Fargo rock city : a heavy metal odyssey in rural Nörth Daköta

This memoir by the author of Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs details growing up in a small Midwestern town in the 1980s while loving heavy metal music. Empirically proving that—no matter where you are—the kids wanna rock, this is Chuck Klosterman’s classic memoir of growing up as a shameless metalhead in Wyndmere, North Dakota (population: 498). With a voice like Ace Frehley’s guitar, Klosterman hacks his way through hair-band history, beginning with that fateful day in 1983 when his older brother brought home Mötley Crüe’s Shout at the Devil. The fifth-grade Chuck wasn’t quite ready to rock—his hair was too short and his farm was too quiet—but he still found a way to bang his nappy little head. Before the journey was over, he would slow-dance to Poison, sleep innocently beneath satanic pentagrams, lust for Lita Ford, and get ridiculously intellectual about Guns N’ Roses. C’mon and feel his noise. Winner of the ASCAP Deems Taylor AwardPraise for Fargo Rock City“Writing about American pop culture doesn’t get any better than this, or any funnier, or any more readable. If you love rock ‘n’ roll, you will love Fargo Rock City.” —Stephen King“You NEED to read this book. This man is a great writer, and the book is not just about hair metal bands but about how music feels, how media-saturated culture feels, and how it’s all in the details.” —David Byrne“The Great Gatsby of heavy-metal literature.” —Rolling Stone

Empirically proving that -- no matter where you are -- kids wanna rock, this is Chuck Klosterman's hilrious memoir of growing up as a shameless metalhead in Wyndmere, North Dakotoa (population: 498). With a voice like Ace Frehley's guitar, Klosterman hacks his way through hair-band history, beginning with that fateful day in 1983 when his older brother brought home Mötley Crüe's Shout at the Devil. The fifth-grade Chuck wasn't quite ready to rock -- his hair was too short and his farm was too quiet -- but he still found a way to bang his nappy little head. Before the journey was over, he would slow-dance to Poison, sleep innocently beneath satanic pentagrams, lust for Lita Ford, and get ridiculously intellectual about Guns N' Roses. C'mon and feel his noize.

Publishers Weekly

Klosterman's highly touted debut has as much to do with Fargo, N.D., as the Coen brothers' slice of Americabre, Fargo. That is, nothing at all, really. Misleadingly titled to cash in on Fargo's cinematic mystique, Klosterman's memoir about growing up a sexually repressed metalhead, with a humiliating (mom-dictated) Richie Cunningham haircut is actually set in Wyndmere, N.D. Klosterman starts up with a bang ("You know, I've never had long hair"), shifts gears often (from memoir to music criticism, somewhat jarringly at times), and rarely idles. Ultimately, though, Klosterman, ironic throughout the book, does not write with enough sincerity to prove his thesis "that all that poofy, sexist, shallow glam rock was important." Granted, it's a daunting task to write a hymn of praise to the genre that spawned David Lee Roth so the author wisely stretches his pop-culture references like taffy. In the final chapter Klosterman, now an arts critic for Ohio's Akron Beacon Journal, quotes a friend's definition of a "guilty pleasure" "something I pretend to like ironically, but in truth is something I really just like" to explain how he really feels about glam metal. His closing summation of what metal means to isolated kids in the heartland will strike a power chord for many readers. (May) Forecast: Klosterman has tapped a gold mine. Fans of 1980s M tley Cr e, Poison and Ratt are pushing 30 and 40 and seeking a nostalgia trip. Also, Gear magazine will run an excerpt of the book along with a conversation between Klosterman and Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

The Year Is 1983, And Chuck Klosterman Just Wants To Rock. The Only Problem Is, He's In The Fifth Grade, His Hair's Too Short, His Pants Are Too Denim, And The Town's Too Small. The Huey Lewis And The News Song Blaring Out Of The Radio Isn't Helping, Either. That's When Chuck's Brother Arrives Home With A Cassette From Hell - Mötley Crüe's 'shout At The Devil'. And So The Twisted Journey Begins... In This Hilarious, Young-man-growing-up-with-a-soundtrack Tradition, 'fargo Rock City' Chronicles Klosterman's Formative Years And The History Of Rock Through The Lens Of '80s Heavy Metal. He Knows What It's Like To Slow-dance To A Poison Tune; To Sleep Innocently Under Satanic Symbols; To Confess Your Lust For Lita Ford; To Understand That Bon Jovi Sounds Best In A Pickup; To Shoot Baskets As A Member Of The Kiss Army; To Get Intellectual About Guns N' Roses; And, Yes, To Have A Nasty Relationship With Your First Atm Card. With A Voice Like Ace Frehley's Guitar, Chuck Hacks And Riffs His Way Through This Savvy, Deliriously Funny Memoir Of Growing Up As A Shameless Metalhead In Wyndmere, North Dakota. Against All Odds, He Parties Like A Rock Star. Your Story May Be Exactly The Same Or Completely Different, But If You Grew Up Anywhere Close To The 1980s, Then Your Life Has Been Touched By Hair Metal. Chuck Klosterman Is Here To Explain Why This Matters.--book Jacket. Chuck Klosterman. "Empirically proving that -- no matter where you are -- kids wanna rock, this is Chuck Klosterman's hilarious memoir of growing up as a shameless metalhead in Wyndmere, North Dakotoa (population: 498). With a voice like Ace Frehley's guitar, Klosterman hacks his way through hair-band history, beginning with that fateful day in 1983 when his older brother brought home Motley Crue's Shout at the Devil. The fifth-grade Chuck wasn't quite ready to rock -- his hair was too short and his farm was too quiet -- but he still found a way to bang his nappy little head. Before the journey was over, he would slow-dance to Poison, sleep innocently beneath satanic pentagrams, lust for Lita Ford, and get ridiculously intellectual about Guns N' Roses. C'mon and feel his noize"-- Publisher's description Empirically proving that—no matter where you are—kids wanna rock, this is Chuck Klosterman's hilrious memoir of growing up as a shameless metalhead in Wyndmere, North Dakotoa (population: 498). With a voice like Ace Frehley's guitar, Klosterman hacks his way through hair-band history, beginning with that fateful day in 1983 when his older brother brought home Mötley Crüe's Shout at the Devil. The fifth-grade Chuck wasn't quite ready to rock—his hair was too short and his farm was too quiet—but he still found a way to bang his nappy little head. Before the journey was over, he would slow-dance to Poison, sleep innocently beneath satanic pentagrams, lust for Lita Ford, and get ridiculously intellectual about Guns N' Roses. C'mon and feel his noize. This tale chronicles Klosterman's formative years through the lens of heavy metal, the irony-deficient genre, and the pop charts of the 1980s. He tells of his first dance (with a girl), his life in Fargo, the debate team, and his analysis of the similarities of Guns 'n' Roses and the gospels! Powered by a sharp and wholly original voice, Klosterman delivers a real-life "High Fidelity" in this savvy, deliriously funny memoir of growing up a shameless heavy-metal devotee in 1980s North Dakota This title chronicles Chuck Klosterman's formative years through the lens of heavy metal that dominated the charts in the 1980s.