Rock*
A Mainstream Alternative History of Alternative Mainstream Music
$46.75
- Hardcover
336 pages
- Release Date
24 November 2026
Summary
Kaleidoscopic culture critic Chuck Klosterman rewrites the history of reality, built off a question that has never been asked or (in all likelihood) even considered: What if Phillip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle was actually about rock music?
The Velvet Underground & Nico was released in the spring of 1967. For decades, the cliche has been that it initially only sold 10,000 copies, though everyone who bought it supposedly started a band. It is the definition of a r…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780306837999 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0306837994 |
| Author: | Chuck Klosterman |
| Publisher: | Hachette Books |
| Imprint: | Da Capo Press Inc |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 336 |
| Release Date: | 24 November 2026 |
| Dimensions: | 152mm x 229mm |
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Critics Review
”[Chuck Klosterman] rewrites the story of American rock in this explosive, funhouse-mirror alternative history…. Klosterman’s Nabokovesque framing of this false history is drenched in irony and tongue-in-cheek reversals of music history. It’s also a master class of subtle worldbuilding, with Klosterman slowly, tantalizingly rendering an alien cultural landscape in vignettes ranging from the absurd to the macabre. Beyond its irreverence and humor, the narrative raises timely questions about culture, critiquing the fickleness of the media market and its ‘common sense’ judgments about art, which Klosterman implies are always just a historical accident or two away from being reversed, and challenging readers to question their own tastes. This twisted, ironic tribute will delight, surprise, and provoke rock fans.”
–Publishers Weekly (starred review)“Gather round, rock fans, and enjoy…a poke at both the sneering condescension of the music snob and the dubious enthusiasms of the music-listening public. Astonishing here is the steadiness of Klosterman’s hand: Even rock nerds will find themselves googling to learn whether some reported bit of rock excess is the author’s invention or actually happened…. Ingenious. Hilarious.”
–Kirkus ReviewsChuck Klosterman
Chuck Klosterman is the bestselling author of ten nonfiction books, including Football, The Nineties, But What If We’re Wrong?, and Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs; two novels, Downtown Owl and The Visible Man; and the short story collection Raised in Captivity. His debut book, Fargo Rock City, won the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award.
He has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, GQ, Esquire, Spin, The Guardian, The Believer, and ESPN. Klosterman served as the Ethicist for The New York Times Magazine for three years and was a founder of the website Grantland.
He was raised in North Dakota and now lives in Portland, Oregon.
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