Published: 2001 (Scribner)
Setting: The North Dakota in Klosterman’s Mind
Summary: Chuck Klosterman’s s debut book prompts the reader to journey back to the 1980’s, a time where Klosterman was obsessed with hair metal and everything that came with it (boozing, virginity, aimless drives). Klosterman is both sharp and vulnerable when he ponders the artistic, commercial, and personal merits of hair metal and its legion of Midwest loving fanatics. Metal wasn’t just a genre, it was a lifestyle (even for those that lived a life so far removed from the type of life metal bands espoused). Klosterman links the lyrics, fashion, and personality of bands like Motley Crue, Van Halen, Faster Pussycat to what it was like to grow up and rock out in the Reagan years. Klosterman isn’t afraid to question himself, and his relationship to the sex and the violence (even within the same sentence). Yet, you can tell he earnestly believes that his relationship to glam metal is a paragon of true fandom, and righteous rock.
The enduring legacy of this book is how it catalogs glam metal bands without being pretentious or vain. Klosterman doesn’t sum up the era with a grade or give certain bands stamps of approval. He tells you what happened to Guns N Roses, how it felt to secretly like Warrant, and why Stone Temple Pilots didn’t suck as much as critics said they did.
Quote of the book: “Appetite for Destruction is the singular reason to the question, ‘Why did hair metal need to exist?’” (175). This quote isn’t indicative of the depth of Klosterman’s analysis, but its shows is the man to unpack hair metal.
Favorite character: Axl Rose, reading this book is a sufficient substitute for watching VH1 Behind the Music, or the “November Rain” music video. His breakdown of Axl’s history and character is imminently chewable.
Favorite Setting: Klosterman’s dorm, this is a place that any self-respecting hard rocker (or hard rock wannabe) would want to hang out at.
Please Stay for: Klosterman’s commitment to the music that defined him.
Please Question: Klosterman’s takes on Iron Maiden (honestly most of them were spot on, but in the last 20 years Iron Maiden apparel have endured more than Klosterman might have predicted).
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