Chuck Klosterman: Difference between revisions

 

Chuck Klosterman is an author who has written for SPIN, the New York Times, and Esquire, among other publications. He grew up in [[Flyover Country|Wyndmere, North Dakota]] but relocated to New York City to write for SPIN. He has also written several books about American pop culture, but which always incorporate little pieces of his life and romantic relationships in his stories. He first became recognized as an author with the book ''Sex Drugs and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto'', released in 2003, which tackled everything from fundamentalist Christians to the porn industry. His follow-up, ''Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story'', chronicles his journey through the United States in search of places famous rock stars had died, while simultaneously [[Wangst|moping over past romantic relationships]].

 

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* ''Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota'' (2001)

* ''Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto'' (2003): A selection of essays that put him on the map.

* ''Hypertheticals: 50 Questions for Insane Conversations'': Not actually a book, but a deck of trading cards containing the hypothetical questions that make Chuck's signature style. Fun to bring out at parties.

 

* [[Berserk Button]]: He once dated a girl who blew him off to go to a [[Coldplay]] concert. His response, is, well... not family-friendly.

* [[Cluster F-Bomb]]: A lot of his work (see the quote under Berserk Button)

* [[Critical Dissonance]]: He tends to like a lot of rock artists (such as [[Kiss]] or [[Billy Joel]]) that were never popular with other rock critics.

* [[Dead Artists Are Better]]: Not to Klosterman himself, but why he decided to write ''Killing Yourself to Live'': he wanted to understand why so many artists only became notable after they die.

* [[Insane Troll Logic]]: A staple of his writing. His essay "33" tries to explain whether you rooted for the Boston Celtics or the Los Angeles Lakers in [[The Eighties]] can explain every decision you make in your life, from political preferences to who you should marry to whether David Lee Roth or Sammy Hagar was a better singer in [[Van Halen]].

* [[Shaggy Dog Story]]: ''Killing Yourself to Live'' contains a story about a girl Chuck was interested in, who got high and climbed up on the roof of her house. The girl's friends were paranoid that she would jump off and injure herself, and Chuck was worried that he wouldn't get laid. So what happened? Nothing. The girl climbed down from the roof and never saw Chuck again.

* [[Sophisticated As Hell]]: His writing often shows this trope.

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[[Category:Chuck Klosterman]]