The Last Vegas - it's been forever trying to write about this band and their record Whatever Gets You Off. It has taken so long because I can't embed the fucking video of their single! Goddamn ElevenSevenMusic for that.
This is THE post, if you will. I'm finally admitting, not without a trickle of courage, that I SO dig Glam Rock. Or Glam Metal, Hollywood Rock, 80's metal, Sleaze Rock, Spandex Rock. Choose how you label this genre of unforgivable looks, there's some good music involved, that's for damn sure.
I've always bantered on myself that I'm a half-thrash metal, half-hard rock type of person. That's because I really can't seem to slice up where the boundaries lie. Thrash represents the dark side in me- I hold on to this music in times of angst and dejection, headbangin' in my man-cave or swaying back and forth in such ominous cacophony as I manhandle my demons.
Call it psycho but I ain't slashin' my wrists in such an emo-esque manner!
Hard Rock, on the other hand, stands for the badass in me. The debauchery, the cowboy boots and my love for alcohol!
I'd say if it were to be based on personality and just that alone, I'm one notch more of a hard rock guy.
Notwithstanding the abovementioned split personality psycho babble, blastin my speakers with tracks from Whatever Gets You Off made me think how much of a Glam fan I am. And I figured that's because it's the one sub-genre of this very wonderful umbrella of heavy music that makes me such a teen forever. Whether I'm thrash or hard rock doesn't seem to matter anymore. I will always be this kid who will never outgrow, despite the silly looks and moves, my love for Poison, Ratt and Bang Tango. There's just so much fun to miss!
That's it, Whatever Gets You Off is a fun record in general. Though I can't say the 'fun' part is still stuck in the eighties. The Last Vegas, in spite of being a Nikki Sixx 'gem' has kind of re-modeled themselves into this one big dirty ball of sleaze rockers playing some serious abrasive type of rock n roll. Yes it's still rock n roll to my ears, and I believe to yours too, if you listen more seriously. The one thing that drags them to the metal category, in my opinion, is their use of heavy and modern distortion. But then if you briefly shove those effects aside, you'll be cleared to an underside of boogie-based rhythm chords and lots and lots of Rolling Stones type of swagger.
Get this album now whether you relate to all my sentiments or not. As for how I manage playing this record, I have given two stars for each and every song since I can play the album in its entirety. There's not one lifeless piece in here, and the first track of the same title sure gets me off I just might crown it my five stars.
In Whatever Gets You Off, the way in which the end of the chorus jumps right back at (yes, at, not to..just like a cat) the next verse is so insane in its execution! It's like hitting someone with a baseball bat and just totally forgetting about it as you resume playing guitar!
Now since there's just no embedding that official vid, and I can't even download the badmother and upload it back here in blogger's crappy player, do check out HELL!. Trust me, you will surely bookmark that one.