I've confused Chuck Klosterman with Chuck Paluhniak many times before- a couple modern writers who share the same first name, have equally funny-sounding last names, and share a large portion of their fanbase. But having finally read them both, it's painfully easy to distinguish between the two- Paluhniak writes novels about people at their worst with wildly twisting plots, while Klosterman is simpler and much more easy to stomach- he simply analyzes pop culture. Sex Drugs and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto is a collection of essays which are at least always entertaining, and at times some very interesting pieces of writing. Allow me to go through and provide some brief thoughts on each one:
1. This is Emo- Chuck has a problem with how girls love things like Coldplay and When Harry Met Sally, believing this has led them to believe in a fictionalized version of what love is. This may be true, but by not mentioning how men can be similarly manipulated by media it comes off as "women who don't like me like these things instead."2. Billy Sim- Chuck cares little for video games but becomes engrossed in The Sims. I've never played The Sims before and have only slight interest, but Chuck talking about playing god and interviewing creator Will Wright certainly helped.3. What Happens When People Stop Being Polite- The long-lasting effects of The Real World on society- Basically Chuck doesn't see new cast members who act like people he knows, but meets new people and believes them to all suddenly be fitting into the mold of notable Real World cast members. He makes a convincing point, even if it might just be that we tend to follow what we think is popular.4. Every Dog Must Have His Every Day, Every Drink Must Have His Drunk- Chuck heaps praise upon Billy Joel, and searches for the answer of how Billy Joel became one of the biggest rock stars ever despite never being close to 'cool' to anyone.5. Appetite for Replication- Chuck spends a night with a Guns N' Roses tribute band and discovers their importance- the show goes about how you'd expect (some people show up and have fun singing and dancing to GnR songs and the band goes home with no groupies and a little bit of cash) but was still very entertaining and made me want to go watch some tribute bands.6. Ten Seconds to Love- What starts as a reflection on the highs and lows of the Pamela/Tommy Lee sex tape turns into a comparison between the 50's and the 90's, as Chuck questions why Marilyn Monroe could sleep with a star athlete, a playwright and the president, but America's current sex symbols could never pull that off.7. George Will vs. Nick Hornby- Maybe the book's shining moment- Chuck makes as far as I can tell the be-all end-all convincing argument for why he hates soccer and Americans will never take to it the way other countries do.8. 33- Chuck attempts to explain how the Lakers/Celtics rivalry was the basis for deeper issues, beyond the obvious one of race. Except he doesn't make it much further than 'people from LA are different from Bostonians.' There seems to be some implication that Bostonians are much more conservative, which is odd because both cities seem to be their coast's bastion of liberalism.9. Porn- With porn exploding onto the internet in a huge way, Chuck takes some time to analyze what some of the most popular porn fetishes say about society, especially the focus on amateurism vs. professionals.10. The Lady or the Tiger- Wikipedia tells me that this is a brief history of breakfast cereal and how Kellogg's was started as a religious company. I really only barely remember reading this, even though it was just a few days ago. Add to that my love for breakfast cereal, and the fact that I don't remember it at all means this was probably the worst essay.11. Being Zack Morris- That's ok though, because this is probably the most interesting essay- a reflection on Saved by the Bell and how unlike other more 'realistic' high school dramas, this was probably the closest representation to how high school really is due to characters disappearing and reappearing seemingly at random and the idea that important things are likely to be pretty cliche.12. Sulking on Lisa Loeb on Ice Planet Hoth- I can't recall what Lisa Loeb had to do with this, but Chuck does well to determine why Star Wars gets so overrated and people's revisionist history when it comes to their personal experience with the trilogy (like how we all claim we wanted to be Han Solo when it's clear that every kid ever would want to be Luke).13. The Awe-Inspiring Beauty of Tom Cruise's Shattered, Troll-like Face- In keeping with the movies theme, Chuck compares and contrasts a number of turn of the millenium movie that revolve around the only question he feels worth asking in movies these days- "What is reality?" and in doing so makes a case for Vanilla Sky to be as respected as favorites like The Matrix and Memento.14. Toby over Moby- Chuck skewers that asshole everyone knows who likes 'everything except for country music' and praises Wal-Mart country music for its straightforward lyrics. As a guy who likes to mix some Toby Keith and Brad Paisley with my mostly indie rock library, I appreciated it.15. This is Zodiac Speaking- Chuck makes some horrifying points about how serial killing is probably the easiest way to celebrity status and interviews some people he knows who have had a brush with these pseudo-celebrities in order to find out what it's like to know a serial killer.16. All I Know is What I Read in the Papers- A semi-intriguing look at what goes on behind the scenes at big newspapers- while it's refreshing to see why there couldn't be any political bias in non-editorial newspaper columns, this essay mostly seems like a lot of whining, which isn't helped by...17. I, Rock Chump- Chuck writing about his experiences at the 2002 Pop Music Studies Conference, during which he notes that it was the 'least rock and roll thing I've ever done.' While the irony is funny, it doesn't seem to warrant ten pages of not liking other music critics.18. How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found- The book ends on a high note as Chuck attempts to take an unbiased look at becoming a born-again Christian and checks out some of the hypocrisies on both sides of the religion vs. atheism debate as they relate to the Rapture.
I've never read a Klosterman book, but Marissa owns this one, so I'll probably get to it eventually. I am however familiar with his writing - his stuff is some of the only stuff I read on Grantland these days - and his unique ability to break down, explore, and explain pop culture. The problem is, at times his obsession and his quirks grow maddening, like the time he tried to introduce "Rock VORP" as a semi-calculable statistic with which to judge to proficiency of different musicians and their importance to their bands. But since I usually like his work, I'm sure I'll check him out eventually. Got any other Klosterman collections on tap or previously logged? Any recommendations?
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