You don't know me but you don't like me : Phish, Insane Clown Posse, and my mind-melting migratory misadventures with two of music's most maligned tribes

One of Rolling Stone's 20 Best Music Books of 2013 and one of Slate's Staff Picks for Best Books of 2013 The ebook edition now includes Nathan Rabin's "Extended Jam Session"'a two-part bonus chapter about what writing this book did to (and for) his life. The first part chronicles the author's melancholy yet hilarious excursion on the maiden voyage of the Kid Rock Chillin' the Most cruise, and the second part depicts the life lessons gleaned from getting sued by American Express over the charges the author racked up writing the book. The chapter sheds new light on a singular and unique exploration of personal and musical obsession and further highlights the book's theme of transcendence through utter, abject failure. When memoirist and former head writer for The A.V. Club Nathan Rabin first set out to write about obsessed music fans, he had no idea the journey would take him to the deepest recesses of both the pop culture universe and his own mind. For two very curious years, Rabin, who Mindy Kaling called "smart and funny" in The New Yorker, hit the road with two of music's most well-established fanbases: Phish's hippie fans and Insane Clown Posse's notorious "Juggalos." Musically or style-wise, these two groups could not be more different from each other, and Rabin, admittedly, was a cynic about both bands. But once he gets deep below the surface, past the caricatures and into the essence of their collective cultures, he discovers that both groups have tapped into the human need for community. Rabin also grapples with his own mental well-being'he discovers that he is bipolar'and his journey is both a prism for cultural analysis and a deeply personal exploration, equal parts humor and heart.;Intro; Dedication; What Madness Have I Gotten Myself Into?; Stepping into Tomorrow: Phish in Miami, 2009; Exploding into the Turbulent Teens: Phish, New Year's Eve, Miami; And Now for Something Completely Different: Violent J's Behind the Paint Ushers Us into the World of the Dark Carnival; ICP in a Post-Joker's Card World; Good-bye, Woodstock, Hello, Gathering of the Juggalos: Curious Times in Cave-in-Rock One of Rolling Stone 's 20 Best Music Books of 2013 and one of Slate's Staff Picks for Best Books of 2013 The ebook edition now includes Nathan Rabin's "Extended Jam Session"—a two-part bonus chapter about what writing this book did to (and for) his life. The first part chronicles the author's melancholy yet hilarious excursion on the maiden voyage of the Kid Rock Chillin' the Most cruise, and the second part depicts the life lessons gleaned from getting sued by American Express over the charges the author racked up writing the book. The chapter sheds new light on a singular and unique exploration of personal and musical obsession and further highlights the book's theme of transcendence through utter, abject failure. When memoirist and former head writer for The A.V. Club Nathan Rabin first set out to write about obsessed music fans, he had no idea the journey would take him to the deepest recesses of both the pop culture universe and his own mind. For two very curious years, Rabin, who Mindy Kaling called "smart and funny" in The New Yorker , hit the road with two of music's most well-established fanbases: Phish's hippie fans and Insane Clown Posse's notorious "Juggalos." Musically or style-wise, these two groups could not be more different from each other, and Rabin, admittedly, was a cynic about both bands. But once he gets deep below the surface, past the caricatures and into the essence of their collective cultures, he discovers that both groups have tapped into the human need for community. Rabin also grapples with his own mental well-being—he discovers that he is bipolar—and his journey is both a prism for cultural analysis and a deeply personal exploration, equal parts humor and heart. Intro Dedication What Madness Have I Gotten Myself Into? Stepping into Tomorrow: Phish in Miami, 2009 Exploding into the Turbulent Teens: Phish, New Year's Eve, Miami And Now for Something Completely Different: Violent J's Behind the Paint Ushers Us into the World of the Dark Carnival ICP in a Post-Joker's Card World Good-bye, Woodstock, Hello, Gathering of the Juggalos: Curious Times in Cave-in-Rock A Brief, Unfortunately Emo Chapter in Which Our Unreliable Narrator Loses His Shit and Fucks Up Big-Time and Also, in a Really Strange Turn of Events, Becomes an Employee of "Weird Al" YankovicThe Corruption Continues: Hallowicked 2010 Phish for Real This Time: My Brain Explodes with Joy on the Very First Night of the Tour The Tour Continues as Our Hapless Protagonist Tries to Figure Out How to Operate with a Blown Mind and Leaking Skull Two for the Road: Our Narrator Finds a Temporary Traveling Companion The Walking Wounded: Coming Home Back in a New York Groove: Feeling Like a Karma Billionaire at Super Ball 2011The Gathering of the Juggalos 2011: Bang! Pow! Boom! The Good Reverend Breaks It Down The Big Finish Extended Jam Session Acknowledgments About Nathan Rabin Copyright "When critic and memoirist Nathan Rabin, whom Mindy Kaling called "Smart and Fancy" in The New Yorker, turned his laser like focus to the subject of obsessed music fans, he had no idea the project would take him to the furthest reaches of both the pop-culture universe and his own mind. For two very curious years, Rabin hit the road with two of music's most entrenched yet derided fan bases: Phish's neo-hippie following and Insane Clown Posse's notorious Juggalos. Musically and stylistically, these groups could not be less alike, and Rabin was initially skeptical about both acts. But once he delved below the surface, past the caricatures and into the essence of their cultures, he discovered that both collectives had admirably (if atypically) fulfilled a human need for community. While Rabin happily immersed himself in these two worlds, he also had to grapple with the discovery that he is bipolar. His journey became both a prism for cultural analysis and a deeply personal excursion. Rabin's Unusual tale is a smart and electrifying evaluation of his transformative experiences with two critically neglected touchstones of American popular music"-- Publisher When memoirist and head writer for The A.V. Club Nathan Rabin first set out to write about obsessed music fans, he had no idea the journey would take him to the deepest recesses of both the pop culture universe and his own mind. For two very curious years, Rabin, who Mindy Kaling called "smart and funny" in The New Yorker , hit the road with two of music's most well-established fanbases: Phish's hippie fans and Insane Clown Posse's notorious "Juggalos." Musically or style-wise, these two groups could not be more different from each other, and Rabin, admittedly, was a cynic about both bands. But once he gets deep below the surface, past the caricatures and into the essence of their collective cultures, he discovers that both groups have tapped into the human need for community. Rabin also grapples with his own mental well-being-- he discovers that he is bipolar-- and his journey is both a prism for cultural analysis and a deeply personal exploration, equal parts humor and heart.

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A writer's journey with the fan bases of Phish and Insane Clown Posse describes his unexpected discovery of how both groups have tapped the human need for community, a finding that coincided with his diagnosis of bipolar disorder