{"product_id":"rock-a-mainstream-alternative-history-of-alternative-mainstream-music-9780306837999","title":"Rock*: A Mainstream Alternative History of Alternative Mainstream Music","description":"\u003cb\u003eKaleidoscopic culture critic Chuck Klosterman rewrites the history of reality in an \"ingenious\" (\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e) work of speculative fiction based on a question that has never been considered or (in all likelihood) even asked: What if The Beatles had only developed a cult following while the Velvet Underground emerged as the most popular band in the world?\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"This twisted, ironic tribute will delight, surprise, and provoke rock fans.\" (\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Velvet Underground \u0026amp; Nico\u003c\/i\u003e 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 record whose influence outstrips its mass popularity. But what if the opposite had transpired? What if instead of selling 10,000 copies, it had sold...10 million copies? What if it had sold 100 million copies? What would have happened if the Velvet Underground had inexplicably become the biggest group in the history of popular music, and everything about the rest of the 20th century was merely a footnote to that phenomenon? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhatever answer you imagine is an infinitesimal splinter, at least when compared to \u003ci\u003eRock*\u003c\/i\u003e. Chuck Klosterman has generated a fictitious universe where almost everything is different, except for the songs. The songs remain the same--the difference is how they are heard and what they now mean. Lou Reed is a messiah, reversing the monoculture and dictating the outcome of presidential elections. The Beatles disappear, though they never break up. The Rolling Stones collapse while Led Zeppelin goes bankrupt. Punk rock fills stadiums, undermined only by insouciant radicals like Boston and Van Halen. Disco is destroyed. Hip-hop becomes country. The 1980s are defined by disposable pop icons (like G.G. Allin) and Christian revivalists (like Madonna). Lenny Kravitz lets love rule, Oasis collides with a wonderwall, and the terrorist attacks of 9\/11 are somehow blamed on the Strokes. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePresented like \u003ci\u003eThe Rolling Stone History of Rock \u0026amp; Roll\u003c\/i\u003e if written by Philip K. Dick, Jorge Luis Borges, and Patrick Bateman, \u003ci\u003eRock*\u003c\/i\u003e intermixes satiric contrarianism and \u003ci\u003eSpinal Tap\u003c\/i\u003e-ish absurdity with darker theories about what makes art popular, how success delineates perception, and the inescapable consensus of subjective history. It is not, nor does it claim to be, the greatest book ever written about rock and roll. But it's probably the last one that ever needs to be written.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Chuck Klosterman\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Da Capo\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/22\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 336\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.13lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.19h x 6.23w x 1.15d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780306837999\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 07\/13\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/01\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/01\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eChuck Klosterman\u003c\/b\u003e is the bestselling author of ten nonfiction books (including \u003ci\u003eFootball\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eThe Nineties\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eBut What If We're Wrong?\u003c\/i\u003e; and \u003ci\u003eSex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs\u003c\/i\u003e), two novels (\u003ci\u003eDowntown Owl\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Visible Man\u003c\/i\u003e), and the short story collection \u003ci\u003eRaised in Captivity\u003c\/i\u003e. His debut book, \u003ci\u003eFargo Rock City\u003c\/i\u003e, won the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award. He has written for \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eGQ\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eEsquire\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSpin\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Believer\u003c\/i\u003e, and ESPN. Klosterman served as the Ethicist for \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e for three years and was a founder of the website Grantland with Bill Simmons. He was raised in North Dakota and now lives in Portland, Oregon.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"Chuck Klosterman \/ Hardcover \/ English","offer_id":48968989442205,"sku":"9780306837999","price":39.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_e4b6bef3-7c79-4915-89a7-643e4ee5155b.jpg?v=1790753424","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/rock-a-mainstream-alternative-history-of-alternative-mainstream-music-9780306837999","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}