Fargo Rock City
A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota
Ratings12
Average rating3.8
The year is 1983, and Chuck Klosterman just wants to rock. But he's got problems. For one, he's in the fifth grade. For another, he lives in rural North Dakota. Worst of all, his parents aren't exactly down with the long hairstyle which rocking requires. Luckily, his brother saves the day when he brings home a bit of manna from metal heaven, SHOUT AT THE DEVIL, Motley Crue's seminal paean to hair-band excess. And so Klosterman's twisted odyssey begins, a journey spent worshipping at the heavy metal altar of Poison, Lita Ford and Guns N' Roses. In the hilarious, young-man-growing-up-with-a-soundtrack-tradition, FARGO ROCK CITY chronicles Klosterman's formative years through the lens of heavy metal, the irony-deficient genre that, for better or worse, dominated the pop charts throughout the 1980s. For readers of Dave Eggers, Lester Bangs, and Nick Hornby, Klosterman delivers all the goods: from his first dance (with a girl) and his eye-opening trip to Mandan with the debate team; to his list of 'essential' albums; and his thoughtful analysis of the similarities between Guns 'n' Roses' 'Lies' and the gospels of the New Testament.
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If you like hyper-analytical and highly-intellectual discussions of pop culture (or anything, really), Chuck is your man. The fundamental premise of many of Klosterman's books is that it doesn't matter how good something is, it's importance is defined differently–through popularity, through social impact, etc. Spliced with his personal story, this book makes for an entertaining, thought provoking (especially if you have any softness for 80's metal), and at times hilarious read.
As a certified “Klostermaniac,” I wanted to dive into his first book, “Fargo Rock City,” which covers his young adolescence in North Dakota as a hard rock / heavy metal fan during the 80's and 90's. Since this was written in early 2001, some of his takes haven't aged as well as others (“Appetite for Destruction” is NOT better than “Nevermind”) but overall this is a solid book that goes through all things heavy metal and hard rock, the ups and the downs of this long hair, drug fueled era. Guns n Roses, Motley Cru, Poison, Sabbath... you name it, it's covered. As you'd expect with a book by Chuck, it's going to be written in depth through his long winding, heavily detailed, sometimes annoying persona. It's certainly not for everyone, but those are all the reasons why I love his writing. Though there are rough edges that will be smoothed out with later books, “Fargo Rock City” shows the early signs of what's to come and is a great read for heavy metal fans or for those who are unfamiliar with the genre/era like myself.
