Friday
Jul312020
'Hair Metal' Is An Insult: Discuss
Friday, July 31, 2020 at 10:40AM Sebastian Bach hates the term Hair Metal. He was tweeting about it recently and some of his fans were arguing with him. I get it and I agree mostly. There is a reason this site is Bring Back Glam! and not Bring Back Hair Metal!
What do you think about the term and Sebastian's opinion?
I'm trying to explain to a kid that wasn't there that the term 80s hair metal is an insult it's not something that you call music if you are actually a fan of it
— Sebastian Bach (@sebastianbach) July 30, 2020
When I 1st aspired to be a vocalist of a band it was called rock n' roll
— Sebastian Bach (@sebastianbach) July 30, 2020
Heavy metal
Heavy Rock
Hard Rock
Glam metal
Nobody in the 80s ever started a hair metal band https://t.co/HGcoM2MYGJ
Reader Comments (15)
Pretty sure the Sirius Channel is called Hair Nation and Dee Snider's House of Hair, etc... Its only an insult if you let it be. These stations play all the bands from that era, not necessarily the look. Glam to me is years of music that includes hair metal. Hair being the sub genre of more about the look, than the music. Weren't most using Aqua Net anyways :) ?
The jab is that these bands from the '80s are accused of taking more time to make their hair look good, than they did developing their music.
Yes that SiruisXM station does fully embrace the "Hair Metal" label; they also play the same 30 songs in rotation, which is kind of pathetic. They really don't "get it" IMO....
All of that being said, twitter fights are a pretty ridiculous waste of time and Sebastian Bach may be better off deactivating his account (or maybe add a breathalyzer so he can't use it while intoxicated).
We all know what people generally mean when they say "hair metal" and most people just roll with it. Eddie Trunk also gets annoyed by it, and calls people out, he just comes across like less of a prick while doing so.
As much as I think Bach acts like an immature jackass much of the time (and don’t get me wrong, I am a huge fan of his talent and music), from a purely technical standpoint, he is not wrong on this topic; sort of.
The term “hair metal” was indeed not invented until the mid-late ‘90s as an insulting, pejorative term insinuating that most all hard-rock and glam-metal bands originating in the ‘80s were significantly more about flash and fashion as opposed to any legitimacy or talent that might be associated with them or their music. Style over substance it would imply.
Hard as it might be for us to remember in retrospect, hair metal bands in the ‘80s were all mostly just referred to as heavy metal (yes, even Poison). Or maybe glam-metal towards the end of the decade.
But here’s the part Bach doesn’t quite get. Many fans of the so-called hair-metal genre adopt the idiom today solely due to the convenience it offers as a crystal-clear identifier of the style of music to which it attempts to refer. On top of that, it is often also used with nostalgic affection as well…although none of us as fans would ever for one second subscribe to the original notion of the terms negative intent.
As an uberfan of the genre, when I wrote my book on hair metal (The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of Hair Metal), I cringed at the thought of including that term in the book’s title, for all the legitimate reasons Bach states. But at the end of the day I still decided to do it, because I wanted to be crystal clear to any potential reader what music/bands the book was about. When someone says hair metal, generally, on average, you know for sure exactly what you are getting: Motley Crue, Poison, GN’R, Skid Row, Warrant, Ratt, Whitesnake, Bon Jovi, etc. Just like with Hair Nation on XM Radio.
Heck, the very first sentence of the very first chapter of the book reads “I have a confession to make…I hate the term hair metal.”
I could’ve used the term Glam Metal, but then maybe people would’ve thought that it was about David Bowie and Alice Cooper, or The New York Dolls. I could’ve used Heavy Metal, but that might’ve been about Metallica, Megadeth, or Testament. Maybe I just should’ve used Hard Rock…but that could’ve been about a million bands that weren’t in my scope. Or maybe just Rock N’ Roll, as Bach would suggest…that could’ve been a billion bands!
Granted, there are still plenty of people today who use the term derogatively. Screw ‘em. Let it go.
And trust me, I have heard from dozens and dozens of fans who won’t touch my book with a ten-foot pole because it dares to refer to their favorite band as a hair band. Look, I get it. I am right behind these people if we choose to view the term as style over substance (which admittedly was its original intent). But is we simply choose it as a universal identifier for the music we love, then Bach might realize he is giving grief to most of his core fanbase.
At the end of the day, I will gladly fight to my death against anyone who uses the term to imply the genre was all about hair and not music, but, at the same time, I will also freely use the term when referring to the music, if only for the sake of clarity. But I also absolutely respect the position of everyone who will hold the line…including Bach. I just wish he didn’t have to be such an ass about it.
And lest Bach forget this quote that came directly out of his mouth in the early 2000s: “I put the hair in hair metal!” Maybe he forgot about that. Still love ya Bas…
It also helps to note, specific to this latest flame drama from Bach, that he was at least honest and noted he was in bed drinking when he posted. So there's that. He was bored. And drunk. And acting like Bach does when the drinks have been flowing. Did he really not expect a response? Of course not! But you can put out a fire if you take away the oxygen. But we don't do that nowadays, do we? And here I am, adding to it. Side-bar: HrMtlFan, he references that very quote in his diatribe. Bach, even with a gallon of wine in him, certainly remembers his place in the pantheon. He seems to mention it every chance he gets.
The thing lost, but not to our readers, is that he made a good point in a poor way. Point noted. Also note above is that calling it Hair or Glam (or Butt, or Crotch) does nothing to lessen its impact, unless you want it to do so (again, a nod to Bruce). Own metal in all its many forms. Dislike some, sure. But metal is far bigger than the sub-genres that it is often carved into, and often by people looking to selling a dirty penny for a crisp dollar. What counts? You like it.
The Sirius/XM discussion is also a bit tired at this point. Their rotation is no bigger than a gerbil wheel, save when they do (rarely) roll out deeper cuts and more interesting selections. Which, again, as I noted a few weeks ago, suggests they could do it more often. So why don't they? Well, because they don't have to do it. Someone is listening. I am. And they will repackage it at some point as Kip Winger's Hair Nation or what-have-you if that moves the metrics they want to move. Still, it is a place to go if you want to hear some of the songs you love . . over and over and over. Or scoot over to Ozzy's Boneyard for a variation on the same theme.
i will conclude by noting: a lot of those hair metal bands from days gone by would be lucky to claim the title for their music these days, as where there once was hair now sits a hat.
I commend HrMtlFan for recognizing your talent and wisdom ... Now, it’s only a matter of time ‘til we see, not just your forward, but a great book written by you on the subject at hand, “Hair Metal” and/or all the terms it’s called, derogatory or not.
And great thoughts, everyone on the topic of Hair Metal.
Through the years, I have used the term “Hair Metal” to describe our favorite music and would often be chastised for it because of its derogatory connotations as the result of Nerd Rock journalists as Mike so adroitly points out ...
I recall when Chuck Klosterman lionized Dee Dee Ramone, yet trashes Robbin Crosby in his NY Times Magazine “Lives They Lived” piece from 2002, titled “The RATT Trap” ... The piece encapsulates the conundrum of what is legit and not legit Rock & Roll as noted by Mike’s reference to SPIN and the Alt Press (nice Archer’s of Loaf reference, haha!!) and multiple offender, as*hole extraordinaire, Klosterman!
I happen to love BOTH The Ramones and RATT in equal measure and what’s ironic is Crosby loved The Ramones! ... That is something that proves Klosyrtman and his ilk just don’t get it!
Long live Hair Metal!
HrMtlFan, even if it was just a courteous comment, I would gladly pen a forward for you. Gratis. Anything to support the music we love. But, my oh my, would you need to make sure you or an editor scans my scribblings. Then again, I tend to shoot these diatribes off at a rather quick clip. So, while I am bothered by the odd misspelling (or three) or tangled phrase, I generally think I get my point across.
Metalboy!, I think the market for a whole book on metal by me (or should I say, Him) would be rather limited. What fun to think about though.
I totally understand why Bach hates the term, but it's also a bit disingenuous. On their first album, Skid Row absolutely embraced rock fashion for MTV, including the big hair. They weren't as glam as bands like Poison & Pretty Boy Floyd, but they 100% dressed for the scene and Bas' hair in particular was front & center in their videos and I'd argue that it helped make them famous in the first place.
But in general, I think 'hair metal' is just a useful way to discuss all the MTV bands from back in the day. There are some bands that are unfairly lumped in there based on the type of music they make, but that's no different from any genre or sub-genre.
Hard-core fans of any type of music have the knowledge & ear to differentiate bands (e.g., we all understand the musical & style differences between Poison, Skid Row & GNR). But for most people, all of the bands are just lumped together based on the time they came from.
The rise, fall and rebirth of Devil Worshippers.
I kid, but not really.
The hurdles we had to clear.
Wasn't Madonna, Prince and Bruce on the filthy 15.
More later...