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11 September 2007

Jonmc defends the indefensible. Part III. [More:]Any SMF's in the room?

Yep, I'm talking about Long Island's gift to metal (and the makeup industry), Twisted Fucking Sister. Long before their all-too-brief moment in the commercial sun, in the Northeast, they were local heroes, playing small clubs and for those of us too young to get in*, getting played on local radio, and showing up in the 'import' bins at local record shops (which is where I found my copy of their second album at age 13). This was my inroduction to the 'underground' and to cult fandom.

Sadly the Sister were lumped in with the 'hairbands' like Motley Crue, Poison et al, since they achieved mass success around the same time (and to the untrained ear, all non-punk hard rock sounds alike I guess), but they actually had very little in common with them. First of all, the hairbands were from LA, Twisted was from New York and the difference shows in the sound, the next crucial difference. Ther hairbands roots were in Aerosmith and Queen, whereas the Sister were inspired by Alice Cooper & Motorhead* (and punk, there's an audible Dolls/MC5 influence especially on the first 2 albums, coutesy of former Dolls follower guitarist Jay Jay French). Also, the LA bands all had a pretty-boy like Vince Neil or Bret Micheals, whereas Dee Snider was unapologetically ugly. Plus, instead of hedonistic fantasy, the Sister seemed to be trying to actualy speak to the kids in their audience, both in their songs and videos and through their actions. Plus, they also included something many other metal bands lacked: humor, a willful stoopidness that embraced fun and goofery (that may have been inspired by both Snider's Alice Cooper and Ramones fanatacism and bassist Mark Mendoza's tenure in the Dictators.)

And when all the smoke cleared they left us some great songs and hilarious videos:

Under The Blade. This is the song that got Tipper Gore's panties in a twist. It also got them a tour spot with Motorhead. Lemmy is still a fan and friend of the outfit. and this song still rocks ferociously.

You Can't Stop Rock and Roll. Thhis is from the second album and (IMO) still the best piece of work they ever did. Musically harder than anything else in the catalog, it also shows their gleeful vulgarity at it's best.

The Kids Are Back. From the same album, showing them at their rocking best.

We're Not Gonna Take It. This is what put them ever-so-breifly in the national spotlight. It also shows the two keys to their appeal. First,it shows that they give a shit about their audience. As Dee said in an interview, maybe some kid getting chewed out by a parent might look at this and feel better about themselves. and it shows their humor.

I Wanna Rock. More of the same from the same album. A true anthem that expresses the age-old desire to simply crank up some noise and go crazy.

Two-Part Interview. A bonus.

* I did get to see them live in 1985 opening for Iron Maiden when I was 14. Dee is one hell of a frontman.
I hear you, man.
Long live the Sister.
posted by signal 11 September | 20:21
For what it's worth, I never felt strongly one way or another about these guys. Maybe it's another east coast thing.
posted by bmarkey 11 September | 20:45
Frack. I was enjoying the senate hearing clip, until my laptop froze. I'll have to drag myself to the desktop.

I'm pretty sure Dee Snider has been married FOREVER to the same woman and has a pack of kids. He's a total "normal" family guy. That's pretty cool.
posted by LoriFLA 11 September | 21:18
I remember all the hearings of the PMRC. Now I knew before that Zappa one of the smart guys, and I remember being really impressed that Dee Snider was equally as well-spoken. I remember listening to TS aaages ago, and I thought that they were ok (always liked S.M.F., myself) and I was glad to hear Snider hold his own in the face of such stupidity that was Tipper Gore and the PMRC. Jello Biafra did a good job too, with little ranting. heh.
posted by Zack_Replica 11 September | 21:40
Jello & Dee must've made for strange bedfellows, as they say.
posted by jonmc 11 September | 22:00
A lot of genres were targeted by censors: punk, hip-hop, metal, and it's great that Dee provided an articulte spokesman for the metal audience, a group that's too often been assumed to be inarticulate. It also ironic that Twisted were singled out, since by metal standards, they were Boy Scouts in their offstage behavior.

Also, Dee's not the only character in the band. Jay Jay French (the one with the shades) was one of the kids who used to follw the New York Dolls' early gigs. He developed a drug habit, got clean and needed something to occupy his time, so he formed Twisted Sister, making him one of the few people who became a rock star to stay sober. Mark 'The Animal' Mendoza played with the Dictators for a few albums as well.
posted by jonmc 11 September | 22:20
Dee I only singled out because of his (direct) involvement with the PMRC shitstorm, though I didn't know about Jay Jay's following of the Dolls. In retrospect, it makes perfect sense. IIRC, Rob Halford was very soft-spoken but intelligent too. Comes as no surprise, as all the punk bands we listened to were all shouty, and had intelligent things to say - maybe the rattleheads didn't all the time, but get 'em in a conversation and they're as smart as the next person. I linked to Poison Idea in bmarkey's thread - they're as shouty as they come, but their lyrics are smart. Book, cover, judging; why bother?
Looking forward to installment #4, as I'm sure there'll be one. :)
posted by Zack_Replica 11 September | 22:59
Speaking of such, I just watched the New York Dolls "All Dolled Up" video. It's worth hunting down. Lots of live songs, all but two in their entirety. The sound is phenomenally good considering it was shot on one of the first mobile (as opposed to portable) video with a 12 pound camera and an open reel video recorder.
posted by mischief 12 September | 00:15
At the age of 13, when I caught their video for "We're Not Gonna Take It" on Friday Night Videos while drinking root beer and eating cheese puffs, I was blown away and confused and enthralled and disgusted. Then when all the Tipper Gore shit went down, I was incredibly impressed and remember thinking, "If he wasn't so freaking ugly, I would totally have a crush on him." Thanks for saying it as you see, jonmc.
posted by Cinnamon 12 September | 00:42
I'm sure he's a great guy, jonmc, but I can't stand his band or any of their tunes.

Don't get me wrong, I was big metalhead right around the same time you were, but I couldn't stand the sister even then.

"How can it be wrong to state a preference?"

Barry: Holy shite. What the fuck is that?
Dick: It's the new Belle and Sebastian...
Rob: It's a record we've been listening to and enjoying, Barry.
Barry: Well, that's unfortunate, because it sucks ass.
posted by chuckdarwin 12 September | 05:12
In other good news, call Tipper and tell her to lock up her adult children, because the Mabuhay Gardens is BACK! What's worse, one of the utterly indefensible bands of all time - The Mentors - are scheduled to play.
posted by Triode 12 September | 12:23
What are you bad at throwing away? || Gallery of the Absurd -

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