12/27/2022 0 Comments Kurt cobain mackup![]() ![]() Pioneering punk band Millions of Dead Cops - a Cobain favourite - were defiantly far left. Frequently unisex in their lineups and lyrically dealing with the subject of misogyny (though Big Black’s Steve Albini - future ‘In Utero’ producer - was frequently misunderstood), it was a more sensitive worldview delivered with plenty of feedback. In stark contrast, bands like Mission of Burma, Big Black, Pixies and Sonic Youth seemed defiantly anti-poser. Even in a world where we’re assailed with horror stories of abuse and murder across social media during an early morning iPhone glance over a Nescafe, the hedonism depicted in Mötley Crüe’s memoir ‘The Dirt’ still shocks. Perhaps defensive of allegations of homosexuality, interviews were riddled with tales of brawls and skulls cracked, female groupie abuse was rampant (something of a rock tradition since day one) and homophobia certainly wasn’t uncommon (check the lyrics of Guns N’ Roses’ indefensible ‘One in a Million’ and Sebastian Bach of Skid Row’s notorious “AIDS kills fags dead” t-shirt). ![]() Somewhat paradoxically, hair metal - with its skintight spandex, thin limbs, backcombed locks, makeup and studs - frequently extolled defiantly heterosexual tendencies to an extreme. Now, with conversations on sexual identity at the forefront, cross dressing rock superstars sound like the stuff of glowing essays on acceptance and gender blending. Just as assuming that punk’s arrival in 1976 eliminated the excesses of prog would be an oversimplification, it’s important to note grunge and hair metal’s parallels as well as their key differences. Chronicles of cultures have a tendency to retrospectively draw lines that neglect the blurs between them - if we’re to look at Cobain’s formative influences and the stylistic provenance of the denizens of the Whisky a Go Go, Gazzari’s and the Troubadour, David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust phase, the New York Dolls, Kiss and Alice Cooper all played their part, whether directly, or as the fathers of a sound and aesthetic later down the line. Grunge - loose, scruffy and unpolished - and glam - all shiny flamboyance - surely had to be polar opposites right? Not quite. ![]() Despite apparent differences, whether you were signed to a big label and being a rock cliche or defiantly indie, there was a nihilism at work. It simply isn’t sustainable physically or culturally.Īt the height of Reagan’s reign, you could go out of step and reject the conspicuous consumption and cash is king mentality, or become a living embodiment of that overkill. It looks appealing, but utterly doomed - not simply because of the rampant alcoholism and drug use, but because we as the viewer are fully aware of a seismic shift at the decade’s close. appear, as well as forgotten bands like London (whose changing roster included future members of Mötley Crüe and Guns N’ Roses). Los Angeles’ Sunset Strip becomes the ground zero for misbehaviour. In Penelope Spheeris’ 1988 big hair, bad behaviour chronicle ‘The Decline of Western Civilisation Part II: The Metal Years’ - a sequel to an earlier documentary scattered with Kurt Cobain approved bands like Fear and Black Flag - we see superstars and aspiring posers alike engaging in absolute excess. Montclair boy dies.THE CHRONICLES OF CULTURE THE HAIR METAL GRUNGE PARADOX Text_Gary Warnett Illustration_Goodhood Creative ![]()
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