It's Come to This

I spent much of today watching Poison, Ratt, Motley Crue, and Guns N Roses vides on YouTube. Why? I was under the influence of Chuck Klosterman.


Even though I'm a girl and older than Klosterman, and even though the only hair bands I saw in concert were Bon Jovi (with Skid Row opening) and Night Ranger, I had a ball reading this book. It made me remember with great fondness the first time I saw the videos for Panama, November Rain, Rock of Ages, and Talk Dirty to Me. Ah, the days of making fun of that crazy chihuahua Cece Deville with my best friend Jayne. His writing was not, however, strong enough make me want to search out any Kiss videos.

As a bonus, Klosterman speaks well of Paul Westerberg, and he's not too snarky about Duran Duran.

This is really Klosterman's own story told through the bands that influenced him in the 80s and 90s, when he just wanted to rock out there in his tiny North Dakota hometown. It's the story of many of us who grew up watching Friday Night Videos and dreaming of some kind, any kind, of rock and roll lifestyle.

I read it in two sittings and highly recommend it if the names of the bands and songs above mean anything to you. Surprisingly, it turned out to be the perfect companion piece to the Watchmen movie I watched last night.