Mötley Crüe, "Home Sweet Home"

19 Days to Find a Home



Mötley Crüe is a great pop band. Yes, they're silly, and soft when compared to their biggest rivals (Metallica and Guns N' Roses among them), but they've got an undeniable knack for hooks and melodies. If you ever thought George Michael or Billy Idol needed louder guitars, girl do I have a band for you.

"Home Sweet Home" was greeted by longtime fans as a sellout in 1985. A sappy piano ballad must've felt like a slap in a face to kids who bought Shout at the Devil for the pentagram on the cover. But 30 years later, it sounds like a coup to catapult these roughnecks into the mainstream, changing the joke and slipping the yoke. Nikki Sixx is smarter than he gets any credit for being (Theatre of Pain, the album which hosts "Home Sweet Home", takes its name from Antonin Artaud), and I'm still dazzled by the massive trick he pulled by getting a song by the guys in The Dirt to be covered by Carrie Underwood for an American Idol theme. Of course her version had to cut Mick Mars' solo--maybe Mötley Crüe are too rough to write pop songs, after all.

Mötley Crüe, "Kickstart My Heart"

Nobody really believes that this is Mötley Crüe's final tour, do they? Yadda yadda they've signed a contract saying they'll never tour again--these are not guys who are known for being law-abiders, or for their integrity, or for showing any concern for their legacy and reputation. Vince Neil's voice may be almost as dead as the guy from Hanoi Rocks that he killed with his car, but that's not going to stop them. Count on the "Fück the Cöntract" tour coming to your town before 2020.

Mötley Crüe is not a cool band, and it's easy to hear why Metallica and Slayer considered them the enemy. But they're much darker and heavier than the glam metal bands they were marketed with. More importantly, they're an excellent pop band. If you've ever thought that Michael Jackson would sound better with raging guitars and stadium-sized fills, Mötley Crüe is your band. I'll even give them credit for being more of a metal band than their VH1 contemporaries, like Bon Jovi, Aerosmith or Def Leppard.

You're going to try to not like this song, and it isn't going to work.



"Kickstart My Heart" is probably as close as Mötley Crüe will get to a signature song. Sex, drugs and cars led by two stolen riffs (Montrose's "Bad Motor Scooter" and Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love,") a blazing solo and a shoutalong chorus. The star-making sheen of new producer Bob Rock brought out an explosive, cinematic sound that nailed the perfect blend of Shout at the Devil's grime and the polish of Girls, Girls Girls. If you're wondering why Mötley Crüe is headlining arenas this summer and not Twisted Sister, here's a good place to remind yourself.