Tonight we rock for fair Desiree...
Desiree- Hoodoo Gurus Kinky
I Never Came Down- The Golden Horde The Golden Horde
Born With a Sound- The New Pornographers Brill Bruisers
Setting Sun- Throwback Suburbia Shot Glass Souvenir
Lonely Nights- Hawks Hawks
Put It Around- The Nerves Notre Demo
Lucky Day- The Trend Lucky Day
Somehow- The Vapors Anthology
^Too Much Passion- The Smithereens Blow Up
Alright- Travoltas Teenbeat
Nowhere Left to Turn- The Tearaways Ground's the Limit
*Can't Get You On My Mind- Adam Schmitt World So Bright
*Holy War- Matthew Sweet Girlfriend
*Something Came Over Me- Chris Stamey Fireworks
*Tin Whistle And A Wooden Drum- Jimmy Silva and The Goats Heidi
*Window To The World- Velvet Crush In The Presence Of Greatness
*Valerie Loves Me- Material Issue International Pop Overthrow
*Brighter Than the Sun- Summer Suns Calpurnia
*The Concept- Teenage Fanclub Bandwagonesque
*Falling Away- Richard X. Heyman Hey Man!
*Long Haired Guys From England- Too Much Joy Cereal Killers
*Fame Is- Crowded House Woodface
*Backlash- Joan Jett and The Blackhearts Notorious
*Shoot You Down- Birdland Birdland
*American Music- Violent Femmes Why Do Birds Sing?
Forever- The Muffs Whoop Dee Doo
>I Can't Control Myself- The Troggs Hit Single Anthology
Goodnight- The Zeros 4-3-2-1-The Zeros
^Power Pop Peak:
*SacroSet: 1991
>Power Pop Prototype: 1968 (album released 1991)
If you and I have ever spent any time talking about rock and
Kids In Satanic Service |
Hanoi Rocks (Razzle second from right) |
Anyway, Hanoi Rocks' lasting impact on "hair bands"
Quiet Riot |
David (urp!) Coverdale |
Stryper? I hardly even know her! |
I was not completely immune to the charms of several hair metal singles, including Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It," Ratt's "Round And Round," Y and T's "Summertime Girls" or "Panama" by Van Halen. Yet, the bull**it hedonism of the most of the genre's "women are whores" uptempo party
Husker Du (fashion don't!) |
Looking back now, it's easy to see how Grunge drove a stake through hair metal's bedazzled heart. It comes down to simple physics- the universe can't abide rock stardom for guys who look like this:
Brett Michaels, lead singer of Poison |
Eddie Vedder, lead singer of Pearl Jam |
Grunge called bullsh**t on hair metal and showed us what we really already knew- the long haired emperor has no clothes. At the time I was happy about it. I bought Seattle band Mudhoney's debut single "Touch Me I'm Sick" when it came out in 1988 and the following summer I went to tiny club Green Street
When Grunge came along, it wasn't cool to be a rock star anymore. The clothes, the girls, the drugs, the swagger- all the excess that made bored white kids from the suburbs like me want to be Steven Tyler had fallen out of fashion. Eddie Vedder's signature "loser" t-shirt was a sign of the new paradigm. Kurt Cobain's dread fear of being perceived as a "sell out" (apparently the worst thing ever) helped him into an early grave. What I've come to realize now is that Grunge not only killed hair metal, it also killed mass-appeal mainstream rock and roll. Sad to say but by the start of the new millennium, hip hop had largely replaced rock and roll as the rebellious "piss off your parents" music choice of
Apparently it was all done for "the nookie" |
Quick- name a legitimate superstar rock band of the 2000's. None you mention, Kings of Leon, The Black Keys, even The White Stripes, come anywhere close to the impact of a Van Halen or Guns N' Roses. In fact Guns N' Roses "Sweet Child O' Mine" may be the last across the board Super Bowl half time show worthy rock and roll smash hit of our lifetime- and it came out in 1987. The complete refusal of today's leading rock musician's to act like rock star divas doesn't help. C'mon Billie Joe Armstrong, Dave Grohl and Anthony Kiedis- would it kill you to date/publicly break up with a supermodel, crash a Ferrari or trash a hotel suite! No you have to "spend time with your family." (The fact that many of you readers might not know the three men I just mentioned only proves my point.)
So I've come full circle on hair metal. I love the scene in
The Wrestler, 2008 |
Randy: Godda**n they don't make em' like they used to.
Cassidy: F***in' 80's man, best shit ever !
Randy: Bet'chr ass man, Guns N' Roses! Rules.
Cassidy: Crue!
Randy: Yeah!
Cassidy: Def Lep!
Randy: Then that Cobain pussy had to come around and ruin it all.
Cassidy: Like there's something wrong with just wanting to have a good time?
Randy: I'll tell you somethin', I hate the f***in' 90's.
Cassidy: F***in' 90's sucked.
Randy: F***in' 90's sucked.
She's right: what is so bad about just wanting to have a good time? Furthermore, would I love to hear kids singing along to songs like "Unskinny Bop," "You Give Love A Bad Name" and "Rock of Ages" on pop radio again? Would I like to hear teenage garage bands slaughtering "You Shook Me All Night Long," "Rock You Like A Hurricane," and "Paradise City" again? You're damn right I would!
Here are the links to this week's show, click to stream or right click and "Save Link As" to download:
Hour 1
Hour 2
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