Hair bands forever! Grunge never!

Great article!!!

It's all true, hair bands did have waaaay more talent, musically and lyrically. I read a similar article like this on Rolling Stone's site, that pretty much said the same thing. Hair metal is coming back if anybody hasn't noticed... grunge is never... and never coming back either. YES!!!

There's definitely some emotion in Nirvana's music. A yearning. Might not be delivered in great musicianship though, but the feeling is there. I agree, most of those hair bands were musically absolutely great - you don't find that in the charts today. You may find great songs in any genre though, if you're open minded, so this debate about defending grunge or whatever is just kindergarden. This is a forum, which means we are here to discuss things.

I loved the article. I read it completely though I haven't slept in 22 hours or so...

I also loved the music, and I didn't mind the outfits either.

I don't think there is sucha thing as hair band music. It's just rock. I mean bands like Def Leppard, Cinderella and Bon Jovi sound nothing like each other, but they were all categorized as hair bands. It had more to do with image than music. Pantera was a hair band, KISS was categorized as a hair band, etc.

Exactly right, but I wouldn't praise grunge in a thread that starts out as an appreciation to hair bands. As to music surviving, I say good songs survive. It has nothing to do with how "serious" or "fun" they are, good songs survive. Grunge movement didn't have that many good songs, it was more about the mood and attitude.

I don't believe in making people feel worse. I don't think grunge will ever become popular unless the world gets into a really bad place. And even then, I'd rather listen to the hair bands, the feel-good -stuff. Singing about trying to kill yourself or kids who kill others in school massacres is not my idea of music I want to listen to. The real world offers enough shit, I like my music to offer something else.

Ice

i was never big on grunge, only liking a couple nirvana songs, only really liked Yield as far as Pearl Jam was concerned, Soundgarden was def the best of the big 3. Slaves & Bulldozers, great song. and oh yea, i hate that I'm going hungry song.

not really sure why the article indicates the lyrics were better on the grunge side of things; that sebestian bach was incapable of doing metal; or that Wanted is a power ballad.

The more you think about how prevalent grunge was around the time KTF came out, the more impressive it is that a so called hair band survived and prospered in such a turbulent market place.

As for the Nirvana bashing what does it matter? There's as many people who discredit Jovi yet that doesn't make our love of the band any less. Ice is right about the general standard of musicianship being higher in most hair bands. The style of music requires it. Try playing Lithium by Kurt Cobain then try playing Black Magic by Reb Beach. Chalk and cheese. I still prefer Lithium as a song though.

I really like Nirvana, have all their albums etc. I think Cobain was great for music, and the saturation of the genre makes his work all the more impressive in retrospect. In Utero is a f*cking awesome album. I don't dispute his lyrics were at times gibberish, but at other times they were stunning.

Anyway it is all about taste. Anyone interested in hair metal guitar should check this link:


Awesome playing and note the Kramer Jersey Star!

The simple truth of the matter is that grunge music was the most pretentious musical movement of all time. I remember at the time there was this popular idea that these bands didn't even want to be famous, that it was somehow forced upon them. Really? Then why on earth did they sign with the biggest record companies guaranteeing large scale exposure and connections with all musical outlets (radio, MTV, etc)? Also, I noticed that their videos as grungy and grimy as they tried too appear, had a very strong commercial appeal and were usually directed by the hottest video directors at the time. Also, it was apparent that the videos were just as important to mainstream success as the music itself. For a group of musicians who claim to be solely concerned with the music, their seem to be a lot of thought and effort into the appearance of music videos and album covers......hmm , confusing.

My second gripe with grunge music is what it did to rock music. Grunge lovers can continue to profess the superiority and genuineness of this genre, but the facts speak for themselves....When hair metal ruled the charts, rock music's appeal spread worldwide and their was nothing cooler that a teenager could do then learn how to be a musician in a band. When grunge music took over, it lead to the eventual end of rock music's reign on the charts. Young people had a hard time relating to and looking up to a group of people who took pride in the fact that they looked like they worked in a gas station and could care less about connecting with people. Kids put down the guitars and took more interest in learning to rap with a mic or dj'ing to house music....thanks grunge and **** you!

My third gripe with grunge is that I feel that they missed the point of music all together. Music and love are the only commonality on this planet. Therefore music and love go hand in hand. Music is and SHOULD be an outlet to connect with people, much like love. Besides grung music's obsession with depressing topics, when grunge first exploded on the scene, it was not so much about what it was but about what it was not....connected to anything 80's. I understand the premise of out with the old and in with the new, but one of the main appealing points of grunge was HATE for anything 80's. Are you seriously telling me that the band of the 80's, 70's and 60's had the same sort of disdain for their predecessors, like the grunge bands did.....absolutely not ! They treated it much like continuing a family tree. According to grunge bands, the only 'real' old school musician was Neil Young...who in my opinion should be used instead of anesthesia prior to surgery.

On a final note, I must address this ridiculous idea that Kurt Cobain was some sort of musical messiah. I am not one to trample on a man's grave, but this point must be made. I remember when he passed and the years that followed, that he was being compared to john lennon. Are you kidding me! John Lennon wrote and co wrote songs that ranged from the poppiest of pop to the most artistic (sometimes weird) expressions. His music has been covered by artist of all genres as his music was just what good music should be full of love, honesty and international sensibility. Their was also, this idea that Cobain somehow died for or because of his music. Kurt Cobain, as brilliant as he was, was a heroin junkie...that's why he died, as horrible as it sounds, let's leave it at that.

Having ranted like I have I must admit that I do listen to a few bands from that era. And must confess that the top of the line grunge bands (nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains etc) deserve their place among the greatest rock bands of all time. Regardless, grunge music as a whole missed the mark and its no suprise to me that it lasted about as long and was as meaningful as disco.

"i've seen a million faces, and I've rocked them all"

Alot of people are saying "Hair metal is coming back". But like Iceman and various other have said, the hair was the image, not the music. The style of rock music may be coming back, but god i hope the image doesn't. The OTT spandex and bucketloads of hairspray look has gone. Bon Jovi are dressing as plain ol' rockers. Thats what should happen. Have you seen Steel Panther. Ridiculous! I take them about as seriously as the Darkness. They cant be serious, with their look, and they employ "hair" metal stereotypes really badly. I mean the drummer is named Lexxxi Foxx. I know Rikki Rocket, Jizzy Pearl etc all imprinted names of 80s rock, but they don't need reviving.

Y'know what Steel Panther's slogan is?

"We shagged your mum in the 80s"

Pretty funny but still <_>

And to be honest, I'd kinda love it if the hair metal image came back...

The difference between The Darkness and Steel Panther is that The Darkness wanted themselves to be taken seriously as a rock band. Steel Panther is just a party cover band, and they're great. It's all tongue-in-your-cheek (pun intended) good fun, they're not a "real" band.

And I've never seen Bon Jovi look as cool as they did on the NJ tour.

Ice

I discovered steel panther sometime ago. I think they were named Metal Skool back then. They are funny, but their tunes are serious good stuff! You dont hear such musicianship and in that style often today