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Grunge, Nerds, and Gastropubs: A Mass Culture Odyssey

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Grunge, Nerds, and A Mass Culture Odyssey examines some of the most memorable pop culture phenomena of the past two decades and highlights the innumerable and often veiled threads which connect them.Ever wonder why glum rock à la Nirvana became popular in the immediate aftermath of the Cold War, or why gastropubs that serve organic kale have replaced all-American chain restaurants like Applebee’s as the trendy dining establishments? Can the tennis rivalry between John McEnroe and Björn Borg shed light on the type of sadness intrinsic to success? And what’s the connection between the music of the bands Weezer and the Presidents of the United States of America? ( It has to do with the difference between pretending to be nerdy and actually being nerdy.)Grunge, Nerds, and A Mass Culture Odyssey answers these questions and explores how one trend—say, the marginalization of indie rock—relates to another—like our society’s growing interest in organic food—largely due to the social contexts in which they occur. As a writer for publications like The Atlantic, Salon, Slate, GQ, and The Washington Post, author Kevin Craft has moonlighted as a craft spirits connoisseur to better understand why foodies obsess over “authenticity,” and spent sleepless nights pondering the tragic link between the Dave Matthews Band and doofusy frat bros, all for the sake of identifying the latent connections between disparate bits of mass culture and figuring out if these connections matter.Grunge, Nerds, and A Mass Culture Odyssey is a book that’s edifying, fascinating, and downright hilarious, and it will take readers back to the decade when people listened to Smashing Pumpkins albums alone in the dark.

83 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 10, 2015

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Kevin Craft

9 books2 followers

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
Profile Image for Lyn.
2,009 reviews17.6k followers
October 14, 2019
I had to like this for many of the same reasons I liked Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One – it was written for my time. While Ready Player One was a super fun fiction, trippy zippy fun ride through 80s trivia and minutia, Grunge, Nerds and Gastropubs is a series of essays and observations about the early 90s.

Being born in 1969 to Baby Boomer parents and growing up in the 80s, the 90s is when I left the nest and went to work. So whereas the 70s and 80s were attributable formative years, the 90s was when the rubber met the road and where, like so many of my Gen Xer brothers and sisters, we first looked around and said, “What the hell? I don’t want to work my ass off 70 hours a week for a Cadillac, I don’t even think I want a Cadillac.”

From the fall of the Berlin Wall, to Seinfeld, to Kurt Cobain’s final moments, until our national consciousness woke up from its apathetic daydreams to the Clinton resurgence of Fleetwood Macian staged optimism, Author Kevin Craft details and illuminates that weird period in time without a discernable enemy and explains how this loss also affected and warped our adversarial, competitive nature.

Craft has also done a good job with a slippery and often misunderstood subject, that red-headed stepchild of the Reagan 80s orgy and Flower Power – Grunge. Craft discusses the meaning of the term, its geographic significance and makes a plausible argument about why Smashing Pumpkins should be counted among the big 4 (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains). Persuasive but misguided – sorry Kevin, I like Billy and his first band too, but they are for me forever relegated to second tier along with bands like Stone Temple Pilots and The Toadies.

A competent and engaging, and entertainingly well written, pop culture observation.

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Profile Image for Geoff.
994 reviews130 followers
January 31, 2019
Presidents of the USA are a great band, but They Might Be Giants are CLEARLY the greatest Nerd-Rock band of all time.
Profile Image for Jaymie.
100 reviews8 followers
July 6, 2015
Should have spent less time playing with a thesaurus and more time attempting at depth. Reads like someone trying too hard to impress a teacher by being overly wordy vs relevant. Actually strike that, it reads like coffee with an egotistical first date that just happens to be a surface thinker. Drink fast my friends, just to get it over with.
Profile Image for Ninakix.
193 reviews24 followers
June 21, 2015
Quick read of essays on various cultural phenomena of the 90's. But I found it very enlightening: why has food culture grown so popular? What does being a nerd truly mean? What did grunge rock symbolize? The 90's might be over, but I think there's a lot we can learn from it about today.
30 reviews1 follower
September 12, 2019
So let’s get this out of the way: this isn’t a comprehensive analysis of these subjects. It is an opinion piece. An opinion piece where the author spends a fair amount of time defending his love for The Smashing Pumpkins, The Presidents of the United States (the band), and The Cheesecake Factory, while throwing in some hate for Weezer and Big Bang Theory.

I could live with that if the book was positioned as such or if the writing was compelling. Unfortunately neither is true. The writing comes across as someone who is trying - trying very, very hard - to sound smart, and trying to pass off opinion as fact.

The book falters in its title’s promise by being distracted by the authors own predilections: using an obscure Smashing Pumpkins song as the ultimate example of grunge. Insisting that anyone who watches The Big Bang Theory will admit it isn’t funny when pressed. Stating that The Cheesecake Factory makes food as good as any organic focused farm to table restaurant.

The fact that the entire “gastropub” sections doesn’t ACTUALLY talk about gastropubs, but rather the fall and decline of chain restaurants and chalks up the rise of foodie culture to some sort of weird combination of Napster and the end of the Cold War, but not once mentions the universal reach of basic cable and the Food Network in the late 80s and early 90s speaks to the authors desire to just share his option and personal view, not provide a more comprehensive history of the books subjects.

The best reference I can give is that it reads as if “Comic Book Guy” from The Simpsons wrote it. In fact, I found myself reading it with his voice in my head a number of times.

I nearly stopped reading several times but it was just short enough and such a non-challenging read I just kept going. Kind of wish I hadn’t.
Profile Image for Bill Shannon.
329 reviews5 followers
March 26, 2019
An interesting -- if somewhat scattershot -- essay that hits a bunch of my sweet spots: '90s nostalgia, the exposure of faux nerd culture, and how the craft beer boom has usurped record store culture.

There is a surprising parallel made between the detached irony of Gen-X and the aimlessness of the postwar generation of the 1950s. We were soldiers without a battle to fight, so to speak, so we basically all said To Hell With It. It's a little reductive but it rings very true.

The section on grunge music spends way too much time trying to convince me that Smashing Pumpkins is one of the greatest bands of all time, and not the sonic equivalent of a dental drill to my ears.

It is nice to hear from an actual nerd that Weezer is really just surf bros in dark glasses, something I had always suspected. And it's a refreshing to hear a defense of the Applebee's/Outback class of casual restaurants, which transformed the suburban dining experience, without an outright dismissal of their role in Gen-X culture. God knows they were a staple of my under 21 going-out experience.

It's a thoughtful contextualization of a time that still hasn't quite been well-defined. I'm not sure this one quite does it either, but it's an enjoyable read.
Profile Image for Cliff Hays.
Author 8 books108 followers
July 7, 2015
This was a very interesting sociological analysis of American mainstream culture from the early 1990s to now, with a particular emphasis on music's place in that culture. The uniqueness of the all-too-short grunge era is placed within a larger context of history (both American and musical) and a greater understanding of what led to it is thereby accomplished. Admittedly - as some other reviewers have pointed out - the author's love of Smashing Pumpkins is extreme, so if you like that band a lot you will definitely enjoy reading about them here. And even if you don't like them you can just skip a few paragraphs and you'll be fine. Some of the high points of this book for me were:

- an eye-opening side-by-side comparison of the release patterns of Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana [let me just say they have far more in common than you realize]

- a hilarious and spot-on examination of the authenticity of the nerdiness of the members of Weezer versus The Presidents of the United States of America

- an intelligently expounded theory on why chefs are essentially the rockstars of today

Regarding this last point, have you ever wondered why food culture and subculture is so prevalent now? Why there are seemingly a gazillion "options" for any particular foodstuff you want to buy? Why there are now people who call themselves "foodies"? Why modern day "rockstars" are basically chefs on Food Network rather than being actual rock stars on MTV? Well . . . this book goes a long way toward answering these and other questions.

Definitely a well-written and interesting read, especially for anyone who lived through the early nineties. I highly recommend it!
Profile Image for Kim.
74 reviews11 followers
January 3, 2016
Meh. I wanted to like this, but it was a pretty big let down. Initially it read like kind of like a thesis. The initial chapter had some good insight, and nice exploration of ideas. (Especially thesis-like thanks to the overuse GRE words-- which I love when used well, but they mostly stood out like a sore thumb in these essays.) Eventually it read more just like over-opinionated ranting from a disaffected nerd boy. (I'm a nerd. I get his beef with the chic-nerd movement to a point. For those of us who earned our nerd stripes the hard way, it can be a little off-putting to have people assuming that our present nerdiness is just a facade.)
Profile Image for James.
1,509 reviews116 followers
August 24, 2017
This started out as a pretty solid essay on 90's pop culture, the rise of grunge and nerd rock. I can quibble with the details. Craft only explores Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins as his grunge exemplars, and his nerd rock examples are Weezer (regular dudes pretending to be nerd) and the Presidents of the United States, which he calls 'the ultimate Nerd rock [band] of the past two decades.' Maybe, but They Might Be Giants and Bare Naked Ladies are also very active in the 90s and have some genuine nerd factor. And REM.

He contends that the rise of gastropubs, microbrews and organic quinoa foodie culture in the 2000s as music became more democratized online (and the search for the authentic and local culinary experiences). That is, the 90s music lover, became the foodie who bashed chain restaurants and big beer companies like Budweiser. I lost the plot here a little bit. I like organic food more than Applebees (and microbrew), but I think his perception here is clouded by nostalgia for a time when all the food we ate when we ate out, was delivered frozen and fully cooked to chain restaurants from the back of a truck.
Profile Image for Jennifer.
142 reviews
September 17, 2017
I like Kindle singles, particularly the essays, as they make you think about things you may or may not have been aware of. This particular one starts of rather interesting, explaining the early ninetees grunge movement as the result of the end of the Cold War (capitalism vs communism), with the depressing societal realization that there is nothing Greater to strive for anymore. Then unfortunately the writer rambles on to advocate the significance of unimportance of various rockbands as a symptom of the times, a piece of music philosophy probably best kept as a column for the readers of Rolling Stone magazine. It the ends with a glaringly inaccurate take down of the current foodie culture, blaming foodies for the decline of meaningful music (what??). It does however provide food for thought on how the things we do are a product of the times we live in, and whether they might actually reflect a subconscious rebelling against the capitalist status quo. Probably best left for a late night discussion over a glass of wine 😊.
Profile Image for Scott Pakudaitis.
78 reviews1 follower
September 28, 2018
You know that guy (and it's almost always a guy) who's way into music and wants to talk about every bit of minutiae about his favorite band, dissect their song lyrics, and try to find meaning in them where frequently there is none? Kevin Craft is that guy. This book started out rather interesting when he discussed the sociological factors leading to the Age of Ennui, then he went off on tangents about grunge and the Smashing Pumpkins. Does he ever love the Smashing Pumpkins. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) However, in all his writing about grunge, he never once mentioned Mudhoney, an unforgivable oversight.

At least this was a quick read and it raised some interesting topics about the 90s. I actually liked his hypothesis of why "foodie" culture replaced indie music snobbery and think there may be something to that.
35 reviews1 follower
May 30, 2021
Reads like an analysis paper for college

Interesting points talked about, though as someone who is not well versed in popular music the first part was lost on me. Was hoping there would be more about nerd culture, especially since there was a rise in comics, board games, and robotics but it just went back to music. I think there was one line that mentioned pop punk, which is disappointing since that it mainly what I gravitate towards.

Though, I did enjoy it more when I read it aloud versus reading it silently typically had me losing focus. The author used some words that I haven't encountered in a while, but most people will probably want to use the dictionary function on their phone.

The author reminds me of how I wanted to write papers in college: verbose diction to explain points in a round about way.
Profile Image for Rachelle Hermanson.
18 reviews15 followers
September 4, 2017
Well then...

I enjoyed the first chapter of this book, but I didn't like it when he started going off on all the different songs. It gets hard to read. Also what the hell do nerds have to do with the nineties and Foodies? I had to look up the term Gastropub because all I could imagine was a bunch of old men drinking beer in a dive bar and farting like a big cloud of methane. I grew up in the 90s and I have to say it's more about flannels and grunge and the music scene. But he did forget about the rap scene you know I mean where the hell is Tupac in all this? All in all it was good but I think they could have edited it and left out the part about Foodies and the people of today and nerds.
Profile Image for Edy Gies.
1,375 reviews10 followers
January 7, 2018
The book started out discussing the Grunge Rock scene which I know NOTHING about so I was a bit lost and bored. The author did make some good points about the rise of nerd culture, but he was quite passionate about it and the book got quite personal there. Almost, no he crossed a line, into being his personal opinions, which I know all books are the authors opinions, but they usually do research to back up their claims. He was just kind of ranting here. I did agree with his insights into gastropubs and thought that was very interesting.
Profile Image for Sean Hackbarth.
81 reviews42 followers
September 5, 2017
From grunge to Whole Foods

From music to food Craft tries to glean why certain trends captured American pop culture sensibilities. He succeeds in connecting grunge music to post-Cold War ennui. Craft bookends it by connecting easy access to music to the rise of the foodie phenomenon.
Profile Image for Christina.
35 reviews
July 15, 2017
Nostalgic memoir of 90s pop culture

If you grew up or came of age during the age of Nirvana and remember when eating at Outback Steakhouse was an event, this book will bring you back to your childhood.
Profile Image for Ami.
26 reviews
June 6, 2017
This dude LOOOOOOOVES The Smashing Pumpkins.
2 reviews
August 20, 2018
Awesome book!

Delightful brutally honest book! Every other page would crack me up with the way the actor writes which I totally loved.
Profile Image for Dawn.
304 reviews8 followers
March 10, 2017
If I could give this a negative star I would. The author basically just gives you some random opinions tied loosely together in a logic I guess only he can follow? I know I can't. I had seen this and wanted to read for a while, glad I just had a kindle unlimited trial and read for free.
Profile Image for Stacy.
80 reviews
December 22, 2015
Where do I even begin? The book didn't start off too terribly and I actually kind of liked it, but then it seemed to morph into some Patrick Bateman-esque weirdness with an obvious Billy Corgan man crush. Please, Billy Corgan, lock your doors because I kind of fear for you. That being said, I can somewhat see the mentality of Gen X behind my own actions and thoughts, but I don't necessarily believe it was brought on by grunge music alone. I would like to point out that he did mention other factors, but music was the main obsession. I listened to Enya, one of the least grungy artists dumping out music in the 90s, yet I still share many of the same viewpoints of my peers that were supposedly brought on by grunge. The ending was a slight redemption for the borderline crazy obsession for Billy Corgan, but the author had lost me at that point.

Clearly this guy loves his Grandiloquent Word of the Day. He gave my own dad a run for his money in his excessive use of $50 words. While I never believe stuff should be completely dumbed down for the masses (this already happens far too much), this guy wanted to make absolutely certain he proved his college graduate status. Bully for him.

All in all, it fell flat in some places and was engaging in others. I will fully admit to highlighting a few things here and there, but I still would not go out of my way to recommend this essay to anyone. I'm just happy its over.
Profile Image for Danijel Jedriško.
277 reviews2 followers
May 18, 2015
What the hell does Kevin Craft has against Pearl Jam? Although the book was interesting in parts about the social context of the nineties, his subjective and tendecious writing left me wondering about his credibility. I love Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins but he made essential mix of the nineties grunge without Pearl Jam and close to the end he emphasized the hatred by questioning again: Is Pearl Jam a good band?

It is a pity that he couldn't keep it impartial. His comparison of punk and grunge was phenomenal, and by moving the music to the emotional level of anger he showed the real nature of the 90s apathy.

However I don't see this book as truly relevant. Pity with a bit less ego it could've been great.
Profile Image for Allison.
Author 1 book78 followers
February 17, 2016
If you grew up in the late 80's and early 90's, then you'll enjoy this short book of essays. It was spot on - from the author's insights into Weezer and their popularity to the amazingness of Smashing Pumpkins - and it will take you on a trip down memory lane. As a policy wonk, I was intrigued by the parallels between the end of the Cold War and the cultural phenomenons of the early 90's and it's a topic I'm still thinking about. If you like books that make you say hmmmm, then pick this one up. You won't agree with everything he says, but you'll at least be able to understand his point of view.
Profile Image for Martha.
306 reviews4 followers
March 28, 2016
Knocked off a star because this book used the word "foodstuffs" ... twice.

Not a pop culture enthusiast and not even from the US but a Gen X-er through and through (also, who doesn't follow American pop-culture?). I was sniggering and chuckling and laughing out loud and pretty much nostalgic the whole time ... about being a real nerd, about the death of cover art, about ... all things 90s. The word "foodstuffs" ruined it for me, though. Pet peeve.

PS: I love Weezer ... I'm just never going to listen to them the same way again.
Profile Image for Chase.
24 reviews1 follower
May 15, 2015
I should start by saying that 2 stars is not a fully accurate review of this book. I liked the book, but I just wanted more. I wanted a more complex analysis. I wanted more than a few essays that I could read in copy of Rolling Stone or EW. The analysis of the 1990s read fell a little flat and, honestly, a little shallow and normative. The writing is strong and I think Craft has the capacity for a stronger book, but for me, it just wasn't found on these pages.
Profile Image for Jeff Raymond.
3,092 reviews211 followers
February 21, 2016
A perfectly fine history/commentary that's better than the sum of its parts, it's sort of a quick little treatise on modern hipster interests. I can;t say that this was either great or terrible, but a lot of interesting pieces along the way that were worth noting for later made this a worthwhile, fast read.

Worth a quick borrow from Amazon, for sure.
Profile Image for Shawna.
240 reviews9 followers
January 7, 2017
This came free when I downloaded the Kindle app on my iPhone (a desperate time when I was without my Nook or printed material).

Surprisingly good read and thought provoking about 1990s social culture. I highly recommend for foodies and grunge lovers. I instantly mourned my flannel, cut off jean shorts and Birkenstocks.
Profile Image for Brian.
78 reviews
December 15, 2016
Middling writing with even worse editing. (Is there really no one on the Kindle Singles team who knows how punctuation is supposed to work?) I couldn't get through even the modest page count, so this one got abandoned...
Profile Image for danielle.
4 reviews2 followers
December 30, 2016
Good read

This was a great read brings back great memories of the good ole days
This book is great for that person looking who is looking to escape this reality for the past reality
Profile Image for Waleska Jungmann.
161 reviews1 follower
February 6, 2017
Very interesting read!

This essay covers very well the obsessions of the young generations throughout the 90s, 2000s and 2010s. Very insightful, at times sarcastically funny. Recommended for a stress free afternoon, allowing some time to toy with the ideas in this paper afterwards
Profile Image for Morgan Schulman.
1,295 reviews46 followers
May 24, 2015
This is why people who were born in 1981 shouldn't write about the early 90s.
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