Yearly Archives: 2012

“Death to All But Metal” – Steel Panther / “Rattler Way of Life” – Rattler

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Metal parody may not be the most original of comedy genres, considering that Spinal Tap and GWAR cornered the market on it 20 years ago and director Penelope Spheeris demonstrated metal was kind of beyond parody with her classic documentary “The Decline of Western Civilization Part II.”  However, here’s a couple of bands that are keeping the genre alive quite well.

The first clip from Steel Panther has been kicking around for a few years, which of course as a 40-something suburban Dad, has completely escaped my radar.  However, this is really funny stuff, though quite profane, so not safe for work.

The second is from a DC area band called Rattler and is the best metal ballad parody I’ve ever heard.  Like Steel Panther, this is hilarious, but not safe for work due to language and substance abuse.

“Louis C.K. IS Lincoln” – SNL (2012)

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http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/directors-cut-lincoln/1422712/

I don’t know, but SNL keeps hitting it out of the park this season.  If you’re a fan of Louis C.K. or his show “Louie” at all, this is one of the most inspired mash-ups I’ve ever seen.  Beyond totally f–king funny!  I will let this clip speak for itself.

“Nasty Gal” – Betty Davis

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Betty Davis (Miles Davis’s ex-wife) was a true funk pioneer.   She released some terrific but unheralded albums during the early-to-mid 1970s.  Seattle’s terrific Light in the Attic record label (who also recently re-released Sixto Rodriguez’s classic early albums) re-released a lot of her stuff a few years back.  Much of it is still available, but Davis’s “Nasty Gal” album no longer appears to be in print.  In any case, this is well-worth tracking down.

“Do It” – Pink Fairies

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIKm8FNUzdY
The name of the band, album cover, and first 1:06 of this song (while folky and pretty) gives the impression that this is going to be the worst cosmic trippy hippy dippy nonsense since Donovan at his most “mystical.” But appearances are deceiving. Arguably, the Pink Fairies were England’s version of the MC5: loud, fast, aggressive, in-your-face, and five years too early for punk. “Do It” is their signature “get off your ass and start a revolution” song, though you have to make it past the intro first. I’m surprised Nike hasn’t co-opted this song yet, but am also glad they haven’t. The Rollins Band did a great cover of this around 1987 or so.

“Nothin’ But a Good Time” – Poison

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This is a great, great song from one of the best singles bands of the 1980s-1990s. Yes, it’s difficult to say these things given the multiple painful seasons of “Rock of Love” on VH1. Yes, it took me many years to reach this conclusion after a good three decades of trying to be terminally hip. Yes, there are parts of this video that make “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” look like a Sam Peckinpah film by comparison. Yes, Motley Crue may be the hip retro-hair metal choice thanks to their infamous VH1 “Behind the Music” special and “The Dirt” autobio from 2001. But aside from “Home Sweet Home,” Poison had much better songs than Crue and much better songs than a lot of bands on the charts back in the era. It’s time to give them their due. And yes, it’s time to finally admit that as much as I tried to resist them back in the day, they hooked me with the terrific Sex Pistols/Steve Jones-influenced guitar on “Talk Dirty to Me” from the very beginning.