What defines good music is so personal and subjective. So much is based upon what we listened to as
youngsters. I grew up in the 80’s. I started high school in 1980 and graduated
college in 1989. I think the greatest
music was produced in that decade. In
those ten years, my tastes evolved from Country Western, to pop music, and
finally, to good old Rock and Roll. I
ended up loving what we called at the time Heavy Metal. Now it is termed derogatorily as the Hair
Bands.
While I am not a fan of musicals, I have been anticipating
the film Rock of Ages for several
months now. Even the trailers gave me
goose bumps. Despite the poor box office
showing in its opening week, I was excited to go today. I was rewarded with a clever, whimsical
celebration of the music and culture of the 1980’s.
I am of the opinion that music in general has been in a
creative coma since about 1994. That
isn’t to say there hasn’t been some exceptional, original acts in the past two
decades. There certainly has been some
terrific music made in the past several years – just not very much. The stodgy editors at Rolling Stone magazine seem to think very little great music has
been produced since about 1977, according to their recent, ridiculous list of
the top 500 albums of all time.
People seem embarrassed by their love of 80’s music. They seem to not want to admit they ever
listened to the radio or bought a record.
I just don’t get this attitude.
Some of the biggest selling records all time were made in that era. For years, MTV (when they still actually
showed videos all day) had a daily program where they counted down top 10 most
requested videos of the day. For years,
that list was consistently filled with Heavy Metal bands, or if you prefer,
Hair Bands. In the last six years of so
of that decade, rock and roll ruled.
Then, of course, the quality did a nose dive and it became more about
the image than the music, and the writing was on the wall.
Rock and roll answered back to all of the glam, color, and
hair of the 1980’s with the grungy look and sound of Alternative Rock in the
early 90’s. After four or five years of
incredible, creative, destructive music and behavior, rock and roll just kind
of faded away and has been on life support ever since. It’s like rock and roll still hasn’t
recovered from the death of Kurt Cobain.
Sure, there have been many, many rock stars who have died young and
tragically over the past sixty years but Cobain’s death seems to have been the
final straw.
I also think the musicianship and song writing of the 80’s
is vastly underrated. There were no
“singer, song writer” types like in the two previous music generations. There were not great causes or cultural changes
to rally around. It was about looks and
excess but sometimes the quality is overlooked.
There is no decade that has produced more terrific sing along songs;
songs that make everyone who hears them feel good - the type of music you want
to turn up when it comes on the radio.
Even though there were some talentless hacks that were in famous bands
and acts in the 80’s, there were also plenty of incredible musicians.
Enough of my pontificating.
Let’s get to the actual film. I
had a blast. I was the weird guy tapping
his toes and singing along with every single song. That was the music I loved. I knew the words to every tune. The two lead characters, played adequately by
Julianne Hough and Diego Boneta, were likeable and believable. I must say though, that Catherine Zeta-Jones
stole every scene she was in, portraying a Tipper Gore-type harridan. The always stellar Paul Giamatti was appropriately
sleazy as the self serving talent agent.
Additionally, Tom Cruise was surprisingly believable as the
over-the-top, self centered, quirky rock and roll god. Cruise acquitted himself quite well
vocally. Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand
provided the humor, and in the process, forever changed how I will remember REO
Speedwagon’s classic “Can’t Fight This Feeling”( I think I even spotted Kevin
Cronin in a crowd scene). The ever sexy
Malin Ackerman, the brilliant Bryan Cranston, and the vocally versatile Mary J.
Blige fill out a deep and talented cast.
The story was a parody on a popular 80’s theme and the music
was absolutely stellar. I am astounded
the reaction to this film hasn’t been more positive. It is a titillating smorgasbord for the music
lover of any generation. As a parody, it
cannot be taken too seriously. As
someone who grew up in the 80’s and read Circus
magazine (much less stuffy than Rolling
Stone) religiously, the story was based on a real theme of the decade but
it really is just about the music and the rock culture. Do yourself a favor. Go see this film. Show Hollywood
that we get it and we get tired of the same old crap week in and week out. Treat yourself!
I also want to take this opportunity to thank those who
follow my blogs, read my opinions, and give their support. I have not been writing quite as much over
the past month but I still have over 4000 hits since I first started posting
sixteen months ago. I will try to do a
better job getting more posts up. Please
be patient with me and keep reading.
Thanks for all your support.
