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Nothing However a Good Time: The Uncensored Historical past of 80’s Hair Metallic
Nothing However a Good Time: The Uncensored Historical past of ’80s Hair Metallic, directed by Jeff Tremaine, is a three-part documentary movie based mostly on the guide Nothing But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the 80’s Hard Rock Explosion by Tom Beaujour and Richard Bienstock, each of whom are among the many folks interviewed for the collection. It paperwork how hair metallic bands like Mötley Crüe, Quiet Riot, Ratt, Dokken and others got here to dominate the music scene within the early Nineteen Eighties, the loopy behind-the-scenes tales involving intercourse, medication, alcohol and consuming, and the way it all got here crashing down with the rise of Nirvana and different different bands within the early Nineties.
Kickoff: Archive information footage of Mötley Crüe, with the reporter saying “they’re each revered and reviled.”
The gist: Interviews with stars comparable to Bret Michaels, Stephen Pearcy, Nuno Bettencourt, Dan Dokken, Jack Russell, Rudy Sarzo and lots of extra are additionally mixed with archival footage, animated sequences and interviews with managers comparable to Alan Niven and Don McGee, in addition to executives comparable to Tom Zoutout. They inform the story of how arduous rock virtually died with the rise of recent wave in 1979, however bands like Mötley Crüe began taking part in golf equipment just like the Whiskey a Go Go on the Sundown Strip within the very early Nineteen Eighties and attracted teenage crowds, who simply wished to tease their hair and unleash their inside metalheads.
Though the docu-series runs considerably chronologically, he does segments on the period’s most influential bands, live shows and songs, together with an prolonged phase on the late Randy Rhodes, guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne’s band, who died in a airplane crash in 1982. The primary episode additionally appears to be like on the Us Pageant, which featured numerous metallic bands, and Quiet Riot’s “Cum On Really feel The Noize,” one of many first metallic songs to grow to be a Prime 5 hit.
What reveals will it remind you of? Nothing however an excellent time has the texture of different latest music documentaries like Lola: The Lollapalooza Storyand the theme may be very a lot consistent with the 2023 doc I Wanna Rock: The Metal Dream of the 80s (additionally streaming on Paramount+). And naturally, you may’t actually take into consideration this time interval with out going again to the seminal documentary The Decline of Western Civilization, Part II: The Metal Yearsdirected by Penelope Sfiris.
Our opinion: Whether or not you have been a fan of hair metallic or not – we have all the time been ambivalent about it – you are in for a deal with Nothing however an excellent time since music was such a dominant a part of the Nineteen Eighties, there are no less than a number of songs or bands you may get pleasure from revisiting. So you may come for the music, however you may keep for the tales.
The robust emphasis on the behind-the-scenes tales, with all of the intercourse, medication and bizarre conduct they contain, is what makes this docu-series so entertaining. Tremaine is not shy about exhibiting bands surrounded by bare feminine followers, and he encourages the folks he interviews to return ahead with some outrageous tales. A few of these tales have been then animated, making them even funnier.
Tremaine follows a tough chronological order, however does not persist with it religiously, permitting him to observe a path that connects bands, live shows, songs, and songs in a approach that is smart. Some consideration is paid to the deluded who thought bands like Mötley Crüe have been “satanic,” nevertheless it appears Tremaine would fairly persist with the ethics of the collection’ title than be leery of fools who did not understand {that a} of the Crüe’s first hits known as ‘Shout At The satan.
Intercourse and Pores and skin: As we mentioned, there are many topless bands, in addition to discussions of the standard late-night conquests that varied bands have had on tour.
Separation: We see and listen to archival footage of Quiet Riot singer Kevin DuBrow speaking about heavy metallic’s resurgence after New Wave took over within the late 70s.
Sleeping Star: Eric Brown, the present’s animator, ought to get a variety of credit score for making the humorous tales advised by the interviewees even funnier. Though a narrative advised by McGee concerning the biting habits of Tommy Lee and Nikki Sixx can be humorous even with out the animation. We additionally cherished Steve-O’s story about assembly members of Mötley Crüe when he was 12 years outdated.
Prime pilot line: We thought the interviewees made arduous rock’s fallow interval really feel like greater than it was. The “free tie” interval in rock actually solely lasted a number of years. However that interval will need to have felt like an eternity to the long-haired crowd.
Our name: EXACTLY IT. Nothing However a Good Time: The Uncensored Historical past of 80’s Hair Metallic will deliver again tons of reminiscences of the music viewers could have listened to in center or highschool within the Nineteen Eighties, however the behind-the-scenes tales will likely be what retains individuals who did not develop up with the music .
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about meals, leisure, parenting, and expertise, however he is not kidding: He is a TV junkie. His writing has appeared within the New York Instances, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Quick Firm, and elsewhere.
