Super Mario Metal!! Bowser Castle Cover!

I found this viral video on the best metal site on the web, Metal Injection. Talk about a great way to get people to check out your band on MySpace. This is by no means a new concept (remember the OK Go video?), but it is relatively new to the metal genre. Not only is this awesome because it is metal but it is classic 80's Nintendo as well which makes it exponentially cooler. I checked the band Nylithia out after seeing the video and they are actually pretty damn good. Even if they sucked they would forever be badass in my book just because of the video. Enjoy this medley of metal, Nintendo, 80's, and creative marketing.

From The Closet - Don't Treat Me Bad

From The Closet "Don't Treat Me Bad" by Firehouse - The other night I was at Drinkers in Philly which not only has some great beer specials ($2 PBR's that get discounted to $1.50 if shotgunned), but they play some of the greatest tunes ever consistently. The next day after some early morning hockey Heidi and I were headed into Philly again for a nice long run. What do these two events have in common? Well both events involve the band Firehouse. While we were at Drinkers "Don't Treat Me Bad" came on and I was pumped. It was the first time I had heard the song in a very long time, and like a fine wine it had aged to perfection. On our way downtown for our run I picked up a Monsters of Rock CD that we had picked up at the library and what song was smack dab in the middle? If you guessed a little number from former from the closet inductee Lita Ford you would be correct, but you would also be correct if you said "Don't Treat Me Bad." The metal gods of the 80's were trying to tell me something; and that something was that a from the closet post was well overdue and there is no better feature than Firehouse.

Check out the video below and you will be amazed at how gloriously 80's these guys are....except this video is from 1991! I know I couldn't believe it! The perms and the balls in a vice vocal stylings are straight 80's. What is more hilarious and surprising is that the band achieved a great deal of success and critical acclaim in an era killed by grunge. Check out the wikipedia history of the band here (notice they beat out Nirvana at the American Music Awards).

Regardless of the conception of the song, "Don't Treat Me Bad" oozes 80's and has to be one of the catchiest tunes ever. I watched a few live videos of these guys jamming the tune and they can really play for a hair band. No fancy audio production on CJ Snare's vocals, this guy rips it live. This clip has inspired me to remove "Livin' On A Prayer" as the karaoke jam of choice, I just have to memorize more than just the catchiest chorus ever. Instant classic straight from the closet.

From the Closet - Lita Ford

From the Closet Lita Ford "Kiss Me Deadly" - In another installment providing the greatest memories of 80's past, I am proud to present a video that sums up everything great about 80's hair metal all at once. Besides being on of the hottest metal chicks of all time, Lita Ford gave us some awesome songs. None of those songs ring truer in my 80's loving heart than Kiss Me Deadly.

Kiss Me Deadly is the catchiest 80's metal tune ever. It conjures up images of Molly Ringwold, slap bracelets, spandex aerobics gear (for obvious reasons), and keytars. Lita has an uncanny ability to appeal to the bubblegum pop audience while still remaining true enough to her metal roots. This is probably why hair metal was so big back then, its crossover ability into the mainstream. Now I know all the real metal heads are probably screaming right now that this kind of music isn't metal and the real metal was still underground. True, point taken, whatever. I know if I was born 10 years earlier I would have been one of the pimple faced thrash kids wearing a Master of Puppets t shirt, a Canadian tuxedo, and white high tops complaining about the popularity and poseur nature of the hair metal scene. But, albeit conveniently, I can now look back with nothing but love for the cheesiness and hilarity of the 80's hair band wave. With all that said, no one can really deny that Lita could actually play the guit-fiddle and write some pretty cool tunes. Besides anyone who can be that attractive and still write lyrics like, "I went to a party last Saturday night. I didn't get laid, I got in a fight. Uh huh. It ain't no big thang" is fine by me. Although I am sure she never lived that experience, she projected that kind of attitude. Maybe it stemmed from her time with the Runaways, the badass all girl rock band from the late 70's, or maybe it was just her trying to fit into a hyper-sexual-macho 80's hair metal scene. Who cares?! She sold it and we enjoyed it.

I was recently watching That Metal Show on VH1 Classic (awesome channel for music fans by the way) and Lita was on the show being interviewed by Eddie Trunk. She looked a little worn for wear, which I guess is understandable since she is like 45 and there is only one way to go from being the hottest metal chick ever. However, she was pumped about all her fans past and present and seemed truly genuine and grateful for her career. She talked about how her own kids are grown up and now that the family thing is winding down she will be heading back out on tour! I am not sure I would pay too much money to see Lita live these days, but I appreciate her metal spirit and most of all the great song and video for Kiss Me Deadly. I have include a live version of the tune from her heyday to prove she could rock it live, however please do yourself a favor and pull the actual video out from the YouTube closet and enjoy.

From the Closet - Huey Lewis and the News

Huey Lewis and the News "Greatest Hits" - I have a confession to make. Most of you know that I am a huge metal fan and that it will always be my true love when it comes to music. However, I must confess I have been on a huge 80's binge lately. I have always loved the cheesy 80's jams but within the last year or so it's like I have been working my way backwards from the tunes I like today. I don't know if its the fact I was born in the 80's, that a lot of my precious childhood memories and photo albums are straight out of a cabbage patch kids commercial, or that I find hilarity in all things 80's. I just know that I have a soft spot in my heart for the era.

To feed my 80's music cravings I have been checking out CD's at the local library. What a treat. Its amazing the things you can find at a local library (including badass metal CD's). My latest pickup was an album I have contemplated buying for a very long time, Huey Lewis and the News greatest hits. I should have heeded the advice "don't wait until tomorrow the things you can do today," and picked this thing up ages ago. This album is a straight beauty! I always knew Huey Lewis kicked ass, but I cannot believe how many instantly recognizable hits these guys had. I think that is the best representation for what 80's music was all about; instant recognition. The 80's jams are the kind of songs that come on in the car and you can stumble your way through the chorus even though you haven't heard the song since the days when MTV actually had videos. I love tunes like that. Maybe its because I listen to such an obscure and unrecognizable genre (metal) that I need the balance of a band like Huey Lewis and the News. Or maybe its the fact that Huey is so cool that Michael J. Fox plays The Power of Love on guitar in the battle of the bands 80's edition during Back to the Future! Classic!

I love Huey's voice as well. This guy has the all American voice. Not to flashy, has a gruff working man's tone to it, and complements the News endless hooks. I saw a behind the music on Huey Lewis and the News a few years back and Huey's story is pretty incredible. What I find most fascinating is that a ton of record labels told Huey he wasn't any good; more specifically that his voice wasn't good enough! Shows you why the music business is in shambles, because those that do the business don't know anything about the music side of things.

Check out this track listing. Even the tunes I didn't recognize by name have the classic Huey charm and become catchy pop classics. Every song is a hit. If you don't believe me go get it! My personal faves are The Power of Love, Do You Believe in Love (classic video!), and Couple Days Off.

This has been another installment of From the Closet. I hope you have enjoyed and if you have any suggestions for future installments I would love to hear them.

From the Closet - Van Halen "Hot for Teacher"

From the Closet - From the closet is a new feature I intend to update every so often. I am a huge fan of cheesy pop culture.....especially stuff from the 80's. I intend to have the from the closet feature bring to the forefront of our minds music, shows, events, phenomena, and musings from days past. Enjoy.

My first From the Closet post is highlighting a classic 80's video. Not only is "Hot for Teacher" by Van Halen (not Van Hagar) the best song ever written by the band, it might just be one of the best videos to come out of the 80's. In an era where music videos have become all but irrelevant (if you don't believe me tune into the horrific mass of staged dating shows that is prime time MTV), it is refreshing to see such a bad ass video from the glory days of MTV. Check it out on my video feature or watch it on YouTube, it is 5 minutes that is very well spent.

This video has it all. A funny back story, kids fantasizing about their teacher, a hot stripper/teacher, variety show dancing, hot rods, and a 5th grade representation of Van Halen. It's a classic. I think Diamond Dave (David Lee Roth) was at his prime in this video. This guy was the man in this video. He is the walking embodiment of every high school male's interests and dreams. You can tell that these guys were just living the dream when they made this video. I bet it was hilarious when Diamond Dave brought in his lyrics with all the over the top sexual innuendos, which is highlighted by "I got my penciiiiil! Give me somethin' to write on man!" I can just imagine the gears turning in these guys heads at the fun they could have given the relatively new medium of music videos based on the concept of the song. It must have been exciting times brainstorming ideas. And frankly it worked. Between the chemistry of the band at the time, the song, and all the cool ideas they came up with this video truly is one of the greats to emerge from the closet.