American Hair Metal

by Steven Blush

“We’re not ashamed of a little hairspray and makeup. We’ve always said it takes a real man to wear makeup.”—Bret Michaels, Poison (1988)
There was a time—not so long ago—when pomp and spandex dominated MTV and pop radio playlists. American Hair Metal visually celebrates this orgy of flamboyance, androgyny, and animal magnetism, of big-haired alpha males and the beautiful women who surrounded them.
Hundreds of striking photographs are surrounded by hedonistic ephemera from bands like Poison, Cinderella, Mötley Crüe, Skid Row, and Stryper, and wild interview quotes from major players such as David Lee Roth, Jon Bon Jovi, Sebastian Bach, Tommy Lee, Nikki Sixx, Bret Michaels, Don Dokken, and a good number of unsung heroes.
Interest in hair metal is currently exploding—witness the barrage of VH1 specials, arena-level revival tours, and reissue compilations that are even today best-selling CDs.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, History

180 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2006

About the author

Steven Blush is an American author, publisher and promoter.

Reviews

[Tiny Pants · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally got my hands on this book and it. is. AWESOME! Mostly images, which is great because to read who he's written for (various pop culture rags like Spin, the Village Voice, currently a contributing editor for Paper), it comes as somewhat of an eyebrow-raiser that Steven Blush writes like one of my undergrads. Simple, declarative sentences that don't really relate to each other and kind of just pile on with no real structure of being an actual paragraph save for the fact that a designer made it sit on its own on a page, hence the block of random text takes on the visual appearance of a paragraph.

But for the most part grammar doesn't even matter, because the book is SO photo heavy -- amazing stuff I'd never seen before, and not the usual Neil Zlozower. Not that I don't love his stuff, but the lack of Zloz is probably what makes this book feel so fresh; these aren't pics you've seen a zillion times before.

And what Blush lacks as a writer, to whatever extent he was in charge of the content here, he does a lovely job as a curator. You've got obscure bands like Teeze and Nitro cheek by jowl with Poison and Motley Crue. And most of the text isn't even his; instead, he's culled choice quotes from interviews in Rip, Circus, Hit Parader, Metal Edge, etc. to give the book a flavor of what the boys in these bands were saying about them AT THE TIME, instead of in some watered-down, Behind the Music musing.

The other thing I will say that I liked a lot about this book -- even though, again, in terms of style and grammar the author could really benefit from a critical editor -- is how much it focuses on some of the more sociological perspectives on metal. He actually touches on topics like the politics of whiteness, the tension between androgyny and homophobia, and the overall conservatism of the genre. In an interesting way, this book seems to fit best as a photo and caption-heavy companion to musicologist Robert Walser's Running with the Devil, in my opinion the best book ever written about the genre.

And oh, did I mention the pictures!?!?! Clear, full-color, uncluttered... I want to wallpaper my house with pages from this book. Also, I wish I could give it an extra star just for making me pause to remember the existence of DIAL MTV.

[Charles]

I guess what's most interesting about Hair Metal is that it happened and was quite popular. At no time before or since would this style of music and the culture around it be able to generate mainstream non-ironic following, yet somehow, it did happen. I suppose the best comparison would be to Juggalo culture today. From the outside, it can only be regarded as silly and bad, but from the inside it seems so, so fucking cool.

One of the most surprising things I discovered in this book, was that hair metal bands were essentially the boy bands of their day. Magazines like Hit Parader and Circus actually came to fruition by printing up glossy, Teen Beat style articles, with plenty of pictures of the boys in the bands, for people to ogle. In my generation, metal music was marketed as an alternative to boy band culture, and while bands like Slipknot were over-the-top in their rock motif, the goal as never about sex appeal, like it was in hair.

I never read Steven Blush's other book American Hardcore: A Tribal History, but I've been told that the author is homophobic. I recalled being told this when reading American Hair Metal, because the book frequently takes pains to insist that the makeup and revealing clothing were machismo and heterosexual to the core. I don't know if Blush is a homophobe. The person who told me that could be dead wrong. Regardless, I did think the superfluous discussion of how hair metal was not a gay phenomena was unnecessary.

[Terence · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I didn't want to read this, I thought it wa sgoing to be horrible. And it is. But Steven Blush really gets into some interesting parts about the industry and has these great pages of word collages sometimes from the same musician about their drug use and non use in the same year. It's actually very good. It is neither a reaffirming nostalgia trip nor an analytic critique, but it uses the times to be perfectly on point. They do speak for themselves. Horribly. But it is entertaining.

[Heidi Sinderman]

being a teenager of the 80's who was into alot of this music, i LOVED this book! it made me laugh so hard that i cried.



also found some of the quotes from different musicians quite interesting, some disturbing, some insightful, some just strange, such as the one by lead singer of Skid Row, Sebastian Bach, where he talks about how much he likes vomiting and that it is like having an orgasm for him. :)

[J.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

hilarious... boy that takes me back. some of the best, strangest, bad a** glam rockers in return in full color. Anyone else think its ironic that a guy named Blush would write a book about guys who used to wear blush?

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

ha ha ha what not to wear. I like to have this close when I watch The Decline of Western Civilization the Metals Years.
I hate the new Wave 80's but love the metal 80's.

Everyone is dead serious and the lack of humor is what makes this book rock!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

While not a novel.....this has some of the best photography of the 80's metal scene ever. Such a thrill.

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of pictures and quotes, even from the more obscure hair bands, you know, like the ones whose band name was a girl's name.... I loved it... really took me back.

[Ed Schmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ride down memory lane of the last great era of American rock n' roll.

[Marissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this because I still have an affinity for these days, but what a disappointment this book was. So glad I was able to find it at the library and didn't pay for a used copy before actually reading it. They said a lot of brain-dead stuff back in those days, but surely you could throw in something positive (and more pics of bands that aren't Motley Crue, Poison or Warrant) every so often? Meh.

[Matti]

More like a picture book than reading material, but that's how you'd want your Hair Metal, very visual, right?! Love it!

[Kori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars just for the photos. The text is lacking. No current info, and how many "Get drunk and get laid and rock!" quotes does one book really need?

[Ami Nosh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Preface: I LOVE metal, all genres of metal. In addition, I grew up in the '80s, and seeing the flashy, over-the-top cover of this coffee table book, I knew I needed a copy for my library.

This book is, literally, explicitly and unapologetically, about sex, drugs, and rock and roll. If any of the above make you uneasy, don't proceed. This book feels like reading a more adult version of a 1988 copy of Hit Parader, and through quotes and quips, interjects insight into the scene and culture that was able to produce and promote the hair metal genre.

There are a few editorial errors which could have been corrected, which made the book seem rushed to publication. The larger issue, for which I had to subtract stars, is the seemingly ubiquitous implication that his is a genre of white heterosexuality, with some offensive and outdated language. Nowhere was this more painfully glaring than the assertion on page 74 that "African-American input was non-existent", followed by a large-print quote on page 93 by Slash who is, ethnically, African American. Moments such as this made me cringe and grit my teeth as I pushed through the content.

It's a fun read, with incredible photos and nostalgia. If it were a bit better edited, and felt, to this reader, slightly less culturocentric, I would have enjoyed it more. I'll keep it on my shelf, if for no other reason that memories of being a rebellious teen sliding my headphones on at 2 AM to listen to RATT on FM radio. That said, I would be weary to recommend this to others for perusal.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely ROCKING book! It provides insight to the music and partying of the 80's Hair Metal scene, which is really cool. There are a lot of pictures and quotes from many prominent figures that lets the reader envision the rockstar lifestyle and perceptions bands had of each other. If you are a hair metalhead like me this is a read you will really enjoy!

[Robert Giesenhagen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as essential as American Hardcore and certainly not as in depth. Blush went the route of using pre existing quotes and interviews with this one and attacked it more from an outsiders appreciation for something from afar. It’s not bad and certainly it’s fun but it honestly could never be as engrossing as the movement itself was rather shallow.

[Jill Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pull out your AquaNet because this is basically Tiger Beat magazine for hair metal, in book form. It was a blast-from-the-past glimpse behind the scenes of the ultra-hedonistic world of hair bands.

I have to admit - this is not my music of choice, then or now. My husband is the metal fan - both hair and heavy - and I requested the review copy largely for his enjoyment. He thought it was a fun flip-through book, especially as it's heavy on the photographs and hits not only the top bands that everyone (even me!) is/was familiar with, but also some of the more obscure ones.

It's definitely a reminder of how excessive and over-the-top this particular genre of music could be. I cringed a lot when reading the quotes, riddled as they are with references to sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll in a not terribly positive or empowering way, but from what I recall seeing in magazines Back in the Day, the book certainly seems to capture the essence of the era!

It isn't a memoir or biography or genre-ography - rather it is, as I pointed out at the start, basically a long-form magazine. There isn't a lot of depth, but there is a lot to see - and it's in no-holds-barred full color!

Thanks to the Independent Book Publisher's Association (IBPA) for my obligation-free review copy.

[Mika Auramo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yhdysvaltalaisen musiikkitoimittajan Steven Blushin koostama amerikkalaisten tukkahevibändien esittelyyn perustuva kuvajournalismi ei säväyttänyt ollenkaan, vaikka fotot näyttäviä ovatkin.

Kirja jakautuu kahteen osaan, ja ensimmäisessä niistä on sekalainen kooste fanikirjeitä ja kuvia keikoilta, joilla niin Mötley Crüe, Kiss ja monet muut jaksoivat heilua. Kuvaloistossa on tietysti lateksia, sukkahousuja ja tuperaattuja lettejä.

Tietynlainen historiattomuus jäi vaivaamaan, sillä olisihan hyvä ollut ottaa mukaan myös niin sanotun Glam-rockin staroja. Tosin Kiss edustanee sitä kategoriaa, kunnes siirtyi enemmän aikuisdiskorockin puolelle.

Bändiesittelyt jäävät perin torsoiksi, eikä monestikaan ole napattu kuin solistista kuva. Kirjasta saa kuitenkin osviittaa, millaisista klassikoista juttua riittää, esim. Whitesnake, Vixen, Skid Row, Ratt, Poison, Dokken, Gunnarit, Cinderella ja tietysti Bon Jovi. Jostain syystä Hanoi Rocksia ei ole kelpuutettu, mutta kylläkin suomalainen Michel Monroe alias Matti Fagerholm, joka on väittänyt, ettei koskaan käyttänyt elastisia spandex-rytkyjä.

[Elaine Meszaros · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is worth it just for the cover. Blush gives you an up close and personal look at the biggest, hairiest and most famous metal bands. Each page brings a band with still bigger hair, more makeup, hazier lenses and thickly studded leather outfits - all brand spanking new. Coupled with horrendous fan letters and quotes from the bands, the book is hysterical and wind-blowingly awful.

"I see our group reaching the top and staying there for a long time..." - Michael Sweet - Stryper (1986)

[Alicia Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a very entertaining photo collection that summarizes that hair metal movement. Major themes and trends are explored, but there isn't a lot of hard facts to be given and there isn't much besides the photos and quotes. These elements were welcome and it was a fun, quick read, but this book is more of an introductory piece as opposed to something for serious research.

[hopie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned that we all have the right to rock. It is a good time for everybody.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

from the same author of american hardcore, this book is full of amazing photos from the era,quotes, and scans of memorabilia ... a must have for any fan of rock in the 80s

[Kitt-e-kat]

I have not read this book nor own it - i want to swap for it

[Deanna Puente-Verdugo · Rating 5 out of 5]

i like it it good book.

[Marnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is awesome, great pictures & stories.