A brilliant hard rock covers album of pop songs. Songs that I originally dismissed as terrible suddenly have a new lease of life thanks to Within Temptation’s reinterpretation and Sharon’s wonderful voice.
Category Archives: My Stories
Review In 40 Words – Candlelight Red – Demons (EP) – 2012
This album is more or less “B” grade Sevendust except for the last track “Sleeping Awake” which sounds like an “A” grade cut that should have been on Red’s “Release The Panic” album.
Cervello – A Great Band That Is No More. Find Out What They Could Have Done Different.
I heard Cervello’s debut album today. Released in 2011. And it’s good. Really good.
So I did what everyone does, I went looking for more. And that’s where it all fell apart.
I typed “Cervello” into Google and landed on a progressive Italian band from the ‘70s. Wrong decade. Wrong band. Wrong everything.
Strike one.
Then I went digging. Facebook. Twitter. Scraps of information. Half a story. No clear signal.
Strike two.
By the time I figured out who they actually were, I’d already done more work than most listeners ever will.
And that’s the game now. If it’s hard to find you, you don’t exist.
Here’s the brutal truth: Cervello didn’t fail because of the music. They failed because of everything around the music.
No real website. No consistent presence. No strategy. No signal that anyone was steering the ship.
Just a band shouting into the void and hoping someone shouted back.
No one did. Look at the engagement. Posts with 3 likes. 6 likes. No comments. That’s not bad luck. That’s feedback.
The market was talking. They just weren’t listening.
And then there’s the big one. They made an album. Ten songs. Full release. The traditional play.
But here’s the problem, by 2011, the world had already changed.
This was a singles economy. Attention comes in fragments. Discovery comes in moments. Fans are built track by track, not album by album.
Gotye built a career off one song. One moment. One entry point. Cervello dropped everything at once… to no one.
And look at the competition they were up against. Machine Head. Dream Theater. Five Finger Death Punch. Trivium. In Flames
These bands weren’t just releasing music. They were occupying space. Constantly.
Cervello weren’t even on the map.
Then in 2013, it was over. A Facebook post. A quiet goodbye.
“Internal problems.”
That’s how it ends now. Not with a bang, but with a post no one sees.
Here’s the part that stings. They had connections.
Max Martin. John 5.
That should have been leverage. Attention. A story to tell. But even that went nowhere.
So what went wrong?
No discoverability. No consistency. No strategy. No patience. And maybe the biggest one:
No understanding that music isn’t a product anymore. It’s a service.
You don’t release and disappear. You show up. Again and again. You build something that compounds.
Because here’s the uncomfortable truth: The modern music game doesn’t reward the best song.
It rewards the artist who stays in the game long enough for the best song to be heard.
Cervello didn’t lose because they weren’t good enough. They lost because they disappeared.
And in this era… disappearing is the only unforgivable mistake.
Review In 40 Words – Thirty Second To Mars – Love Lust Faith + Dreams (2013)
The women of the world will love this album and the majority of guys will love the track “Conquistador.” A grand experiment in orchestra style theatrics merged with rock and pop sensibilities.
Review in 40 Words – Dream Theater – Dream Theater (2013)
Download “Illumination Theory”, “Behind The Veil” and “The Looking Glass”. “The Bigger Picture” also has some great musical sections. As for defining what Dream Theater is about right now; technical wizardry comes first and the actual song comes second.
Review In 40 Words – Five Finger Death Punch – The Wrong Side Of Heaven and The Righteous Side Of Hell Volume 1.
“The Wrong Side of Heaven and The Righteous Side of Hell Volume 1”,
It is a pretty solid album, sticking to what they know best. I would rank it the same as “American Capitalist”, part two of what came before.
Cold Case – Connecting The Dots With Motley Crue And It’s Vocalist Problem.
“MOTLEY STILL SINGERLESS” is the headline from a news break item that did the rounds in an issue of Hot Metal from June 1992.
For everyone that had a vested interest in hard rock music knows, Motley Crue and Vince Neil parted ways in February 1992. The actual argument took place on February 11, 1992, with Motley Crue issuing the official statement on Neil’s departure on February 14, 1992.
Now from all evidence, it looks like the band started working with John Corabi immediately, from as earliest as February 17, 1992, however it wasn’t until September 27, 1992, that John Corabi officially signed a contract to be Motley Crue’s new lead vocalist. The below is from the June 1992, Hot Metal magazine and it is an update from Walt Woodward III (RIP);
In a conversation with Walt Woodward III, drummer with much touted and Hot Metal-approved The Scream, we just had to ask what exactly was going on with the band’s singer John Corabi? It seemed to those on the outside that just as The Scream was about to explode Down Under, John Corabi was gonna bail for Da Crue.
Well, as of April 15th no confirmation had been made. Says the very friendly Walt, “We’ve just finished recording a song with John. It’s for [MTV comedian] Paulie Shaw’s new movie Encino Man. Sure, Motley Crue are really interested in John. He’s been writing with them, and whether the songs end up on our album or the Crue’s is yet to be seen.”
Walt went on to explain that he was a big fan of dedication. Y’see, since becoming The Scream, John Corabi, Walt, Bruce Bouillet and John Alderette”…had really grown together, become good friends. I would hope that dedication would win through.”
If John was to bail from The Scream though, things would definitely go on. Says Walt, “We’ve all talked about it and if John did leave I can honestly say that there’s a couple of cool cats out there who’ve rung us up and will definitely blow some people away.”
The above is interesting for two reasons. As far as the guys in “The Scream” where concerned, the songs that John Corabi was working on, could have ended up on a Motley Crue album or a new Scream album. That would mean that even though John Corabi was working with Motley Crue, he was still technically or legally in The Scream.
This also goes against Nikki Sixx’s viewpoint on the matter that John Corabi was the only guy on the scene. The comments from Walt Woodward, gives some street cred to Sebastian Bach’s claim that he did in fact audition, as it was almost seven months from when Vince Neil left to when Motley Crue officially announced John Corabi as the replacement. The other vocalists that also auditioned are Stevie Rachelle from the band Tuff, Marq Torien from the band Bullet Boys and Stephen Shareaux from the band Kik Tracee.
Now if Sebastian Bach did audition in 1992, it would have had to have been between February 1992 and September 1992. Due to the fact that John Corabi had to wait until September to be officially recognised as the lead singer, it points to one thing; some reservations existed within the Motley Crue circle of managers, record label reps and road crew if John Corabi was the right man.
During the period December, 1991 and June 22, 1992, Skid Row was touring the U.S. Plenty of free days in between to tee up an audition.
From July 8, 1992 to August 11, 1992, Skid Row did a South American tour and wrapped up the month of August with an appearance at Castle Donnington in the U.K. Again, plenty of time to fit in an audition after the tour ended.
Skid Row didn’t hit the road again until October 1992 for a small Japanese tour and then they wrapped up the “Slave To The Grind” cycle, by supporting Guns N Roses on their “Use Your Illusion” Australian tour from January 30, 1993 to February 6, 1993. Of course by the time this cycle completed, Sebastian Bach had committed to Skid Row.
It is not uncommon for different theories to emerge when band members are replaced. Even Dream Theater got caught up in it, when the stories came out that Marco Minnemann got the Dream Theater drummer spot when Mike Portnoy left. That is why on the videos of the drummer audition that came out, you don’t see footage of Dream Theater telling Minnemann that he didn’t get the gig, however there was footage of when they told all the other drummers that auditioned they didn’t get the gig.
By connecting the dots, Marco Minnemann got the gig and then turned it down when he was told he needed to relocate to the other side of America.
Dream Theater Sales and Box Office Predictions
Okay so here we are. It’s almost September 24, 2013 and the new self titled Dream Theater album will be “officially” released on Roadrunner. I put the word officially in inverted commas because in my opinion, once you offer a full stream of an album, that’s it, the product is out, end of story.
Anyway, lets go back almost two years to September 13, 2011. This is when Dream Theater released “A Dramatic Turn Of Events.” In the end, the album sold in total 95,000 units.
Dream Theater – A Dramatic Turn Of Events
Week 1 – ending 21 Sept 2011 – 35,750 units sold
Week 2 – ending 28 Sept 2011 – 8,030 units sold
Week 3 – ending 05 Oct 2011 – 4,430 units sold
Week 4 – ending 12 Oct 2011 – 3,120 units sold
Week 5 – ending 19 Oct 2011 – 2,600 units sold
With Roadrunner putting a lot of money into Dream Theater, they would want the above figures to increase by at least 20%. The market at the moment is showing a shrinkage in sales compared to two years ago, due to licensed streaming. In the end, based on my initial listening of the new album, I believe it will sell less a touch less than “A Dramatic Turn Of Events”.
Here are some box office scores from 2011 and 2012 as well. These are the figures that Dream Theater would want to have increased by 20% in 2013.
Sept. 24, 2011, Dream Theater, Trivium, Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, Calif.
TOTAL GROSS – $96,295
ATTENDANCE – 1,978 / 2,350
Ticket Prices – $65, $47.50
Sept. 25, 2011, Dream Theater, Trivium – NOKIA Theatre, Los Angeles, Calif.
TOTAL GROSS – $161,910
ATTENDANCE – 3,675 / 4,318
Ticket Prices – $65, $20
Oct. 3, 2011, Dream Theater, Trivium, Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak, Mich.
TOTAL GROSS – $41,843
ATTENDANCE – 1,044 / 1,200
Ticket Prices – $45, $39.50
Oct. 7, 2011, Dream Theater, Place Des Arts, Montreal, Quebec
TOTAL GROSS – $158,511
ATTENDANCE – 2,832 / 2,960
Ticket Prices – $76.30, $42.71
Oct. 8, 2011, Dream Theater, Pavillon de la Jeunesse, Quebec City, Quebec
TOTAL GROSS – $115,298
ATTENDANCE – 2,070 / 2,495
Ticket Prices – $67.02, $52.55
Oct. 22, 2011, Dream Theater, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, Fla.
TOTAL GROSS – $55,153
ATTENDANCE – 1,238 / 2,028
Ticket Prices – $64.50, $49.50, $39.50, $19.50
Oct. 27, 2011, Dream Theater, Verizon Theatre, Grand Prairie, Texas
TOTAL GROSS – $69,308
ATTENDANCE – 1,520 / 2,355
Ticket Prices – $49.75, $39.75
June 19, 2012, Dream Theater, Lifestyle Communities Pavilion, Columbus, Ohio
TOTAL GROSS – $27,475
ATTENDANCE – 785 / 3,500
Ticket Prices – $35
Aug. 24, 2012, Dream Theater, Pepsi On Stage, Porto Alegre, Brazil
TOTAL GROSS – $124,665
ATTENDANCE – 2,214 / 6,952
Ticket Prices – $78.98, $49.36
Aug. 26, 2012, Dream Theater, Credicard Hall, Sao Paulo, Brazil
TOTAL GROSS – $373,840
ATTENDANCE – 6,278 / 6,339
Ticket Prices – $171.60, $44.13
Aug. 29, 2012, Dream Theater, Chevrolet Hall, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
TOTAL GROSS – $127,029
ATTENDANCE – 2,752 / 5,226
Ticket Prices – $88.20, $58.80
Aug. 30, 2012, Dream Theater, Citibank Hall, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
TOTAL GROSS – $188,790
ATTENDANCE – 3,179 / 7,772
Ticket Prices – $146.39, $73.20
July 1, 2012, Dream Theater, The Crimson ProjeKct, Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, Calif.
TOTAL GROSS – $81,644
ATTENDANCE – 1,578 / 2,374
Ticket Prices – $65, $49.50
Bon Jovi – The “Because We Can” Tour will be renamed to “Because I Can”
The “Because We Can” tour needs to be remained to “Because I Can”. Based on the drop off rate of musicians, it looks like Jon Bon Jovi will be the last man standing.
It began with controversy and the absence of lead guitarist Richie Sambora. In my opnion, Richie Sambora is the reason why a lot of the metal and rock community enjoy Bon Jovi’s music. He gave the band some street cred, while Jon Bon Jovi went and played all his little games like “I want to be an actor” or “I want to be a football franchise owner” or “I want to be a politician”.
Isn’t it a huge coincidence that when Richie Sambora pulled out on the eve of the show, Jon Bon Jovi had a replacement for Sambora on the same day. By connecting the dots, Jon Bon Jovi knew this was coming. In the weeks after the departure, Jon stated that the show must go on and that he is not beholden to anyone. Of course, the angle that Jon put out there was that he cares about the people that work on the show and how those same people need to know that they are being taken care off by their employer and that they can put food on the table and make house payments.
Let’s look at the departure of Richie Sambora a bit more. On September 18, 2012, Richie Sambora released his third solo album, “Aftermath Of The Lowdown.”
At that time of the albums release, Richie Sambora stated that “What About Now” album was recorded before his solo album “Aftermath of the Lowdown” was completed. From reading interviews between September 2012 and February 2013, one would get the impression that Richie Sambora is a bit upset that he had to go out and promote another Bon Jovi album, while he also had a new album out. In other words, Richie felt that Jon Bon Jovi was killing off his solo record.
In order to appease Richie Sambora, it was decided that the new Bon Jovi album, “What About Now” will include a track from “Aftermath Of The Lowdown” as a bonus track on the deluxe edition. It looks like it wasn’t enough.
Fans then started to vent their frustration at the lack of information from all involved. The Bon Jovi shows kept on selling out in new markets, and shows in the common markets of Europe and North America kept on selling well with the hope that by the time the “Because We Can” tour rolled into town, Richie Sambora would be in tow. This didn’t happen and it took everyone by surprise, including Richie Sambora, who believed that he would have returned to the band by September the latest. The issue about money was banded about on various websites and with Jon Bon Jovi trying to get rid of his New York penthouse for $40 million since April 2013, the money angle theoretically holds true.
Then on September 10, 2013 Tico Torres undergoes emergency appendectomy surgery and the band POSTPONES their Mexico concert. Based on Jon’s assertion when Richie departed, the show must go on and that he is not beholden to anyone. However in this case Jon Bon Jovi was caught by surprise. To be fair, Jon Bon Jovi would have seen the departure of Richie Sambora rising on the wind, so he did have a back-up plan for that, however when Tico fell ill, there was no back-up plan and he had to cancel. However, this would have gotten Jon thinking about having a back-up plan for Tico Torres and Dave Bryan, just in case they all pull out.
So when Tico fell ill again, New Jersey native and Kings Of Suburbia drummer Rich Scannella was called to fill in until Tico is cleared to play.
Again the show goes on. With super large merchandise deals signed, Jon Bon Jovi cannot stop the tour. He might not be beholden to his band mates however he is beholden to the contracts. Merchandise deals become very expensive to the artist if they are broken or if the sales do not meet targets or if the promised shows are not delivered.
I have tickets to see Jon Bon Jovi live in Sydney. I cannot call the band Bon Jovi anymore, as it is not a band. The tour wraps up after the Australia shows. It will be interesting to see what Jon Bon Jovi plans to do next. In my view, he will still try to get every penny out of the Bon Jovi name, regardless of who his backing band is.
Did Piracy assist the come back of Twisted Sister?
Young people today do not realise the impact that Twisted Sister had on the music business around 1984 and 1985. Sure, other bands had greater sales and bigger tours, however no one did MTV like Twisted Sister. They ushered in a whole new promotions medium for metal and rock bands.
Twisted Sister came into stardom and then disappeared. In order to understand what happened and then why the resurgence, we need to go back to 1984.
“Stay Hungry” is released, followed by three singles. Two of those singles, “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock” made MTV a giant in the rock and metal world. Prior to that MTV didn’t really have any traction with the rock and metal communities. People tuned in to MTV to watch these clips.
The “Stay Hungry” album goes multi-platinum in the U.S. Dee ends up before the Senate and “Come Out And Play” comes out in 1985. It doesn’t meet the sales target set by the label and the tour is losing money in the U.S.
Europe, on the other hand is a whole different story and they had sold out shows across the continent. How can this be when the actual sales of the album are low in Europe? Europe is renowned for it’s black market and sharing culture.
By 1987 it was game over for Twisted Sister.
How can a band that was riding high by the end of 1984, disappear by 1987, especially when lesser bands continued to have a career during this period;
The Michael Jackson business model from the labels
The music market collapsed in the late Seventies. In order to stay viable, the major labels decided on a strategy to make more money with fewer acts. Michael Jackson became the first artist to whom this new strategy for success was to be applied. By 1982, Michael Jackson released “Thriller” and by 1984, the album was certified 20x Platinum.
He wasn’t alone either. Artists like Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John and Madonna, also benefited enormously from the new majors’ strategy to create superstars. When Bon Jovi and U2 exploded, they also joined this new superstar strategy. This is the way it worked; Large advances and marketing budgets, expensive music videos and fronting large amounts of money for large tours. Repeat if band/artist is successful or don’t repeat if band/artist is not successful.
Artist & Repertoire was unofficially outsourced to the independent labels and if they found an artist that had success, the artist would be transferred over into the major label network by default.
So a band like Twisted Sister comes on the scene and they don’t fit the new major label strategy. Anyway, the band persists and they end up breaking through. So the label is now thinking, maybe we should throw some money at this band and see what they can deliver. When “Come Out And Play” didn’t outsell “Stay Hungry” the label decided to move on, as it was clear that Twisted Sister didn’t fit the new model.
The Rise of the Thrash Scene
Twisted Sister to me are a heavy metal band. Yep they had that crossover appeal with “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock” however in the end, songs like “Burn In Hell”, “Stay Hungry”, “You Can’t Stop Rock N Roll”, “Come Out And Play”, “Kill or Be Killed”, “Destroyer”, “Run For Your Life”, “Under The Blade” and “The Fire Still Burn”s are heavy metal to a tee.
Twisted Sister appealed to the kids who were alienated and subjected to ridicule for their choice of music. They appealed to the kids who had a stiff middle finger attitude at the establishments. In 1983, an album called “Kill Em All” was released, who took on the same themes that Twisted Sister started. Instead the word ROCK was replaced with METAL. The metal fans of Twisted Sister jumped ship to the new “Metal Militia” started by Metallica. With songs like “Whiplash”, “Seek And Destroy”, “Fight Fire With Fire”, “Hit The Lights”, “Battery”, “Damage Inc.” and “Leper Messiah”, Metallica and other thrash bands ushered in a new era for the youth that Twisted Sister had connected with.
If you have any thrash fans, check out their collection and I guarantee you that they will have a Twisted Sister album in there.
The Bon Jovi and U2 Effect
So what happens when your core metal audience abandons you. For Twisted Sister, they needed to reinvent themselves. By 1986, Bon Jovi and U2, exploded all over the world. The record labels are flush with cash and they want more superstar acts. So what do the record labels do? They persuade their bands to record similar sounding albums. They tell the independent’s to sign hundreds of other similar bands on bad contracts. It is all about the profits.
The Senate Hearings
In 1985, fans of metal music just didn’t understand what the hoopla was about. They had no idea why metal music would even need to be at the hearings. Metal music was always on the fringes. Big deal if they add a parental advisory sticker to the album.
Abandoned By MTV
MTV used Twisted Sister and Dee Snider to promote their channel. Once the channel had traction in the metal and rock community, MTV abandoned the band.
The Past Finally Takes Its Toll with the Ten Year Itch
By the time 1987, rolled around, the band Twisted Sister with Dee Snider fronting it, had been at it for over 10 years. Jay Jay French even more. The band almost called it quits by 1983 when their Secret record deal fell apart. If you look at the 10 year trend of other bands you will see that what happened to Twisted Sister is nothing new.
Aerosmith more or less broke up by 1981, ten years after the main line up was formed. It wasn’t until 1984 that they got back together and by 1987 they became a multi-platinum band again.
Motley Crue replaced Vince Neil in 1992, almost eleven years after the band formed.
Van Halen had a new singer almost 12 years after they formed in 1986. By 1998, they had another singer.
Iron Maiden by 1989 had a few line-up changes in a new guitarist, a new drummer and most importantly a new singer.
Alice Cooper was at a low by 1980 after 12 years of hard work. It wouldn’t be until 1989 that he found major success again with the “Trash” album. His first break in the Eighties came with Twisted Sister in the “Be Cruel To Your Skuel” song in 1985 and a song called “He’s Back” from the Friday The 13th soundtrack.
So what happened to get Twisted Sister back into the public imagination:
The Beavis and Butt-head and Green Day Connection
It all started in 1993 and 1994. It was Beavis And Butt-head and Green Day that re-ignited the public’s imagination with Twisted Sister.
In the Beavis and Butt-head episode, “Stewart’s House (Too Dumb For TV)”, “I Wanna Rock” is featured, as well as “You Might Think” by The Cars, “Kiss” by Art Of Noise and “The Majesty Of Rock” by Spinal Tap. After Beavis almost loses it acting out the teacher’s opening speech, they move on to complain about the lack of explosions and that Twisted Sister are “fat guys in clown makeup.” In the end it got people talking about Twisted Sister again.
Then came 1994. That is when Billie Joe Armstrong the singer/vocalist from Green Day sang the start of the song “We’re Not Gonna Take It” during Green Day’s infamous Woodstock ’94 performance. Yes, that is the same performance were Billie Joe Armstrong started a mud fight with the crowd. In the end Woodstock 94, was referred to as Mudstock ’94. Apart from the people at the event, the event was also viewed by millions by pay-per-view television. In the end, the Woodstock 1994 performance from Green Day, gave the band further publicity and recognition and it helped push the “Dookie” album to eventual diamond status.
In the aftermath of Mudstock 94, the millions of people that saw the event via pay per view, as well as the people that attended, asked themselves two things about “We’re Not Gonna Take It”; Which band sang that song and where can I get my hands on it?
With a combination of fans re-purchasing their LP’s and Cassettes on CD, and the Mudstock performance of Green Day renewing interest in the band as well as Beavis and Butt-head, the “Stay Hungry” album was certified 3 x multi-platinum in November 1995 almost ten years since is double platinum certification from 1985. In addition, “You Can’t Stop Rock N Roll” was also certified “Gold” in November 1995.
A Radio Show and A Band called Sevendust
In 1997, Dee Snider began hosting the “House of Hair” radio show. With the catchphrase of “If It Aint Metal, its Crap”, the radio show focused on the 1980s hard rock/heavy metal period.
Also in 1997, a band called Sevendust released their self-titled debut album. It was produced by Mark Mendoza and Jay Jay French. By May 1999, the album was certified gold. Of course, Sevendust also had Jay Jay French as manager. Fans started asking how can that be? How can a person that dressed up like a chick in the Eighties, manage a band as brutal and heavy and COOL as Sevendust? If people are talking about you, that is a good thing. I remember when I purchased the Sevendust album and saw the Twisted Sister connection, I couldn’t stop telling people about it.
Heroes Are Hard To Find in a Strangeland of Napster, A Band Called Lit, Tribute albums and Spitfire Re-Issues.
In 1999, Napster exploded. I remember going on to Napster and seeing all the Desperado material, the Widowmaker material, the Twisted Sister material, as well as live concerts from Twisted Sister (from soundboard recordings and fan bootlegs). Thousands of people were uploading and downloading this content. While this would have hurt the RECORD LABEL, it didn’t hurt Twisted Sister at all in the years to come. I have always said that if you create great music now, expect to be paid well later. From Napster I got my hands on the Desperado era songs.
Also in 1999, the rock band Lit paid homage to the opening of Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It” video clip. Dee Snider actually plays the role of the angry father (originally portrayed by Mark Metcalf) who verbally abuses his son for his lack of authority and uncleanliness. This was big from a Twisted Sister point of view for two reasons. Interest in the platinum selling band Lit was huge, after their number one rock hit “My Own Worst Enemy” remained at number one for 11 weeks on the Billboard Rock Charts. “Zip Lock” was the follow up single and what a video clip to lead with. Again, this got Twisted Sister and Dee Snider back into people’s imagination.
The movie Strangeland was also released in 1999, with a new song called “Heroes Are Hard To Find.” This was the first new piece of music from Twisted Sister and it was significant, along with the Spitfire re-issues of the “You Can’t Stop Rock N Roll”, “Come Out and Play” and “Love Is For Suckers” album with additional tracks.
A Road Trip and That Bastard Solo Album
In 2000, a small budget movie came out called Road Trip. For a movie that cost about $17 million, Road Trip was a hit and what a perfect song they had for it. As the characters sing along to “I Wanna Rock” as it was playing on the radio of the bus, it was very reminiscent of “Bohemian Rhapsody” in Wayne’s World. A perfect touch and what a promotion for the band
Dee Snider also released a solo album called “Never Let the Bastards Wear You Down” in 2000. Now this album was a “Best off” from songs that didn’t make it on any Twisted Sister albums, plus selections from the ill-fated Desperado project that Elektra boss Bob Krasnow destroyed two weeks before its release. It was a great album and the back stories provided with the CD, re-ignited the imagination.
A Culturally Significant Film
In 2001, the United States Library of Congress deemed Animal House a culturally significant film and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry. This was significant for Twisted Sister. Since their video clips of “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock” borrowed from Animal House, their name was out there again with the renewed interest in this movie.
Any person that grew up the Seventies and the Eighties cannot watch the Animal House movie and not think of Twisted Sister, especially when Nedermeyer has screen time.
Congressional Hearings are Finally Understood
Dee Snider is now seen as the hero and playing himself in a 2002 TV-movie called “Warning: Parental Advisory” got him back in our faces again.
Piracy and The Pirate Bay
The Pirate Bay debuts in 2003 in Sweden. Twisted Sister is one band that is shared a lot by the Europeans. A band with low record sales in Europe headlines Wacken.
Schwarznegger Is Not Gonna Take It
Dee sang, “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” which was adopted by the Schwarzenegger campaign. Of course, if you are a fan of the “Stay Hungry” album, you would know that the themes and the album title is from a book that Schwarzenegger wrote back in 1979.
A Film Called The Warriors and the Rise of Cyberlockers and Blogs
By 2005, blogs and cyber lockers are rising, especially in European countries. This is how it worked; A music fan creates a blog and they list all of the albums they have from bands. On each list they have a link that directs the person to a cyber locker site where they can download the album. If people kept on downloading the album, the link stayed up on the cyber locker website. If they didnt, the link would expire. Twisted Sister’s collection, plus live recordings did the rounds on these blogs and the links stayed up.
Also in 2005, Paramount Home Video released the “Ultimate Director’s Cut” DVD of The Warriors. As the movie came back into the public awareness so did “Come Out And Play” as people were reminded of Dee Snider clicking bottles together saying “Twisted Sister, come out and play” as a tribute to the movie.
The Wash Up
The fans of Twisted Sister in the Eighties had kids and those kids grew up. There is a study doing the rounds on the internet about how the musical tastes of kids are influenced by the musical tastes of their parents.
In my opinion, the re-birth of Twisted Sister’s popularity in the 2000’s is due to piracy. In Europe, Twisted Sister’s music is pirated heavily. With this new distribution, Twisted Sister was given headlining slots at European festivals that still continues to this day. Being a killer live band, they always delivered and their legend grew even more.
It’s funny that the thing that the record labels try to stop is the same thing that gave Twisted Sister a new life.
destroyerofharmony 