Hi there ! Coming from Denmark I never heard about this book. I was part of the hair-metal (we called it poodle-rock, later) scene in Denmark back in the 80's, so I would really like to get my hands on a copy. Does anybody know where I can get it ? shineOn...:-) Fjeder www.shiner22.net ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim Kosmicki" To: ; Sent: Wednesday, August 06, 2003 12:34 AM Subject: Fargo Rock City > Has this book been mentioned on the list? I'm thinking that I read a > glancing reference to it a while back, but I heartily recommend this > book to the list. > > Granted, it's about being a hair-metal band fan instead of a powerpop > fan, but the experiences have got to be similar. > > Maybe it's growing up in a town of 613 people in Central Nebraska, just > as he grew up in a less than 500 person North Dakota town, but I know > where Chuck Klosterman is coming from. His basic thesis is that music > simply IS, and the listener is the one who gives it any meaning. Punk > has meaning because its listeners give it meaning. Classical has meaning > because its listeners give it meaning. Jazz has meaning....you get the > trend here, right. He claims that while 80's hair metal is predictable > and repetitious and incestuous and has basically stupid lyrics, it is > still important because it meant something to him at 15, and 18 and 21, > and 28, and... > > I also agree with the point that he makes in the epilogue about Head > East -- EVERYONE I knew in the 70s and 80s had at least one Head East > album, usually two or three -- there's no way they only ever went Gold. > (by the way, nobody ever seemed to really like Head East, they just had > their albums -- probably because they were perennial openers for the > bigger bands -- that's what kept bands like REO going until the schlock > ballads broke them through) > >