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Fargo Rock City : A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota
 
 
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Fargo Rock City : A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota (Paperback)

~ (Author) "You know, I've never had long hair..." (more)
Key Phrases: Van Halen, Bon Jovi, Skid Row (more...)
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)

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Featured Author: Chuck Klosterman
Download an excerpt from Chuck Klosterman's Eating the Dinosaur and his other bestselling titles. And explore more from the author at Amazon's Chuck Klosterman Page [PDF].

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Fargo Rock City : A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota + Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas + Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story
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Editorial Reviews

From 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, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.


From Library Journal

Let it be known that Fargo Rock City does not detail a burgeoning music scene in North Dakota's largest city (population: 70,000). Nor is it a yarn about a heavy metal band gigging across the frozen tundra of the Red River Valley. Rather, it's one Middle American's memoir of growing up with and loving 1980s heavy metal (e.g., Ratt, Poison, and Guns 'n' Roses). In other words, this book is for the myriad metal-heads from Fargo to Phoenix who inked "M?tley Cr?e" on their notebooks during high school study halls. The music, film, and culture critic at Ohio's Akron Beacon Journal, Klosterman uses refreshingly candid language: reading his debut is like overhearing a drunken discussion between two music fans. He nicely blends metal music theory with compelling tales of self-realization. Perhaps more than a memoir, this is a seriocomedic defense of a culture that was only cool to those who participated in it. Recommended for all public libraries, especially those in the heartland.
- Robert Morast, "Argus Leader Daily," Sioux Falls, SD
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Scribner (May 1, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0743406567
  • ISBN-13: 978-0743406567
  • Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #34,250 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

    #1 in  Books > History > United States > State & Local > North Dakota
    #5 in  Books > Entertainment > Music > Musical Genres > Heavy Metal
    #29 in  Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Family & Childhood

More About the Author

Chuck Klosterman
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75 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (75 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Metal Manifesto (or No Apologies), April 24, 2001
This funny and enjoyable book is an answer to the pop culture elitists (such as myself!) who dismiss heavy metal as ridiculous junk. By relating the social and personal impact of metal on himself and his friends growing up in rural North Dakota, Klosterman makes a compelling case that this music has an importance and meaning far beyond how it compares musically and lyrically to Dylan, The Beatles, Springsteen, and other ordained members of the Rock Canon. The sprawling text is part memoir, part free-thinking criticism, part record guide, and always hilarious.

I guess that FARGO ROCK CITY falls somewhere between Dave Eggers and Chuck Eddy, but it's really too sui generis to be so glibly catagorized. This book is for the "Rocker within us all"! Check it out....

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13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Chuck is a Rock God -- Honestly, June 17, 2003
By Robert Wellen (CHICAGO, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
At first, I was a bit disappointed by the book and then I read the epilogue. Why wasn't it more of a memoir? Why was it filled with so much analysis? Then, I realized that isn't really the point of this wonderful book. Klosterman has made me a fan for life. What wins me over his unbashed honesty. I've long held that the lowest critic life form is that of rock critic. Klosterman calls them on their pretension. He hammers away at what I have always believed is that music is important if it touches you. My MP3 collection has Sinatra and Warrant. Who cares who is better, both form the soundtrack to important parts of my life. Klosterman tells some hilarious stories and his takes on music and life is so refereshingly honest that I can't stop smiling. He isn't mean or nasty--just tells it as he sees it. DOn't agree? That's ok. I learned more than I ever imagined about '80s heavy metal (some which I finally realized I liked about 10 years too late) and I suspect I would have gotten more out of the book if I had understood all the references, but I loved what I read anyway. Except for the passage where he compares the Gospels to GNR Lies, this book really does rock. Isn't that the most important thing?
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10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Someone gave a dork a book deal, July 8, 2001
By A Customer
Klosterman knows a lot about '80s hair bands and metal, but who cares? He fails to connect this vapid musical movement to anything relevant. He's more interested in showing just how much he knows about Warrant, Poison, KISS, Guns n' Roses--he's set on showing off his metal trivia: what band members wore in each video, who replaced whom on guitar before the big record deal, cover art.

Too bad. I wanted to like this book, and I read it cover-to-cover, but there's something about a dork who feels the need to spout metal trivia interjected with disingenuous self-effacement that reminds why I always changed the station when Ratt came on.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good
I'll keep this one short and simple...if you feel the desire to read a Klosterman book...this is the one. I truly enjoyed this book. Read more
Published 3 days ago by D.

1.0 out of 5 stars Fargo Suck City
I picked this up expecting a portrait of Klosterman's youth in rural ND and how it, and he, was affected by music--I was sorely disappointed. Read more
Published 7 months ago by KC

4.0 out of 5 stars I now feel alright about my cheese rock years.
I liked Cocoa Puffs more than Fargo but both are very good. I disagreed with his takes on Rush being Christian rockers and Queensryche being just like Dream Theater, but it's... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Philip Simon

4.0 out of 5 stars Brings back memories
I have to admit, I really enjoyed this book. It was enjoyable because with each chapter I would remember a point of my life as a teenager. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Stacy Palm

5.0 out of 5 stars Wouldn't be so funny if it weren't all true!
Fantastically funny read for anyone who grew up a teenager in the last 80s age of glam rock and heavy metal. Long live Poison, Motley Crue, and GNR!
Published 10 months ago by W. Jarrett Campbell

5.0 out of 5 stars Klosterman rocks.
Klosterman understands the universe, and why heavy metal had to exist to make it balanced and just.


Published 15 months ago by Eric Garland

5.0 out of 5 stars Chuck is the man
Personally, Chuck is my top 3 favorite writer. I think he hit me hard with his styles and topics in all of his books. Read more
Published 17 months ago by LukeTao

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining Read for Any Hard Rock/Metal Fan
If you grew up enjoying hard rock and/or heavy metal of the 80's and early 90's, or are just a fan of that music, then you simply must read this book. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Derek J. Archambault

1.0 out of 5 stars Rattleheads, be warned.
I bought this on the recommendation of Martin Popoff, and was terribly disappointed. If you want to read an insightful, entertaining, and fair review of heavy metal, this is most... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Kevin D. Perry

4.0 out of 5 stars From a grown-up, then anti-metal, punker
While I think that this book is deservedly the black sheep of the Klosterman books, its still enjoyable. What this book lacks is any sense of flow... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Zelie Nic

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