Chuck Klosterman: From Yesterday to Today: Comparing How We Interact with Culture

I can’t just call Chuck a writer. He’s arguably one of the most successful pop culture critics.

“Oh sure,” he said. “And I have a big advantage. Most critics want to be the first to write about something, I get to be the last person. And that puts me in a very good position.”

“Why?” I asked.

“I’m not just reacting to something,” he said. “I’m looking at all the other reactions.”

He’s interpreting our interpretations. And defining the 21st century.

They say Deja Vu shows us when we’re having the right experience at the right time.

The other kind of “repeat experience” is monotony. The same “day-in and day out.” I think humans have a desire to look for newness.

If you look down at your feet but forget to look at the sky and see a new day, is it a new day?

The way to achieve newness is through interpretation.

No song sounds the same to any two people. No business opportunity or investment looks as golden to two people. We see the world through ourselves.

Chuck Klosterman analyzes Pop culture. He’s the author of “Fargo Rock City,” “Sex Drugs and Coco Puffs,”Kill Yourself to Live (85% of a True Story).

(I love that “85% of a True Story”.)

Last time he came on my podcast, we talked about his book “What If We’re Wrong.” And now we’re talking about his latest book is “X.

“ He told me about the age of Led Zeppelin… when artists performed for themselves. People always asked, “What’s this lyric or that lyric mean?”

And the artists would say, “You decide.

” But now we live in a 24/7 awake world.

People don’t want other people to have control over “their” creation. “The artists now have a desire for people to understand what they did,” Chuck said.

I wanted to understand why…

And what I found out is that interpretation is a form of control. Or a form of freedom (depending on how you use it.)

In this podcast, Chuck teaches you how to become an observer from the inside… how to change your view of yourself, your life, of the world.

I think this podcast is about choosing to look each day the way you’d want yourself to… and then taking action that matches the rhythm of your heart. That’s how I make meaning out of anything and everything.

This is what Chuck did. He’s created a micro category. He dives deep into every aspect of a niche category (pop culture.) And if you study how he thinks, you’ll learn something very important.

No one else thinks like him. And no one else thinks like you.

The world changes because our thoughts change. Anytime I’ve been in the gutter, I told myself, “the world changes if my thoughts change.”

Maybe nothing happens, except for the exchange of an old mindset for a new.

James Altucher is the author of the bestselling book Choose Yourself, editor at The Altucher Report and host of the popular podcast, The James Altucher Show, which takes you beyond business and entrepreneurship by exploring what it means to be human and achieve well-being in a world that is increasingly complicated. Join the 136,000 readers getting a dose of my best and controversial content. Join here.