Chuck Klosterman Writes Press Release About Band He's Never Heard

The critics unilaterally concur: Delicate Steve is a band who creates music. Newton, N.J. – Every 30 or 40 or 500 years, the DNA of culture itself emerges from the translucent blackness of the not-so-shallow underground. You hear a new band, and you think, "This is really something. This is like My Bloody Valentine, minus the guitars." But then you think, "No, that's not true. That's not what this is like at all. Plus, there are lots of guitars here. I'm a goddamn idiot." That's how the press release introducing Delicate Steve to the world begins. It continues, referencing a "hydro-electric Mothra," 19th-century criminals, cannibals, and AIDS. It was written by Chuck Klosterman. Yes, that Chuck Klosterman. He'd never heard the band's music or even met them. NPR has the story, as well as the full release. Here's the money quote: "Since I'm really tired of bios for bands," Delicate Steve's label's manager said, "wouldn't it be great just to tell Chuck to write whatever the hell he wanted as a bio for the band? So I wrote him an email and I said, 'Chuck, would you do a bio for Delicate Steve? You don't have to talk to the band and you don't even have to hear the record.' He wrote me back: 'I don't do bios.' And then, 2 minutes later, he wrote back again: 'Wait a minute. Do you mean I don't have to talk to the band or listen to the record? That's AWESOME! OK, I'll do it!'" Here's our question. If a press release that conveys no truthful information (and quite honestly is pretty obviously fake, though some media outlets were fooled) can get more press than the one you carefully crafted, what does that mean for the average working PR pro? And, while Klosterman's name didn't appear on this press release, will this spawn an era of celebrity releases? If it leads to another "hydro-electric Mothra" then we hope so.

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Chuck Klosterman Writes Press Release About Band He's Never Heard

Rachel Kaufman

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Rachel Kaufman