March 13, 2007

American Hair Metal on chartattack.com

American Hair Metal: The Lost Civilization
March 13, 2007
Interview by Keith Carman

Gauging the intentions of American Hair Metal author Stephen Blush is taxing. A tribute to the once glorious and now all-but-dead rock genre that dominated the mid-to-late '80s, the book is slick with wondrous images of Motley Crue, Poison, Warrant, Bon Jovi and others in all of their androgynous glory. While discussing the genre, Blush uses equal parts respect and derision for their unabashed sleaze and shallowness, creating an inescapable air of facetious needling from a dyed-in-the-wool punk rocker (Blush is most famous for the American Hardcore book and film). So, does he love hair metal or hate it? Blush offered ChartAttack some insight into his stance on American Hair Metal at the recent Toronto book launch.

This book focuses on hair metal's aesthetic eccentricity, debauchery and overindulgence, a far cry from American Hardcore's grassroots poignancy. How did this come about?
It was a perverse interest at first because the genre was frivolous. Today, these would be boy bands — the pop music of its day. It turned into an archaeological dig; pulling bones out of the closet. Some of these bands were selling thousands of records and people have never heard of them today.

You've faced bitterness from both punks and metal fans confused by how you're bridging such a wide gap.
I'm not trying to make a connection between American Hardcore and American Hair Metal other than a tongue-in-cheek reference with the title. I was excited about the subject in that it was a lost civilization. This was the biggest music in the world 20 years ago, but not a trace of it exists today. It's a great story. I was a neutral observer. I wasn't in the scene. I wanted to change the system. I knew who these bands were, but I'm a punk rocker.

Define hair metal, in your educated opinion.
It's a genre based on hedonism and superficiality. These guys dressed like chicks because they got laid. It wasn't cross-dressing or homosexuality… they were alpha males. Yes, the industry bailed on us after making millions, but the bands did too. They didn't stand for anything. It was so huge, but it's nothing today. Doing my research and going into record stores, there's nothing cheaper than hair metal. This book isn't about naming Cinderella songs or saying what's cool about Poison. I just feel this is a great story. This book is about a great civilization gone by.

Check out this interview and others at chartattack.com.

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