Fargo Rock City by Chuck Klosterman

I remember loving this and read it again.

Really fucking irritating the shit out of me. Some of his stuff is such jive you really start to question whether he even listens to stuff.

Like there's one part where he says that Rush is a Christian band except no one will admit it, then namechecks The Trees and Freewill as examples? It's like jesus christ you are writing a metal book and don't know Peart's a big weirdo Any Rand libertarian, most likely atheist like a lot of those...and Geddy's a jew?

Sometimes he's so off it's weird. The only stuff that has much resonance is all his naval gazing about weird stuff metal fans thought...which having grown up in a small town in MN and liking metal he definitely hits weird little observational details but after that it's just like...uh.

Plus, he makes some really mean jokes about those Priest kids that shot themselves, like three different times, and it wasn't really a good joke....he also sort of does these weird gymnastics wrt to sexism in metal and the racism in GnR...

also recites weird stuff about how Sabbath killed the hippies (even though they were hippies you meatball), like total received wisdom crap....makes weird statements how someone is "The only feminist I ever met that made any sense" and how hippies were the worst thing ever, like coupled with other stuff kinda wonder if he's some sorta South Park republican at heart.

Another thing he does that's so bullshit is the whole "Sonic Youth fans just want to get laid in college when they all go home they just listen to like Crue and shit", such a lame passive agressive argument

The whole "reveal" about how he's an alcoholic is hella lame too, just bad drunk thinking...that "confessional" but yet taking a great pride in it...if he was "clean" at the end of writing the book, he was a dry drunk and a half.

misread this thread title as "Fraggle Rock City by Chuck Klosterman"

Peart's an avowed atheist.

How could you hear "Freewill" as anything other than atheist? Still, not sure that Peart actually is a libertarian, politically.

I haven't read this book.

Still, not sure that Peart actually is a libertarian, politically.

read old interviews and he sure seems like it, or pretty far conservative at least..

now though...i read that tour book where he rode motorcycle for the whole tour and he seemed to have sort of been shocked by the whole bush years and american fundamentalism etc....so maybe he's sort of gone back now

How could you hear "Freewill" as anything other than atheist?

yeah no doubt! it's like he doesn't really even listen to stuff before writing about it, or at least that's the creeping feeling you get reading the book...it's just like he half remembered the song and some jive theory that sounded funny at a party and made some dudes chuckle, so he just throws it out there, facts be damned

the hardcore Rush fans at my h/s were fundamentalist-ish Christians who were into metal-ish stuff: Rush, but also Petra, King's X, Stryper. They were pretty smart dudes and in bands themselves though so Rush have appealed to their nerdish and chopsy sides more than their Christian sides.

Needless to say these guys are all atheists now as far as I know.

thought rush believed in the olympian gods cuz of "cygnus x-i book ii"

they were more just role models