Donna recently had the pleasure of Chuck Klosterman visiting her university for an appearance. Yesterday she wrote a few things about Klosterman and I was reminded of why I like his writing. (I know I've written about him before, but I simply wanted to reiterate a few things.)
I blame my slow reading habits as to why my copies of Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, Killing Yourself to Live, and IV have sat on my "to-read" shelf for months. I will get to them eventually, but for now, all I really know of Klosterman's work are his articles in Spin and Esquire, and especially his first nonfiction book, Fargo Rock City. Fargo Rock City really inspired me in tackling a subject matter in a serious manner, knowing full well that it is often ridiculed by a lot of people. His personal take on hair metal goes beyond the surface of hair metal itself. In short, his experience as a hair metal fan was the gateway to deeper things.
In reading his stuff, I realized how I can use what I like in life to try and reach a deeper level thought of life itself. If DVD commentary tracks, books on rock bands, and playing in rock bands point me towards something that a book of Socrates's philosophy can't, so be it. I don't listen to commentary tracks to hear how genius and brilliant a director of photography or set designer is. I don't read books on rock bands to get dirt on a band. And I don't play drums to look cool. These are simply some of the things I like and see no reason to jettison them because someone else disapproves.
So if you're looking for a source in what inspires me, a lot of it goes back to Klosterman, among many others, and they are not all writers. I'm talking directors like Jim Henson, Kevin Smith, Peter Jackson, and Mary Harron. And that's something I have no apologies with.
I blame my slow reading habits as to why my copies of Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, Killing Yourself to Live, and IV have sat on my "to-read" shelf for months. I will get to them eventually, but for now, all I really know of Klosterman's work are his articles in Spin and Esquire, and especially his first nonfiction book, Fargo Rock City. Fargo Rock City really inspired me in tackling a subject matter in a serious manner, knowing full well that it is often ridiculed by a lot of people. His personal take on hair metal goes beyond the surface of hair metal itself. In short, his experience as a hair metal fan was the gateway to deeper things.
In reading his stuff, I realized how I can use what I like in life to try and reach a deeper level thought of life itself. If DVD commentary tracks, books on rock bands, and playing in rock bands point me towards something that a book of Socrates's philosophy can't, so be it. I don't listen to commentary tracks to hear how genius and brilliant a director of photography or set designer is. I don't read books on rock bands to get dirt on a band. And I don't play drums to look cool. These are simply some of the things I like and see no reason to jettison them because someone else disapproves.
So if you're looking for a source in what inspires me, a lot of it goes back to Klosterman, among many others, and they are not all writers. I'm talking directors like Jim Henson, Kevin Smith, Peter Jackson, and Mary Harron. And that's something I have no apologies with.
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