ABSTRACT
Chuck Palahniuk’s cultural infl uence is not restricted to literature and fi lm. Venture away from mainstream music outlets, and you can see his impact upon Punk and “alternative” musicians. Fight Star’s “Palahniuk’s Laughter,” The Corleones’ “Paper Street Soap Co.,” and Action Figure’s “Addiction to Distraction” (inspired by Lullaby), are just samples of Palahniuk’s infl uence in music.1 Panic At the Disco has penned “The Only Difference Between Suicide and Martyrdom is Press Coverage,” a line from Survivor, and “Time to Dance,” a concise summary of Invisible Monsters, while bands like The Black Market Hearts, Gatsby’s American Dream, Devil in Miss Jones, and Straight No Chaser note Palahniuk as an inspiration. Palahniuk’s interview with Marilyn Manson spawned a friendship between the two, while a banner reading “Dr. Tyler Durden recommends a healthy dose of Limp Bizkit,” is emblazoned across that band’s website (FC xiii). Trent Reznor’s enthusiasm for Fight Club has reportedly motivated his desire to adapt the novel as a musical. The approbation appears mutual, as Palahniuk claims to have listened repeatedly to Nine Inch Nails’ The Downward Spiral while writing Fight Club and Fixed while writing Lullaby. Reznor’s music, he says, “has always inspired my work” (Jemielity), while Manson and Radiohead (Pablo Honey was used as inspiration for Invisible Monsters) “gives me the freedom to tell the truth about myself” (Devine).
