First published 2009
Chuck Klosterman turns his analytical lens on the peculiar ways we consume entertainment and meaning in contemporary America. He explores why we grow bored watching others live their lives, why devoted music listeners inevitably reject their beloved bands' newest releases, and why audiences take pleasure in witnessing the dramatic failures of seemingly unstoppable celebrities. Klosterman has spent nearly fifteen years documenting rock music, cinema, and athletics, covering everything from extreme metal to extreme nostalgia, from disposable art to disposable heroes. His observations span life on tour and life filtered through television screens, urban anxiety and the strangeness of small towns. This collection represents his most sharp and amusing work yet, focusing on the gap between what we expect and what actually happens. He practices a form of amateur anthropology for our current moment, examining how we create and consume popular culture while living through history as it unfolds.
Genres: essays, popular-science, american, contemporary, non-fiction, 21st-century
Vibes: analytical, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-anthropology, cultural-commentary
Period: Contemporary
245 pages · Hardcover · Scribner