@@jonathanlafrance8643 I appreciate your response more than is within the boundaries of cool to really say. I have no doubt that if we met in person, me and Bad Brad would become fast friends, but I did say this in a comment of one of his videos in which he wondered where the "roll" went, that the roll was FUN. The humorless society of entitled brats who think they're entitled to the fruits of our labors for free has taken its toll, and I simply have no more tolerance for being ignored. 15 years of living on tips in cars and vans has made me oversensitive to it. It's a tangent, but I want to walk into the job of somebody who thinks "the song belongs to all of us," say, A RESTAURANT, order, eat, and then walk out the door after putting a nickel on the counter. When the staff comes up to me and says the food is worth more than that, I will tell them, your food belongs to all of us, and act offended that they're not happy with the pittance I have deigned to give them. When the quality (and humor) of food goes down, make sure you throw some love at the chef. It's entirely possible and even probable Bad Brad has made this point about fun before, and it's ABSOLUTELY true that there are at least 1,000 other frontmen in the Eastern Time Zone alone, no one has ever heard of, who would be glad to hire Bad Brad and a dozen other guys in this comment section; it's also true that a society based on "content" and "algorithms" is beyond the rubicon of humorlessness, and has problems that are much more terminal than lacking a sense of humor. I would tell you that I coined the term "estrogentrification" 20 years ago, in response, but I don't want anybody to rip it off and act like it's their own idea. Intellectual property is a real thing; anyone who says it's not has no intellect, and no ideas worth listening to. Hundreds of songs on my channel if you're interested. I will never return to this channel to see if there's any response, or even any video of any kind on any topic, but only because 15 years of living in the parking lot on tips is my limit. The contempt "society" has shown my/our livelihoods has finally become mutual, and life is too short for me to tempt myself to anything even remotely negative from here on out. Suffice it to say, the only thingyou can say in English to surprise me is, "I'm sorry," and "thank you/you're welcome." So thanks again for saying that. I'm sure someone out there can relate. God bless Bad Brad and everyone who watches anything on this channel. I will never return, but it isn't personal, any more than my inability to write any more songs in a vacuum under a rock is personal. I just can't do it anymore. Thanks again for your response. As they say in Spanish, "To God,"
This is a seriously great analysis of the trend line of rock. It is not a condemnation of the players, just a frank dialog from Brad’s perspective as a person on the inside.
@user-et2fj8xm5l Nashville is not the best place for 70s and 80s style guitar based rock music. I've seen Reeves Gabrels put on an absolute clinic at small to midsized clubs and only a dozen or so folks seem to even understand the quality of the musicianship that goes into these performances. Only top-tier legacy acts seem to have real economic viability these days 😥
Great analysis and summation by Brad. The '80s were about having fun. Too much fun! I used to tell my mom, who grew up in the Happy Days '50s, that the '80s were my '50s. And looking back 30+ years later, I was right. I actually had to leave California and join the Army to get away from it all, get some discipline to get anything done. There were simply too many social distractions. Never liked Guns and Roses, but dug a lot of the early and mid-1980s New Wave sounds. Great musical time! Then there was the Miami Vice vibe and fashion show that swept the nation. Grunge cut through the post Punk, post New Wave, late '80s void of androgynous Hair Metal and Speed Metal bands that were all show and no go. Grunge brought grit, pain, guitar solos and dirty '70s rock ethics - and hard dope - back into the fore, burying Glam Rock forever. Which was a good thing in my book. Unfortunately, as Brad noted, it cost them their lives and took a lot of people down with them. A heavy price to pay indeed. I don't think there's been a significant Rock movement since, and music is languishing in a soul-killing, techno=saturated funk and fog that's also killed Country Music. Where do we go from here? Into the black hole of AI generated music and the death of real musicians making hits? Live music seems the only salvation...
Wow, the military as a resort to a better sanity. Ouch! I liked all of what you say. I sort of completely missed 80's music, my age 25 to 35 era, but really dig it now with its combination of synths, chime guitar, more interesting beats, more unique and upgraded look, just more fresh in general. And, I don't think I care about any pop music past some point in the early 90's. AI music? Frightening!
Hello Brad: Such a great analogy of the way the music industry , bands and musical styles and tastes and musicians lifestyles have changed over the decades! Rock has always had a rebellious attitude, but it got somewhat dark in the 60s and again in the 90s to present. Seems to always be a negative with hard drugs. when bands kept a good time kegger,/recreational smoke attitude going, everybody had fun and was party hardy. Most seemed to moderate. But drink and drugs has taken so many of the greats. Bonam,moon,hendrix, Janis, Morrison,bon scott,and countless others. But sex, drugs and rock and roll is coined that for a reason .even some folk ,blues pop and disco acts succumbed to excesses that ended in fatalitys way to early. It's the nature of the buisness. Fame breeds money, money leads to excess. Excess leads to death. But drink and drug also inspired Alot of creativity in music. so many songs were written that way. its a mood thing. Like Nugent once said: jimi did drugs now he's dead, I did none and I'm still Ted. Music is such a beautiful thing in all styles and colors. sample, explore and groove on all that shit. It's magical! Thanks Brad : your stories and musical knowledge are exceptional! Rock on man!
Hey Brad, don't know if you're into the whole music as social engineering conspiracy, but I have some hearsay for you. I know an old-timer who was a big time dealer back in the 80's and he casually told me about how he used to sell weed to the guy who ghost wrote Appetite For Destruction. LA musicians and drug dealer are notorious for BS-ing, but it's food for thought since GNR were never abler to put out another set of music of that quality. It's also notable that Slash's mother dated Bowie who was ( is if you think he's still alive ) into the occult and Crowley. Looking through this lens, it's possible to see that GNR were a consciously engineered gateway to the whole H epidemic, I mean they were a nightmare to work with, their album cost 350 K to make and then it took over a year for the album to hit, so there were some higher-ups who really wanted it to happen.
To tell the truth nirvans in utero is a great album. Screaming trees sweet oblivion album is a total rocker. Majority of those bands were better than warrant and poison. You are right though 80s was great. I grew up in bellevue just east of seattle queensryche territory. Huge rockin town. Every concert that played sold out it was like an event. For 20 bucks. Then the 90s i split to hawaii. Lahina after graduation in 91, i used to hear about anc soundgarden mlb nirvana, playin clubs in seattle. A year later i came back everything changed in 1 year. The fasion changed just like that. Hey we drank alot of beer. I miss keggars. I was called a butt rocker cause i had really long hair and had a girfriend as a hairdresser made me look like a rockstar. If id lived in la id get way more chicks than i did here. Im glad seattle had their thing. The late 80s early 90s music was getting old. Power ballad after power ballad. Trixter and britny fox typ bands had to go. Seriously listen to soundgardens loudlove album, screaming tress sweeet oblivion album great rockin stuff. Just to bad every singer had a terrible ending.
GnR has some karma to deal with at some point. People who were hurt, damaged or ripped off by them in those days. The musicians who never did heroin until they started hanging out with Slash. Axl treating everyone so bad & his antics… they definitely got lucky & went as far as they did. Other great bands with better character were passed over.
A quick note to the young'ns reading this: I was born in 57 in Hollywood so right in the middle time and location wise to witness what he is talking about. . I was instructed by the O.G.s in my "Substance Orientation Class " - Never stick a needle in your arm, Do not ever do Heron, its to good you wont come back, stay away from speed it kills. Never drive loaded when you are "holding" always drive the speed limit and obey all laws at all times. I followed most of the rules and have lived to tell the tale. Many many of the folks I grew up with didnt ....
Heroin was absolutely glorified in the 90’s. It’s no coincidence that our military was occupying a certain country that has a lot of poppy fields. There is a certain three letter agency that is known for drug trafficking… I’m not saying there’s a connection, but there’s a connection. Music has always been used to create movements, not the other way around
I can sing to almost every van halen song on their first six albums more than i can from the sammy era. I can sing along with dave better than sammy. Sammy can sing, i like sammy solo better than van halen. Hes got more anthems songs.
I was just thinking about this, and what happened to “good time rock n’ roll.” It never really came back after hair metal. The closest thing was pop punk. It’s stuff that most metal people HATE, but bands like Blink 182 and Sum 41 were putting smiles on their fan’s faces long after the advent of grunge. But of course, for every pop punk band that was all fun and games, you had plenty where the lyrics were bittersweet or downright depressing. Garage rock had its share of fun bands in the early 2000s, but none of them went multi-platinum, and that trend was over before I noticed it. And I guess that leaves us with Buckcherry, who had a surprise comeback in the 2000s, followed by a flop. And then … that was that. Rock n roll in general kinda fell off the charts afterward.
Slash is not about being a great technical player. Slash's brilliance is in the emotional resonance that seeps through all of his playing and that unmistakable guitar tone he always has had. Not every guitarist has to be a shredder to be truly great
@@dathorndike4908 I get what your saying...he plays the right parts with the right emotion for the song....that is extremely important and vital to the GnR sound.
good work Brad! I am your age and have been playing guitar in various bar bands way up here in Michigan's upper peninsula since 86 and I enjoy your perspective and insight, I share your love of guitar and the good old days, nobody dances and it's a constant struggle to sell beer with rock music it seems, keep up the good work!
Its like grunge tried to take the death and od's and bad trips of the 60s and 70s and make it a world view and life style. Perfectly said Brad! Music to be depressed by and committ suicide by while depressing everyone your around at the same time. From pretty girls and fast cars and loud guitars to hate , complaining and not wanting to live.
Brad , I really glad I found your channel man you are tops! On the drive home from a gig in DC our bass player listed all the things that are killing live music & R&R ..I think we went to 25.(?)... DJ's Karaoke, Tough DUI laws, Smoking vs non-smoking, Spotify, venues closing down, gatekeepers, Just played out, Electronic music... etc..
Now we can add Guns & Roses... haha.. also Grunge in one season destroyed all those big hair spandex stadium anthem bands! I mean man it was OVER for them !
Brad you are speaking the absolute truth. I am 41 years old I was well aware of Rock and Roll by the time I could crawl and hearing everything that you talk about when it becomes the end of rock and roll and what happened is exactly what I've been telling people for years. They don't want to listen to it. Valley speak the main talking points that everybody says but that is not what happened. It wasn't because there were a lot of bands LOL I always said the fun left rock and roll and went to rap. Were there are women there will be big crowds when it comes to music. We are fortunate that this kind of music did get to live through the MTV era but man it really missed the boat on being even bigger than what it could have been. Which is hard to imagine.
It absolutely is and I remembered after I told it that in this case it was Duff who got him off the floor....he came over and put his arms out and in the middle of the song got him up. I saw it happen.
Poster child Keith Richards!!! Had his own mule following him around! Axel Rose is full of himself. Pink Floyd said it all! Wish You were here!!!! Welcome to the Machine!
This is Medicine man, Shaman and Sage level understanding of what happened. And the main culprits were the corporate top hat/tiny hat people. Before that famous turning point their greed drove them to oversaturate the rock market with copycats and posers (which inevitably come to any scene) and made even themselves tired of it. Then, instead of making qualitative business adjustments, they threw all babies out the windows -with the- without bath waters, and just replaced the whole scene over night with something that wasn't better in any way, but generally speaking even worse. The point of what one puts out into the world comes back is truth.
I'm the same age as you, Mr. Brad. You nailed it. The grunge bands acted like they didn't like their popularity. Give me a break, right? Great point, on Guns and Roses! I never thought about that. I remember when grunge came out, and I really didn't like it. I'll always stick to my 70's and 80's hard rock and metal. Peace from Jacksonville, Florida.
Grunge was a pretty dark period. Even Grohl figured it out hence: -The Color and the Shape -There is Nothing Left to Lose Both fantastic upbeat fun albums.
I personally think that era hasn't aged very well. A lot of the 80s hasn't either, but some of it is still fun to listen to, if from a historical perspective if nothing else.
When I lived in LA in '90-'91 one of my roommates was the brother of Ron Stalnaker who was Slash's bodyguard starting in '87-'88. I couldn't imagine having that job.
Yep. I have often wondered, why can't we just have fun and rock? Why does this rock and or roll world always have to devolve into the lowest, most base and nasty level? I guess it is just baked into its DNA. There is a way that seems right to man that many have traveled before. You must choose between the jaws of hell or find life through the narrow door. Rock carefully!
Once again our Brad is right up in my face and mind. His big face on my big screen. Provocative in its best way. At 69, my usual prefix, I am both looking forward and backward at music. All I am going to say today that when I was a young working musician, you did not have to be big time to have a big time. My instincts tell me that older rockers didn't feel as stuck in the mire of manufactured consent as players and people in general do today. Even though music is now sliced into a million categories, it all seems a little stuck. Antidote? Several, but today's antidote will be the Watercolor channel and smooth jazz. Have a great day to all and expecially you, Brad.
Brother that Romantic's 'In Heat' record IS a banger from front to back, just like you said! It's been on rotation for a 3 weeks. And can we do a deep dive rig rundown on that clean crunch?? What guitar/amp setup is that? I must know!
@@badbrad i agree with everything you said. Love Eric Avery on bass. I was 15 living in MD when my new girlfriend ( who is also now my wife) who had just moved from L.A. gave me a tape of theirs and it truly changed my life. In more than one way.
@@badbradalso, thanks for the reply. Coincidentally, a few years later, her best friend's mom was the girlfriend of the singer of a local hair band called Kix. My now wife and her friend woukd baby sit the guy's son amd by 1990 they were old enough to get invited to some of the parties and brought me. So I got to kinda see a bit of the lifestyle from the fringes hanging out. Didn't notice hard drugs like you've mentioned before. Lots of herb and booze though.
What is to keep someone from developing an ai software, that can figure out every possible uncopywritten melody and instantly copywrite all of them, and then just sue every new artist that releases a song ???? Scary right?
I really enjoyed your summation on the eras of Rock music. I have spent my life playing Country Music, what is now mostly referred to as (Classic Country). Most of this Rock talk is news to me. I’m a 65 year old part time weekend warrior lol. Not much opportunity to play in central Louisiana anymore. I really enjoy your channel, keep it up. 😉👍❤️
@@badbrad Lots of music played in South Louisiana. There are many great players and singers down there that play all kinds of music. Cajun and Swamp pop music is very big in South Louisiana.
What comes around goes around...I'll tell you why....RATT. Fantastic look back. What you have said is point on exact! Being a 55 year old rock/Metal guitarist survivor from Minneapolis, What vibe you put out always comes back. I know this from experience. I still dabble in my home studio and probably will till I die. I am only into positive vibe music now. It happened to me over time with not really even being aware of my taste changes. 3 other things that have changed music... Death of live music clubs. Death of radio. Birth of the internet, and the crappy current economy as people can not afford much of what they used to. Staying at home with the internet as entertainment. These have greatly impacted the live music scene. What is the future to bring? I really have no clue. A lot of the rap messages are decadent too. I would not mind that vibe coming full circle. An end of it. Just me personally. Much of the attitude in Rap is really sad.
@@badbrad It's been a while since I purchased any new music. Yesterday I purchased the vinyl and CD of this band Red Giant. I have been watching the guitarist Dave Simpson on his YT channel for a couple years. The guy is a really good player and is always messing around trying different gear. His channel helps me stay inspired. Strange times we are going through. Anyway he found this baritone guitar in a dumpster and had it repaired. I have never tried one and would like to some day. Just thought you might enjoy this. ua-cam.com/video/On_49WANiUk/v-deo.html
from seattle when grunge hit, lived in west seattle where cornell lived, soundgarden, nirvana, sounded like heaven, music fueled by heroin, rock stations in seattle wouldnt play them. music easy to slam to but hard to dance to.
Maybe grunge wasn't fun, but we didn't notice because we had a ton of fun at the shows. From what I have read heroin use was rampant in Seattle in the 80s and most of those guys used it before they got famous. I guess it carried over into more widespread usage in the scene along with the bands from that area.
Dope has been around forever! Bille Holiday, heroin. Weed in the 30's Blow was around in the 20's Freud used it. I don't do Drugs anymore, but had my day. Best high is playing 🎸's and 🐂💩 with good people! Can't point any finger 🤘 at anybody! They all had their bad points!
@@badbrad thanks for the great video Bad Brad ⚡ Now let's get down to brass tacks if you don't post more videos of you jamming I'll hold my breath till I turn 🔵🔵🙀?! Keep rocking! Brother!
I certainly agree with the slash analysis. He is sloppy just like ace frehley. It all lined up for them, and thankful so. I think and ace are overrated, but love what they did. Dave grohl said he never understood why everyone like nirvana, it was not good. Im paraphrasing, but he said it and i agree.
I don’t man, I really believe there was a concerted effort to kill off metal in that era. I was 17 when grunge started taking off & you know, a lot of those guys were making very condemning statements in magazines & tv interviews about the metal genre.Even the writers in guitar magazines joined in calling metal uncool & stupid. I mean, kids are extremely impressionable, so if they are seeing this everywhere, of course they’re gonna latch on to what they’re hearing. BTW, I liked the grunge stuff too, I just never understood why both styles of music were not allowed to flourish? Why the hate toward metal? Honestly, I think the record companies bit off their own head by taking the strategy they did. I don’t mean any offense toward anyone, just my humble opinion.
I think it’s funny the way people categorize music. If you ignore all the dress codes and cultural attitudes attached to all the genres, it’s just music. Even musicians get hung up about playing something that falls into a genre they disagree with because of how they dress. I had a musician tell me that Jimmy Page was overrated. I liked Kurt Cobain’s guitar playing. And songs. If you go back far enough it could be debated that the guitar is the devils instrument. It’s music. People wanna be influenced.
I never liked grunge at all, as it was so depressing and bad vibes. I never liked gunsnroses either and always thought they were so overrated and really just a one hit album band. Slash, was never a tight player and frankly he just got lucky being in a band that became popular with some hit songs, but he is overrated just like the band. I could never understand how people think of them as great because they are not great musicians by any means. Slash, has a pacemaker, due to the drugs and drinking, which ruined his heart. He ruined his earthly vessel and won't live to see old age. He's on borrowed time as it is. They are all to blame for taking the fun and inspiration out of music.
One question, did you ever see Asphalt Ballet live? Their debut is amazing but it was released on the same day as Nirvana's teen spirit. I've understood they had a big following.
The true story of Appetite has yet to be told. That record was one of the slickest ultra produced albums ever made. Let's face it, Axl though a great frontman has never been a good singer and only sounds good on the record. The rest of the band were all decent players, but nothing you couldn't have found by the thousands on the strip during that time. Far from the street urchin lore that surrounds the band, Slashes family were personal friends of David Geffen, like they hung out together. Axl when he first arrived is purported to have been "hustling" on Santa Monica until he hooked up with Erin. This was all common knowledge by the locals during that time and not taking anything away from anyone, just saying that most of Hollywood isn't what it appears to be. I'd really like a deep dive into the making of that record by people in the know because I have a suspicion that it wasn't what we think.
keith richard’s didn’t tell anyone to do heroin but many did because he did it. Same for grunge and Cobain. People emulate their heroes which can be good or bad depending on the hero
Interesting take. It takes guts to put this out there on UA-cam where it’s going to upset some people. I think perspective is everything. I grew up in the 90’s and, while 80’s music always seemed to be about drugs and excess to me, 90’s music has always felt beautiful and substantive. And I’ve never had anything like a drug problem. Bands like Nirvana healed me and saved my life. I honestly think 80’s rock would have been more likely to push me into self-destruction. But who knows? Appreciate your vibe!
Nu metal like Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock was the last of the fun in the late 90's to mid 00's but you prolly won't read this, care or relate as a Boomer who thinks GNR was the last of the fun times in 1991 before grunge... That being said, this Millennial would kill to be able to wear shoulder pads under a studded leather jacket to a White Lion concert in 1987! How big of an earring should I wear lol?
I also think the crack epidemic had a little to do with that also Bad Brad is always right I strongly recommend if you discredit anything this guy is saying please bring paperwork. ❤❤❤
Keith Moon, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and many others that were part of the 'fun' times of rock n roll died young because of poor choices. There are many flaws in your analysis, and that's one of them.
Where have all the grungers gone? Long time passing Where have all the grungers gone? Long time ago Where have all the grungers gone? Gone to graveyards every one When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?
It's like the people that say kisses and talented for some reason that always bothers me because I learned all of these bands music no one says man I love the Ramones even though they weren't talented. No one says man I love Wasp even though they're not that talented. Kiss is the only band that I find those statements with and I can tell you that it is absolutely not true from lead guitar point of view from drummers from the vocals I've never understood why the popular person has to say so and everyone else just regurgitates what they say over and over again.
From what I understand Guns were lucky because Geffen couldn't decide between them and Circus of Power when it came to signing them, he went with Guns on the toss of a coin supposedly, you were there Brad any truth to it?
Seems like gnr and grunge are more appropriate now than ever. Many people have no future via the rich hoarding all the profits. Why wouldn't people who are sentient have an APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION!!??? GnR is way cooler than Van Halen. NIGHTRAIN vs HOT FOR TEACHER!???? Eddie can play as precise as he wants. Hes still got David singing stupid ass lyrics overs. "Bop wap a doo wop a shoobady dop"!!!
@@badbrad I agree. I just wonder what you thought about him. Maybe you should do a video on him.. He opened my eyes to a new genre in guitar playing. He has changed how guitar is played today.
@@badbrad I also grew up in the 1970's/80's Brad. You talk about the sunset strip like all they did was drink? GNR definitely did some Mr. Brownstone but so did Motley Crue. And I didn't hear you give them any smoke. And as far as drugs go more musicians including EVH have been destroyed by alcohol than anything else. Grunge didn't invent musicians using horse and GNR definitely should not be held accountable for other peoples stupidity.
@@badbrad Same here Brad, I can respect your thoughts on the subject and I believe we agree on more things than not. I love GNR and VH and I love Slash and Eddie as musicians and guitar giants. Just two different styles of playing and thank God for that. Because I remember those days and everyone wanted to be Eddie with a super strat model and a Floyd Rose 😂 God Bless
Yeah I like that Slash brought back the Les Paul....but man they always seemed out of reach price wise. Charvel had imports back then and it was just less expensive to get your hands on a decent Charvel.
Well Put. I have thought along the same lines for some time myself.... Grunge became very serious or something... Dark by all counts. Beer/shots and smoke to Shots in arm. Also my incoherant thiughts about the progression of dancing Started as an activity everyone did as an expression and comunity activity. into RnRoll often overtly sexual which made it fun and rebelus. Then very groovy flailing 60s into, specialized and technical perhaps 70s, Thru 80s pop and post punk very OK to dance. Then the 90s. Other than rave scene its just not "Cool" to be Dancing anymore.... unless you consider twirking and the like dancing. I would enjoy someone smarter and more knowledgable about the subject to break it down coherently.
Tesla, queensryche and dokken, well George.. Loudness, kickaxe, krokus. I hated poison. Loved crue and ratt in the studio. Live not so good Especialy Stephen pearcey. Front man that couldn't sing. There was a lot of killer rock and metal that Wernt the mainstream and underrated.
I hated the 80s I thought the music sucked hair an thrash metal bands were garbage the best time for rock was the late 60s early 70s . On the other hand grunge wasn’t that bad I enjoyed at what came after grunge stoner rock I loved the way it combined the late 60s early 70s sound with hard core punk it was a breath of fresh air from what the 80s were like I said I hated the 80s bands 🤘
@@badbrad I love all eras of music to I just can’t stomach that 80s sound.and let’s just honest those 80s musicians we’re getting just as high as those grunge musicians were 🤘
@@badbrad I love all eras of music to I just can’t stomach that 80s sound let’s just be honest those 80s musicians were getting just as high as those grunge guys were it’s just that they were not singing about it
1:45 Here comes this old Hard Rock aging, bitching , rockers revising history. This rock you are lamenting died because of ... YOU ALL. Every ten years there was a change. The 80s presumed the 1990s were going to be theirs ... for ever. I was there, saw Grunge in the fall of 1991 destroy a stale boring, stuck in a routine rock of that 80s decades in just ONE song from Nirvana. You will never revise what millions of us experience. EVEN until today, the grunge alternative music is still on going. There is nothing in the rock horizon like an Elvis, Beatles, Zepplin, Motley Crue, Metallica, and Nirvana. NONE. it's OVER long ..... ago.
Kenny Wayne Shepperds Johnny Lang Stevie ray vaughn. The 80' had a vast variety of music but not like the 70's. The 70's imo was the peak of music talent and bands in the 80's other than gnr were using heroin. Motley crue, ratt. And other bands. New wave bands even used and split due to it it's just not talked about as much.
I agree with you 💯 on grunge ushering in harder drugs to the scene. I grew up in the LA area in the 70's and 80's. I was 19 when G&R released appetite for destruction. I never heard anyone talking about heroin before that. Someone had to explain to me that Mr Brownstone was a song about heroin. Grunge was definitely negative,low energy. Say what you will about 80's hair bands but those songs were full of fun and good times (except for the ballads,lol). Those were the days. I'm thankful I grew up then 🙏
Dude really? Grunge did not encourage people to do dope. I think that’s a reach. The truth is hair metal bands starting making awful music which killed their scene.
Hey man I am entitled to my opinion and you yours...they definitely put that energy out into the world. Not saying hair metal didn't start putting out absolute crap...they did.
@@badbrad fair enough. Drugs have always been a part of rock n roll. I don’t think the Seattle scene was any worst than any other period in rock. I worked for labels doing A&R in New York in the 90’s and drugs were out of hand on the East Coast.
@@fonzsmith Yeah the east coast always had a harder edge to life and music.....much tougher there and so people end up going down a not so good path sometimes. California was a little more Sunshine and Rainbows.
Did Warrant sing about getting high on heroin? Did BonJovi? What about Poison or VanHalen? Motley Crue has a song about a drug dealer, ok. The whole grunge image spells junkie. They started writing crap music? Like who, The Damn Yankees 89-94? The Damn Yankees were paid not to record any new material because the record companies were pushing grunge. The last Skid Row album was their best recording but no one knows any of the songs because it wasn’t promoted. Too many cases like these, I can keep going.
Napster and costs for venues , and people are tight especially now everything to muckin high , no new music like when i grew up elvis to black sabbath, oh happy belated birthday, been fixing me laser had bad mirror, i remember was playing key west spindrs pearl jam nirvana u had to know them ugly kid joe , van halen
Alot of new music is not from the heart ,the most popular music 2024 August is credence clear water revival WOW,and Otis gibs read the stats , top 4 songs averaged, 850 billion plays all credence that all came from the heart , blue moon swamp album rocks by Fogerty got that soul to it
Brother THIS needed to be SAID! And YOU nailed it!
THANK YOU!!!!
Thank you.
@@badbrad you’re welcome. Again THANK YOU!
@@pablosmoglives you’re welcome. Again THANK YOU guys!
@@jonathanlafrance8643 I appreciate your response more than is within the boundaries of cool to really say. I have no doubt that if we met in person, me and Bad Brad would become fast friends, but I did say this in a comment of one of his videos in which he wondered where the "roll" went, that the roll was FUN. The humorless society of entitled brats who think they're entitled to the fruits of our labors for free has taken its toll, and I simply have no more tolerance for being ignored. 15 years of living on tips in cars and vans has made me oversensitive to it. It's a tangent, but I want to walk into the job of somebody who thinks "the song belongs to all of us," say, A RESTAURANT, order, eat, and then walk out the door after putting a nickel on the counter. When the staff comes up to me and says the food is worth more than that, I will tell them, your food belongs to all of us, and act offended that they're not happy with the pittance I have deigned to give them.
When the quality (and humor) of food goes down, make sure you throw some love at the chef.
It's entirely possible and even probable Bad Brad has made this point about fun before, and it's ABSOLUTELY true that there are at least 1,000 other frontmen in the Eastern Time Zone alone, no one has ever heard of, who would be glad to hire Bad Brad and a dozen other guys in this comment section; it's also true that a society based on "content" and "algorithms" is beyond the rubicon of humorlessness, and has problems that are much more terminal than lacking a sense of humor. I would tell you that I coined the term "estrogentrification" 20 years ago, in response, but I don't want anybody to rip it off and act like it's their own idea. Intellectual property is a real thing; anyone who says it's not has no intellect, and no ideas worth listening to.
Hundreds of songs on my channel if you're interested. I will never return to this channel to see if there's any response, or even any video of any kind on any topic, but only because 15 years of living in the parking lot on tips is my limit. The contempt "society" has shown my/our livelihoods has finally become mutual, and life is too short for me to tempt myself to anything even remotely negative from here on out. Suffice it to say, the only thingyou can say in English to surprise me is, "I'm sorry," and "thank you/you're welcome." So thanks again for saying that. I'm sure someone out there can relate. God bless Bad Brad and everyone who watches anything on this channel. I will never return, but it isn't personal, any more than my inability to write any more songs in a vacuum under a rock is personal. I just can't do it anymore.
Thanks again for your response. As they say in Spanish, "To God,"
This is a seriously great analysis of the trend line of rock. It is not a condemnation of the players, just a frank dialog from Brad’s perspective as a person on the inside.
Thanks Greg!
The fun is gone from everything. Anyone else notice..
I kinda noticed.
Unfortunately, I think America is going to have to go through some real hardship, like historic type, before all the current nonsense goes away.
@@Acemechanicalservices Hope not but.....
@user-et2fj8xm5l Nashville is not the best place for 70s and 80s style guitar based rock music. I've seen Reeves Gabrels put on an absolute clinic at small to midsized clubs and only a dozen or so folks seem to even understand the quality of the musicianship that goes into these performances. Only top-tier legacy acts seem to have real economic viability these days 😥
The internet destroyed the fun ....took away the mystery so nothing felt special anymore....
Perhaps so
Great analysis and summation by Brad. The '80s were about having fun. Too much fun! I used to tell my mom, who grew up in the Happy Days '50s, that the '80s were my '50s. And looking back 30+ years later, I was right.
I actually had to leave California and join the Army to get away from it all, get some discipline to get anything done. There were simply too many social distractions.
Never liked Guns and Roses, but dug a lot of the early and mid-1980s New Wave sounds. Great musical time! Then there was the Miami Vice vibe and fashion show that swept the nation.
Grunge cut through the post Punk, post New Wave, late '80s void of androgynous Hair Metal and Speed Metal bands that were all show and no go.
Grunge brought grit, pain, guitar solos and dirty '70s rock ethics - and hard dope - back into the fore, burying Glam Rock forever. Which was a good thing in my book.
Unfortunately, as Brad noted, it cost them their lives and took a lot of people down with them. A heavy price to pay indeed.
I don't think there's been a significant Rock movement since, and music is languishing in a soul-killing, techno=saturated funk and fog that's also killed Country Music.
Where do we go from here? Into the black hole of AI generated music and the death of real musicians making hits?
Live music seems the only salvation...
Great post!
Wow, the military as a resort to a better sanity. Ouch! I liked all of what you say. I sort of completely missed 80's music, my age 25 to 35 era, but really dig it now with its combination of synths, chime guitar, more interesting beats, more unique and upgraded look, just more fresh in general. And, I don't think I care about any pop music past some point in the early 90's.
AI music? Frightening!
What was pushed was the energy of the little hats, that control the industry, and all other industries as well.
You know it
You are correct!
Why can't they all be a little more like Geddy Lee? That guy's chill af
Ding ding ding we have a winner… tell him what he’s won for comment of the day…
Hello Brad: Such a great analogy of the way the music industry , bands and musical styles and tastes and musicians lifestyles have changed over the decades! Rock has always had a rebellious attitude, but it got somewhat dark in the 60s and again in the 90s to present. Seems to always be a negative with hard drugs. when bands kept a good time kegger,/recreational smoke attitude going, everybody had fun and was party hardy. Most seemed to moderate. But drink and drugs has taken so many of the greats. Bonam,moon,hendrix, Janis, Morrison,bon scott,and countless others. But sex, drugs and rock and roll is coined that for a reason .even some folk ,blues pop and disco acts succumbed to excesses that ended in fatalitys way to early. It's the nature of the buisness. Fame breeds money, money leads to excess. Excess leads to death. But drink and drug also inspired Alot of creativity in music. so many songs were written that way. its a mood thing. Like Nugent once said: jimi did drugs now he's dead, I did none and I'm still Ted. Music is such a beautiful thing in all styles and colors. sample, explore and groove on all that shit. It's magical! Thanks Brad : your stories and musical knowledge are exceptional! Rock on man!
Hey Brad, don't know if you're into the whole music as social engineering conspiracy, but I have some hearsay for you. I know an old-timer who was a big time dealer back in the 80's and he casually told me about how he used to sell weed to the guy who ghost wrote Appetite For Destruction. LA musicians and drug dealer are notorious for BS-ing, but it's food for thought since GNR were never abler to put out another set of music of that quality. It's also notable that Slash's mother dated Bowie who was ( is if you think he's still alive ) into the occult and Crowley. Looking through this lens, it's possible to see that GNR were a consciously engineered gateway to the whole H epidemic, I mean they were a nightmare to work with, their album cost 350 K to make and then it took over a year for the album to hit, so there were some higher-ups who really wanted it to happen.
I don't doubt that this could be a possibility.
To tell the truth nirvans in utero is a great album. Screaming trees sweet oblivion album is a total rocker. Majority of those bands were better than warrant and poison. You are right though 80s was great. I grew up in bellevue just east of seattle queensryche territory. Huge rockin town. Every concert that played sold out it was like an event. For 20 bucks. Then the 90s i split to hawaii. Lahina after graduation in 91, i used to hear about anc soundgarden mlb nirvana, playin clubs in seattle. A year later i came back everything changed in 1 year. The fasion changed just like that. Hey we drank alot of beer. I miss keggars. I was called a butt rocker cause i had really long hair and had a girfriend as a hairdresser made me look like a rockstar. If id lived in la id get way more chicks than i did here. Im glad seattle had their thing. The late 80s early 90s music was getting old. Power ballad after power ballad. Trixter and britny fox typ bands had to go. Seriously listen to soundgardens loudlove album, screaming tress sweeet oblivion album great rockin stuff. Just to bad every singer had a terrible ending.
It's the tragic endings that make it sad.
GnR has some karma to deal with at some point. People who were hurt, damaged or ripped off by them in those days. The musicians who never did heroin until they started hanging out with Slash. Axl treating everyone so bad & his antics… they definitely got lucky & went as far as they did. Other great bands with better character were passed over.
I think you're right.
A quick note to the young'ns reading this: I was born in 57 in Hollywood so right in the middle time and location wise to witness what he is talking about. . I was instructed by the O.G.s in my "Substance Orientation Class " - Never stick a needle in your arm, Do not ever do Heron, its to good you wont come back, stay away from speed it kills. Never drive loaded when you are "holding" always drive the speed limit and obey all laws at all times. I followed most of the rules and have lived to tell the tale. Many many of the folks I grew up with didnt ....
Incredible and deep wisdom from the dark side.
I recall R&R .. pre AIDS.. Before Cocaine got on top of people
Heroin was absolutely glorified in the 90’s. It’s no coincidence that our military was occupying a certain country that has a lot of poppy fields. There is a certain three letter agency that is known for drug trafficking… I’m not saying there’s a connection, but there’s a connection.
Music has always been used to create movements, not the other way around
You make a solid point...
If it's Afghanistan you're talking about, the US didn't occupy it until 2002
Hey. Apparently Snoop Dog is going to carry the Olympic torch from Paris to L.A. with his booty shakin' mama in prime time. Who's got time for Rock.
Lol
I can sing to almost every van halen song on their first six albums more than i can from the sammy era. I can sing along with dave better than sammy. Sammy can sing, i like sammy solo better than van halen. Hes got more anthems songs.
I'm the same. Dave sings in my range. I like that music better.
I was just thinking about this, and what happened to “good time rock n’ roll.” It never really came back after hair metal.
The closest thing was pop punk. It’s stuff that most metal people HATE, but bands like Blink 182 and Sum 41 were putting smiles on their fan’s faces long after the advent of grunge. But of course, for every pop punk band that was all fun and games, you had plenty where the lyrics were bittersweet or downright depressing.
Garage rock had its share of fun bands in the early 2000s, but none of them went multi-platinum, and that trend was over before I noticed it.
And I guess that leaves us with Buckcherry, who had a surprise comeback in the 2000s, followed by a flop. And then … that was that. Rock n roll in general kinda fell off the charts afterward.
Great observation.
Well put Brad! Thank you for these videos!
Thank you for tuning in!
Loved slash in my teens, but now that i'm older I really don't think any much of his playing anymore.
Tastes do change with age.
Slash is not about being a great technical player. Slash's brilliance is in the emotional resonance that seeps through all of his playing and that unmistakable guitar tone he always has had. Not every guitarist has to be a shredder to be truly great
@@dathorndike4908 I get what your saying...he plays the right parts with the right emotion for the song....that is extremely important and vital to the GnR sound.
good work Brad! I am your age and have been playing guitar in various bar bands way up here in Michigan's upper peninsula since 86 and I enjoy your perspective and insight, I share your love of guitar and the good old days, nobody dances and it's a constant struggle to sell beer with rock music it seems, keep up the good work!
Man you ain’t kidding. Thank you for tuning in.
Its like grunge tried to take the death and od's and bad trips of the 60s and 70s and make it a world view and life style. Perfectly said Brad! Music to be depressed by and committ suicide by while depressing everyone your around at the same time. From pretty girls and fast cars and loud guitars to hate , complaining and not wanting to live.
This 👆
Dude, the fun in rock 'n roll is called AC⚡DC.
Now that is a fun band.
Brad , I really glad I found your channel man you are tops! On the drive home from a gig in DC our bass player listed all the things that are killing live music & R&R ..I think we went to 25.(?)... DJ's Karaoke, Tough DUI laws, Smoking vs non-smoking, Spotify, venues closing down, gatekeepers, Just played out, Electronic music... etc..
Now we can add Guns & Roses... haha.. also Grunge in one season destroyed all those big hair spandex stadium anthem bands! I mean man it was OVER for them !
Yeah man that is so true. IT just keep piling on.
@@jamesday5636 super fast
While everyone was partying through the eighties I was one of those latchkey kids that got left behind. I probably wasn't fun enough! Cheers Brad!!
Cheers
I saw GnR open for Aerosmith in Birmingham AL. He fired the monitor man on stage in front of a full house. Classless dude.
That’s funny.
"it was a good time until somebody came to collect the bill". Great line!
thank you!
Brad you are speaking the absolute truth. I am 41 years old I was well aware of Rock and Roll by the time I could crawl and hearing everything that you talk about when it becomes the end of rock and roll and what happened is exactly what I've been telling people for years. They don't want to listen to it. Valley speak the main talking points that everybody says but that is not what happened. It wasn't because there were a lot of bands LOL I always said the fun left rock and roll and went to rap. Were there are women there will be big crowds when it comes to music. We are fortunate that this kind of music did get to live through the MTV era but man it really missed the boat on being even bigger than what it could have been. Which is hard to imagine.
You are so right! Glad to have you here.
@@badbrad glad to have you brad. I appreciate your wisdom and stories
@@hollandrocksls Thank you!
The story you shared about Slash dropping to his knees to solo and needing a roadie to get back up is straight out of This Is Spinal Tap!
It absolutely is and I remembered after I told it that in this case it was Duff who got him off the floor....he came over and put his arms out and in the middle of the song got him up. I saw it happen.
Poster child Keith Richards!!! Had his own mule following him around! Axel Rose is full of himself. Pink Floyd said it all! Wish You were here!!!! Welcome to the Machine!
Yes Keith was on his own planet. 🌎
This is Medicine man, Shaman and Sage level understanding of what happened.
And the main culprits were the corporate top hat/tiny hat people.
Before that famous turning point their greed drove them to oversaturate the rock market with copycats and posers (which inevitably come to any scene) and made even themselves tired of it.
Then, instead of making qualitative business adjustments, they threw all babies out the windows -with the- without bath waters, and just replaced the whole scene over night with something that wasn't better in any way, but generally speaking even worse.
The point of what one puts out into the world comes back is truth.
Man you nailed it!
I'm the same age as you, Mr. Brad. You nailed it. The grunge bands acted like they didn't like their popularity. Give me a break, right? Great point, on Guns and Roses! I never thought about that. I remember when grunge came out, and I really didn't like it. I'll always stick to my 70's and 80's hard rock and metal. Peace from Jacksonville, Florida.
Thank you 99!
Grunge was a pretty dark period.
Even Grohl figured it out hence:
-The Color and the Shape
-There is Nothing Left to Lose
Both fantastic upbeat fun albums.
Yeah it had to get out of its funk.
I personally think that era hasn't aged very well. A lot of the 80s hasn't either, but some of it is still fun to listen to, if from a historical perspective if nothing else.
Scott Weiland RIP. Appetite was incredible and an incredible time,but that was the apex for them.
Yeah STP was awesome. GNR never lived up to the hype.
I agree, GnR had one shoe in 80's hard rock/glam and one in grunge.
You know it!
Gnr to me were ac/DC mixed with Aerosmith and the like.
@@jerryhatrick5860 oh they def. were influenced by Aerosmith
When I lived in LA in '90-'91 one of my roommates was the brother of Ron Stalnaker who was Slash's bodyguard starting in '87-'88. I couldn't imagine having that job.
Yeah tough job.
This needed to be said. A clear concise observation on what killed the vibe.
Yea indeed. Somebody gotta say it.
Yep. I have often wondered, why can't we just have fun and rock? Why does this rock and or roll world always have to devolve into the lowest, most base and nasty level? I guess it is just baked into its DNA.
There is a way that seems right to man that many have traveled before. You must choose between the jaws of hell or find life through the narrow door.
Rock carefully!
Sage advice! Thank you!
Once again our Brad is right up in my face and mind. His big face on my big screen. Provocative in its best way. At 69, my usual prefix, I am both looking forward and backward at music. All I am going to say today that when I was a young working musician, you did not have to be big time to have a big time. My instincts tell me that older rockers didn't feel as stuck in the mire of manufactured consent as players and people in general do today. Even though music is now sliced into a million categories, it all seems a little stuck. Antidote? Several, but today's antidote will be the Watercolor channel and smooth jazz.
Have a great day to all and expecially you, Brad.
Thank you so much. You’re right we didn’t have to be big time to have a good time. I appreciate it!
Brother that Romantic's 'In Heat' record IS a banger from front to back, just like you said! It's been on rotation for a 3 weeks. And can we do a deep dive rig rundown on that clean crunch?? What guitar/amp setup is that? I must know!
Man I wish I knew …..love me to the max sounds like a Vox amp on the intro with a Tele….
Jetboy's song, Feel the shake has a great groove. Have you checked out any of Billy Rowe's "Rock n Roll Relic" guitars?
I've seen them but never got the chance to check em out...
Agree 100% Appetite rules, everything after: heroin and meh.
You know it.
Really enjoy your stories. What's your opinion on Jane's Addiction?
I like them. The rhythm section is stellar and they while not hair band, they were a force on the Sunset scene.
@@badbrad i agree with everything you said. Love Eric Avery on bass. I was 15 living in MD when my new girlfriend ( who is also now my wife) who had just moved from L.A. gave me a tape of theirs and it truly changed my life. In more than one way.
@@badbradalso, thanks for the reply. Coincidentally, a few years later, her best friend's mom was the girlfriend of the singer of a local hair band called Kix. My now wife and her friend woukd baby sit the guy's son amd by 1990 they were old enough to get invited to some of the parties and brought me. So I got to kinda see a bit of the lifestyle from the fringes hanging out. Didn't notice hard drugs like you've mentioned before. Lots of herb and booze though.
@@jfiery Wow I liked Kix...those guys worked really hard.
What is to keep someone from developing an ai software, that can figure out every possible uncopywritten melody and instantly copywrite all of them, and then just sue every new artist that releases a song ????
Scary right?
Man yes indeed.
Nailed it!
Perhaps so
I couldn't agree with you more Brad!
Thank you!
I really enjoyed your summation on the eras of Rock music. I have spent my life playing Country Music, what is now mostly referred to as (Classic Country). Most of this Rock talk is news to me. I’m a 65 year old part time weekend warrior lol. Not much opportunity to play in central Louisiana anymore. I really enjoy your channel, keep it up. 😉👍❤️
Sorry to hear there’s not much live music there. Louisiana had so many great musicians and a great contribution to music itself. Thank you will do.
@@badbrad Lots of music played in South Louisiana. There are many great players and singers down there that play all kinds of music. Cajun and Swamp pop music is very big in South Louisiana.
@@rodneyhutchins2816 Swamp pop...wow that sounds cool.
What comes around goes around...I'll tell you why....RATT. Fantastic look back. What you have said is point on exact! Being a 55 year old rock/Metal guitarist survivor from Minneapolis, What vibe you put out always comes back. I know this from experience. I still dabble in my home studio and probably will till I die. I am only into positive vibe music now. It happened to me over time with not really even being aware of my taste changes. 3 other things that have changed music...
Death of live music clubs.
Death of radio.
Birth of the internet, and the crappy current economy as people can not afford much of what they used to. Staying at home with the internet as entertainment.
These have greatly impacted the live music scene. What is the future to bring? I really have no clue. A lot of the rap messages are decadent too. I would not mind that vibe coming full circle. An end of it. Just me personally. Much of the attitude in Rap is really sad.
Lots of truth here. Sad to see the state of live music.
@@badbrad It's been a while since I purchased any new music. Yesterday I purchased the vinyl and CD of this band Red Giant. I have been watching the guitarist Dave Simpson on his YT channel for a couple years. The guy is a really good player and is always messing around trying different gear. His channel helps me stay inspired. Strange times we are going through. Anyway he found this baritone guitar in a dumpster and had it repaired. I have never tried one and would like to some day. Just thought you might enjoy this.
ua-cam.com/video/On_49WANiUk/v-deo.html
from seattle when grunge hit, lived in west seattle where cornell lived, soundgarden, nirvana, sounded like heaven, music fueled by heroin, rock stations in seattle wouldnt play them. music easy to slam to but hard to dance to.
Def. not dance music.
Robbin, Im glad you found your way out of the dark side
🤣
💯
Thank you!
Maybe grunge wasn't fun, but we didn't notice because we had a ton of fun at the shows. From what I have read heroin use was rampant in Seattle in the 80s and most of those guys used it before they got famous. I guess it carried over into more widespread usage in the scene along with the bands from that area.
I saw Alice In Chains. I would say it was more intense than say fun.
Totally agree..ever see the Beat Farmers? Fun rock and roll...NRBQ?..the smiles have gone..😢
NRBQ was awesome!
Dope has been around forever! Bille Holiday, heroin. Weed in the 30's Blow was around in the 20's Freud used it. I don't do Drugs anymore, but had my day. Best high is playing 🎸's and 🐂💩 with good people! Can't point any finger 🤘 at anybody! They all had their bad points!
You’re right it’s been around a long time and each gen plays a part.
@@badbrad thanks for the great video Bad Brad ⚡ Now let's get down to brass tacks if you don't post more videos of you jamming I'll hold my breath till I turn 🔵🔵🙀?! Keep rocking! Brother!
@@DanaDeerwester I gotta do that today while wife is away!!!
@@badbrad while wife is away Brad will play!!! Will be getting a T shirt from you soon!
I certainly agree with the slash analysis. He is sloppy just like ace frehley. It all lined up for them, and thankful so. I think and ace are overrated, but love what they did. Dave grohl said he never understood why everyone like nirvana, it was not good. Im paraphrasing, but he said it and i agree.
Sloppy can be good still!
I don’t man, I really believe there was a concerted effort to kill off metal in that era. I was 17 when grunge started taking off & you know, a lot of those guys were making very condemning statements in magazines & tv interviews about the metal genre.Even the writers in guitar magazines joined in calling metal uncool & stupid. I mean, kids are extremely impressionable, so if they are seeing this everywhere, of course they’re gonna latch on to what they’re hearing. BTW, I liked the grunge stuff too, I just never understood why both styles of music were not allowed to flourish? Why the hate toward metal? Honestly, I think the record companies bit off their own head by taking the strategy they did. I don’t mean any offense toward anyone, just my humble opinion.
No offense taken...and I really liked the drums and the songs on Nevermind...very catch tunes. It's a fascinating topic.
I think it’s funny the way people categorize music. If you ignore all the dress codes and cultural attitudes attached to all the genres, it’s just music. Even musicians get hung up about playing something that falls into a genre they disagree with because of how they dress. I had a musician tell me that Jimmy Page was overrated. I liked Kurt Cobain’s guitar playing. And songs. If you go back far enough it could be debated that the guitar is the devils instrument.
It’s music. People wanna be influenced.
Yeah categories are just ways to put things in a box but it's what the industry does....
@@badbrad
⭐️✅👍🏻
👍 great talk
Thank you
I never liked grunge at all, as it was so depressing and bad vibes. I never liked gunsnroses either and always thought they were so overrated and really just a one hit album band. Slash, was never a tight player and frankly he just got lucky being in a band that became popular with some hit songs, but he is overrated just like the band. I could never understand how people think of them as great because they are not great musicians by any means. Slash, has a pacemaker, due to the drugs and drinking, which ruined his heart. He ruined his earthly vessel and won't live to see old age. He's on borrowed time as it is. They are all to blame for taking the fun and inspiration out of music.
A lot of truth here.
One question, did you ever see Asphalt Ballet live? Their debut is amazing but it was released on the same day as Nirvana's teen spirit. I've understood they had a big following.
Yes I did see those guys I think it was at FM station....they were a good band.
The true story of Appetite has yet to be told. That record was one of the slickest ultra produced albums ever made. Let's face it, Axl though a great frontman has never been a good singer and only sounds good on the record. The rest of the band were all decent players, but nothing you couldn't have found by the thousands on the strip during that time. Far from the street urchin lore that surrounds the band, Slashes family were personal friends of David Geffen, like they hung out together. Axl when he first arrived is purported to have been "hustling" on Santa Monica until he hooked up with Erin. This was all common knowledge by the locals during that time and not taking anything away from anyone, just saying that most of Hollywood isn't what it appears to be. I'd really like a deep dive into the making of that record by people in the know because I have a suspicion that it wasn't what we think.
Interesting topic….
keith richard’s didn’t tell anyone to do heroin but many did because he did it. Same for grunge and Cobain. People emulate their heroes which can be good or bad depending on the hero
That's precisely it.
Interesting take. It takes guts to put this out there on UA-cam where it’s going to upset some people.
I think perspective is everything.
I grew up in the 90’s and, while 80’s music always seemed to be about drugs and excess to me, 90’s
music has always felt beautiful and substantive.
And I’ve never had anything like a drug problem.
Bands like Nirvana healed me and saved my life. I honestly think 80’s rock would have been more likely to push me into self-destruction.
But who knows? Appreciate your vibe!
Thank you. Most seem to agree but discourse is important and it’s an engaging topic. Appreciate your perspective.
I was a 80s guitar kid, I just stayed away from drugs, its not hard.
@@kerrybarnes7289 Wise choice.
GREAT VAN HALEN BIO- "RUNNING WITH THE DEVIL" By Noel.? Those guys were so naive and even when they made it the label was ripping them off so bad.
Noel Monk...great book.
Nu metal like Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock was the last of the fun in the late 90's to mid 00's but you prolly won't read this, care or relate as a Boomer who thinks GNR was the last of the fun times in 1991 before grunge... That being said, this Millennial would kill to be able to wear shoulder pads under a studded leather jacket to a White Lion concert in 1987! How big of an earring should I wear lol?
I enjoyed Limp Bizkit and some of the other NuMetal, I was doing my own Rap Rock Band around that time...
Giant Hoop Earrings were the jam.
I also think the crack epidemic had a little to do with that also Bad Brad is always right I strongly recommend if you discredit anything this guy is saying please bring paperwork. ❤❤❤
Thank you sir!
The Sex Pistols warned us...no fun, no fun...
You'll get one song and one song only because I'm a lazy sod.
Great comment.
@@terrygrady7683 always great comments on this channel.
Btw, you would be great at narrations/ voice overs for film projects. Cool speaking voice vibe.👍☮️
I would love to do that. Thank you!
Keith Moon, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and many others that were part of the 'fun' times of rock n roll died young because of poor choices. There are many flaws in your analysis, and that's one of them.
Fair enough....but that was the 60's.
@badbrad All of the people I listed died in the 70's. And there's many more that were later, like John Bonham, who died because he drank too much.
@badbrad You said the 60's was all about "peace, and love, and fun, and good times, and rebellion."
@@MrThinkingahead Yeah I hear ya. You could argue that when Buddy Holly dies it was the day America lost its innocence. Ala American Pie.
@@MrThinkingahead and unfortunately lots of drugs....and that was the downfall....
Where have all the grungers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the grungers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the grungers gone?
Gone to graveyards every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Good one...
i don't know, slash was sloppy in a good way. i would say 'greater' guitarists like page and hendrix were much sloppier, still in a good way.
I do agree with you there...it's what worked for the songs they were playing...so it's not always a bad thing.
I would take grunge over anything from the 80s and 70s, my taste
That’s your taste but grunge over Steely Dan…. Hell no.
@@badbrad hell yes !
It's like the people that say kisses and talented for some reason that always bothers me because I learned all of these bands music no one says man I love the Ramones even though they weren't talented. No one says man I love Wasp even though they're not that talented. Kiss is the only band that I find those statements with and I can tell you that it is absolutely not true from lead guitar point of view from drummers from the vocals I've never understood why the popular person has to say so and everyone else just regurgitates what they say over and over again.
Yeah that's not fair they are talented as are the other bands you mention.
There was fun gooduaic during grunge but new wave died also and the 90's imo was the last of good RnB
yeah after 90's R&B seemed to vanish.
From what I understand Guns were lucky because Geffen couldn't decide between them and Circus of Power when it came to signing them, he went with Guns on the toss of a coin supposedly, you were there Brad any truth to it?
I wasn't familiar with Circus of Power....never heard that rumor but it is possible.
Hip hop and rap was crammed down our throats. White kids wanted to be black. Ya know what imma sayin'
Grunge… when nerds took over rock n roll and found out they were still nerds…
😂
Seems like gnr and grunge are more appropriate now than ever. Many people have no future via the rich hoarding all the profits. Why wouldn't people who are sentient have an APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION!!??? GnR is way cooler than Van Halen. NIGHTRAIN vs HOT FOR TEACHER!???? Eddie can play as precise as he wants. Hes still got David singing stupid ass lyrics overs. "Bop wap a doo wop a shoobady dop"!!!
In the 80’s Yngwie was better than Eddie and Slash.
He was incredible and different. Apples and oranges?
@@badbrad
I agree. I just wonder what you thought about him. Maybe you should do a video on him.. He opened my eyes to a new genre in guitar playing. He has changed how guitar is played today.
A lot of hate going on 😅😅😅
Not so much hate...just observation.
@@badbrad I also grew up in the 1970's/80's Brad. You talk about the sunset strip like all they did was drink? GNR definitely did some Mr. Brownstone but so did Motley Crue. And I didn't hear you give them any smoke. And as far as drugs go more musicians including EVH have been destroyed by alcohol than anything else. Grunge didn't invent musicians using horse and GNR definitely should not be held accountable for other peoples stupidity.
Man I hear ya. I can’t speak for everyone and I’m just one guy with an opinion: I appreciate your opinion and enjoy the discourse.
@@badbrad Same here Brad, I can respect your thoughts on the subject and I believe we agree on more things than not. I love GNR and VH and I love Slash and Eddie as musicians and guitar giants. Just two different styles of playing and thank God for that. Because I remember those days and everyone wanted to be Eddie with a super strat model and a Floyd Rose 😂 God Bless
Yeah I like that Slash brought back the Les Paul....but man they always seemed out of reach price wise. Charvel had imports back then and it was just less expensive to get your hands on a decent Charvel.
Well Put. I have thought along the same lines for some time myself.... Grunge became very serious or something... Dark by all counts. Beer/shots and smoke to Shots in arm.
Also my incoherant thiughts about the progression of dancing Started as an activity everyone did as an expression and comunity activity. into RnRoll often overtly sexual which made it fun and rebelus. Then very groovy flailing 60s into, specialized and technical perhaps 70s, Thru 80s pop and post punk very OK to dance. Then the 90s. Other than rave scene its just not "Cool" to be Dancing anymore.... unless you consider twirking and the like dancing. I would enjoy someone smarter and more knowledgable about the subject to break it down coherently.
There was a “thing” in the rock clubs in L.A. where only the girls danced. The guys were too cool for that.
Tesla, queensryche and dokken, well George..
Loudness, kickaxe, krokus.
I hated poison. Loved crue and ratt in the studio. Live not so good Especialy Stephen pearcey.
Front man that couldn't sing.
There was a lot of killer rock and metal that Wernt the mainstream and underrated.
Yeah lots of good underground stuff.
I hated the 80s I thought the music sucked hair an thrash metal bands were garbage the best time for rock was the late 60s early 70s . On the other hand grunge wasn’t that bad I enjoyed at what came after grunge stoner rock I loved the way it combined the late 60s early 70s sound with hard core punk it was a breath of fresh air from what the 80s were like I said I hated the 80s bands 🤘
To each his own I love all eras just not that into grunge.
@@badbrad I love all eras of music to I just can’t stomach that 80s sound.and let’s just honest those 80s musicians we’re getting just as high as those grunge musicians were 🤘
@@badbrad I love all eras of music to I just can’t stomach that 80s sound let’s just be honest those 80s musicians were getting just as high as those grunge guys were it’s just that they were not singing about it
@@badbrad I can understand that your not a bar chord wonder.
@@kerrybarnes7289 I'm ok with bar chords...still play from time to time...it's a certain sound....but yeah I found Grunge to be very depressing.
1:45 Here comes this old Hard Rock aging, bitching , rockers revising history. This rock you are lamenting died because of ... YOU ALL. Every ten years there was a change. The 80s presumed the 1990s were going to be theirs ... for ever. I was there, saw Grunge in the fall of 1991 destroy a stale boring, stuck in a routine rock of that 80s decades in just ONE song from Nirvana. You will never revise what millions of us experience. EVEN until today, the grunge alternative music is still on going. There is nothing in the rock horizon like an Elvis, Beatles, Zepplin, Motley Crue, Metallica, and Nirvana. NONE. it's OVER long ..... ago.
ok.
Kenny Wayne Shepperds Johnny Lang Stevie ray vaughn.
The 80' had a vast variety of music but not like the 70's.
The 70's imo was the peak of music talent and bands in the 80's other than gnr were using heroin. Motley crue, ratt. And other bands. New wave bands even used and split due to it it's just not talked about as much.
You may be right and yeah I think the 70's were more organic and perhaps better.
MeToo kinda killed rock. Rock stars talk about meditation and there vegan diets now. They used to be more sex drugs and rock and roll
Perhaps so.
I agree with you 💯 on grunge ushering in harder drugs to the scene. I grew up in the LA area in the 70's and 80's. I was 19 when G&R released appetite for destruction. I never heard anyone talking about heroin before that. Someone had to explain to me that Mr Brownstone was a song about heroin. Grunge was definitely negative,low energy. Say what you will about 80's hair bands but those songs were full of fun and good times (except for the ballads,lol). Those were the days. I'm thankful I grew up then 🙏
Thank you for your testimonial. You are much appreciated here.
🤘🎸🎸💯💯👏💜❤🤍💙
Thank you 🙏
Dude really? Grunge did not encourage people to do dope. I think that’s a reach. The truth is hair metal bands starting making awful music which killed their scene.
Hey man I am entitled to my opinion and you yours...they definitely put that energy out into the world. Not saying hair metal didn't start putting out absolute crap...they did.
@@badbrad fair enough. Drugs have always been a part of rock n roll. I don’t think the Seattle scene was any worst than any other period in rock. I worked for labels doing A&R in New York in the 90’s and drugs were out of hand on the East Coast.
@@fonzsmith Yeah the east coast always had a harder edge to life and music.....much tougher there and so people end up going down a not so good path sometimes. California was a little more Sunshine and Rainbows.
Did Warrant sing about getting high on heroin? Did BonJovi? What about Poison or VanHalen? Motley Crue has a song about a drug dealer, ok. The whole grunge image spells junkie.
They started writing crap music? Like who, The Damn Yankees 89-94? The Damn Yankees were paid not to record any new material because the record companies were pushing grunge. The last Skid Row album was their best recording but no one knows any of the songs because it wasn’t promoted. Too many cases like these, I can keep going.
@@jimkalfakis9893I worked at Atlantic in the 90’s, the last Skid Row album in 95 was garbage.
Appetite for self destructive n like Aerosmith did to themselves.
They Wernt the first..
yes self destruction.
Chester Bennington, dead. Suicide music.
May he R.I.P.
Napster and costs for venues , and people are tight especially now everything to muckin high , no new music like when i grew up elvis to black sabbath, oh happy belated birthday, been fixing me laser had bad mirror, i remember was playing key west spindrs pearl jam nirvana u had to know them ugly kid joe , van halen
Thanks Blast!!!
Alot of new music is not from the heart ,the most popular music 2024 August is credence clear water revival WOW,and Otis gibs read the stats , top 4 songs averaged, 850 billion plays all credence that all came from the heart , blue moon swamp album rocks by Fogerty got that soul to it