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trin's review against another edition
3.0
Reread. Apparently I felt like a dose of rock 'n' roll death. Sadly, there's really not enough of that in here for my taste (oh man, that statement is so wrong); in many ways, this book is more about Klosterman's failed relationships than about its ostensible purpose: touring the sites of a bunch of famous rock 'n' roll demises (from the room at the Chelsea Hotel in New York where Nancy Spungen was killed, to the greenhouse in Seattle where Kurt Cobain shot himself) and analyzing what effects these early deaths had on the musicians' legacies. The whole thing is very entertaining while you're reading it, but at the end I found myself wishing (and remembering having wished the first time around) that there was more actual death discussed, and less "death of Chuck's love life." Klosterman skirts around some theories about how an early demise can actually bring a musician a weird sort of immortality (the discussions of Jeff Buckley, and yeah, Cobain, are particularly interesting) but he never really presents any kind of thesis and, I dunno, I'd've sort of appreciated even a half-assed one. He also, in his rant about why he hates L.A. and considers it the worst city in the country, seems to confuse "Los Angeles" with "Hollywood." BUT THAT IS ANOTHER RANT I WILL NOT TOUCH TODAY. *restrains self*
But ANYWAY...there's still a lot to enjoy in this book. Klosterman is, as always, a highly readable writer. (See? Watch me pillage one of his more fun devices!) Thus, if you're in even a slightly morbid mood, I really do recommend it.
But ANYWAY...there's still a lot to enjoy in this book. Klosterman is, as always, a highly readable writer. (See? Watch me pillage one of his more fun devices!) Thus, if you're in even a slightly morbid mood, I really do recommend it.
_reading_with_kate_'s review against another edition
2.0
My favorite part was the bit at the end where the lady discouraged the author from writing the book.
angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
4.0
Great book. Really funny stuff. And well written as most of Klosterman's stuff is. Perhaps if the topic wasn't so vapid or nonsensical I'd give it 5 stars. But since he's riding around looking at the locations where rock stars died, I can't say this was one of the greatest books I've ever read.
spectracommunist's review against another edition
5.0
I'm really glad that I went through this in this particular phase of my life. It mainly revolves around punk rock and death but it also has several intertwined romance plots too, which constitute equal interests. I also enjoyed it as a travel memoir, meeting people and contemplating death and music as we've always strived to understand it with our own romantic frustrations and yet so romantic. I don't agree about everything Chuck says, but I believe that he has a fascinating and erudite perspective of whatever he talks about. And this work consists of a plethora of criticism about labels and quite interesting films too. Overall, I believe Chuck to be a fine rock critic, although I don't always agree with his ratings.
Well, I was in a heavy metal phase but now I feel like diverting to Audioslave and Alice in Chains.
Well, I was in a heavy metal phase but now I feel like diverting to Audioslave and Alice in Chains.
samvanstokkom's review against another edition
2.0
holy shit this chuck guy is so fucking unlikeable. i hated his writing style, he never had anything positive to say about anything, he’s constantly saying how uncool he is which sometimes people who are actually pretty cool say but this guy is SO uncool he’s an actual loser, he’s always complaining about something and always making up weird metaphors that don’t make sense and just doing way too much. i would hate to have a guy like this in my life, his behaviour towards and thoughts about women are incomprehensibly weird, he’s a drug addict which he continuously tries to cover up, SO many outdated views and comments that just did not age well at all, and he’s constantly making self deprecating jokes while actually giving the impression that he thinks he’s better than everyone else. the contents of his research were sometimes interesting but overall i’m like what did i actually just read like what did i gain from this… there’s this one review on the back of the book which says ‘i can’t think of a more likeable writer than klosterman. big hearted and direct, bright and unironic, optimistic and amiable’ and jesus christ this person must have been held at gunpoint because absolutely none of that is accurate in my opinion. yeah no this was not fun at all, the only thing i enjoyed was just reading about familiar artists and sometimes learning something new about them. but aside from that, ‘ultimately, the author should have listened to his friend Lucy Chance’‼️‼️
casspro's review against another edition
1.0
I wanted to hear about dead celebrities and rock and roll, not a sad love triangle between Klosterman and his ex-ex-ex girlfriends. The road trip and music critiques are really the only saving grace here.
behinana's review against another edition
2.0
if I had read it in English I would've dropped it or rated 1-star
erikbergstrom's review against another edition
3.0
Often the success of any good book, nonfiction or fiction, is in how the writer keeps his or her promise with the reader based on the premise and the thesis stated in the beginning. I'm not sure Klosterman does that with this book. It's basically a rambling exercise of his thoughts, most of them personal and uninteresting related to his love life. I wanna hear about the music, man!
Chuck started his humble writing career at the same cold, upper Midwestern college as me and got big on how he crafted his essays and articles with humor and wit and charm. Basically, he's the one who got out! But here, he seems to meander a bit from his promise of delivering us an interesting road trip tale featuring dead musicians littering the landscape. The most he gives any story is one of his first, the Station night club fire. Here, he's at his best—showing off his roots as a farmboy from North Dakota by relating more to the kind of people who'd attend a Great White show in the 2000s and not making them a punchline like most others.
Other best parts include his thoughts on Led Zeppelin, KISS, and the state of Montana. The first time I chuckled out loud was past the halfway point, though, which may not be what he was going for.
ANYWAY, I'll maybe check out some of Chuck's earlier stuff, or even some of his more recent stuff to see how far he's strayed from his potential, but skip this one if you're looking for some peak Chuck.
Chuck started his humble writing career at the same cold, upper Midwestern college as me and got big on how he crafted his essays and articles with humor and wit and charm. Basically, he's the one who got out! But here, he seems to meander a bit from his promise of delivering us an interesting road trip tale featuring dead musicians littering the landscape. The most he gives any story is one of his first, the Station night club fire. Here, he's at his best—showing off his roots as a farmboy from North Dakota by relating more to the kind of people who'd attend a Great White show in the 2000s and not making them a punchline like most others.
Other best parts include his thoughts on Led Zeppelin, KISS, and the state of Montana. The first time I chuckled out loud was past the halfway point, though, which may not be what he was going for.
ANYWAY, I'll maybe check out some of Chuck's earlier stuff, or even some of his more recent stuff to see how far he's strayed from his potential, but skip this one if you're looking for some peak Chuck.
thelalombardi's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0