When I found Chuck Klosterman's Fargo Rock City on the bookshop shelf I was intrigued. Hmmm, a book about one man's relationship with 1980s Hair/Glam Metal. I immediately bought the book, and devoured the first 50 pages before I left the shop!
Fargo Rock City is billed as a "Heavy Metal Odyssey In Rural North Dakota", as Chuck Klosterman fights his way through the 1980s Metal scene. There can be no denying that Klosterman definitely knows his subject matter. The book is bursting at the seams, jammed packed with anecdotes and rock knowledge. The work is set against Klosterman's own upbringing in the not-so-rocking farmland that is North Dakota. This is where the book works best. Klosterman can be interesting and insightful when he links his own upbringing and experiences to the music he grew up listening to.
Klosterman, however, seems to be the ultimate in literary dichotomies. On the one hand his prose is intellectual, informative and even humourous in places. When I started the book I felt it could be one of those that you just can't put down. This joy soon turned to despair as it soon became apparent that he can be extremely frustrating and tedious. There is a particularly annoying chapter where he catalogues his favourite 1980s Metal albums replete with the amount of money he would to be paid to never listen to the album again. Initially I thought it was a top ten, but oh no, seemingly dozens of albums went by. I'm sorry to say that I was too tired for that part and skipped it. Klosterman seemed at times to be lost down a blind alley with no way out.
I would however recommend the book to rock fans, although not to general members of the public. The book is great for rock knowledge, but is easily 50 to 100 pages too long.
Chuck Klosterman, Fargo Rock City, 2001.
2.5 stars
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