Good Song, Bad Video: Def Leppard: Foolin'

Def Leppard's Pyromania still stands as one of the best hard rock albums ever made. I don't know if there was really a bad song on the entire record. And Def Leppard came along at just the right time to take advantage of MTV becoming, for all intents and purposes, the world's biggest radio station.

Back in the days when Rick Allen was not the one-armed wonder and Phil Collen still owned shirts, Def Leppard graced us with one of the cheesiest videos ever with "Foolin'".

While this is mostly a performance video set on a cheap soundstage, this video gets high cheese marks for the inane, disjointed imagery interspersed throughout.

It starts off, for no apparent reason, with some strange harp player engulfed in flames. This harp player returns a couple of times throughout the video, again for no apparent reason.

When we move on to the pre-chorus, Joe Elliott is strapped to what appears to be some triangular shaped torture device. It's a recurring theme in the video. But the torture aspect is lost on me. Unless, of course, we count the torture of having to endure this.

The second verse introduces us to some sorceress witch-like character who apparently through her crystal ball is the one behind Elliot on the triangular torture device. Or maybe she is the one who sets Joe free. We never see her again.

Then there's just cheesy explosions following Joe Elliot through a poorly constructed narrow hallway of sorts.

Oh, then we have the band rising out of some pit with angel of death and skull imagery. That is just SO Def Leppard.

It's a great song from a great band and I probably spent way more time deconstructing this video than what was put into crafting it. Judge for yourself.




All in all, good fun. Back in the day it made for good video viewing. Now it makes for good fodder.

Good Song, Bad Video: Motley Crue: Looks That Kill

I'm old enough to remember the time when MTV was actually Music Television and played videos. And play videos, they did. Good videos. Bad videos. Any videos.

So let's revisit some of that. There is a plethora of content out there.

We'll start with a band that can take it. Despite this ill-conceived, misogynistic video, Motley Crue has withstood the test of time.

I don't fault the Crue, or anyone else in this series, for these atrocities. It was a part of the times.

From Shout at the Devil, here is "Looks That Kill".

Artist Spotlight: Cinderella

Cinderella (the 80's hard rock band, not the Disney character/movie) had the unfortunate luck to come along just at the right time to become hugely successful.

That statement will confuse most people, but hear me out. Cinderella's debut album Night Songs came out in 1986  at the height of the hair metal explosion. And they played it up, initially. Just look at the album cover to the right.

They had the look, the hair (including bassist Eric Brittingham's perfect blonde waterfall 'do), the synchronized guitar spins, and the attitude. MTV ready and willing. But they also had the chops, especially lead vocalist/lead guitarist/bandleader Tom Keifer. And the songs. Cinderella was much more akin to AC/DC than Poison.

Cinderella was lumped in with the hair bands. And that was fair. Check out this video. They played the part.



What wasn't fair is that Cinderella and a handful of other quality bands from that era were swept under the rug with everything associated with Hair Metal. I've heard the story where Keifer was shopping new songs to labels and upon hearing the songs, the execs were intrigued. When they found out who it was, they dismissed it.

Had Night Songs come out 10 years earlier, or maybe even five, then the career narrative would have been different. Cinderella is much bluesier and much more diverse than the pigeon hole in which they've been relegated. Fortunately for us, Tom Keifer is still creating music and Cinderella is still performing.

"Shelter Me" is much more representative of what Cinderella was all about. Excuse the bad video and Little Richard cameo.

Think Music Sucks? Are You Part of the Problem?

Personally, I find very little on the radio that I care to listen to. When MTV, VH1, CMT and GAC actually do play music, there's very little there that I'm interested in.

I do, however, find a lot cool new stuff on the internet. I frequent sites that deal with country music and hard rock music. I have received some great leads. Found some really cool artists.

I also do my own digging. Found some cool stuff that way as well.

What I have found is that people, especially people around my age and older, bemoan the current state of music, regardless of genre. My question is: What are you doing about it? Other than complaining, that is.

Are you supporting the artists you like? Are you attending live shows? Are you buying CD's? Are you paying for downloads? Are you sharing your finds on social media?

If your answer is "none of the above", then quit complaining. The kids are doing that, probably most of the time on their parents' dime, but they're doing it.

I know when I was growing up, my sister and I did most of the music purchasing in our household. My parents were content to listen to the radio and complain about how there was nothing good being played.

I try to promote good music on this blog, or at least music that I like. I'll throw up a link to a video on facebook, do some stuff on twitter. I see a lot my peers putting up links to music that they grew up with, music that is nostalgic to them. Sometimes with a comment like "they don't make them like this anymore." That statement is false. They do make 'em like that now. It's just not easily accessible. You have to dig for it.

As easy as it to blame Nashville or Hollywood or Rolling Stone or whatever, ultimately the blame falls to consumers. Or better still, the blame falls on the non-consumers, the complainers, the bemoaners. If you're dissatisfied with the current state of music, vote. With your wallet. That's what changes things.

There is never going to be another Guns 'N Roses. There is never going to be another George Strait. Or Beatles. Or Elvis. Or Patsy Cline. Or Rolling Stones. Or another anything. But there is going to be something new and exciting, if you choose to be proactive and find it. Or you can choose to let terrestrial and satellite radio dictate what you listen to.

Where Do You Find Good Music These Days?

I'm really not sure how those that only listen to traditional radio find anything worth listening to, much less anything good, new and exciting. And before anyone crows about satellite radio, I'm not sure that's much better. Sure you can find what you want to listen to, but are you discovering anything new, or just listening to what you already like?

Let's just take a look at the past 12 months + and what I'm listening to and where I discovered them.

Halestorm: From a website totally unrelated to anything music.

Whiskey Myers: From a radio station. But a local Red Dirt/Texas station.

Blackberry Smoke: From a "Related Artists" search on Spotify.

Orianthi: From twitter. A country artist from Ohio who's a fan of VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show" tweeted about her.

Houndmouth: From a "Related Artists" search on Spotify.

Samantha Fish: From a YouTube search for the Rolling Stones' "Dead Flowers" covers. (Don't ask)

Nikki Lane: From the website SavingCountryMusic.com.

Tyler McCumber Band: From the website FarceTheMusic.com.

Unless you are actively searching for non-mainstream music, you are not going to find it. And you are missing out on a ton of good stuff. I'm not saying that the above artists are your cup of tea, just saying that if I hadn't gone outside of what the conglomerates had decided what we should listen to, I would not have been able to enjoy their music.

I would hate to be an up-and-coming artist in this day and age. It's got to be tough. Radio is a vapid wasteland. The so called music channels (MTV, VH1, CMT, GAC) have all gone headlong into "reality" based programming.

Most people won't take the time or put forth the effort it takes to find music they truly enjoy. And face it, in today's world, it takes time and effort.

I'll admit it, I'm a bit of music nerd. The kind of music I've always liked has never been easily accessible except for brief periods. That's not to say that hasn't been a lot of more mainstream music that I have enjoyed, but for the most part, I've had to do some research to find my music. I'm okay with that.

Does MTV Even Play Videos Anymore?

That's the first thing that came to our minds after accidentally stumbling upon a replay of the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards.  That seems odd programming for a channel that hasn't shown an actual music video in years.

Yeah, we're older and grumpier, more nostalgic and delusional about the past, so you can take all this with a grain of salt.

Seriously, we had no clue that this particular awards show was still in existence.  We suppose, were we in the 15-24 demographic (is that even a real demographic?), we might actually be aware of and maybe even be able to feign some semblance of caring about the VMAs.  However, alas, we are not.  The three minutes that we did see was, well, just asinine.  Alcohol and drugs kill brain cells.  In those three minutes of viewing, our brain cells were attempting suicide.

When MTV plays another video, will someone please alert us.  But if they play them late at night, don't bother.  We are already in bed.  Have to be up early to yell at that the  kids to get off our damned lawn.  In the meantime we'll be watching That Metal Show and MetalMania on VH1 Classic.