There's a lot more cold cereal than sex or drugs in Klosterman's nostalgic, patchy collection of pop cultural essays, which, despite sparks of brilliance, fails to cohere. Having graduated from the University of North Dakota in 1994, Klosterman (Fargo Rock City) seems never to have left that time or place behind. He is an ironically self-aware, trivia-theorizing, unreconstructed slacker: "I'm a `Gen Xer,' okay? And I buy shit marketed to `Gen Xers.' And I use air quotes when I talk.... Get over it." The essay topics speak for themselves: the Sims, The Real World, Say Anything, Pamela Anderson, Billy Joel, the Lakers/Celtics rivalry, etc. The closest Klosterman gets to the 21st century is Internet porn and the Dixie Chicks. This is a shame, because he's is a skilled prose stylist with a witty, twisted brain, a photo-perfect memory for entertainment trivia and has real chops as a memoirist. The book's best moments arrive when he eschews argumentation for personal history. In "George Will vs. Nick Hornby," a tired screed against soccer suddenly comes to life when Klosterman tells the story of how he was fired from his high school summer job as a Little League baseball coach. The mothers wanted their sons to have equal playing time; Klosterman wanted "a run-manufacturing offensive philosophy modeled after Whitey Herzog's St. Louis Cardinals." In a chapter on relationships, Klosterman semi-jokes that he only has "three and a half dates worth of material." Remove all the dated pop culture analyses, and Klosterman's book has enough material for about half a really great memoir.
~Publishers Weekly

Pop-culture fanatics, hipsters.

Klosterman is a fine writer- his essays are wonderfully unique, with an underlying silliness that keeps the work laid-back. From deconstructing "Saved By The Bell" to getting stoned with a Guns and Roses tribute band, this collection is simultaneously intellectual and goofy. Even the oldest ideas, including the irony of missing out on real life while playing a virtual one, come across as clever and one-of-a-kind.

Having said that, there are a couple of issues I have with the book. First, an inevitable problem with any collection of pop-culture essays is that pop-culture is always shifting. It makes one wonder about how lasting this book could be in the end. It's easy to assume how outdated the book will feel given the right amount of years.

Second, Klosterman's desire to sound edgy and different makes him seem... well... the same as every other hipster I've met. One is reminded of the Dennis Miller quote, "You've got to be different. Otherwise, how would you fit in?" He also feels personally shortsighted. He accuses people of making sweeping generalizations about country music, and then makes similar generalizations about *those people*.

Write more. Watch some "Saved by the Bell".

Nostalgic.

Chuck Klosterman.

For the time being, they are readily accessible, interesting essays. read them before they're obsolete.

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Created Jun 12, 2007 at 8:52pm • Submit your own review...