Pop culture soup.
For those who follow my book reviews, let me start by saying, yes I know I read too much Chuck Klosterman and too many books by or about Hunter S. Thompson. Unfortunately for you, there are many more HST books to be read. On the contrary, there is no more Klosterman material to consume other than his Esquire column. This collection of essays on pop culture is one of four five Klosterman books and the last one for me to read.
As with all of Klosterman’s writing, I enjoyed the wry humour and his vast knowledge of music, sports, television and everything 80′s/90′s.
He constantly reminds you of forgotten cultural icons, like the Slinky or obscure characters in The Facts of Life. As shallow as all of it seems, it is a welcome insight into pop culture, something that is embedded in all most of us and, although we may fight it, will continue to affect us throughout our lives. One of the essays discusses modern pornography in the face of the internet and instant access to it for anyone; the result being a return to people wanting their on-screen whores more realistic hence explaining the proliferance of “horny housewive” or “dirty debutante”-style porn. Clearly, Klosterman is speaking to 20/30-something men and he does a great job at it. Another essay explores the idea that the 80′s rivalry between the Boston Celtics and the L.A. Lakers is a deeper metaphor for a rift in black/white America and left/right politics. The illusion that Klosterman is an apparent liberal-leaning conservative makes this comparison a humourous look into the American perspective on politics and sociocultural relations. Of course, the difference is, it’s about basketball, so it’s much more interesting than reading the majority of political commentary. At times, Klosterman seems like he’s beating a dead horse or trying to make poignant points out of pointless pop pulp (how’s that for a little alliteration…booya!). He has a talent for coming across as an elitist in a very abstract way, I mean, he is talking about hair metal, baseball and Saved by the Bell. How fucking elitist can he get? It seems the answer is very. He even calls himself out on it occasionally. Regardless, this one remains in the recommended category, but not ahead of his other work, especially Killing Yourself to Live. – Mike Berard