Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota

I'm the same age as Chuck Klosterman, grew up in the same period. All that time, I HATED heavy metal. I knew all the bands he writes about, remember seeing kids wearing the T-shirts and having the names written on jean jackets, but I HATED the music. All that aside: I LOVED THIS BOOK! The book is a series of essays about Chuck growing up and being a fan of different heavy metal groups. Going through artists careers, talking about the best CDs of the era, why the groups were popular, and how grunge killed them off. You don't have to be an ex-metalhead to love this book. His writing is infectious. I'll be honest, I only picked this up after reading his other two books (FARGO ROCK CITY is his first), and it is just as much fun as those others. Will it make you rethink heavy metal? Maybe not. In recent years, I've begun to rethink it a bit, if only because I realize the current music scene makes heavy metal seem not so bad anymore. Plus, enough time has passed to make you seem nostalgic about some of these groups. But, this book probably won't make you run out and buy all the Poison or Motley Crue CDs. It is just a whole lot of fun to read.

This book is the best a music fan can ask for. It is filled with facts and moments in music and pop culture that most of us that grew up with MTV remember. It however DOES NOT make you feel like you are reading a serious essay about why one band or genre is historically significant (like: Why Kurt Cobain was a genius). Chuck writes talks to his readers as if he;s saying "Here's what I think, and here's some facts, and if you don't agree, that's fine"It's the perfect blend of Heavy Metal's reality, truth and legends mixed with his own personal experiences along the way.I would reccomend this book to anyone that feels a connection with eighties Heavy Metal. You'll walk away feeling like you visited a good friend you haven't seen in along time. If you can still sing the chorus to Ratt's "Round and Round" and if you remember Tawny Kitane of the hood of a car, you HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK!Seriously, go read this book. You'll laugh about things you forgot about. But most importantlu, you'll remember how great heavy Metal was/is and how at times it was laughable.

A great look at 80s heavy metal. It combines a lot of facts about the genre ( plus quick, smart comments on other types of music) with good humor and personal recollections on growing up.... Just relax and enjoy a light, fun read. I'd recommend this highly.

Klosterman is ON TARGET. If I was writing the story of glam metal in the 80s---it would look a lot like this. It is ironic that I was visiting store after store to find the new Faster Pussycat and LA Guns releases, so I could "rock"---when I stumbled on this book (the store didn't have the albums by the way). The essence of what it was to be a hard-drinking, midwestern,suburban white teenage male in the 80s is captured in such vivid detail that I almost wonder if I've fallen into a time warp. "So, come now Children of the Beast....Be strong..and SHOUT AT THE DEVIL!!!" - Motley CrueToday, I have a "normal" job as a Financial Professional for a midwestern insurance company. And in my office, I have the following CDs that I play constantly: Motley Crue-Shout at the Devil, Faster Pussycat, LA Guns-Cocked & Loaded, Pretty Boy Floyd, Ratt-Out of the Cellar, etc. When I was listening to these as a teenager, I just "knew" I'd one day be a rock star, ya know?

This funny and enjoyable book is an answer to the pop culture elitists (such as myself!) who dismiss heavy metal as ridiculous junk. By relating the social and personal impact of metal on himself and his friends growing up in rural North Dakota, Klosterman makes a compelling case that this music has an importance and meaning far beyond how it compares musically and lyrically to Dylan, The Beatles, Springsteen, and other ordained members of the Rock Canon. The sprawling text is part memoir, part free-thinking criticism, part record guide, and always hilarious.I guess that FARGO ROCK CITY falls somewhere between Dave Eggers and Chuck Eddy, but it's really too sui generis to be so glibly catagorized. This book is for the "Rocker within us all"! Check it out....