Saturday Night Videos – Hair Metal!

A few days ago I dropped a comment in Bill’s last Stratosphere Lounge regarding wearing face masks. I quoted my favorite song lyric of all time, “Some of my friends are dead; some of them just stopped living”. Here is a link to the song that I would argue is from one of the two greatest glam metal albums ever made by a band not named Kiss:

Electric Angels was a one album wonder from the 80s, and has sadly been memory holed. They have a strong pedigree (members of The New York Dolls, slightly before my time) and have some great lyrics. The fact that The Drinking Song is not a staple in the various “Perfect Hair Hour” type of radio shows is why I shed no tears for any dying FM stations

And what would that other great hair metal album be? I am, of course, referring to Winger’s self titled debut. Hear me out on this one, Metal Heads. Yes, I know how much flak they’ve gotten over the years. But give the album a good listen – it’s the perfect soundtrack to have blasting out of your car stereo when it’s sunny, 90 degrees out, and you’re cruising to the Jersey Shore with a road soda in hand. And before you hate on Hair Metal, it has its place. When you’re in your car in the above scenario, what’s your road soda? You don’t drink a stout or IPA on a bright & sunny summer booze cruise. If you’re not drinking a light beer, it’s a Corona-esque brew. Same with your music – Angel of Death and Call of Ctulu are great songs, but not in this situation. Party Metal is what you need, and Winger is the album for this ride.

I’m rolling with a song of theirs that didn’t get a lot of airplay back in the day, the album’s lead track

And to further my argument, I’ve seen Kip & the gang twice and both times they were amazing. I saw them back in ’91 at The Stone Balloon in Newark, DE, and again last year at The MGM Grand in MD. For some inexplicable reason at the second show, Warrant was the headliner, with Firehouse opening. Needless to say, Winger was the best act of the night, and this wound up being what would be my last concert before the Kung Flu ended civilization. So if this is the end of our culture as we know it, the last song I’ll have heard performed live will be “Cherry Pie”. How embarassing, and no it doesn’t get a link. But out of fairness to Warrant (who gave us an extremely average show that night), I give you their best song:

Got a better glam metal album (by a band not named Kiss) other than Electric Angels or Winger? What was the last song you got to hear live? I want to hear from you, fellow Stratoloungers!