I was asked (in a comment) about the Larry King interview with Motely Crue last night. Here are my thoughts:
I was very impressed with all of them, they were classy. The raunchiness has been replaced by a level of maturity but they haven't lost any of their coolness or uniqueness. Still hard core rockers.
Larry tried to get Tommy to talk about his get-back with Pamela Anderson and he very diplomatically said that the focus of the interview was on Motley, not his personal life.
When asked a question about who held the record for having sex with the most women in one night they discreetly refused to answer and gave the impression that that was over 20 years ago and they are not those same guys today so they refuse to discuss it. I liked that.
When asked if he still wanted to beat up Axl Rose, Vince said "would you still want to beat up a kid that pulled your hair in 3rd grade? I haven't even seen him in 20 years."
Mick, as usual didn't have much to say but did add to the conversation a bit :)
They gave each other credit for everything, no one stood out as "the star" fo the group. I don't think Larry realized that Nikki is the brains behind the band (at least that's how I've always seen it) and that without him the band probably would not have been started.
They shared a few cute stories, one about how Vince used to sleep at Tommy's house in high school, one about Nikki's first tattoo, and one about how Nikki and Mick met at a liquor store when Nikki was working there and Mick went in to buy something.
They took Larry to the studio and let him try out the drums and guitar. I thought the poor old guy was gonna have a heart attack. He had his ear plugs in but was still looking a bit overwhelmed by the noise.
All in all it was very entertaining.
7 comments:
Why is it that a band with one great record and two other good ones (the most recent of which will be 20 next year) have stuck around for over 25 years and people still care about them?
Because, Bob, its not all about the music. In some cases its just remembering those youthful years of wild and crazy rebellion where all that mattered was partying with the hot rocker boys in the band and having a good old time. I would NOT want to go backwards and redo those years but I sure have a helluva good time remembering them. That's why I like Motley Crue. The epitome of the bad boys of rock - didn't matter what they sounded like, it was just fun to watch.
I prefer to remember that Vince Neil killed someone while driving drunk and he's still a drunk. I also like to remember that, despite my first point, they had a box set entitled Music to Crash Your Car To or some such tasteless nonsense. You're right, it's not all about the music, because as good as Shout at the Devil is, I still have a hard time stomaching it most of the time.
Barbara,
Never was a big Motley Crue fan but, dont let bob get you down. We probably all have skeletons in the closet. I know I do. If we didn't forgive each other this would be a pretty rotten world. I think you have to look at the heart where it is now and if they have redeemed themselves somehow. I would hope whatever they did they acknowledged the wrong, paid their dues and tried to make things as right as they could.
Dan
Forgiveness is an issue for Motely Crue, the victims and God. I just can't stand to see them glorified when 1) they're not a very good band, 2) they've well well otlived themselves and are now more professional celebrities than musicians and 3) Vince Neil has never done any public good. Why not drive drunk, it's okay. Everyone will still love you. He's a pig.
The hair metal nostalgia-fest that seems to be upon us is a celebration of the worst rock n roll has ever offered. Like Barbarab said, it's not all about the music. Hair metal completely embodies that, because it was never about the music as much as the hairspray and the party.
Thanks, Dan, that's how I see it as well. I am glad we all feel free to share our opinions here and I am learning (trying?) to not take them personally :)
Bob, music has different purposes. Not all musicians are excellent at their craft - some just provide music for entertainment and different styles of music appeal to different people. Some people would say Bruce Springsteen isn't a great musician as far as his guitar playing ability and his voice, but when I listen to him do a solo, I am not critiquing his style I am hearing what he's saying. That's why I don't care for Motley's music, I don't like their lyrics all that much but they obviously do appeal to a lot of people and that's why they are successful. I just like the memories of those days in my life - I made plenty of mistakes of my own, but like Dan said, most of us have.
I missed it! Sounds like a fun one .... (The Larry king interview, not this debate.)
Post a Comment