

Due to the fact that my books just arrived yesterday, I decided to look back at his magazine work for Spin and Esquire. I must say it was a very good experience. I transitioned from a piece on music interest to ethics and ending with a piece on goth kids in Disneyland. Confused? I was too.

The Ethics Paradox

So I started with the piece on ethics. Thought I would get the boring topic out of the way first. Turns out, I was wrong about it. I have now come to realize that nothing this man writes is boring. He investigated the lack of ethics in the population despite it's use of entertainment. Klosterman sure talks like a sailor I must say. Even though his diction was very sophisticated, the work "Fuck" and "Bullshit" were sprinkled throughout. He also has a way of relating everything back to music. It's great. I also loved his examples, I mean, who else do you know relates ethics back to "wanting to be a hippie".

Me, On Shuffle

I moved on to the next piece with high expectations. Klosterman did not let me down. He spoke about music taste and what actually influences it. He sure does love his music and it was evident in the piece. He is able to sprinkle in examples constantly, I admit, some bands I had to Google. His sarcastic humor and humorous tone are some of the best things about his writing.

Finally, Something Wicked This Way Comes

Now the most interesting piece I read. Klosterman investigated "Bats Day" at Disneyland in California. Its a day when all goths go to Disneyland and hang out. He took a new approach to it and I laughed throughout the entire article, which my sister thought was odd until she read it herself. The writing was much like his ethics piece, it also focused on a larger subject than just humor. His purpose was to investigate the stereotyping present in our society. His constant allusion and reference to pop culture is fascinating. I'm hooked on his reading. Swearing and music is once again a constant, but his diction is even stronger than in his first piece. The piece was great. Want to read it, Here it is.


I can't wait to move onto the book of articles I bought: Sex, Drugs, and Coco Puffs and Chuck Klosterman IV.
I leave you with this riddle: How do you make 50 goths sprint across Disneyland?


Answer: Put up a sign that says "Smoking Section"

Insight Into The Personality of Chuck Klosterman (In Quotes)

Okay, well I thought that those who are going to follow my ramblings on Chuck Klosterman should have a taste of what the writer is like. Hopefully, my future posts about him will not seem as crazy after this.

-“I am a marijuana person.”

-“Sometimes I think children are the worst people alive. And even if they're not - even if some smiling toddler is as pure as Evian - it's only a matter of time ... As far as I can tell, the nicest thing you can say about children is that they haven't done anything terrible yet.”

-"I've been asked about this constantly, and I compare it to how if you're walking down the street and some schizo guy comes up to you and vomits on you: You wouldn't be hurt by that, you'd just think it's weird."

This is just a taste, want more?
Here you go: http://www.quotes-museum.com/author/Chuck%20Klosterman/3402
or
http://thinkexist.com/quotes/chuck_klosterman/

Gotta blog, I was told too

Anticipation. I got to the line with an idea of who I wanted as Mr. Walsh gave me two names, which I had never heard before. Wikipedia was the next step and when the title popped up, Sex, Drugs, and Coco Puffs, I had to investigate. I mean seriously, everyones cuckoo for coco puffs. Its the chocolate cereal of the gods, okay back on subject.

That nerdy teen you see everyday, the metal head with the black shirts and long hair, which obviously has never been washed, first popped into my head as I looked at his other titles. Finally I saw a picture. He's that nerdy kid with the deprived life and sarcastic sense of humor.

Yes, stereotyping was a big part of my selection process. It's high school, stereotyping rules the world.

So there you go, Chuck Klosterman, the awkward metal head turned author.