Countless writers and artists have spoken for a generation, but no one has done it quite like Chuck Klosterman. With an exhaustive knowledge of popular culture and an almost effortless ability to spin brilliant prose out of unlikely subject matter, Klosterman attacks the entire spectrum of postmodern America: reality TV, Internet porn, Pamela Anderson, literary Jesus freaks, and the real difference between apples and oranges (of which there is none). And don't even get him started on his love life and the whole Harry-Met-Sally situation.

Whether deconstructing Saved by the Bell episodes or the artistic legacy of Billy Joel, the symbolic importance of The Empire Strikes Back or the Celtics/Lakers rivalry, Chuck will make you think, he'll make you laugh, and he'll drive you insane -- usually all at once. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs is ostensibly about art, entertainment, infotainment, sports, politics, and kittens, but -- really -- it's about us. All of us. As Klosterman realizes late at night, in the moment before he falls asleep, "In and of itself, nothing really matters. What matters is that nothing is ever 'in and of itself.'" Read to believe.

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Pop culture references are sprinkled throughout the book, but sometimes it stretches a bit too much for the sake of a clever analogy. In the forward, Klosterman assserts that, at times, he feels as though "everything is completely connected." Unfortunately, he is not adept enough to make all of his essays into a cohesive whole (as other reviewers have noted). Ultimately, the book feels like a loose collection of unrelated but very funny skits. Although that debit doesn't sink the book, it does lessen its impact. In addition, Klosterman is sometimes too self-aware for his own good; several times, he makes reference to liking something "unironically" - such as "Saved by the Bell." His definitive goal seems to be achieving irony. While this credo certainly makes "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs" a funny read, it can become rather tedious as well. Overall, I'd recommend this book, but with reservations.

23 of 28 found the following review helpful:

Sex, Drug and Cocoa Puff-a-rificAug 09, 2003

Yeah, that title pretty must covers it.

Klosterman's essays are chock full (and I hate to use this term) of Gen-X references to everything we've grown up loving.

Now, these aren't essays ON Saved by the Bell and Pamela Anderson, but rather, he uses cultural icons as a jumping off point for rambling, funny and (uh-oh) thought provoking discussions. Klosterman is the kind of guy that you would want to hang out with at a party. Look. You're either going to love this book or you're not. You're either to find the tangential, rambling essays endearing and interesting, or simply tangential and rambling.

So what kinds of subjects are you in for? How about the Tori Paradox in which Klosterman deconstructs the idea of Tori on Saved by the Bell? One season, after Tiffany Amber Thiessen and Elizabeth Berkley had left for more naked pastures, Tori shows up. And then, just before a graduation special that was to air on NBC, Tori was gone. And Kelly and Jessie were back. Klosterman argues that Saved by the Bell is a lot like life. First people are there, and then they're not - gone. Only to be forgotten and at the most, vaguely remember. Of course, Klosterman explains much better than me.

Just the pure assault of pop-cultural references was enough for me. It's not uncommon for Klosterman to reference such diverse items as the music of Radiohead, Who's the Boss and Trix cereal all in one essay. And I wouldn't be exalting his references if he was just throwing them out. They actually mean something to the people that grew up in the post-Boomer era...

6 of 7 found the following review helpful:

How much junk culture can you take?Apr 27, 2007
By mikester
Chuck K is undoubtedly is a very clever dude and some of the insights here will make you laught at loud. Ultimately however I would advise cherry picking through these essays, as Chuck is so enamored of his beloved

'low culture' that it will get both stultifying and extremely banal. Make sure to skip the analyses of bad tv shows (esp The Real World and Saved by the Bell). Chuck tries so hard to show why disposable pap has an influence on society that he torpeoes hiw own argument - his assertion that Gen Y behavior pettern can be correlated to a character on Real World says much more about Klosterman than anything else. Similarly, his essay on the Lakers and Celtics rivalry sets perhaps a new low in 'serious' sports journalism, as the argument that the Lakers reperesent Democratic party values while the Celtics carry the torch for Republicans (CK seems to be a fairly staunch right-winger after his addiction to pop culture is peeled away) is beyond absurd, and his assertion at the end that "if you dont' care about the Lakers-Celtics you don't care about anything" (this is said unironically) is downright embarassing.

Chuck will also be very strident in his declarations of what is 'cool' and 'uncool'. The repeated appearance of these exact words in almost evry essay (sometimes sevral times) becomes very annoying and pointless. Klosterman (by his own admission) of course is 'uncool', but his endless obsession with coolness (and defining it)renders it meaningless.

So enjoy, but be careful.

15 of 20 found the following review helpful:

Don't Buy This BookMay 10, 2010
By Audrey Gardner
Klosterman is constantly making references to conversations he's had at parties, which is appropriate since there seems to be a "Klosterman" at every hipster party I've ever been to... The guy who is funny for the first five minutes you meet him, interesting for the next ten, and then offensively pedantic and self absorbed for the next three hours before you realize you're really either too old or too well adjusted to keep going to these damn hipster parties in the first place.
I only finished this book out of a sense of duty to the 9 dollars and 99 cents I spent to download this adolescent diatribe to my Nook. Klosterman's an intellectual lightweight with a Mohammad Ali sized personality, which is why the ideas in the book are forgettable , but the voice of the author sticks with you like gum on the bottom of your shoe. I felt like I was stuck in a room with Rush Limbaugh, if Rush Limbaugh was a tad funnier and a tad smarter but just as obnoxious, sexist, solipsistic, and frivolous.
Do not buy this book. Go to the book store, skim the essay about The Sims (which, like so many of these essays, already feels dated but, unlike the rest, is actually though-provoking), and move on with your life and your wallet.

15 of 20 found the following review helpful:

Started out TERRIFIC, but I steadily lost interest...Nov 19, 2003

Glad this was a collection of essays, rather than a novel. I don't think I would have been able to make it through a novel of this type of writing. Also made it easy to read while on the pot.

The essays start out with brilliance (especially the first two, about romance and The Sims, respectively), but my interest in them fizzled out. There are a few bright points here and there in the remaining essays (the essay about serial killers and our fascination with them is dead on). There is no doubt Klosterman is an adept writer, can pinpoint emotions, and locate intermittently with a witty finger the pulse of certain social issues (like what the hell tribute bands are all about and WHY). But the tone in which he does so is sometimes reminiscent of...how shall I put it? A smart-ass thirty-year-old who thinks he is very clever with his observations, and justifies it by saying he is a Gen X'er and entitled to his lofty superiority. In other words, if you read Klosterman, you're just the type of person he'd look down on.

In trying to deconstruct pop culture, Klosterman sometimes comes across as believing himself an expert about everything American. He also has no qualms about insulting outright the very audience reading his book. Even though he jokes in the beginning that he writes these things late at night in a state of near-delirium, you still get the impression he thinks he is, as he might put it, the "uber-mensch".

Some of the essays are so specialized that I had absolutely no interest in reading them, and skipped right over them as I realized the entire essay was absorbed in deconstructing, say, basketball heroes. So I can't really say I enjoyed the entire book - some of it was unintelligible to me; hence, 3 stars (IMHO).

True, Klosterman has been saturated with pop culture through his research and work with major magazines, but most of his off-the-cuff opinions are just that -- opinions and rantings rather than hard facts supported by any type of references, so keep in mind that you're reading personal essays, rather than research articles.

Perhaps I was tainted, since I had just finished reading half of Michael Moore's "Stupid White Men," and the entire of Jon Krakauer's "Under the Banner of Heaven," so one more book illustrating the hopeless stupidity of the human race may have caused me unfair irritation.

Strong essays for the most part, well written, but I lost interest and read them very patchily throughout the last half of the book because the tone grated on my nerves.

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