Be True to Your School
Wednesday, June 13, 2007 at 08:49AM For many, glam metal was just a flash-in-the pan fad that quietly died a slow, painful death.
For others, glam serves as a reminder of bad clothes, big hair, loud make-up and the hey-day of MTV.
Still, many of us consider 80s glam metal to be more than just a fad and a significant part of music history.
While critics will point to glam Metal as soulless rock with a corporate edge, true fans understand the core principals related to rock's funnest roll.
From the first Black Sabbath record to the dawn of 1980, Metal was largely an underground phenomenon. Bands were slowly chipping away at labels, accumulating fans, channeling hits that would eventually become staples of classic rock radio. The Brits knew how to rock, and their heavier style eventually crept around the globe and into the homes - and minds - of angst filled teens.
Fast forward to the Sunset Strip and the late 1970s when Van Halen begins to capitalized on Metal's new found glory. Their 1978 self-titled release changed the lives of many music fans and working musicians. Def Leppard cashed in as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal was becoming popular and MTV was still in its infancy.
As Def Leppard and Van Halen amassed fans with innovative guitar work and slick production, other musicians took notice and the glam craze was born.
Despite the evil tentacles of hip-hop, country, and yes - grunge - glam Metal has retained a significant following more than 20 years later.
Other posters will point to the Beatles as the standard for quality music. I'm sure not sure this is a fair or equitable comparison. It's highly doubtful that any band will surpass The Beatles in inventiveness or album sales. I think it's pretty safe to say The Beatles were a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon that's crossed many generations and genders. Concert tickets these days are sky-high and teenagers download partial albums on iTunes, giving the single a second-chance comeback.
Neither was the case during the height of Beatlemania.
As glam grew in popularity, so seemed America's fascination with all things Metal. True, it wasn't just the music that fueled the hysteria. Media coverage of the new "trend" helped fuel album sales, as did the P.M.R.C. and their waste of taxpayers dollars to censor "inappropriate" bands, lyrics and albums.
For many to say that glam Metal hasn't made a broad impact on music or culture is at once a base and naive statement. While Quiet Riot might not be able to headline Madison Square Garden these days, that doesn't mean the band's music isn't known or appreciated. In fact, even modern "headline" acts have difficulty selling seats, again because ticket prices are too high, kids are over scheduled and parents don't have time to shuttle a car pool to the weekly Metal show.
As the hey day of glam goes deeper into the past, music fans will continue to revel in the classic era of Metal. The point isn't how many Grammy awards an artist won or how an album was reviewed in the New York Times. What matters most is what matters to the fans.
Every glam fan I know is Metal to the core.
Reader Comments (24)
Yes - the difference between being 'important' in a critical sense, and being a band that's popular because of their connection with the fans, is one we've discussed before.
I got the covers album today. I can't say I am rapt in it, although I like about 4 songs on it, and the rest are OK, I guess. I am looking forward to the Tesla album, I expect it to be far better. Still can't wait to see them again at Rocklahoma, tho.
It's possible I didn't give it enough of a listen, I've gone mad on ebay and got 28 CDs in the mail today. I also have a headache from seeing what pretends to be GnR live the night before last. Listening to Anvil right now, it's pretty darn good.
You are going to love the new Tesla disc. It is the best cover disc out there today!
Let us know what you think about it.
Rob Rockitt
Hard Rock Hideout
www.hardrockhideout.com
in the mid to late nineties most of my friends listened to nirvana and pearl jam, there were a few who listened more to classic rock in the form of Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath etc...
when i first listened to Nirvana, i just hated the music and all, then i even got into listening rap for about two years, but was not liking it any more, then i discovered an old keep the faith cassette and a greatest hits cassette, then i discovered Heartbreak station, all in my aunt's collection. i was 14 then. seven years later, i am addicted to rock of the eighties like never before, so i guess it takes people who are willing to listen to something different than what is actually playing on the radio and tv to generate the new younger fans of the music of the eighties...
as far as poison goes, i have this friend who is absolutely into death and black metal and will not listen to anything less heavier than dream theater, than it bout the lowest he will ago, still when i gave him a poison disc, he told me that it was good and really melodic, just telling that poison can be appreciated by people other than who are into glam only
just sharing my view on this, i know i will never ever listen to grunge, although i do listen to all the rock acts that came before grunge, and after grunge like hammerfall, darkness... none of the alternative stuff though..
long live rock of the eighties