A newsletter for the students, faculty and staff of the Collin County Community College District. Published monthly. For information or submissions, call 972.758.3849. Cougar News welcomes student and faculty submissions. Next deadline: Oct. 11 All submissions are due by 5 p.m. on the due date. Photos cannot be returned. Text should be emailed to mrobinson@ccccd.edu or sent on disk. Please submit copy that is proofed, edited and saved in Word format. Cougar News staff: Lisa Vasquez, director; Mark Robinson, editor; Marcy Cadena-Smith, contributor; Sydney Portilla-Diggs, student correspondent; Stephanie Hall, student correspondent; Nick Young, photographer; Layout by Publications
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Book Review
By Mark Robinson
Chuck Klosterman is to pop culture what melted cheese is to nachos.
Without him TV, cinema, music and the like would be a basket of stale, yellow tortilla chips -- edible yet thoroughly undesirable. Klosterman, writer and columnist for uber-cool SPIN and the foxy Esquire, hones his mastery of all low art in his third opus, “Killing Yourself to Live.”
One part Kerouac, one part Nick Hornby, “Killing Yourself to Live” is a captain’s log of Klosterman’s trek from New York to Aberdeen, Wash. You see, per a SPIN article, Klosterman was charged with seeking out the sights of high-profile rock ‘n’ roll deaths. Like a Civil War enthusiast touring old battlegrounds, Klosterman is chasing ghosts.
Lynryd Skynryd’s, Buddy Holly/Big Bopper/Richie Valens’ plane crash sites, the Great White fire tragedy site, Sid Vicious’ hotel room, Jeff Buckley’s drowning hole -- the places that inject the mystique into rock ‘n’ roll. In “Killing Yourself to Live,” we learn two things about Klosterman. First of all, he is kind of a cad.
The death sites are mere shadow puppets for his true theme: an exorcism of his love life. There are three female players in this Jane Austen novel -- ex-loves, current loves, ex-loves who might be future loves. It is a tangled web. Ironically, he is an unlikely bounder. He owns all the KISS members’ solo albums … and he listens to them … and thinks their good. Who would love this man?
Secondly, Klosterman is a master wordsmith. Over three books and countless articles, he has molded his distinct, witty style prophesying and articulating how pop culture parallels – if not defines – one’s life … and death.
He, however, is quick to expound on the absurdity of pop culture. Klosterman eloquently thumbs his nose at pop culture all the while placing it on the high pedestal of worship.
It is a give-and-take, love-and-hate, life-and-death relationship, and although we do not like to relate to such buffoonery, we are guilty of similar trysts. When is the last time you compared your life circumstances to that of Seinfeld?
The only difference is that Klosterman gets paid to make such distinctions.
Four out of Five Paws
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
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