Essays offer cynical, dark perspective on pop culture

On the cover of Chuck Klosterman’s newest book “Eating the Dinosaur,” the phrase “author of “Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs” is placed under his name.

This is factually correct and relevant: “Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs” was a collection of pop culture essays, and “Eating the Dinosaur” is Klosterman’s newest book of pop culture essays. But, it is misleading to assume that the two books are all that similar.

In the six years since “Cocoa Puffs,” Klosterman has become something of a poster child for analytical essays pertaining to things like “Saved by the Bell” and “The Real World.”

He’s also become even more neurotic and more obtuse in his writing.

There is not much in “Dinosaur” that harkens back to the pop culture writings that made him famous. Here, he is darker and more secluded, as if fame has made him wary of covering anything too trivial, even if he is still making legitimate points about society.

These are still essays about Nirvana’s In Utero, ABBA and football, but they seem to lack the kind of joy that Klosterman previously exhibited in his writings. They still contain the obscure references that only someone who grew up listening to KISS albums in rural North Dakota could know, and his trademark footnotes are still present throughout, but the whole book reeks of defeatism and cynicism against fellow humans. It appears the fame that Klosterman has experienced has shifted his viewpoint from one of the fan to that of the artist themselves; it’s not wrong, per se, but it’s not the same.

This is all right, though, because if Klosterman had written more essays in the vein of the Pam Anderson/Tommy Lee sex tape and how it defined the ’90s (a very excellent essay, for what it’s worth) it would show little growth. Instead, Klosterman has taken a darker turn, and his work has grown from it.

“Dinosaur” is still Klosterman and nobody else. Fans will appreciate his voice, which is very evident in the book. People new to Klosterman might be better served reading “Cocoa Puffs” or his collection of articles and columns in “IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas” to truly understand his style, but anyone who has read him before will be entertained by his musings in this book, as well.
 

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