Introduction, Rock Heroes, and That Metal Show

Hello readers! It's me, FunOnABun! I have been invited to do some guest posts on Alex's blog, so this is what I intend to do when I have the time and the motivation. The good thing about being a guest poster is the fact that I do not have to worry about things like "it's been a while since I've posted, I better get on that!" or "oh no! My blog is losing viewers!" Though I would enjoy seeing this site as the first stop for metal musings and info, I'm also perfectly fine with remaining mostly obscure.

With that out of the way, I would like to move into showering some unsung heroes of rock/metal with the praise they rightfully deserve. These heroes are not remembered (by me, at least) for their music, but for aiding rock and metal through other, non-musical means. I'll start with one who you probably know but might not associate with metal outside of Glam:

Dee Snider-
Yes, Dee "big blond hair drag queen we're-not-gonna-take-it" Snider. In the mid eighties, Snider was the crazed crusader against the man and your father for teenagers looking for somewhere to belong. He let teens know that they didn't have to put up with the shit their teachers and parents throw at them, and to just rock out. This is not why I think he's a metal hero, however, as he was one of the only opposing forces the rock community could muster in the face of censorship. In 1985, an organization of politicians and parents dubbing themselves the Parents Music Resource Center began to label songs as unfit for a child's ears and sought to censor these songs. Snider, along with the unlikely allies of John Denver and Frank Zappa, Snider appeared before court and defended their music. Though the Parental Advisory Act did pass (you can see the stickers on numerous metal albums), no further censorship was administered to any music the PMRC deemed uncouth.

Another less groundbreaking reason I admire Snider is because he truly loves and respects his fans, and this was shown in an interview of him I saw a while back--sometime in 2008. The Interviewer asked why Twisted Sister still puts on the makeup and fishnets after 20+ years, and Snider responded something to the effect of "I've grown tired of it, but our fans still love to see us the way we were back in the 80s, so we continue to do it for them." Whether this actually holds any validity is unknown, but the guys from Twisted Sister still dress in their famous drag queen attire after 25 years, and you have to respect that, right?

Eddie Trunk-
This name may not sound familiar to you because Eddie Trunk has not performed in any big-name or popular bands and is more of a behind-the-scenes guy. Growing up in the late 70s, Trunk was often ridiculed for wearing a KISS t-shirt (after KISS went disco); his favorite bands, KISS and UFO, were also criticized often, but Trunk never yielded his love for these bands. Trunk was also known for working at Megaforce records, and for being the person who recommended the label sign Metallica to record their debut album Kill 'em All.

To this day, Eddie Trunk still spreads the word of metal whenever he can, which is how I was introduced to him in the first place as the co-host (along with two comedians who are also fans of the music) of a show dedicated entirely to discussing hard rock and heavy metal, which is a good lead-in to my next topic:

That Metal Show-
Shown only on the VH1 Classic channel and on vh1classic.com , that metal show is fairly unknown in the metal world. The basic premise of the show is that of your standard talk show with many common elements: a guest musician from the rock/metal community, two minute arguments on opposing ideas/bands/albums (Metallica v Megadeth, Iron Maiden's first album v Killers, Ozzy Sabbath v Dio Sabbath, etc.) and Picks of the Week. Some of my personal favorite guests on the show include Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson (Rush), Dave Mustaine (Megadeth), Rob Halford (making two appearances), Brian Posehn (yes, the comedian), and Alice Cooper, and the show is obviously more enjoyable if you like the guests on each episode. I will admit to choosing not to watch episodes where Winger and Dokken are the guests, because a good chunk of the show is dedicated to talking with the artists about current and future plans and projects.

The show does a spectacular job of touching several different topics of our favorite bands from the late 70s and 80s, but my biggest criticism is the lack of attention the show gives to new metal (not the n-e-w spelling and not n-u) bands--outside of occasionally picking a modern metal band for the Pick of the Week. Don't get me wrong, I love hearing about the latest news about older bands that I enjoy, but I feel any bands formed past the year of 1988 are grossly ignored (the only exception being that the lead singer of Hatebreed was the guest on one episode). As metal fans, I'm sure they would like to see metal thrive for several years to come, and this can be achieved by turning old fans on to some newer stuff. Aside from this fault, most of the episodes are enjoyable and often funny, and I would recommend any metal fan to check out the show's website at vh1classic.com and selecting the episodes with a guest whose music or personality you enjoy.

Thus concludes my first post on the legendary blog Weaponized Wisdom. Iron Maiden's new album is set to release tomorrow and I am 95% sure I will be picking it up then. Stay tuned for a review of the album as well as numerous other topics I would like to touch on before...something happens.

-M