Haters Gonna Hate

Here's Patton Oswalt doing a bit about the things he thinks are bad about hair metal.  And just for him, here's a couple of tracks he refers to for everyone to rock out to!

Dad Rock Waxing Poetic on Hair Metal

RIP Jani Lane

Earlier this week, SF Weekly blog Dad Rock featured a piece about author Ryan Foley's recent indulgence in the greatest sub genre of rock the world has ever seen.  Now most people will argue that fact with me, as I'd say 80-90% or music lovers despise the world of 80's Hair Metal while we here at MTH really love it.  Foley acquaints the soaring vocals and guitars of Skid Row with his thoughts about Siberia and exile from everyday life as he seemingly, "jumps off into the void."  Now when most people think about hair metal they think of the hair, the lavish parties, booze, and ballads and Foley does the same but I have to question this ideology.  Hair metal wasn't all about swooning chicks and writing songs about breaking up with girls; these guys ROCKED and that's the aspect that most people will overlook.  People are quick to say they hate glam rockers like Cinderella, Poison, and Warrant because it's too soft or  just lame but I challenge that idea.

(1989)

(1991)
Everyday I challenge MTH readers to see the heaviest side of all music genres.  Heaviness doesn't just live in drop-D tuning and screaming vocals; it lives in the hearts of musicians everywhere.  From Mersey-beat to Zepplin to Crüe to AIC to Seether to Justice to Munchi, if you look closely you will find the heaviness (sometimes it's easier than others).  It is my mission to show everyone the heavy side of music but pointing out that heaviness is relative and we shouldn't just write off a whole sub-genre because they use too much hairspray.  Dad Rock showcased the monster ballads that most of these glam bands are remembered for so I'm using this post to refute with a few heavy ass tracks from the same bands and maybe one or two extras for you.

(1985)

(1986)

LA Weekly's Top 20 Hair Metal Albums EVER

Last Friday LA Weekly posted a top 20 Hair Metal albums list and here are the top 5:

5.  Motley Crue - Shout At The Devil (1983)

4.  Skid Row - Skid Row (1989)

3.  Motley Crue - Too Fast For Love (1981)

2.  Def Leppard - Pyromania (1983)

1.  Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction (1987)

Now more than half of these albums were recorded and released before my birth so I can't comment on how the scene lived or how fans reacted when these albums came out.  I also unfortunately can't really comment on how hot groupies were or how gnarly shows were down on Sunset in the late 80s.  But I will say that this list is an excellent read and should be checked out by all who are interested in Hair Metal.  More after the jump!