Confirms that I very very much enjoy Klosterman's writing style and dialectic technique.

The subject matter was less difficult for me to grasp than the other work of his that I've read, but I'm now more interested in checkout the Crue and Warrant than I've ever before been.

Doubt I'd ever buy the artists in question, but I have a new arsenal for thinking about the songs that were near and dear to my teenage heart. ( )

I'm torn about this book: on one hand, it is a humorous review of heavy metal music, yet on the other the author takes himself and his subject way too serioulsly. His original intention is good -- he noticed that there were absolutely no critical reviews of this era of music, because all of the critics believe that this type of music isn't worthy of critical consideration. He shows how heavy metal music was important, if only to those who loved this type of music -- those who grew up listening to it during their formative years.

Part critical review and part memoir, the book is organized around a timeline of important metal events, but in my opinion this backfires. He begins every chapter with an event, but the subsequent chapter often has nothing to do with the opening statement. I found myself curious about these events only to find no discussion of them, and was forced to do research online to figure out what he was talking about.

Another annoyance: during the course of the book he refers to interviews of various musicians, but doesn't indicate which band they were in or what instrument they played, as if the audience should naturally know this. I am somewhat familiar with this type of music and I only got about half the references. Still, for all this griping the book was still a worthwhile and interesting read. The chapter on how much money you would have to pay him to never listen to [whatever] band again was definitely the best and most insightful part of the book. ( )

Chuck and I would get along well. ( )

I resonate with Klosterman's musical obsession despite being one generation removed. Sure, he's only two years older than me, but when he was listening to Mötley Crüe, I was into Michael W. Smith. It wasn't until the early 90s that I started obsessing over albums and liner notes.

In Fargo Rock City, Klosterman pays tribute to the genre he loves—lovingly called "hair metal" today. The narrative is a trip through musical and personal landmarks that defined the pre-grunge era.

Klosterman's penchant for ridiculous arguments is on full display in this critical tour of 1980s heavy metal. He also makes a surprising number of astute musical observations. (For example, he presents an unorthodox yet logical argument for why Bush signalled the death of Grunge.)

If you long for the days of Def Leppard, Poison, Skid Row, Bon Jovi, and especially G'n'R, this book is for you. ( )

Sigh. Sorry Chuck but I've had to give up on this one. I got halfway and that was a struggle. For a book about that flashiest of music, Glam Metal (or Hair Metal, or even Cock Rock), it commits the cardinal sin of being...well, a bit boring.

Klosterman can write, there's no doubt of that, but the subject matter just didn't grab me. And I like books about music! But too many chapters ended up tying themselves in knots to prove that Glam Metal wasn't/isn't sexist. Or, just because you're offended by it doesn't mean it's offensive. Erm, okay Chuck. Methinks the metalhead doth protest too much....

Chuck knows his stuff and clearly loves the music he grew up listening too. But none of it made me want to go beyond the big hits I already knew. I certainly didn't have a sudden urge to check out Skid Row or Warrant's back catalogue. Narrow escape there.

There's probably a good book to be had out of the bands, personalities and music of the Metal 80's. Sadly this isn't it.

Oh well... ( )