If you step out of the realm of what is considered legitimate in the pop culture journalism circuit, you might just be accused of writing something controversial in order to be different or creative. That is something that Chuck Klosterman admits to being worried about with the breakthrough memoir/record review compilation entitled Fargo Rock City. This book is not about Fargo necessarily. It is not about cities and their relation to heavy 80’s rock. In fact, “rock n’ roll” is not a term used kindly in this book. Give Klosterman heavy metal, or give him death.Fargo Rock City is for metalheads who had their heyday in the 80’s. Because this reviewer has had a much different experience with the glam rock golden years, not yet being alive at the time, embarking on this “heavy metal odyssey in rural Nörth Daköta” has an effect much different from the effect Klosterman expects, and wants, to have. The key word here is nostalgia. Heavy metal, or “hair metal,” as it is often referred to, is seen as musically inferior and overly fixated on sex, drugs, alcohol, more sex, vanity, and the occasionally fight. This characterization has been hyped up over the past twenty years as former metalheads have grown up and trashed the leather pants, becoming arts critics and writing scorning reviewing of the new metal revival acts while praising grunge and the new wave of dance rock. Klosterman may be publishing articles adjacent to these other writers in magazines such as Spin or GQ, but his perspective and line of thought is anything but parallel.
Klosterman grew up surrounded by, well, nothing. So a stray cassette would receive strenuous playtime, leading to a complete and total immersion into the world of 80’s heavy metal. Due to the overpowering popularity of such music during this time of easily impressionability, MANY such children have grown up into adults continuously regretting their love of Tommy Lee or Axl Rose. This person is not Chuck Klosterman. In fact, he is an advocator of flipping this negative outlook around. Using nostalgia and a kitsch appeal, Klosterman uses anecdotes from his past in order to tell people like him why they should not be ashamed anymore. The whole book is not a play-by-play acceptance and praise of metal, though overwhelmingly positive it may be. Cheesy songs and music videos are pointed out, as well as comic observations concerning the undeniable ridiculous nature of the bands’ social practices and taste in women. Fargo Rock City is surprisingly and refreshingly subjective, considering Klosterman’s personal history as a lifelong metal fan. As a credible and prolific music critic, his opinions and observations on this style of music are definitely tinged with the expectation that audiences will be suspicious.
I, for one, have never listened to hair metal. It has slipped in, due to radio play and MTV, but I had never tried to obtain music by Ratt, Cinderella, or Guns N’ Roses before reading this book. Because of the age gap and this obvious wall between the author’s intent and my level of experience, I really should not have enjoyed this book as much as I did. My level of suspicion was high, along with my ignorance in this highly specialized sphere. Klosterman’s writing style and impeccable use of conversational tone convinced me that not only would I like metal; I might actually love it. Klosterman refuses to let you become bored. The tone is not only conversational but also carries with it a sense of urgency, as though this story has needed to be told for an unspoken demographic for years.
The effective methods used in this novel all boil down to organization. Each chapter begins with a heading, citing a special or important date in hard rock history. Klosterman then embarks on an entertaining anecdote about Ozzy Osbourne’s faux-Satanism or Nikki Sixx’s sense of style. While explaining a situation at the age of 16 when he accidentally embezzled money from an ATM, Klosterman manages to fit in an album review, speaking about the emotions and aesthetics of the moment and the lyrics’ places along with the various life events. Aside from a strenuous and rather long-winded chapter mostly dedicated to Klosterman’s list of albums you’d have to pay him to never listen to again and their reviews, there seems o be a perfect balance of music lingo for the in-crowd of music and pop culture trivia and coming of age stories anyone over 18 can truly appreciate.Klosterman’s charm stems from the idea that we have all known him at one point of another. In elementary school, he was the weird kid with the bad haircut, but he knew all about Mötley Crüe, so he couldn’t be that bad. In junior high, he was the dark and gloomy one, but he managed to always know what was going on with pop culture in a town so small they could miss a whole social movement if they forgot their radios for a couple days. In high school, he was the cool kid without he cool aesthetic or posse. In college, he was the public alcoholic and controversial columnist for the school paper, showing up to hockey games drunk and recording peoples’ reactions, not to the game, but to him.
His willingness to share revealing life stories and admitting to certain destructive behaviors showed this witty writer as a real man. This man is not a stuck-up music snob from New York City, staring down at the masses and telling them what was good enough to buy. This is just a guy. He likes music as much as you or I, but he gets paid to listen to it and he still thinks that that is pretty cool. Fargo Rock City might not be about your favorite genre of music. You might not even have been alive in the 80’s or early 90’s when this genre was in its height of commercial success. But as a capsule of a very important movement in musical history, this novel captures a personal affection for something unique. You might just end up finishing this and walking to your nearest CD store to buy Shout at the Devil, a strut in your step and a beer in your hand.
Among those interested in perhaps reviving certain elements of hairmetal is Mylo, who did this live cover of one of Guns n' Roses most popular songs:
Mylo - "Sweet Child of Mine (Live Guns n' Roses Cover)" mp3
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