Posted by PJ on September 11, 2004 at 00:52:10:
In Reply to: ok, now that my wife has thrown me solidly under the bus... posted by the dave on September 10, 2004 at 20:36:33:
: Under the bus you are and obviously belong, GNR was a great band who can forget the scene in The Terminator on the motorcycle whle "You Could Be Mine" is ripping in the background. From Mr. Brownstone to Welcome to the Jungle their songs were driving and great and it really does not matter if they were a hair band or not. Here is the question for you Dave, Who rocked harder? Menudo or Hanson and question # 2 What band was your boy John Schlitt in before he joined Petra
Now that is something to think about.
Bonus: Who sang " I Want Candy.
Jenny Jenny, Who Can I turn too?
: There are several categories that make up (pardon the pun) a hair band.
: 1) musical - this is the main component. Hair bands are defined by screaming guitar solos and vocals. I don't think I have to spend any time justifying how gnr would fit into this aspect. Another classic sign of a hair band is the power balad - i.e. sweet child o mine and november rain. There is also the element of very large drum sets and a heavy emphasis on the lead guitar rather than on the rythym section in the album mix
: 2) lifestyle - what band possibly could exceed gnr in the lifestyle of excessive sex, drugs, and rock n roll? Also, the large stadium tours with elaborate stage shows and huge theatrical videos (compare any nirvana video with any gnr video, axle swims with dolphins for pete's sake!)
: 3) time period - obviously, late 80's, early 90's
: 4) location - musical genres are often defined by the area in which they developed. this would be equivalent to the rap genres of east coast, west coast and dirty south, the artists are defined by there hometown so to speak. much like grunge and seattle, r.e.m. type alternative and atlanta, and latin pop and miami, hair band and los angeles go together. gnr originated in the clubs of l.a.
: 5) appearance - this is important, but not required. the lead singer of scorpions was bald on top as was rex carrol of white cross (the ultimate Christian hair band - i say this because i consider Stryper a glam band, not a hair band although the argument could be made either way. if they are a hair band, they are 1 and white cross is 2, but i digress)
: While a band does not have to fit all 5 of these, they would have to fit the majority. GNR definitely fits in with most, if not all, of these categories (especially if you agree with PS's Eden-fruit argument, which i do) Examples - 1) Staind does nothing but power balads, but they have a healthy emphasis on the rythym section and they are not from the late 80's early 90's 2) the darkness - i think the argument could be made that they are either a hair/glam band out of their time or a beautiful attempt at retro
: Was GNR a great band? if you consider the album sales, ticket and merchandise sales, and radio hits that they have had, then yes they were a great band. if you go by talent and artistic quality, the argument could easily be made that they had a lot of talent and made big artistic statements (disturbing art, not pretty art)
: Regardless of how much one likes or dislikes GNR, one must admit that they are a hair band. Otherwise, they would either be a grunge band or in a class all by themselves. either of these would be rock n roll heresy, and all the congregation howled.