scotcheroo's review against another edition
informative
3.0
Yep this is comprehensive coverage of key events from the 90s that shaped our world today. Gen X'ers, the rise of the internet, MTV and influential artists, CDs, Seinfeld, Friends, how TV wasn't must-watch like it is today, the Titanic, The Matrix, conspiracy theorists, the Unabomber, cults, the Columbine shooting, OJ Simpson, the rise of Fox News, Clinton, Fed Chair Greenspan, Bush vs Gore, Y2K, etc.
I can't think of any particular events that were left out, but I'm also a Millennial and was a child/tween during the 90s, so a lot of this I remember through a child's eyes. A lot of this I'm more family today through TV docuseries (like the one about OJ). I was too young for Friends and never cared for it. Seinfeld I remember seeing it but just like the author described I only tuned in occasionally, there was no expectation of watching them in order. I just remember the 90s being a fucking incredible time to grow up in. Tons of new technology, no wars, the internet was still new, everyone was just so much happier.
I can't think of any particular events that were left out, but I'm also a Millennial and was a child/tween during the 90s, so a lot of this I remember through a child's eyes. A lot of this I'm more family today through TV docuseries (like the one about OJ). I was too young for Friends and never cared for it. Seinfeld I remember seeing it but just like the author described I only tuned in occasionally, there was no expectation of watching them in order. I just remember the 90s being a fucking incredible time to grow up in. Tons of new technology, no wars, the internet was still new, everyone was just so much happier.
joeam's review
4.0
“The video store, for me growing up, was access to watch and rewatch shit. What happens to my generation is, we don’t just watch The Breakfast Club[*] two times while it’s in movie theaters. We watch The Breakfast Club sixty-nine times between the ages of twelve and twenty-five and convince ourselves that The Breakfast Club is a genius movie. You have this wrapped-up nostalgia and regurgitation and overcompensation of mediocre shit . . . and I directly tie that to the video store.”
Swap Big Trouble in Little China for The Breakfast Club and the statement is objectively correct.
Klosterman’s read on the consequences of the 2000 election are also spot-on:
“What much of the public had considered a milquetoast competition between uncharismatic clones was understood by the court as a straightforward war for control of the future…On the biggest possible stage, it was established that every sociopolitical act of the twenty-first century would now be a numbers game on a binary spectrum.”
Swap Big Trouble in Little China for The Breakfast Club and the statement is objectively correct.
Klosterman’s read on the consequences of the 2000 election are also spot-on:
“What much of the public had considered a milquetoast competition between uncharismatic clones was understood by the court as a straightforward war for control of the future…On the biggest possible stage, it was established that every sociopolitical act of the twenty-first century would now be a numbers game on a binary spectrum.”
echris's review
4.0
A little more textbook-ish than I was expecting but still very interesting and a great walk down memory lane.
annmariereads's review
5.0
This book is unlike anything Klosterman has ever done before and I LOVED it. I am a big old Chuck fan and have every book he’s ever even thought about writing.
ksmith_mn's review
3.0
Much more Anthropological/Sociology text and history lesson than the light jaunt down memory lane that I anticipated. It was still interesting but slogged through some of the content that at times was fact heavy and felt a little like homework.
whizalen's review
3.0
Maybe I'm over Chuck Klosterman's style, but I didn't find this that interesting. I thought the little vignettes were more interesting than the long narrative pieces. Good cover though
bookish_brain1's review
3.0
If you're like me, you feel like the 90s was just last year, so it's always kind of a shock to my system when I remember that 1990 was over 30 years ago. I love it when I'm reminded how old I am (said no one ever). This was a fun flashback to my 90s, the decade where I became a wife and mother. I'd forgotten so many things! He covers it all: entertainment, pop culture, sports, music, politics, and big news headlines. It's smartly written and covers everything from Nirvana to O.J. Simpson to Bill Clinton. I learned things I didn't know about the Matrix, among many other things. It's funny and nostalgic and I really enjoyed it!
lauryl's review
3.0
3.5 ⭐️. A solid book recapping a lot of cultural things that happened in the 90s. This book read to me as an insider telling the story of the biggest themes of the decade - uninterested rockers, trends in TV shows, viewing habits and sports scandals/hero’s, a tiny bit on politics but mostly just that it was very different back then.
I didn’t rate the book higher because a) I just wasn’t interested in some of the chapters (namely the rock stuff) and b) the stories told here mostly didn’t align with my version of the 90’s. That’s totally fine, but it reaffirmed this book was written with pov 10 years older than me (squarely Gen X). Now I just want someone to write a thinkpiece book about the Britney, Justin, Xtina era like I was expecting from this book…
I didn’t rate the book higher because a) I just wasn’t interested in some of the chapters (namely the rock stuff) and b) the stories told here mostly didn’t align with my version of the 90’s. That’s totally fine, but it reaffirmed this book was written with pov 10 years older than me (squarely Gen X). Now I just want someone to write a thinkpiece book about the Britney, Justin, Xtina era like I was expecting from this book…