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Cancellation under tension
American band Motley Crue has released a new standalone song, “Cancelled,” for the first time in 16 years. Igor Gavrilov talks about the band’s history and what it means in terms of the glam metal style it represents.
Motley Crue haven't released a full album since 2008, and the only new songs in that period have appeared on the soundtrack to the band's 2019 biopic The Dirt. The film was driven by growing interest in the band and glam metal in general. Following the film's release, streaming of the band's songs increased by 350%, and the age of fans dropped from 45-58 to 18-45. Motley Crue took advantage of this momentum by touring with two veterans, Poison and Def Leppard. The tour sold over 700,000 tickets in the first weekend after the announcement, grossing over $90 million.
It was nostalgic entertainment for older fans who wanted to hear their favorite songs. For younger fans, Motley Crue represented a bygone lifestyle of wild parties and illegal drugs. Suddenly, the colorful men in tights, high-pitched voices, and big hair had left behind an entire culture of high spirits. Despite being over 60 and overweight (just ask Motley Crue singer Vince Neil what he looks like today), they brought an energy to the arena that no one else had.
But few would dare to write new songs that claim relevance. Poison, as mentioned earlier, have not released an album for 17 years. Bon Jovi has indeed gone out of town. Skid Row, who attended the 1989 Moscow Peace Festival with Bon Jovi and Motley Crue, recorded for a long time without charismatic vocalist Sebastian Bach. Guns N'Roses reunited in 2016, but limited themselves to releasing songs from their archives. Def Leppard releases an album every seven years.
"Cancelled" is three Motley Crue songs in one cover version. But this modest release has a revolutionary directness and even anger that you wouldn't expect from the retired rockers. It's Motley Crue's first recording on their new label, Big Machine, and features the full participation of guitarist John 5, who joined the band from Marilyn Manson's crew.
Last spring, Motley Crue released the anti-war song "Dogs of War," and in the summer, they released a cover of the Beastie Boys' "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)". It's not often that a heavy metal band covers a rap hit. Finally, "Canceled" appeared on an EP of the same name.
It opens with the typical blues lyric, “I woke up in the morning…” But this isn’t the blues, we’re talking about something else here. “I woke up in the morning and it was cancelled, all I need is a picture in the Daily Mail, and the rest will be trashed by monkeys on the internet,” Vince Neil sings over the heavy riffs of the new guitarist. It seems to be a protest against the “cancel culture,” as Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee noted in a recent interview that the band was never “canceled” in the literal sense of the word. Vince Neil, albeit unintentionally, was only jailed for 19 days. Overall, “Canceled” is about the irony of being happy in your own way while everyone else is being cancelled because of the lifestyle that Motley Crue made famous.
The Cancelled EP, produced by 70-year-old Bob Rock, another heavy metal veteran, is a furious, far from glamorous sound. It’s much closer to alternative rock and the aforementioned Marilyn Manson than to the “girl metal” that defined Motley Crue in the 1980s. One cover features three themes: human rights, war, and “the abolition of the death penalty.” The song is full of irony, but other heroes of the genre usually prefer not to sing about the problems of our time (if they still sing about them). So even if Motley Crue’s new songs don’t hit the charts, the band members are being honest with themselves. They have not accepted the image of a cheerful rock pensioner indifferent to reality.
Paramount+ recently announced a documentary series called Nothing But Fun: The Uncensored History of '80s Long-Haired Glam Metal. It's a detailed biography of a genre that emerged as an alternative to new wave in the empty L.A. scene of the late '70s, became mainstream on MTV, and was then "canceled" by record labels who turned it into grunge overnight. The series is made with great affection for the old guys who once rocked arenas and now look rock 'n' roll minimalist in front of the cameras, with bandanas braided into their gray hair. Of course, Motley Crue is there, too, literally from the very first frame. The series was mostly nostalgic. But after hearing the new Motley Crue songs, it seems like the old guys haven't quite sung them yet.