Thursday, November 21, 2024 at 05:23PM
Thursday, September 19, 2024 at 02:22PM Part two of Nothin’ But A Good Time: The Uncensored Story of '80s Hair Metal picks up right where segment one left off. Called “The Second Wave,” the middle years of the Sunset Strip hey day are covered, including a look at workhorses Poison and the rise of Guns n’ Roses.
[RELATED: Part One recap and review]
Bret Michaels is actually a featured interview in this segment, making him one of the biggest names from the era to appear in the film. There’s also interviews from Don Dokken and Phil Collen of Def Leppard.
Bret talks about writing “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” the famous green paper that Poison got a great deal on to flyer the town and explained how Poison would always go back to the Strip at 4 a.m. and cover up ads from other bands.
Warrant’s Steven Sweet talks about power ballads and says he likes more than one on an album. He also admits the video for “Cherry Pie” was (is) misogynistic (no kidding). There’s plenty of “How did we let them [male artists] get away with this?” questioning going on and a recognition that it was nearly impossible for female rockers to get record deals at the time. Vixen is featured in this segment, explaining some of that frustration.
Filmmaker Penelope Spheeris and Riki Rachtman also add commentary, with Rachtman especially talking about the crazy club scene and his own Cathouse (shared with Taime Downe of Faster Pussycat fame). I’ve always wondered where Rachtman and Downe got the money to open Cathouse considering they were roomies at the time and thus splitting living costs. Anyway, there’s an animation of the famous fight between Axl Rose and David Bowie that went down at the Cathouse… with Axl chasing Bowie out the door and down the road.
Surprisingly, this middle section of the documentary features a nice segment on Hanoi Rocks, an interview with singer Michael Monroe and recap of Vince Neil’s car accident that killed Hanoi drummer Razzle. Hanoi Rocks did have an outsized impact on the Glam bands we love – but it seems they are forgotten in a lot of 80s retrospectives. It was good to see them included here.
Another fun 45 minutes. Stream it on Paramount+.
Tuesday, August 6, 2024 at 12:16PM Yes, DJ Armand Van Helden has remixed the Def Leppard classic "Photograph" as a club mix. The remix is to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Pyromania.
I like club music, so it is kind of cool to hear the Leps this way. If you aren't into this sort of thing, you might hate it though. Give it a listen - open minds here!
Thursday, July 25, 2024 at 08:01AM
Of course Hysteria is about a rock band. The post below says the graphic novel is "musically immersive." I'm not a graphic novel type of person, but lots of folks are so good for Phil and Def Lep here. Pre-order link is in the social post below.
Sunday, July 7, 2024 at 10:25AM
I think the placement of "Hysteria" is interesting being smashed between two fast songs - but maybe that is to give Joe Elliott's voice a break before the big finale.
Here's "Just Like '73" live:
Tuesday, June 25, 2024 at 01:59PM
Def Leppard Monday, June 24, 2024 at 11:05AM
Related: I picked up a Def Leppard ballcap on Saturday that I totally didn't need. It has leopard spots (of course it does) and Eric rolled his eyes when he saw it in my hand. I should do an inventory of all the band-related merchandise I own. It's probably a lot but nowhere near what some of you guys have!