Don’t Show, Don’t Tell.

Anyone who regularly reads my blog knows what a HUGE Rush fan I am.

I wish I could say that my first interest in the band came from their stellar 70’s catalog…

But, it was actually their 1989 hit, ‘Show Don’t Tell’….

I had previously found this a little too embarrassing to admit. I even recall keeping my purchase of Presto under wraps at the time.

However, I uploaded the entire two disc set, Chronicles, yesterday. I listened to ‘Show…’ for the first time in nearly 20 years (omg! I’m old!) and….

I still love it.

It was nice to see that the Steinberger bass was gone..

So there it is, I’m out of the closet. I feel free.

A New Trend in Men’s Grooming?

Upon watching Bob Dylan’s wonderfully awkward and bizarre Christmas video, “Must Be Santa”, I noticed an emerging trend in men’s grooming.

Stevy Pyne, experimental musician and guitarist for New York rockers Semi Precious Weapons, was the first to catch my attention with this look. And, in fact, inspired the tag for this trend…

Semi Obvious Wigs (SOW)

To clarify: The look is not men wearing convincing wigs, nor is it completely unconvincing wigs…it’s a sweet spot right in between.

It’s clearly a wig, but people must question whether you intend it to be convincing or not. That is the essence of this trend.

Have a look:

Stevy Pyne:

Dylan:

above is a still from this MUST SEE new video!

big thanks to my awesome brother Jason Martin for the heads up on this one..

In fact, I was happy to discover upon further research that several hollywood heartthrobs have been showcasing the look:

Orlando Bloom:

Zac Efron:

So take note my gentleman readers…and hit up a 3rd rate beauty supply shop near you.

I Didn’t WANT to drink the Whiskey, Officer…

I almost forgot that Slade is one of my favorite bands of all time.

Until I recently unearthed Sladest from my record collection…and now I can’t seem to listen to anything else!

This is just simply one of the most EXCITING songs to ever hit the charts

mamamamamamamamama..YEAH!

The Killers: Indicted for Armed Robbery.

I’m not really sure how I ended up looking at the photo gallery of The Killers on Lastfm….i think it had something to do with a search for feathers…

It seems needless to even say that The Killers are awful…

However, I was impressed by the quality of bands they have been ripping off.

Since the state of mainstream music, at present, is so sad that we have artists ripping off BAD music from the past…..this is actually something to write about…

What’s even more pathetic, is that it’s most likely a styling team that is responsible for these looks and not even the band themselves…

Well, now I’m thoroughly depressed….but here it goes anyway:

Marc Bolan:

Roxy Music:

MC5:

Motorhead:

I kind of feel like I need a shower after writing about The Killers…

I was glad to find this on youtube, this clip inspired me beyond explanation when I first saw it in the sadly unreleased MC5 doc, ‘A True Testimonial’…

Wayne Kramer’s performance should be established as a tutorial for any aspiring guitarist who wishes to rock.

Style Icon: Adrian Smith

Adrian Smith is often neglected in relation to the other members of Iron Maiden.

I, however, am somewhat obsessed with him.

I’m a big fan of his pre-Maiden band Urchin. But oddly enough, my favorite thing about him is his signature stance when playing guitar..it just looks so f-ing cool.

Oh right…… and I suppose he’s pretty decent at playing guitar….

In addition to all of this, his excellent fashion choices qualify him as a Starlight Style Icon (SSI):

Summary:

-Athletic wristbands

-Suspenders with high waisted spandex and/or leather pants

-Several headband options (but must be worn under your hair)

In the Early Days documentary DVD, he confessed considerable regret in wearing this leopard vest..

Adrian, I respectfully disagree

This is just simply the best Maiden clip on youtube right now. Adrian: all business.

Now I have laser envy..

Kinda Like a Go-Go Dancer at the Supermarket..

One of the best things about Iron Maiden is that they never promoted the misogynistic themes common among many heavy metal bands.

The brief appearance of ‘Charlotte the Harlot’ during this performance of 22 Acacia Avenue is one of the few exceptions to this claim.

As fabulous as I personally think this performance is, it’s actually quite awkward and ineffective.

Sorry guys, you are good at a lot of things but exploiting women just isn’t one of them…

Special Effects Anonymus

The first step to recovery is admission.

I am Lady Starlight, and I have an unhealthy obsession with low-lying fog.

This video is responsible for the condition that I am afflicted with.

(good thing none of the guys dropped a guitar pick..)

An Evolutionary Study Of Bruce Dickinson’s Hair

Bruce Dickinson’s hair is a very important part of Iron Maiden.

Before I got into Maiden, the only thing images that came to mind about the band were Native Americans and the lead singer’s hair.

I am willing to make the bold assertion that it is, in fact, the best hair in heavy metal.

We primarily think of Bruce’s coif from 1982, classic Number of The Beast-era. However, some interesting variations occurred over the years.

Here’s a time-line of the development of metal’s #1 ‘do:

Early 1982:

long long ago..in a time before the fringe..

1983:

classic Bruce

1985:

Sun-In?

1990:

my favorite...giving a little 1960's cher?..

1994:

seems it took 4 yrs to grow out the fringe above...welcome to the grunge era

199…whoa!

i think this one speaks for itself

Present:

an age-appropriate choice

Bonus Feature:

sorry, nothing to do with this post but i found this in my search, and it's completely amazing!

Style Icon: Ted Nugent

Ok.. so I know a lot of people don’t like the Nuge all that much..

Yes, he has extreme right wing values, shoots animals, and is basically a general asshole….

But damn he looked GOOD!

In fact, his gun toting ways are the key contributing factor to the look… from the forest to the gun range.

Fringe, animal skins, tight camo prints, suspenders, and the odd loincloth…you really can’t go wrong.

Even better in action:

When the Top of the Pop Charts was Actually Awesome..

It seems almost inconceivable at this point in pop music history that a band like Iron Maiden could hit the top of the charts…

But the following clip proves that it actually did happen.

They were the first band to play live on TOTP since The Who.

The crowd, however, seems less than enthused…but maybe they were suffering from severe fog inhalation.

Fashion Footnote: The clip also demonstrates two looks which i have been championing for many years:

1. Leather Jacket + No Shirt

2. Leather Vest + No Shirt

(One can freely substitute denim for leather in the above equations.)

And for anyone who isn’t aware….  this track is a cover of Aussie glam band, Skyhooks 1978 single. Interesting to see hear the difference..

Btw,  the b-side of the original single also offers solid good fashion advice “Don’t Take Your Lurex to the Laundromat”