HAIR METAL - My guilty pleasure.
78Skid Row 18 and Life
The Saints of Los Angeles
Poison . The poster boys for Hair Metal
Whitesnake
What can I say ? I liked some of this stuff !
After High School and a couple of years of Jr. College where I majored in beer I was well into the punk scene and also there when it went from hardcore punk to New Wave. Punk rock by the early 80s had lost some of the hardcore bite it had early on. And my beloved Ramones had by this time become a caricature of the band that changed the face of music in the mid to late 70s. The Sex Pistols were done for at least 5 years and The Clash was truly the only band that mattered. I was still heavily into Ska with The Specials and bands like Selector and Madness making their way into my record collection. But we also had the Inception of MTV and the Genesis of a new art and marketing form was being born, the music video ! And along with all the New Wave , Billy Idol and Madonna videos a new music scene was emerging. And as usual this scene was being created on the Sunset Strip where I had spent a large part of my misspent youth. And this was a chapter in the Rock and Roll annuls that was to be called Hair Metal. Now I was a guy that came from the punk scene and the New Wave era so I was supposed to be programmed not to like this particular brand of music. So I have to make a confession here and come clean with all of you good hubbing people. I am a closet Hair Metal fan and I always was ! There it is out there now ! And I feel like a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders as I have purged myself of this secret that I have kept since the early 80s !
Anthrax . Hey these guys were good !
LA Guns
Ratt . Another good hairband
The Beginnings
What can I tell ya folks ? Whenever I hear some of these bands , the 15 year old with the Kiss and Aerosmith posters on his wall comes out ! I had not Intended to enjoy such a juvenile form of music but I kept it to myself. I did not want the ridicule of my circle of friends , as all of us were commited to the music of Billy Idol , Black Flag and Duran Duran. Punk in the early 80s was kind of a staid impression of the music that got me through late High School and early adulthood. The Plasmatics with Wendy O Williams was about as hardcore as it got and it was taking on various forms of New Wave now like OMD ( WHO WERE RALLY GOOD ! ) and of course ska. Like Madness. And also U2 was starting to make their mark. But all of a sudden on the Sunset Strip there was a new buzz goin on and that buzz started with Motley Crue. As bombastic and over the top as these guys were they actually had some legitimate metal chops. And there was also another band emerging on the scene called Quiet Riot who actually had the first hair metal album that went #1. (But I never liked em ! ) And they were playing all the major clubs like the Troubadour and Gizzarris on the strip as well as The Roxy and The Whiskey a Go Go. I was a frequent patron of all of those clubs. Next thing ya know any guy that could afford a can of Aquanet was grabbin a guitar and putting up posters on the telephone poles on the Strip.
Most of em were total wannabes but the Crue kicked some ass ! As well as a band called LA Guns. Also Def Leppard was finding success in regular MTV rotation. And although my friends were running around in Pork Pie Hats and skinny ties. I was secretly listening to the Crue and Iron Maiden as well as Motorhead. Then Ratt came on the scene and had a song called " You Think You're Tough " and I was starting to get sold on this hybrid of heavy metal. And of course I was not the only one taking notice , next thing you know as the 80s progressed the cheese factor of Hair Metal started coming into play. But for every 15 cheesy Hair Metal bands that came out you had a Twisted Sister and a Bon Jovi come onto the scene. And yes Bon Jovi was New Jerseys pre eminent Hair Metal entry into the Genre followed closely by Sebastian Bach and Skid Row.
So the Hair Metal and Glam scene was full on by this point. And while my primary allegiance was to Punk , Ska and New Wave I would stll occasionally sneak off to The Troubadour to see what the latest was on the Hair Metal front. My Inner adolescent was still alive and well in a 25 year old body. Now as I approach my 50th with all the responsibilities that are part and parcel with being an adult. I seem to find myself with that same mentality I had back on the strip. Why do I feel proud of this ?
Bon Jovi - Dead or Alive
Warrant . One of the reasons Hair Metal had to die !
Winger. The reason I now need antacids !
The Ugly Ending !
As Hair Metal progressed to its ugly demise it was apparent the cheese factor had completely overridden the Intended purpose of the music. Although my beloved Motley Crue had just come out with one of the best albums of that genre " Dr Feelgood " and Skid Row , Anthrax LA Guns and Guns and Roses were just doing some absolutely fantastic work. There was just way too many really awful bands that were completely overwhelming the whole scene. There were really bad songs combined with even worse music videos taking center stage on the music consciousness of MTV. There was so much Aquanet being used that I have no doubt that LA was a major contributor to the hole in the Ozone Layer. Also we were getting a diet of Warrant , Tesla , and far too much Poison that this form of music had to die ! Plus I was in my late 20s and assuming the role of adulthood much to my chagrin. So I did not have as much time to donate to my musical Interest by 1989 I had probably not been to Gizzarris or The Troubadour in probably 4 years ! Damn job and family was in the way ! Not to mention the fact that Warrant and easily the worst two bands ever Cinderella and Winger were in regular rotation on MTV.
Don't get me wrong there was still some good music out there. But it had become apparent that Hair Metal had kind of become the butt of jokes and had transformed into a three ring circus of bad comedy ! And also there was a new band on the horizon named " Nirvana " that hailed from Seattle and brought guys like Soundgarden , Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains along with them. And all of these bands had one common denominator , they were excellent !!! So Hair Metal had to die. And now in 2010 it is just another chapter in the history of rock and roll music. But at least we had some good tunes left behind by all these guys. And 20 years later I can come clean , purge my soul and lay out this confession to all you good folk at HP here. Yes I was a Hair Metal fan !
Motley Crue - Dr Feelgood. A song with nad !
Warrant. OK they had one good song !
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Hi MYO ! Well it looks like I have some good company here. And every band you mentioned were also ones on my regular musical rotation as well. Our music taste change all the time like yousaid, but a good song always stays in the library. Thanks for kickin off the hub here my dear friend . :)
Tony,
I think the music of our misspent youth always holds a special place in each of our hearts. Theres no reason for any guilt. We always love this music as it reflects the mindset we all felt in our time of being young!!! It always brings back joyful memories!!!!!!!!
Happy Sunday to you Tom. Hair Metal was kinda seen as the bastard offspring of the musical world along with the heavy cheesy factor of it all. However amongst my group of friends it was seen as a big joke. But I could not help myself,I loved alot of it ! And music will always be a catalyst for memories and the 80s were great ! Thanks for dropping in Tom !
Hy Tony! Some great music. I like a lot of Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osborne before he went "mainstream" (or should that - in boating terms - be "down stream" as in heading for the nearest waterfall and gush over it, guitar and all). I never heard of being in the closet about Long hair, but I understand what you mean! Yes, lots of people hanker for the long hair days of the 1970's. (Which I missed!) Long hair and flairs in your pants! Way to go! LOL! Love the videos! Um, does Alice Cooper qualify as Hair Metal?
Happy Sunday Cheeky Girl ! It was kinda not metal when Ozzy became the poster boy for famalies with " The Osbornes ". But the show was kinda funny ! And Alice Cooper is absolutely one of the Godfathers of Heavy Metal. Glad you liked the videos. And may I say it is always a pleasure to have you drop by
Everything changes with time and space in this world and even the mind and the taste. Thanks.
HP Indeed things change ! But If I have one common theme In my life it is my love of music. Even the cheesy kind ! Thanks for coming by.
I'm with you. I love music, all music so don't ever be ashamed of your guilty pleasures. They make life so sweet.
Great work tony! I think alot of people are just like you are. But most are afraid to admit it on this topic .
Good Hub
Ron
as always also a2z50
Hi BPop ! I am always happy to have a fellow lover of music drop by and chip in their thoughts. And music does always associate with the times of your life does'nt it ? Happy Monday to you I will have to go see whats for breakfast.
Hi Ron ! I was afraid to admit to liking alot of the hair metal bands that I enjoyed myself. But now more then 20 years down the road it does'nt matter. Coming from a punk background we were not supposed to like this music , but I did !Thanks for dropping by Ron
Oh the memories. Yes, I admit it, I loved it too. In fact I've been known to still rock out. Shhh.
Wonderful hub.
Freida long time no hear ! It Is so good to have you drop by and share your thoughts here.And nice to know that you are still rockin out too ! Glad you enjoyed my humble little hub and I will check in with ya on FB too ! :)
Awesome hub, Tony! I enjoyed reading that. And it's great to find a hair metal fan on hubpages! It's a pleasure, and not a guilty one, for me too. Good music is good music. I don't like it all, but a choice few songs like 18 and Life, or Poison's Talk Dirty to Me, get regular listens.
An online comedy series called Homestar Runner made a parody of hair bands called 'Limozeen.' Look it up on youtube for a laugh.
Cheers!
Arthur it is a pleasure to have you drop by. And yes a good tune is a good tune. I could not agree more. I like the hair now but I still love the music. And thank you for the heads up on that youtube video , I do Intend to check it out ! Have a good day
Hair Metal is awesome, L.A guns, Guns n Roses, Crue, all real quality stuff. I kinda went from Hair metal to punk. First time I heard the Ramones, that was it. Still love hair metal though, oh the looks I get from passersby's when I crank up Faster Pussycat to Eleven in my car :)
OMG Faster Pussycat ? How awesome ! Dgenr8 I saw The Ramones like 6 times by 1980 , they were my Introduction to punk along with The Jam.
http://hubpages.com/hub/The-underrated-bans-of-our
Good to hear from you Dgenr8 ! And your stereo goes to 11 ? Far too cool !
Tony, Music is one of the great pleasures of life and there is no reason to feel bad about choices. I love all kinds of music and that includes rock. Nothing wrong with that! Good hub.
Hi Pamela . Thanks for dropping by and I am glad you enjoyed the hub. I guess the cheesiness factor of Hair Metal makes one reluctant to admit thatthey enjoy it. But this was a fun hub to create !
How could a sweet man with good sense of political views love this rock, oh well Hair metal is cool, Take care, Maita
Tony...u made my day! Well written my friend! Well written indeed! I love your sense of humor and how u draw people in by it! Very well written...loved how u majored in "beer" lol! Another great hub Tony!
Maita my beautiful friend , nice to see ya here ! Yeah what can I say ? Something about certain bands here just brought out my inner adolescent. I just thought some of this music kicked butt ! Maita always glad to have you drop by.
LYNN !!!! What a pleasant surprise ! It Is so good to see you and now I apologize for not checkin in on FB. But I am happy you enjoyed the hub my friend. Have a great day and I hope you are doing well.
Very nice Tony! I admit that I liked most of them too. They never took the place of Billy Idol or Joan Jett in my heart or big hair, but I liked them a great deal! ;)
Hi ya Pam !Yeah I liked Billy and Joan alot as well as Duran Duran and The Thompson Twins too ! But for some reason that damn Hair Metal had an appeal to me. I guess its the agressive beats and solid guitar. It was not the hair and the make up for sure ! Thanks for dropping by Pam !
Yep, I secretly stashed Poison and Cinderella in with my Debbie Gibson and Tiffany tapes! Great hub as always Tony!
right on sunflowerbucky !!! I was never a Debbie Gibson guy or Tiffany for that matter. Of course I was almost 30 by that time. Yeah some of that damn Hair Metal was just to good to pass up ! Always good to see you my friend.
tony, I must confess, I'm with you and love the hair metal bands. Peace :)
Katie I am glad to have such wonderful company in my camp. I can tell that you rock ! Glad to have you drop by my friend.
To this day I am still proud to be a child of the 80's! The only part that I didn't like was that I was too young and didn't get to see the shows I so dearly long for today.
Another fine product born from the hair metal legacy is Mike Patton (ie. Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, etc.) To this day, he is still my ultimate guilty pleasure!
Cheers to a great Hub!!!
Calling Crow I have to agree that Faith No More is definitely awesome. I have " Epic " in my collection too. At least we still get to enjoy the music. Thanks for dropping by !
"...as all of us were commit(t)ed to the music of Billy Idol , Black Flag and Duran Duran."
Glam rock, and hair metal, eh? Didja ever listen to the old glamrock Pantera? Diamond Dust Darryl, etc?
I like 80s music--mostly Cure, Front 242, KMFDM, etc. That shtick. Oh, and White Zombie. Good stuff.
Black Flag is neat, I've listened to a few tracks..but punk has never been my forte`.
Thanks for baring your soul, you may now feel relief rise off your chest. It's okay man, gangsta rap was the hair metal of my day.
-but I didn't get into that, either.
Ixxy I can say without reservation that I would rather have painful dental surgery then ever have to listen to Gangsta Rap or boy bands for that matter !I have listened to a little Pantera but I don't own any of their stuff. My collection is anything from Glenn Miller and Johnny Cash to the Sex Pistols to Elvis Costello. My taste are all over the place !Thanks for droppin by !
Tony I loved all of that music it takes me back to when I was a kid! I loved WhiteSnake and oh boy Ratt was the bomb, do you remember Twisted Sister? Journey, Foghat and then I also enjoyed Depeche Mode and REM. Music has certainly changed and it wasn't like it used to be, great read and thanks for taking me down memory lane. :)
'Come On Feel The Noise'!
Hi AE ! Yes music has definitely changed over the course of time. And in my opinion not for the better. However there are still some good newer bands out there. But at least we can always look back and enjoy ! Thanks for dropping by !
You have great taste in politics and in music. Nice hub. I would like to say you have poor taste in basketball. But after tonight's game all I can do is say your team played good inspired basketball, and my team forgot to set the alarm clock.
Hi ya Truth ! I would like to thank you on both counts. And with this great sports rivalry goin on I have a feeling we are gonna be talkin alot in the next couple of weeks ! Its only the first game we both know that means nothing !
Can't believe I missed this! Darn! Well, as in your other music hubs, you got this one spot on. I'm still singing these songs, minus the big hair of course (though I was kinda coiffed like Rick Astley back in the day! Haha)
Two of my most favorites then (well until now) were Every Rose Has Its Thorn and High Enough - I like themm mushy! Haha
Brother Cris , so nice to have you come by. Every Rose has its thorn is definitely a classic. I can't help but wonder what you looked like with the Rick Astley do !
Great hub Tony. Growing up I was very much into the indie scene and it just wasn't cool to listen to hair metal, or at least admit you did! Funny thing over the years and without the constraints of your crowd I find there was some good stuff. Anthrax was ahead of their time for what they did, greatly under appreciated. My wife has that White Snake best of lying around. Is it wrong to admit some of those tracks aren't bad after all?
billy I hear you ! Hairmetal was considered so not cool , but I could not help myself I really liked a bunch of those songs ! Now that I am a full on grown up and can point at this and say it is still better then most of the music that is out nowadays. Thanks for dropping by Billy !
I got news for you Tony, the Hair Metal bands are back. Ratt, Winger and Cinderella and others are doing the rounds again.
I would stick up for Kip Winger in a fight too. I actually like his band.
Tesla are superb, love them! always have, always will. But there certainly have been a few stinkers.
Thanks for an entertaining Hub
Holy Cow a Hair Metal reunion ? Do they still have their hair ? A bunch of mine is missing ! Shinkicker always good to have you visit here my friend !
Ha ha Tony!! Took me down memory lane here...and now I'm feeling a little old! Geez, I was heavy into Billy Idol and the others...not too much metal, but I couldn't get too far without hearing and seeing it all around me. But I must confess...OMD and Quiet Riot -- yea, they rock!
Have a great weekend Tony! Big hugs!!
Hey Beth ! I loved Billy Idol too ! I am gettin up there too. But if there is one thing I do know is that the music from our generation kicked but over anything that is being put out these days ! Good to have you drop by my friend !
Ok, you caught me. I'm a guilty partner when it comes to this too. I enjoyed the pictures of the hair, it brought back memories.
Good day to you my dear friend Houa. I am glad you are as guilty as me ! Nowadays I am jealous of those guys because I have so little hair left ! Have a great day and be well my friend !
I like a lot of these bands, but I think Anthrax doesn't really fit in here. They were more thrash metal, which is a world of difference from hair metal (so you don't have to feel guilty listening to them!). Poison, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake, and Warrant - all talented bands, but still a guilty pleasure.
kiwi you are probably right about Anthrax , however they did come out in the hieght of the hair metal scene so I kinda lump them in there. Besides I just happen to think they were better then the bulk of those bands that came out. But nonetheless all those bands you mentioned definitely had a couple of good tunes goin for em. Thanks for dropping by !
I don't think Whitesnake and Motley Crue are guilty pleasures honestly... They are really talented, way more than Guns n Roses (the worst band ever).
lololo I love the Crue ! And myself I think Guns n Roses was one of the landmark bands of the late 1980s to be sure. But thanks for dropping by and giving your input !
Great hub, Tony. I have a few hubs on heavy metal bands from the 80's that you could also check out. Voted up!
hotwebideas thank you for dropping in and I am going to make it a point to check out your work. I know you and I share some very similar music taste ! Have a good day.
I enjoyed this hub bro. Can't believe you prefer Heaven by Warrant over Madalaine by Winger (they get a bad rep). The biggest pussies of Hair Metal who killed the genre for me was Firehouse crying "Don't Treat Me Bad" and that bullshit ballad by Stryper "Honestly". Blecht! and to be honest it was the Power Ballads that killed it all. Because it became too easy. Songs like "Love of a Lifetime", "Ballad of Jayne", "Don't Close Your Eyes", when Kix and LA Guns have songs on the charts, that don't rock, there's a problem. But then what do I know? I like Enuff Z'Nuff. :)
myownworld 2 years ago
lol...tony, no more guilt old pal, I'm equally a partner in crime! God, do you know I spent all my teens listening to Skidrow, GNR, Aerosmith and Bon jovi!!!? Even Great White, Motley Crew. Metallica and Posion made it it to my list! And of course, eventually it became more 'cool' to get into grunge metal, so yes, I was one of those Nirvana and Pearl Jam diehards too.
Looking back, it just amazes me how one's musical tastes change, though to tell you the truth, 'Slave to the Grind' and 'Use your Illusion' still have such special memories for me. Anyway, you can tell how much I enjoyed reading this and even listened to the videos as I read. Amazing hub!