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I have been viewing this series for the past few weeks and have noticed that many of these guys such as Bruce Dickinson(Iron Maiden) are wearing these short crops now.
even the Phil Cohen(Def Leppard) has much shorter hair than Johnny Rotten did in 1976!
even some hosts of Metal shows have short cropped styles now!
I recall back in the `80s when all Metal and Rock guys had long hair!
what do you think transpired to make it acceptable for Metal and Rock guys, both musicians and fans to get short cropped styles.
the kids today are being entertained by many short haired bands and weren't around when the average musician had long hair.
I truly miss the old days and hope there is definite resurrection of LONG HAIR music into the mainstream again!!
What happened? Commercialism took over, and creating a product that could be sold to the greatest number of people (or rather, "sheeple") became more important than creating art that could be appreciated by true metal heads. Image is a hugely important aspect of marketing; as the corporate fat cats were marketing their product to short-haired, suburban preppies, the musicians likewise lost their once-trademark long locks.
There are still some great old acts out there, and there are plenty of excellent new bands, as well, but don't expect to find too many of them on VH1.
--Val
Validius,
spot on, mate. Great insight! What are a few of your fave. modern bands? Just wondering my friend b/c I agree w/you that there are definitely good ones out there... cheers man, Nick
Val, you nailed it. Music has beome ap roduct. Always was, true. however, it has been marketed and packaged to as broad an audience as possible. From concept to airplay. Still as you say, there are mant bands out there thjat are truly independent. you just have to find them.
Val pretty much nailed it, but hope is not lost. There are many,
and I mean MANY good musicians out there that still sport long hair
and create quality music. Amon Amarth, Blackguard, Blind Guardian,
Crashdiet, Dragonland, Edguy, Eluveitie, Ensiferum, Insomnium,
Korpiklaani, Pyramaze, Savage Circus, and the Sheepdogs just to
name a few...
Heidevolk, Elvenking, Týr, Turisas, Falconer...
Europe sure does have some great bands, with some great manes!
Ensiferum, Wintersun, Dark Tranquility, Norther, In Flames, Crashdiet, Leverage, Amorphis, Enslaved.....
Back in the 80s was my most fondest memories of the metal scene as MTV was actually a music channel that had their own metal show Headbangers Ball.Of course over the years since that shows inception the quality declined and I assume it hasn't existed in years.I say that because I never watch MTV at all because nothing about it interests me.Before Headbangers Ball I used to watch the metal vids on a channel known as U68 which eventually ended.A cool fact about U68 is that I recorded several hours of it on VHS tape but haven't viewed it in years.Hope the tape is still good.lol.Going to the clubs back then was awesome with all the longhaired guys in the room both the bands and the audience.To name one band I totally lost interest in is Metallica.I don't even want to go into that:( Have a nice day all.
Mark
Bruce actually had to cut his air to become an airplane pilot, but the rest of the lot don't really have an excuse.
Commercialism as suggested by Validus could be one reason.
However, I've noticed that long haired rock musicians of the 70s such a members of Free, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Uriah Heep and others cut their hair after they left to go solo or to join other groups.
For example, Paul Rodgers of Free, Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd and Peter Gabriel of Genesis cut their hair in the late 1970s or early 80s.
It could also be a matter of age, as these guys are now in their 60s.