S&D: Glam Metal/Hair Metal

I think the first metal-ly thing I ever heard as a kid was Judas Priest's "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" at the house of a family friend. I was 100% NOT supposed to be listening to that (or anything secular at all), so naturally I loved it. A year or two later, Van Halen's '1984' came out and, though that's never been categorized as hair metal for whatever reason, I'd found my vibe for the next however many years. Thank God for Stryper (pun intended), because they helped me grease the wheel of convincing my parents to let me buy metal tapes.

<3

My first tastes of glam metal were Judas Priest Locked In and Dokken's In My Dreams which I caught on MTV during our first week of cable before mom forbade MTV. I, however, had recorded it on my little cassette player, along with Let's Go All The Way by Sly Fox, No One is to Blame by Howard Jones, Innocent Eyes by Graham Nash. Martha Quinn was the VJ and there was a commercial for Studio Line by L'Oreal as well.

Oh, and I learned about Europe via Nick Rocks (not forbidden) and my parents let me buy The Final Countdown.

The next year I moved to a new town and met some kids a year older than me who mocked my Europe and Dokken, but were constantly playing Hysteria, Girls Girls Girls, Look What the Cat Dragged In, Night Songs to a lesser extent and eventually, Appetite.

I never liked any of the prototypical hair bands, not even when I was the bullseye target audience. Never owned anything by Motley Crue, Cinderella, Bon Jovi, Poison, et al., and generally changed the channel when they came on the radio or MTV (at least by the time we got MTV). The only time it eventually clicked was GNR, which I think we've established as a transitional peak/breaking point. Or I guess Hysteria (if Def Leppard counts), I owned that album, but so did everyone and even if you didn't those songs were so ubiquitous you might as well have owned it. The hair stuff was just so garish and dumb, but in a pretty unappealing (to me) way. When something older like "Breaking the Law" or "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" ever came on Headbanger's Ball it just seemed both tougher *and* more fun. And of course Van Halen transcended the genre.

Bon Jovi was actually an important band for me, because when they started to crest (I was in Philly) they were so annoying and not my thing that I had to more or less stop listening to the radio, which sent me, as a middle schooler, seeking solace in albums and classic/catalog rock. I distinctly remember a long period of Bon Jovi on one radio extreme (lol) and New Kids on the other top 40 extreme and then somewhere at the end of that two-year tunnel hearing "Bring the Noise" and "Potholes in My Lawn" and thinking, finally, something different. Then I was off to the races.

Finished the book a day or two ago. I found it pretty interesting to hear these stories; a decided contrast to the VU and Beatles docs in that tbqh most of these guys don't seem very smart. There's sort of an interesting contrast between the attitudes of some of the early guys like Quiet Riot and George Lynch and Ratt, who seemed somewhat serious about the music they wanted to make, even when it was unfashionable, and a bunch of the guys who came later on like Poison and Faster Pussycat and Warrant who were almost jaw-dropping in their lack of any artistic vision and were upfront about being in it for the fame and chicks. A number of people, esp some of the johnny-come-latelies, certainly not all, didn't really seem that broken up about the swift decline of the music in the 90s - like they rode a wave for what it was worth and moved on. Winger a noted exception - they really seem bitter about the way they were personally targeted by Metallica and Beavis & Butthead, though even they cop to basically cashing in on a trend, although in their case they were prog rock and session guys who were slumming it. The chapter on ballads was kind of funny - so many of them seem to have seen these as a necessary evil they did grudgingly, since they were usually the genre's biggest hits.

I tried actually listening to Winger's first album, since I've always liked the singles, and a lot of the rest really didn't seem that great. I turned it off when I got to the "Purple Haze" cover. Listened to some of Kip's orchestral composition (Conversations with Nijinsky and Ghosts), though, and they're actually decent. I was a bit surprised by the first Motley Crue album - some solid stuff there.

Some of the connections to goth rock and NY punk/postpunk stuff were interesting too.

Winger were kind of analogous to the hair metal scene as The Police were to punk.

Motley’s first album is still their best imo
The original Leathür records version doesnt have the sped-up vocals & bells/whistles & is imo preferable to the wide-release version

xpost Winger also blessed w insufferable lead singer lmao

Winger were kind of analogous to the hair metal scene as The Police were to punk.

I know what you mean, except the Police were really talented and original, even at the start, whereas the Winger guys dumbed themselves down.

After a point, Winger's "Hungry (for your love)" starts to blend into White Lion's "Hungry (for your love)", you know?

Hair metal probably personally significant in that it was probably the first musical genre I both fell in love with and outgrew once I recognized the formulae and imitations.

Actually, listening now, Winger's "Hungry" sounds a bit like it prefigures some of the emo mall-rock stuff that came later.

Maybe relevant: https://www.stereogum.com/2172050/the-number-ones-mr-bigs-to-be-with-you/columns/the-number-ones/

When the W-initialed bands took over that was both the high water mark of hair metal and the point at which the genre became absurd

I turned it off when I got to the "Purple Haze" cover.

My high school band played "Purple Haze"...in the Winger arrangement, because our lead guitarist thought Winger's solo was better.

lmao

o_O

I just played the Noel Redding bassline anyway.

“hendrix aint shit, winger is where it’s at man”

that's hilarious. that's like doing the Whitesnake version of "Day Tripper"

i thought the crüe helter skelter was the funkiest song i ever heard when i was a kid

my high school choir teacher (amazing teacher, still keep in touch w/ her) had this weird habit of making us do the non-iconic versions of songs, usually cos she often would play the recording for us before we learned it and sometimes the only tape she had was a cover version.

Freshman boys were doing "Duke of Earl" and instead of Gene Chandler, she had the New Edition version on tape, so she made our accompanist (a very pretentious, nerdy, straight-laced classically trained dude who scoffed at such music) learn all the cheesy synth parts and play it on the KORG>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kcu0eHDDyis

xpost I like that cover!

Revolver mag did a list of the 10 Heaviest Glam Tracks:
http://www.revolvermag.com/music/10-heaviest-hair-metal-songs-all-time

Sorry but I think a bunch of things I linked to above are way heavier than this list.

i am amused that Poison made the list
i mean it’s a cool track but “heavy”? lol

surprised Twisted Sister aren’t on this list

also “feh” at Ratt but that’s just bc of my personal hatred of them

Not much love for Tesla itt.

BANG BANG

BANG BANG

BLOW YOU AWAY

I've never stopped listening to Mechanical Resonance for the last 36 years. The albums that followed have some highlights, but damn that debut is nearly perfect.

yeah it rules

nobody's mentioned king kobra since keith back in 2002, i've been into them ever since finding out that lead vocalist marcie free is a trans woman. absolute mad respect for marcie!

here's the amazing video video for iron eagle (never say die):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-DIhXTGifU

Someone needs to put together a Nuggets style comp for post-94 hair metal music

and instead of Nuggets you could call it Bollocks

xxp: rushomancy, I mentioned them last year, but I spelled their name wrong!

S&D: Glam Metal/Hair Metal

whoops, so you did! so much for ctrl-f :)

Fucking hair metal. My local “classic rock” radio station used to like 15-20 years ago be all strictly late 60s early 70s classic rock like Zep, Yes, CCR, and Hendrix, and well now I guess they gotta change with their older audience and now they play fuckin’ “Dr. Feelgood” and “Nothing but a Good Time” and “Break the Law” and “Girls Girls Girls” every goddamn day. Motley Crue is considered classic rock now!

idk sounds ok to me

I’ve been really into Motley Crue’s “don’t walk away mad” lately

that song rules, one of my favorite crue songs. v fun to karaoke.

Don't Go Away Mad, but yeah, that's a catchy tune.

lyric stolen from Blondie, but whatev

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dx-PrDQej8

I love the melody on the pre-chorus, I still demand hair metal justice for Vain!

lol the drummer and guitarist is the only one who looks like they could still step into a music video from that era

lol people slow dancing at 1:55

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpeePEUz0bw

Britney Fox lead singer = melted Steven Tyler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbEIi46NAno

That was a weird time. No one could tell where Dizzy Dean ended and Tom Keifer began.

Annoying voice, great freaking song.

how dare u
he sounds like a dollar store Tom Keifer

(how dare u = as in how dare u say no one could tell the difference)

i have been watching a lot of Vevo’s “Hair and Heavy” and nothing makes me reach for the remote faster than Dangerous Toys. Truly dire Axl-mimicry

Firehouse are super boring and i think their Dad must own Vevo bc they have more videos on here than any band except maybe Kiss lol

So far not even one Kix video. I am furious.

Kix is for the people

Dangerous Toys was baffling given Jason McMaster's pedigree. I can't think of too many better examples of a guy jumping on a trend, forfeiting all of their cred in the process, a thing we used to call a "sellout" move. At least when Celtic Frost went glam, the results were listenable in a surreal outsider art kinda way