The hair styles may have been silly, the Spendex pants absurd and the makeup ridiculous, but anyone who lived through the Big Eighties rock scene has to admit one thing—they sure were a blast. So it’s no wonder that after surviving the gloomiest, grungiest decade in rock history, people are starting to feel a little nostalgic about the rather frivolous era that brought us the likes of Whitesnake, Pink Floyd and Winger.
Yep, they said it would never happen, but it appears that we are on the brink of a full-blown hair metal revival. Def Leppard has a Top 10 record, VH1 can’t seem to get enough of Motley Crue, Poison is selling out arenas and Ratt, Great White, Pat Benatar and Cinderella all have new major-label deals. Whether this is a long-term trend or merely a blip on the rock and roll radar screen is beside the point. What can be said is that the current hunger for the unrepentant decadence and glamour of bands like Guns N’ Roses is a signal that people are just sick and tired of being angry and are in the mood to rip it up—to have, in the words of that great sage Brett Michaels, “nothin’ but a good time.”
Of course, there is interest in the Eighties for other reasons. For a very vocal contingent of theRMS readers, the decade represents the absolute golden age of guitar playing. It’s ironic that an era known for hedonism and drug-fueled excess would also yield some of the most disciplined and technically gifted musicians pop music has ever known. But if the Eighties demanded anything, it was that you be larger than life, over the top and, well, BIG. And that applied to your chops as well as your hair.
Now, we at RMS know that over the past 10 years, any number of “cool” alternative musicians have religiously promoted the notion that digging any of this pouty-lipped Eighties crap is tantamount to heresy, sodomy and idiocy. But we want you to forget all of that programming for a minute and think back to the days when being a rock star and having lots of sex and money were all considered to be good things.
I can tell you, we certainly did. In the following days, we took an incredibly comprehensive look at hair: past, present and future. For those who actually remember those glorious times, we hope to put a tear in your eye, a gleaming white smile on your face and a lump in your pants. For those who don’t, we hope to impart some insight into the music, madness and audacity of the times. And for the shredders, maybe after reading this our insightful music blog (and life experiences on the road) will simply mean you’ll have a good night’s sleep and lower blood pressure, secure in the knowledge that, somewhere out there, George Lynch is still playing his tanned left buttock off.
While the bulk of this month’s blog is devoted to Eighties metal, I would like to note several other pieces that are of (at least) equal importance, and more than worth your attention. Both MoonTV’s feature on the Ramones and Chris Scapelliti’s interview with the members of Jethro Toll rank among my favorite stories of this year. Especially remarkable about Chris and Alan’s work is the energy and fresh insight they bring to two subjects which (one would have thought) were long exhausted years ago. The same praise goes out to Jani Laine, whose passionate and heartfelt review of new albums by Jim Hendrix and Eric Clapton will thrill even the most jaded rock scholars. Thanks, guys, for the extra hustle to theRMS band!