I should mention Kiss also performed "World Without Heroes" on the Paul Lynde Halloween Special, now available on DVD.
Stop judging me.
1Py_Korry1
· 1 year ago
Wow! I actually remember that show...
WHarrisBullzEye
· 1 year ago
I was fortunate enough to score a review copy and write it up for Premium Hollywood. I can't rehash it here, though. It's too traumatic. You'll just have to head over there yourself.
It must have been another show with a Halloween theme, then. Or maybe it was Fridays. I'm old and I get confused easily.
JohnHughes
· 1 year ago
A quick review shows me that it was "King of the Nighttime World" they did on that special - I was confusing that for "...Heroes," which wouldn't be released until years later.
D'oh.
1Py_Korry1
· 1 year ago
Dead link on “A New Decade / Can You Still Love Me?”
WHarrisBullzEye
· 1 year ago
Duly repaired.
rwcass
· 1 year ago
Starchild with a headband! I love it.
Didn't Vanilla Ice's makeover as a stoner happen about the same time as Hammer's gangsta makeover? They fell so quickly, but they were both caught in that cultural gap between the '80s and the '90s. You gaveth and you tooketh away so mercilessly, 1990!
DwDunphy
· 1 year ago
Probably so. Ice also took a turn as a nu-metaller, a move that almost made Fred Durst look legitimate. Almost.
DwDunphy
· 1 year ago
Furthermore, with that headband, Paul Stanley kinda looks like John Travolta from that aerobics movie. Almost.
David_E
· 1 year ago
I watched :30 seconds of that Chris Gaines video before I realized it wasn't Ryan Adams. I had never heard that Scorpions track before, and I feel actually, truly violated. I give Def Leppard more of a pass than you with "Slang," as the guitars still sound (mostly) like the Lep's eternally sustained fenders; at least they didn't throw that baby out with the grungy bathwater. Frankly, they sounded like Collective Soul to me. Who knew. And Keel? Fuuuuuuuuuck. No one listened to them the first time around.
Well, according to the Wiki on "The Elder," it didn't earn a U.S. certification. You may have loved it, but clearly the majority of the record buying public didn't -- and neither did Ace Frehley. He quit the group after that album.
GrayFlannelSuit
· 1 year ago
Never claimed it was a commercial success.
1Py_Korry1
· 1 year ago
Nor was I saying so.
Bastard No. 1
· 1 year ago
I had never heard the travesty from the style council. Wow. Thanks for that one. I really think Chris Gaines is the best example of this one. And I give it to him because the other artists were in decline or gone when they tried the reinvention to bring back their career. Garth Brooks could have farted into a microphone for 45 minutes and it would have sold 4 million copies. I was looking at the billboard country charts the other day and in 1997 when he released his album Sevens - every single track was on the chart at the same time. Country music loved him so much that they played every track from the record enough to chart them all. Four of them for 20+ weeks. That's amazing. And yet this completely came out of left field and destroyed his career.
In addition, I'm 31 and not ashamed to admit that I like some stuff I shouldn't. I liked NSync, I think Up by Right Said Fred is one of the 100 best albums ever made and I'm not embarrased to say it. It takes a lot to make me wonder what drug I'm on. But, I'll say it here for the first time to anyone because I am way too embarrased about it otherwise - I own and enjoy the Scorpions record. Granted, I close my eyes and try to forget it's them - but I still can enjoy that album. God, I don't even want to post this one now....
WHarrisBullzEye
· 1 year ago
Alright, Bastard, I'll do my part to help your credibility (or, at the very least, succeed in killing my own) by noting that Right Said Fred released a surprisingly strong album in 2006. David will have my back on at least one song, I think: "Hollywood Ending" was a great ballad that you'd never in a million years have identified as a RSF song. Mind you, they still strut around with the vest-and-no-shirt look...
Beau
· 1 year ago
Something must be wrong with me -- I kind of liked the Leppard song.
Elaine
· 1 year ago
I'm not trying to be a Garth Brooks apologist, but didn't the whole Chris Gaines thing happen as a result of a movie that never got made? Not that that's any excuse.
Personally, I would put Bon Jovi in this category, along with Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow, etc. for jumping on the country bandwagon. I'm biased, though. Whether their songs and albums were actually successful matters not. The idea and cynicism behind their "country artistry" just bothers the hell out of me. We all know they're looking at the country genre as a cash cow and nothing more. The sad part is, John Rich has been instrumental in this "crossover" all along. His Muzik Mafia project brought these people over in the first place.
Glad to see Jewel called out. And figures she's making a country album. Though, I do admit she really wasn't bad as the emcee for the last "Nashville Star." If she'd do that sort of thing, and stop singing, she'd give me half a chance to stop finding her so irritating.
Even if John Rich wasn't involved, I doubt I'd watch the "Gone Country" show. I've already had enough Maureen McCormick and Carnie Wilson to last the rest of my life.
I always felt bad for MC. And Miss Gibson, if you're listening: a little free advice. Stop telling us you're no longer a teenager, no longer sing pop records, and cherish that time in your life because 'you're only allowed to be that cheesy once.' Just be who you are. Like the rest of us. We were younger, now we're older, and we're all okay with that. Get on with whatever you do and stop apologizing and explaining. 'kay?
Leon
· 1 year ago
Hahaha oh man, Chris Gaines. Wow. Awesome post.
How about the New Monkees?
Destiny Clontz
· 1 year ago
Re: Style Council They were already flirting with house in 88 with "Life at a top peoples health farm" and with their Joe Smooth mix of "Promised Land". I think its actually a quite good italo-esque house track...until the voice comes in.
Assclown
· 1 year ago
Sorry, but Slang is a good album, and I'm not much of a Def Leppard fan.
Old_Davy
· 1 year ago
I agree with Assc...uh...Mr. Clown. I thought "Slang" was the best Def Leppard album since their debut. Too bad it didn't go over.
Old_Davy
· 1 year ago
I remember when that Ethel Merman album came out. I was never a disco fan, but even I recognized that Ms. Merman was the first horseman of the Disco Apocolypse.
I also remember the Alice Cooper album and thinking "Clones" was a pretty good song. If you take the whole Flush The Fashion thing with a grain of ironic salt, it's actually pretty decent.
I really despise Jewel, so I'm not going to mention anything about her.
Ray
· 1 year ago
If you're a real glutton for punishment, be sure to get your hands on the PINK LADY AND JEFF DVD set. While this has to be one of the absolute worst TV series of all time, it features among other things Alice Cooper performing "Clones", and another episode has Blondie performing "Eat To The Beat" and "Shayla".
Beau
· 1 year ago
The 50 Worst Rock and Roll Records book includes a mention of Aretha's disco effort. Haven't heard it, but it looks frightening.
Should we add a special mention for Michael Bolton 's evolution from hair-metal screamer to megaplatinum producer of crap?
Ray
· 1 year ago
I actually remember Bolton being played on The Loop and WMET back in the days of early 80s Album-Oriented-Rock. His single "Fool's Game" actually got quite a bit of airplay back then and it even scraped into the lower reaches of the Hot 100.
DavidMedsker
· 1 year ago
I still think we should have kept the new wave Village People record on the list.
Pup Don
· 1 year ago
Is it just me or does Alice Cooper sound like he's trying to copy Harry Nison?
Anthony Hansen
· 1 year ago
Along the same lines as Jewel, I'd throw in Liz Phair's shameless embrace of corporate whoredom (with Avril Lavigne's production team, no less). That was just depressing.
Also, I really like Flush The Fashion. As someone who likes early new wave an awful lot, I'd say it's as valid an entry in the field as anything that came out in 1980.
Francis
· 1 year ago
That's a pretty weak Style Council album, all right, but it did have one excellent track (That Spiritual Feeling), salvaged as a b-side for Paul Weller's first solo album. Actually, "Sure Is Sure" isn't half bad either.
WHarrisBullzEye
· 1 year ago
I actually almost added an MP3 of "Sure Is Sure," but I changed my mind at the last second. But I agree, it's definitely a highlight among the many lowlights.
Pete
· 1 year ago
Great post! I especially like the shoutout of Jewel, as I've never liked her and was glad to see that crappy song sink her career. (Anyone remember her poetry album??)
I'd never heard anything from most of these others even as I knew about them (like 'The Elder'), so it was nice to get a taste of why they tanked. The Gaines clip is hilarious.
Pete
· 1 year ago
Oh...and when I was playing the Scorpions track my cube neighbor asked, "is that George Michael?"
Tina
· 1 year ago
"schadenfreude." Oh no you didn't. Showoff.
Ray
· 1 year ago
I actually have a copy of Debbie Gibson's BODY, MIND, SOUL and admit to "Shock Your Mama" being one of my guilty pleasures... so go ahead and give me 40 lashes with a wet noodle!
JD
· 1 year ago
Great Blog and Reviews. Topical and Real... If only Jewel and her Jewels were as handsome as they were in the past... Her songs, that is...
All Comments
Stop judging me.
http://www.premiumhollywood.com/2007/10/19/scar...
D'oh.
Didn't Vanilla Ice's makeover as a stoner happen about the same time as Hammer's gangsta makeover? They fell so quickly, but they were both caught in that cultural gap between the '80s and the '90s. You gaveth and you tooketh away so mercilessly, 1990!
Almost.
In addition, I'm 31 and not ashamed to admit that I like some stuff I shouldn't. I liked NSync, I think Up by Right Said Fred is one of the 100 best albums ever made and I'm not embarrased to say it. It takes a lot to make me wonder what drug I'm on. But, I'll say it here for the first time to anyone because I am way too embarrased about it otherwise - I own and enjoy the Scorpions record. Granted, I close my eyes and try to forget it's them - but I still can enjoy that album. God, I don't even want to post this one now....
Personally, I would put Bon Jovi in this category, along with Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow, etc. for jumping on the country bandwagon. I'm biased, though. Whether their songs and albums were actually successful matters not. The idea and cynicism behind their "country artistry" just bothers the hell out of me. We all know they're looking at the country genre as a cash cow and nothing more. The sad part is, John Rich has been instrumental in this "crossover" all along. His Muzik Mafia project brought these people over in the first place.
Glad to see Jewel called out. And figures she's making a country album. Though, I do admit she really wasn't bad as the emcee for the last "Nashville Star." If she'd do that sort of thing, and stop singing, she'd give me half a chance to stop finding her so irritating.
Even if John Rich wasn't involved, I doubt I'd watch the "Gone Country" show. I've already had enough Maureen McCormick and Carnie Wilson to last the rest of my life.
I always felt bad for MC. And Miss Gibson, if you're listening: a little free advice. Stop telling us you're no longer a teenager, no longer sing pop records, and cherish that time in your life because 'you're only allowed to be that cheesy once.' Just be who you are. Like the rest of us. We were younger, now we're older, and we're all okay with that. Get on with whatever you do and stop apologizing and explaining. 'kay?
How about the New Monkees?
They were already flirting with house in 88 with "Life at a top peoples health farm" and with their Joe Smooth mix of "Promised Land". I think its actually a quite good italo-esque house track...until the voice comes in.
I also remember the Alice Cooper album and thinking "Clones" was a pretty good song. If you take the whole Flush The Fashion thing with a grain of ironic salt, it's actually pretty decent.
I really despise Jewel, so I'm not going to mention anything about her.
Should we add a special mention for Michael Bolton 's evolution from hair-metal screamer to megaplatinum producer of crap?
Also, I really like Flush The Fashion. As someone who likes early new wave an awful lot, I'd say it's as valid an entry in the field as anything that came out in 1980.
I'd never heard anything from most of these others even as I knew about them (like 'The Elder'), so it was nice to get a taste of why they tanked. The Gaines clip is hilarious.
Oh no you didn't.
Showoff.
If only Jewel and her Jewels were as handsome as they were in the
past... Her songs, that is...