Twisted Sister, with opening act Dokken, at Veteran's Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT, January 12, 1986
This one's a whole other kettle of fish, isn't it?
I have always liked a lot of different kinds of music, the only issue is that it took a while for my musical universe to grow. I am sure I am not alone in that. My musical universe at this point in my life consisted of classic rock, vintage metal but also much of the contemporary stuff, i.e. whatever was on the various radio station formats I could pull in (from all points on dial - talk about 'music discovery') and maybe MTV, though I think any music education I was getting from television was probably coming from Night Flight more than MTV by that point...
Like now, I never really felt bad about liking what I like and never really felt the need to distinguish between high and low art. I am a sucker for hooks and a lot of those 80s hair metal bands were just 70s power pop kids dressed up in their older sister's clothes.
I enjoyed this bit of off-off-Broadway-level rock and roll musical theatre under the influence of a few tabs of mescaline purchased in the bathroom of this since-departed minor league hockey arena. Take some advice from your Old Uncle Larry: No need to try this one at home, kids.
A moment for Dee Snider, though. For a long time he was one of the funnest celebrities to follow on Twitter (except for maybe the Iron Sheik and Norm MacDonald). In case you forget what a small world the entertainment racket is, there is always this exchange.
It would be incredibly unfair and historically inaccurate to ignore how important the Twisted Sister frontman has been for the cause of free speech for music artists in America. I do not want to write about it. I want you to watch this:
In case I have not said it before, thank you, Dee Snider.
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