THE BEST OF THE WORST: 80′S HAIR BANDS
As anyone who has spent some time here know, I am definitely NOT a fan of heavy metal, and especially the hair metal bands that seemed to dominate late 80’s MTV. But I don’t want to be a hater, so I’m giving a little air play to some of these bands. The sad thing is that most of these tunes, even though I don’t consider them quality music, are so infectious you can’t help but sing along. It’s exactly like a train wreck…it’s awful, you know you shouldn’t look, but you just can’t take your eyes off of it. Plus, you know, I realize there are people for who the 80’s hair bands represent the greatest music man has ever made. You know those guys…they wear high top sneakers, cut off jean shorts and mullets, and drive an old Trans Am. Oh, wait, those are my high school friends that used to make fun of my love for punk, post punk and new wave!
The funny thing is that my ex-wife used to LOVE this stuff. We had neighbors way back then that we used to do a lot of stuff with (drinking, partying, stoned Trivial Pursuit, etc.), and he would play this stuff all the damn time. I guess it was just one of the reasons we got divorced. Then later after I went into the Navy, in 1986, this stuff really exploded, and it was EVERYWHERE! Go to the clubs, and every guy was dressed like Bon Jovi. It was sickening. As for me, I actually shaved my head back then, since I had to wear my hair in a military cut anyway. So I shaved it bald, and hung out in the punk clubs, where I fit in just fine. To this day, nothing turns me on like a punk rock or new wave girl! And nothing screams bad 80’s like the bands represented here. Enjoy!
- Bon Jovi – You Give Love A Bad Name
- Cinderella – Don’t Know What You’ve Got (Till It’s Gone)
- Def Leppard – Photograph
- Poison – Looked What The Cat Dragged In
- Guns N Roses – Welcome To The Jungle
- Whitesnake – Here I Go Again
- Quiet Riot – Come On Feel The Noise
- Scorpions – Big City Nights
- Iron Maiden – Run To The Hills
- Twisted Sister – I Wanna Rock
August 28th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Yeah man, this is what I listened to in high school! Def Leppard, Quiet Riot and Iron Maiden songs all came out before May 1984 when I graduated. A few of the others might have also, but I know what you mean about the explosion. You don’t have any Motley Crue, that’s about the only thing missing. I’m not sure I’d call Runs and Goeses (my little play on words) a hair band, but they fit the list. So much of this is so bad I can’t listen to it anymore. Do you have statistics where you can see which songs I’ve downloaded? Don’t look cause you might hate me.
August 29th, 2008 at 7:57 am
@Robert Lindsey:
No, I can’t see…but you know, I think we all admit to listening to this stuff at one point in out lives. The reason I put the list together is because there was a song on the radio from this list the other day, and like always, I found myself completely jamming to it before I could catch myself.
November 11th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
let me add metallica to your list. this is my favorite band, i have all albums of this team.
btw, I liked your taste john bon jovi, whitesnakes and iron maiden are iconologies