Twisted Sister, "I Wanna Rock"

For A. J. Pero.

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.

Song of the Day: Twisted Sister, "We're Not Gonna Take It"

One day when I was staying home sick from school, a baby-sitter brought in a CD of Twisted Sister's Stay Hungry to keep me entertained. There were only two great songs, but it was still a lot to take in for a boy who only associated the 1980s with Billy Joel and Weird Al.



This was before "We're Not Gonna Take It" was included in Rock of Ages:



Featured on The Glee Project:



Re-written as "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" for A Twisted Christmas:



Included on Kidz Bop 80s' Gold:



And finally, employed by Paul Ryan for his campaign rallies:



To the surprise of no one, Dee Snider sent in a cease and desist. The current top comment on YouTube for "We're Not Gonna Take It" imagines Ryan as the music video's authoritarian (played by Mark Metcalf, Animal House's Neidermeyer) getting his ass kicked by the band.

Can this song take it anymore? Like "My Generation" or "Jailhouse Rock," what was once an anthem of rebellion is now safe enough to be performed on an Oxygen reality show.

My answer is that yes, this is still a rebel song. People who will never hear of Black Flag need their belligerence odes just as much as those of us who pretend we're too enlightened listen to Taylor Swift. In separate contexts, "We're Not Gonna Take It" works just as well as "Rise Above," and is just as necessary.

For much of the world, which includes people who don't spend 95% of their days thinking about music, "We're Not Gonna Take It" is as revolutionary as Che Guevara. Dee Snider hopes that the novelty of hearing Christmas carols performed by a hard rock band will sell. Paul Ryan, who apparently overlooks rock music's philosophies as well as he misses senior citizens' needs and women's rights, hopes this song will paint him as an iconoclast. Rock of Ages even gets it wrong by selecting "We're Not Gonna Take It" as the religious right's anthem while the "rock" fans get stuck with "We Built this City." Maybe there are some things that Twisted Sister is still too cool for.