Hypocrisy of the Anti-Hero – Real vs. Fake in the Grunge Era

I’ll admit it. I love pop metal: Bon Jovi, Poison, Motley Crue, Def Leppard. Bring on the cheese. I’m in. Despite the fact that much (though not all) of the music was awful, I still enjoy it today. Pop metal was the soundtrack for a good portion of my childhood. There was an honesty to it. That’s right. I said “honesty.”

Conventional wisdom says that music from the late 80’s was too “fake.” Too much hairspray, too many cookie cutter songs, too many of the same “sluts and concert footage” videos on MTV over and over again. Fake. Then the bands from the Seattle grunge scene (Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, etc.) broke the mold and supposedly fixed everything. These bands were “real.” They wore flannel shirts, didn’t jump around on stage, wrote depressing songs and generally connected with the anti-corporate rock sentiment that had been building throughout the pop metal era.

I am not here to tell anyone what’s good music and what isn’t. I am here, however, to overturn the hypocritical notion that pop metal bands were “fake” and grunge bands were “real.”

Pop metal bands wanted to be rock stars, and freely admitted it. Pop metal bands wanted to have sex with lots of girls (your wife, girlfriend, daughter, etc.) and freely admitted it. Pop metal bands wanted to party and smoke / drink / snort various substances, and freely admitted it. They wanted to be rock stars so badly that they were willing to pay the ultimate price: being seen and photographed wearing a horrific amount of spandex, makeup and hairspray. They played huge stadiums, sold tons of records, and cashed huge checks.

That is the ultimate honesty… “I want to party, get rich and bang chicks, and I will look and act like a complete idiot in order to do so.”

Grunge bands, on the other hand, stared at their shoes a lot. They were part of a reactionary movement against the extroversion of the 80’s. Grunge bands were uncomfortable with the idea of being rock stars, or at least projected that image. They wrote songs about darker, often politically charged topics like teen suicide, domestic abuse and poverty. They played huge stadiums, sold tons of records and cashed huge checks.

Wait… what?!?!?!?

I’ve got an idea. If you’re uncomfortable with the idea of being a rock star, then don’t be a rock star. Don’t sign a major label recording contract. Don’t play arenas and stadiums. Definitely don’t cash those huge checks. Only rich capitalist a-holes (you know, all those people you don’t like) cash huge checks. Stay with that independent label and stick to the local underground scene. It’s “who you are,” right? RIGHT?!?!?

OK, rant over. That’s been building up for about 20 years.

Again, I’m not here to pass judgment on the quality of anyone’s music, but merely to point out that being a rock star yet clinging to an underdog, everyman, indie label image while at the same time going platinum and playing to tens of thousands of people a night is the fakiest faky McFake-a-lot hypocrisy of all time, at least musically speaking.

There. I said it. Deal with it.

About the author: Dan Vuksanovich received his Master of Music degree in classical guitar performance from the Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University in 1999. He currently teaches and blogs about how to get better at guitar via his website, www.whyisuckatguitar.com.

Garage Band Volume Wars

Music should be loud. That’s just a simple fact. Sure, it applies more to rock than, say, Mozart, but you need to be able to feel the music. Preferably in your fillings as they shake loose from your teeth. But I don’t need to tell you this, because as a guitar player you know this instinctively. Read more

Cool Song: Kyng – ‘Falling Down’

Kyng is all about heavy riffs and a good melody. ‘Falling Down‘ brings just that! Known as the “California Heavy” sound. “Can’t wait to unleash this to the universe and beyond,” Veliz says about the jam. ‘Falling Down’ was mixed by Mike Watts and will available for sale on iTunes starting July 26th. Completing dates with The Sword, Kyng is currently out touring with Black Stone Cherry and Pop Evil and plan on touring forever as the road is the life’s blood of any young hard rock band looking to conquer the world.

The band consists of three band-mates who make it heavy; guitarist-vocalist Eddie Veliz, bassist Tony Castaneda and Pepe Clarke Magana, the Southern California power trio came together in 2008 bound by influences including Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Queens of the Stone Age. Check out these heavy melodic riffs…. Read more

How to Book a Show

How many concerts have you been to? You’ve probably been to at least one, and aside from booking the band and getting the security, a lot of other work can go into it. Being the promoter and actually doing it is another thing, and I once got lucky and made a ton of money doing it. Read more

Fight Club – Cover Bands vs. Copyrights

One of the hottest topics of discussion in musical circles these days is the idea of music licensing, copyrights, and musicians getting paid for their work. It is usually part of the covers vs. originals argument that rages every few days on most musician forums and message boards. Some writers of original music get very touchy about anyone who plays covers and think that cover bands should have to pay the writers of the songs they play some kind of royalty. Read more

Dot On Shaft Guitars Announces New DOS Record Label

Dot On Shaft Guitars, which has quickly become Canada’s fastest-growing maker of fretted instruments, continues its conquest of the music industry with the launching of its very own record label, DOS Records. The label, a subsidiary of Dot On Shaft/Carparelli Guitars, will join the company’s two brick-and-mortar retail stores, its online store, and its music academy and makes Dot On Shaft Canada’s first guitar maker to open a record company. Read more

Sic*Skinz – Refinish Your Old Drum Set Easy and Inexpensive

From bars to arenas to music videos, drummers can finally be noticed, stand apart from the rest and look cool while doing it Read more