Fargo Rock City

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.

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.