TRAINWRECKORDS: Mötley Crüe's "Generation Swine"

Can Mötley Crüe, the defining hair metal band, remake themselves for the '90s? The answer will not shock you!
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[@MetagrossOverlordX]

"HEAVY LIKE PANTERA, BUT LUSH LIKE OASIS" bro imagine if Motley Crue tried to make a shoegaze album

[@joshuabrien2970]

I just imagine mostly thrashes and instead of smooth transitions to the more melodic parts its a hard cut cause they would just be fighting too much to make it work but the album still has Brandon on it

[@daishoryujin95]

@@joshuabrien2970imagining this is too funny

[@rhubarbdude3347]

​@@joshuabrien2970Brandon, but sung with Liam Gallagher's voice

[@daishoryujin95]

@@rhubarbdude3347 Brayanduuuhn... Ah luv yeeewwwww

[@rhubarbdude3347]

@@daishoryujin95 yew are theee oaaaneeeeeeeyyy

[@rizzo_grt]

I love how the Genius page for Brandon has a single annotation, on the "she is your mom" line, which reads "this is a reference to Brandon's mom, who is his mom". The internet is beautiful.

[@nate567987]

yes

[@michaelszollosi642]

R/Technicallythetruth

[@yudithcaron8053]

That one sounds like if Homer Simpson wrote a song about Bart for couple therapy.

[@rngsilvercraft3995]

This sounds exactly like the Peach song from the Mario movie

[@OrioleFan336]

@@rngsilvercraft3995 I had that same exact thought, but at least Peaches is supposed to be comical

[@profile1674]

Tommy Lee performing "Brandon" in latex hotpants is pure Spinal Tap.

[@My-cat-is-staring-at-you]

But did he choke to death on someone else's vomit?

[@profile1674]

@@My-cat-is-staring-at-you Nah, he's still alive. Still waiting for him to spontaneously combust, tho.

[@mickobrien3156]

KZbin has some funny commenters. Good one, Profile1!

[@mickobrien3156]

And If my dad wrote such a lame song about me just for being born, I'd mock him mercilessly. As one should. Song sucks, pop! That's what I'd say if Tommy was my dad, while pointing to Nikki's picture, and reminding him that's the songwriter of your band. Not you, pop. You stink at it. Now play what Nikki tells you to play and shut your face,. Then I'd personally call Nikki and tell him... We all want the Motley money train to stay on the rails, so don't let my dad stink up the next album. You do all the writing. That's what I'd say if I was unlucky enough to be 'Brandon'.

[@MrGared22]

Seriously. Pure 'Shark Sandwich' material.

[@phewiss3066]

No matter what you think of this album or the band, I think we can all agree that she is his mom. And she gave birth to him.

[@Xarfax321]

....Are we SURE about that? ;)

[@jonahfalcon1970]

@@Xarfax321 There were videocameras.

[@DiamondAxeStudiosMusic]

"Brandon" reminds me of that Phineas and Ferb song where Candace was singing about how much she missed her brothers and the lyrics went "little brothers... cause you're younger, we're related, and you're boys... little brothers..." over and over for 3 minutes

[@hellspawn1226]

Omg too accurate 🤣

[@ladyerin9710]

That ended being one of it if not my favorite song from Phineas and Ferb lol!! 😂 And plus Phineas and Ferb was such a great show!! And the song you’re referencing is called Little Brothers and it didn’t last for three minutes as the song was only like a minute and a half long lol!! 😂

[@PunkExMachina]

this comment cracked me up

[@theycallmeroach1911]

@@hellspawn1226 indeed

[@Shadamyfan-rs8xc]

That song was actually sung by her friend Stacy, you uncultured swine 😤🤣

[@ELSTERLING]

Fun Crue fact: The Bruce Dickinson song _Tattooed Millionaire_ was written about the time his wife slept with Nikki Sixx. Rather than getting angry or betrayed he wrote a song that expressed 'If you're going to cheat on me at least have higher standards.'

[@RozWBrazel]

That's probably more of a blow than literally anything else, imagine the person you've cuckolded rolling their eyes at your choice of bedwarmer with bored disappointment...and then monetizing it without blinking.

[@TheOnlyHollywood1]

@@RozWBrazel Better plan than beating the shit out of him

[@puppetgeneral39]

The song kicked ass too.

[@NJGuy1973]

@@RozWBrazel Guy comes home from work, finds his wife in bed with his best friend. He yells, "Larry? I can't believe this!" "I have to, but you?"

[@katherinealvarez9216]

So it was Do Wrong Right song?

[@Daeranilen]

"Let's make a baby inside of you" should be a Lonely Island lyric.

[@CaitCher]

Honestly that lyric also sounded like something that Bryan Adams would've written for Have You Really Ever Loved a Woman.

[@galleryofrogues]

Where else do you make a baby, in a loaf of bread?

[@DiamondDust132]

@@galleryofroguesThat is somehow a more romantic lyric than the original.

[@thatonekidinschoolwhoeatsglue]

"Nirvana killed my career" is much an interesting phenomenon because it sounds far fetched to assume one band could end a whole grene and take its entire fanbase with them but it happened

[@joellapuma8183]

Something that doesn't get brought up enough is that Nevermind coincided with the debut of Soundscan, so a big factor here is having really reliable data about purchasing trends. That's how they found out kids were returning Michael Jackson albums received as Christmas gifts and getting stuff their parents wouldn't like, like Nevermind.

[@adamw5803]

Van Halen killed off disco, so it's not unprecidented

[@joellapuma8183]

@@adamw5803 That feels like an extremely weird read of the era. I think it's more accurate to say that a combination of genre overexposure on one end and racism/homophobia on the other killed disco.

[@bill2908]

@@joellapuma8183 to be fair you could say the same thing about hair metal

[@kospandx]

@@joellapuma8183 Incidentally, the first album to hit nr. 1 in the Soundscan era was Skid Row's Slave to the Grind.

[@nothingislogical]

Tommy Lee singing "She's your mom. She gave birth to you." is the lyrical equivalent of that one episode of The Office when Dwight and Jim have to throw a birthday party for Kelly and Dwight makes a banner that says, "IT IS YOUR BIRTHDAY."

[@warlordofbritannia]

With a lyric like that they shoulda just called the album "Can't Kickstart This Heart"

[@rmyers99]

Reminds me of Coming To America: "SHE'S! YOUR! QUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

[@thema1998]

That banner is golden! 😂👌

[@francesthepossum1812]

“I wanna sing you a soooong About the day you came outta your mooooooom!”

[@againstthepods4316]

there are people in Africa who dont even know what electricity is and here yall are complaining about some shitty 80s band making a bad album, FOCUS ON REAL ISSUES.

[@BenEd2]

My favourite part about Netflix's adaptation of The Dirt is how it ends with them triumphantly reuniting with Vince then riding off into the sunset to release this album, as if Generation Swine was their magnum opus.

[@ToddintheShadows]

And also how it's a happy reunion. Beefs squashed, brothers reunited. Totally not a mercenary marriage of convenience forced by higher powers, immediately followed by another member leaving to start a rap-metal band

[@JeonardShadby505]

@@ToddintheShadows is it possible for you to do a "None Hit Wonderland" on Monsters of Mayhem and their one (s)hit song "Get Naked"? 😄

[@map04wormhole]

@@JeonardShadby505 I'm genuinely shocked that wasn't even brought up in the video lol.

[@SeanStrife]

@@JeonardShadby505 God, I actually BOUGHT that Methods of Mayhem album... and GOD did it suck.

[@hospitalbruteband]

that movie was a too much exposition for the debauch of it to be any enjoyable after the first time watching it honestly

[@johndavidtibbetts7320]

worst part is you can hear Vince TRYING to adjust his voice, but Vince's voice is like Cher's in that it was made for one genre and one genre only. That is a Hair Metal voice, and it is completely inflexible.

[@bobthebear1246]

Hey actually Cher has sung several different genres very well I might add. I get and agree with your point, but Cher is a bad example to use here. Paula Abdul would be a better example.

[@grego7345]

It might have been a decent album with Corabi. Vince's vocals are the primary culprit.

[@Champiness]

⁠@@grego7345As well as the primary selling point! What a double bind!

[@willdenham]

That's clear when he tried to sing the National Anthem at an off brand sports event.

[@sharkusvelarde]

His voice was/is shitty in any genre or time period

[@ImmaURq]

after pamela andersons book came out and she told the story of tommy pushing her and their baby into a wall and threatening them, that brandon song is even moreeeeeeee cringey and uncomfortable.

[@TacticusPrime]

He really didn't have a single thing to express about fatherhood.

[@kylenielsen5083]

Wasn't this kind of known at the time? Even Eminem referenced it. Todd referenced it her with the joke about saying the song's about a happy family and how he "incidentally" didn't see the ending.

[@ImmaURq]

@@kylenielsen5083 sure. I don't know. I wasn't born yet lol

[@Falxifer95]

Swine indeed.

[@JP-ve7or]

Isn't Brandon the one that got in a fistfight with Tommy Lee a couple years back?

[@dasstu]

I’m sorry, but the fact that Brandon is being bellowed by a coke-skinny tattooed man in vinyl booty shorts at a grand piano is just hilarious to me.

[@eclectictsunami544]

"Bellowed" is exactly the word

[@davidl570]

No wonder Brandon punched his lights out!

[@finnsterling6514]

Every single facet and iota of this song is hilarious.

[@Lunchbox224]

This song about my son is also dedicated to my hero, Ed Hardy.

[@fietehermans9903]

To be fair, that’s what I’m like on most weekends…

[@Rebochan]

I like how Nirvana killed so many careers, and then they basically saved Weird Al's career after UHF tanked. Everyone else coming out of the 80s floundered but Weird Al made one of the best albums of his career and topped it with a Kurt Cobain-sanctioned Nirvana parody right when they were at the peak of their fame.

[@mattgoett2799]

And the video had Tony Hawk in it

[@michaelboydston313]

Don't forget the butthole surfers had the career accelerated by Nirvana

[@metalbrainmextrememetalent6810]

Metal heads were so angry about Kirk and nirvana. Turns out he was a fan of heavy metal. I couldn’t make the transition from metal to grunge and alternative rock, I kind of hated it. I picked up underground extreme metal in the 90s instead. Mainstream metal was some real crap in the 90s too. Barely a shred of traditional heavy metal left in the new styles.

[@janjanbinks1710]

@@metalbrainmextrememetalent6810 I kind of went the opposite direction: I was into alt and grunge but couldn't transition into harder stuff lol

[@AaronOnTheTrails]

Crazy to think too how the UHF movie/album now lives on as a cult classic. That probably wouldn't have happened either if it was a career ender.

[@leonconnelly5303]

I gotta admit Brandon is so ludicrously terrible it actually goes full circle and becomes amazing again. Like he’s just pouring his heart out in the stupidest way imaginable

[@fireglo450music]

He's giving you a completely honest insight into his mind.... and he's an idiot.

[@scotty2tone]

She is his mom

[@TheBfutgreg]

Like a cringe drunk rant that everyone is like "ehhh" at in the moment....and then like 20 hours later when he's sobered up everyone messages the guy to see if he's ok Plus there's a newborn in there somewhere but I don't know where to put it....mostly because it isn't my newborn to place

[@FortessofShred]

​@TheBfutgreg Tommy had to make sure he was okay after he slapped Pam around while she was holding him.

[@JillLulamoon]

Kinda yeah. It's like he's this meathead big dope who's actually bursting with emotion but he has to express it like a meatheded dope. It's a bit charming. On this album take what you can get.

[@amandahaynes7030]

After watching this, I went back to my copy the The Dirt and read that Tommy wrote “Brandon” half an hour after his son’s birth. And it shows. In Tommy’s defense, we should note that it is difficult to write a song about someone who has no defined personality and has not done anything except emerge from the womb.

[@TooCooFoYou]

Stevie Wonder wrote “Isn’t She Lovely” about the exact same subject, and it’s one of his staple songs. A more competent songwriter would’ve gotten something with the subject.

[@pablodmdp]

Check out what dolores o’riordan sang right after givin birth

[@PeterGriffin11]

@@TooCooFoYou Preach!

[@BonJoviBeatlesLedZep]

@@TooCooFoYou Also Closing Time by Semisonic. It's not impossible to write about nor is it even uncommon

[@amandahaynes7030]

To clarify, I did not mean to imply that writing a song upon the birth of a child is a bad idea, only that a song about a newborn baby is a bad idea. What is the difference? A song like “Isn’t She Lovely” is more about the feelings and ecperience of the parent than about the baby itself. That is a much better subject for a song than just listing facts like “your mother gave birth to you.”

[@GdoubleWB]

There’s an episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia where Mac, Dennis, Frank and Charlie start a band, but none of them can agree on a style (Mac wants metal and hard rock, Dennis wants spandex and hair metal, Frank wants to do the Beatles and Charlie wants to be Bob Dylan), so they just end up doing all the styles at once and it sounds like a garbled, discordant mess. I’m now convinced that plot was inspired by Generation Swine.

[@DeadPixel1105]

"We should call our band The Pecan Sandies." "No Frank. The band's gonna be called CHEMICAL TOILET!"

[@darthXreven]

never seen always sunny but that's funny.... not as funny as more cowbell mind you.....nothing tops that skit for rock parodies lolz

[@Bopnan]

That's unfair to It's Always Sunny cause that episode gave us the masterpiece that is Dayman.

[@SeanStrife]

@@Bopnan AH AH AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, FIGHTER OF THE NIGHTMAN!

[@Bopnan]

@@SeanStrife AH AAAAAAAAAAAAAH CHAMPION OF THE SUN

[@nathancrouch5567]

“Terry Gilliam directs a Saw movie” is hands down the best description I’ve ever heard of 90’s alternative music videos

[@exquisitecorpse__]

I'd watch the hell out of that movie

[@ArizonanSummer]

Absolutely the highlight of this episode.

[@themysteriouscrumpet]

'MARILYN MAN-SON'S FLYING CIR-CUSSSS.'

[@Replicaate]

And now I'm mad that Terry Gilliam never directed a Saw movie.

[@henryglennon3864]

@@Replicaate If he did, there would probably be some sort of horrible accident on set, and the movie would get seized by the insurance company, and never released. And then someone was hit by lightning.

[@goteblensnorkin8572]

1997 was the year of Daft Punk's Homework, Radiohead released OK Computer, and Foo Fighters dropped The Color and the Shape... the Crüe never stood a chance

[@thecactussword4304]

StarCraft 1 also came out then, invalidating the need for any other work of art from release until 1998 due to the insurmountable task of competition with such a masterpiece. Poor Crue

[@Thomasmemoryscentral]

What about a lot of the 90's one hit wonders Todd covered: Mmmbop, Lovefool, Tubthumping. Not to mention the ones he didnt cover from that year such as Barbie Girl yet. Motley Crue got overshadowed by acts such as Aqua and Hanson.

[@thecactussword4304]

@@Thomasmemoryscentral mannn Motley Crue got overshadowed by *Arin Hanson* poor Crue

[@nirvhannahgarden]

the deftones' around the fur came out that year, too, an album which was a mishmash of styles in its own rite (then they put out their masterpiece white pony in 2000). thing is, genre roulette is the deftones' bread and butter, and their lyrics are far more tender and erotic. just that on its own put crue in a losing position

[@paisleepunk]

Also, The Verve's Urban Hymns album came out that year.

[@nickchambers3935]

13:39 The “is she running from her past” line is pretty ironic given that it was probably HIS past she was running from

[@JP-ve7or]

Dude, I just read his Heroin Diary entry yesterday about the time he knocked Vanity unconscious and dragged her out into the street and yeah, can't blame a girl for being a little gun shy.

[@modestestmouse4820]

The lyrics for 'Brandon' are like that episode of Succession where Connor is at the funeral of someone who's been revealed to be a sexual abuser and can't risk caught getting praising him, so he starts listing factual statements in the eulogy

[@fauxrowsdower7610]

this made me picture brandon solemnly giving a speech at tommy's funeral "Tommy was my dad. I am Brandon, his son. I loved him, and I love her (my mom) and Tommy is dead now. Mom is sad"

[@gloss6969]

‘When a man dies it is sad, all of us will die one day. In this case it is Lester who has done so.’

[@RichV20]

Let's Go "Brandon"

[@tombingus3984]

​@gloss6969 Lester was a man. He worked for waystar for 40 years. Lester had a wife. Now she is sad.

[@TheAndrewj96]

“Hey baby, how about this for the eulogy? ‘Lester touched all of us.’”

[@adamandsethdylantoo]

I legitimately find it hard to believe that Brandon was not, in fact, written to be sung by Trey Parker

[@jimthar17]

I wouldn't doubt if somewhere in the South Park series they did, in fact, make fun of this song. It wouldn't surprise me at all.

[@BillAbendroth]

Harsh, man.... that's just harsh.

[@07foxmulder]

@@BillAbendroth “It may be harsh but Stan Marsh, you are my son”

[@daelen.cclark]

Didn’t “Peaches” do that?

[@1987MartinT]

Picture it in the Cartman voice.

[@EngineerLume]

Sebastian Stan's smirk after saying "It's 90's Crue!" Is so perfect

[@eamonndeane587]

Such a Great actor.

[@afterdinnercreations936]

I thought he said "Nine Inch Crue"

[@psycho_dog33]

@@afterdinnercreations936 Mötley Nails

[@Thomasmemoryscentral]

Wait, that is Sebastian Stan? Whoa, the makeup and costume got me fooled into that is Tommy Lee there!

[@PorkchopGMX]

@@afterdinnercreations936 COME ON SWINE! MARCH!

[@thearmchairjournalist566]

‘I read their book & they’re all awful people’ my new quote of the day 🤣🤣🤣

[@ironcladlou]

I was working at Hot Topic when this came out. We stocked a tie-in Motley Crue soda called Motley Brue that was so blue, one of its selling features was that it turned your shit blue.

[@NJGuy1973]

Motley Blew.

[@Clay3613]

Hot Topic in 1997? They barely had any stores then!

[@someguy7424]

Blue shit? I’m sold.

[@Replicaate]

Think there's any unopened cases lurking anywhere these days? We might have an experiment to conduct.

[@redvelvetunderground]

@@Replicaate they sell it on ebay but i probably wouldn't drink a 30 year old soda, though your diarrhea might be blue

[@RaginLarper]

Best lyrics of the 90s, rivaling anything that hack Kurt Cobain ever wrote: "I love you. I love her. She is your mom." Just beautiful.

[@jacobm92]

SHE IS YOUUUUR MOM

[@someguy7424]

@@fremenchips Thank you. Cobain was pretty good at crafting good hooks, but as a lyricist I think he’s horribly overrated.

[@cugamer8862]

I'd like to think that Kurt would find that funny as fuck.

[@connorbeith3232]

Muscle Man would probably sing it tho.

[@insanusmaximus2857]

I literally couldn't believe what I was listening to when I first heard it. Like... did all that heroin eat away Tommy Lee's Broca's Area?

[@Microtonal_Cats]

18:12 Mick Mars: "That album fucked me up." Mick Mars was always the most honest, and coolest member of that band.

[@warriorv9359]

The only true badass of this band

[@SkyExplosion]

I prefer Nikki especially after his book

[@aimstar11]

I played the song "Brandon" to my 4.5 year old son (whose name IS Brandon!). His verdict? "mummy, this sounds really messy!" Son, you're not wrong 😛

[@michaelboydston313]

PFFFFFFFFT HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[@brycemcneil4404]

You're raising a good egg there 😊

[@thedatabase677]

I was dying of laughter through the song about the one guy's kid. It sounds like a satire song that a skit show would have making fun of those kinds of songs. It somehow got even funnier when he said the guy had other kids too.

[@febcortes5878]

BRANDON,,, you are my son~~ No shit Tommy hahaha

[@wrh7735]

Sounds like something Trey Parker and Matt Stone would sing in deliberately stupid voices on South Park.

[@josephstarnes8747]

@@wrh7735 HA! South Park was the first thing that popped in to my mind as well. :))

[@doctorbarber1]

@@wrh7735 Yeah that's the first thing that came to mind for me too. Sounds like when they were mocking Phil Collins or doing one of their country parodies.

[@jacquiecotillard9699]

“You bring tears to my eyes so well”

[@jojonoa3590]

"I wish Bryan Adams had written more of this" might just be the deepest burn in music critic history. That's heat death of the universe level.

[@littlekingtrashmouth9219]

I haven’t even watched this episode and I know I’m in for a good one. It’s not every day you hear the worst insult in your life

[@shuichisaiharatheultimated6754]

😌 Shots fired on that burn 🔥

[@whenfatkillsfat803]

He has history with the Crue. He did background vocals for Sticky Sweet.

[@MdlAgedHeadbanger]

Kiss brought him in to punch up some songs and he co-wrote "Rock and Roll Hell" and "War Machine" for Creatures Of The Night. I guess lightning could have struck twice.

[@Sixfortyfive]

"Heat death of the universe" is kind of the opposite of a deep burn. It's a theoretical future in which the energy of everything in existence has gradually spread out and evened out to the point where there can no longer be any further transfer of energy or heat at all. And with that "well actually," I'll see myself out.

[@ARCWuLF]

I had never heard "Brandon" before. I laughed out loud. Easily the best hair metal ballad parody ever put on tape.

[@joesmith9216]

fuck yeah, and he sang in bondage shorts, aw, tommy you are a freak.

[@afterdinnercreations936]

Motley Crue couldn't pull off grunge or alt-rock for one simple reason: their egos are just too intertwined with their image. The thing about 90s alt-rock is learning to let go of your ego. It wasn't just the sound; but the willingness to sing character-songs like Polly or Frances Farmers, to sing about utter-nonsense like Teen Spirit, Peaches, & the Sweater Song, or the willingness to self-deprecate like Creep. It wasn't just in their music, that was the attitude of the bands, too. Most of the alt-rock bands of the 90s either shunned the limelight (Pearl Jam), broke up early (Soundgarden), or the key-players utterly-dissolved (Stayle and Cobain) Motley Crue couldn't sing character-songs because it's not about them. Motley Crue couldn't write songs about angst or drugs as a negative, they had to bring the party. Motley Crue couldn't sing about nonsense, they gotta look cool for the cameras. Motley Crue couldn't self-deprecate, they have groupies & girlies to impress. They're still the bands that the grunge and alt-rock guys of the 90s were railing against. "She's so afraid to kiss, and so afraid to laugh" has nothing on "Polly wants a cracker, I think I should get off her first"

[@AnnoyingOrange420]

I think that's it, the beginning of find myself isn't so bad, but like Todd says as soon as Vince starts singing it's more goofy bullshit. "I'm a rock n roll machine" is the exact opposite of what the opening lyrics are trying to convey, the irony and self reflection are demolished by that chorus (or verse whatever section it technically is). And the music video for afraid is laughably detached from the lyrics and backstory of that song, no amount chugging riffs and creepy videos can make Motley Crue grunge, or truly authentic

[@GetBenched2010]

Grunge sucked shit, let it go.

[@GetBenched2010]

@@bloomtikbloom9593 I'll give Dave Grohl credit, he never acted that way or talked that way. All he saw was being a rock star and chicks back stage. He thought he was a rock star, his bandmates thought they were modern philosophers. Guess which one was right.

[@laggy3099]

I mean it's been a while since I heard it, but what about Dr. Feelgood?

[@rogeliofernandezjimenez3053]

@Bloom Tik Bloom I agree, Motley were authentic, they lived to the extreme and their music reflected it. I love it.

[@gustavmarie]

One big irony of the "Nirvana killed our career" thing and Motley Crue - Kurt Cobain famously thought Butch Vig's production on Nevermind made the band sound like Motley Crue - too polished, overcompressed and that overbearing snare sound. Hence, the band's decision to record In Utero with Steve Albini. Also I remember Henry Rollins making fun of the song Brandon on one of his spoken word things.

[@afterdinnercreations936]

Strange because there's a reason Nevermind remains such a landmark album. The songs sounded great!

[@Joe90h]

@@afterdinnercreations936 Both statements can be true. Nevermind did have a clean, more mainstream feel to it that brought a lot of people in, but it was the wrong feel for Kurt who preferred a more gritty sound. And If Nirvana had made more than 3 albums, I suspect Kurt's instincts would have been the correct ones for the band's longevity.

[@someguyinguam]

Meanwhile, Metallica sought out Bob Rock because of his work with Crue, and out of that came The Black Album. How about that?

[@afterdinnercreations936]

@@Joe90h If Kurt didn't do the deed, Nirvana would've made one more album, break-up, and Kurt would've left the public-eye and/or become a songwriter.

[@thenextsteveblackman]

Vig was right. One of the things that kept Hüsker Dü and The Replacements from breaking out before Nirvana was substandard production. Neither captured what the bands sounded like live. Instead, they were thin and kind of tinny. Nevermind's sound is artificial, but it's big, crisp, and in your phase. Couple that with a pretty, charismatic frontman like Kurt Cobain, and you've struck gold.

[@stradify1]

That "Brandon" song is one of the most unintentionally funny things we've ever heard on Trainwreckords

[@Thomasmemoryscentral]

Weird thing is this episode almost reminds of Van Halen III where the final song covered is an attempt to be deep but is just laughable in how they messed up. Though which is more cringeworthy? Tommy Lee singing a bare minimum ballad on his newborn song or Eddie singing a ballad asking "deep questions"

[@freakfoxvevo7915]

@@Thomasmemoryscentral Brandon, easily.

[@rebellyanmagic6409]

Especially given that (IIRC), Brandon is estranged from Tommy. Even got into a fistfight

[@mokinokaro]

Believe it or not, I remember that hilarity getting radio play.

[@samuelwetz8378]

Anytime someone brings up that song I always think of a Metal podcast that reviewed Generation Swine and they just tore apart the song 🤣

[@ApocalypseMoose]

"We want Pantera but also Oasis." How can you be a legendary band that was active for over a decade and think that somehow sounds like a good idea?

[@ironicdivinemandatestan4262]

Cocaine.

[@joesmith9216]

ALBUM SALES

[@Malkmusianful]

I dunno. I am to be like Phil Anselmo if he started screaming in the middle of "Wonderwall." Either that or if Liam and Noel decided to argue on "Cowboys from Hell." I like music that sounds like it comes from wildly disparate places.

[@laggy3099]

​@@MalkmusianfulI'm imagining one of Liam's rants during the Wembley gig but over the riff to Walk

[@shapeshifter2226]

​@@laggy3099even better. The recording of the brothers arguing over said riff

[@mattypenta]

This era of Motley Crue sounds like something you'd hear in a movie starring Pauly Shore and Corey Feldman.

[@kospandx]

Ironically, Vince Neil's first solo album supplied a single to Encino Man.

[@joesmith9216]

corey should have took vinces place!!!!!!!!!

[@lovelessact1]

Brandon is the song equivalent of when your parents leave you a voicemail saying this is your mom and dad like you don’t know who they are

[@edwinbarrera2]

🤣🤣🤣 well said. My mom did that and i told her to stop 😅🤣🤣

[@NovemberXXVII]

The album tanking was actually the best thing that ever could have happened for Brandon. Imagine that kid as a teenager in a world where "Brandon" got actual airplay - he'd never live it down.

[@finnsterling6514]

Sorry, but no. "Brandon" actually ended up being his Senior Prom theme, and every slow dance was to that song.

[@namemcnamerton4249]

So basically what the politics obsessed are doing to Brandon’s everywhere today.

[@xamp_exclammark]

@@namemcnamerton4249 there is one brandon in this world they cant knock down,it's Lil B

[@x_VineM_x]

@@xamp_exclammark TYBG

[@donalvarez4006]

@@finnsterling6514 Nooooo

[@Abear138]

Rikki: So you're playing some smaller venues now. Nikki: Our appeal is becoming more... selective.

[@someguy7424]

Tommy: Are we gonna play Brandon tomorrow? Nikki: NO WE’RE NOT GONNA FUCKING PLAY BRANDON!

[@notanotherjamesmurphy5574]

“The whole point is to make ‘Generation Swine’ a statement within itself, thereby making Motley Crue a movement.” *Yeah, a bowel movement*

[@OrgaNik_Music]

It's also some brilliant marketing, because none of that means anything

[@thelastchannelonyoutube]

Out of all the horrible creative choices, Brandon is the funniest song to me conceptually. Imagine going to a show thinking “aw yeah! Rock n roll” and then the drummer is like “wait, let me pull out the piano so I can show you how cute my kid is”

[@nickchambers3935]

Not even that though, it’s just “let me list some factual statements about my son”

[@alisaurus4224]

“My son is named Brandon He is my child He was a baby but got bigger He lives in my house”

[@connorbeith3232]

@@alisaurus4224 He plays with toys He watches TV

[@blackbartthepoet3820]

Is Brandon his kid that beat the shit out of him and posted a photo of him knocked out?

[@insanusmaximus2857]

@@alisaurus4224 He came out of my wife's vagina. Not even I can do that, and I've tried. A lot.

[@martijnstuart95]

The funniest thing about "Brandon" is that Brandon hates his dad now. He got into a fist fight with him just last year. I like to think it is partly because of the song.

[@davidl570]

Guarantee that's the main reason!

[@Betta66]

Definitely not the worst parent-child relationship in rock

[@scotty2tone]

Crüe has always had "fight your dad and punch a hole in the wall" energy

[@CaptainCJ97]

Damn

[@shatnerhasselhoff]

It’s not, it’s because he has a drunk, arrogant dad.

[@MikeFromOz]

I would really love a playlist of Todd's KZbin videos where he mentions Nirvana killing a band. I just love when it comes up.

[@andysee6996]

I just read your comment and made a playlist. To be fair, it also includes The Butthole Surfers who were launched by Nirvana rather than ended by them. I thought it was too good to pass up. kzbin.info/aero/PLmjPnVXyTxN1zXpkhoZd7xJgX9ttTtV6h

[@jables9229]

Nirvana killed Nirvana

[@Blizofoz45]

Funny how in 1997, grunge/alternative was about to get steamrolled by the Spice Girls the Backstreet Boys. You never hear that side of the story.

[@junkhead_92]

@@Blizofoz45 Nirvana broke up in 1994 shortly after Kurt Cobain's death, Soundgarden broke up in 1997, Alice in Chains went on hiatus until 2009 after Layne Staley left the band in 1996, the bigger grunge bands pretty much ended themselves before any of that happened except for Pearl Jam, which remained succesful, most other grunge bands like Mudhoney or Screaming Trees weren't even popular outside of Seattle to begin with and had like what, two hit songs? Not to mention bands like Radiohead, Foo Fighters and Deftones were thriving in the late 90's, they weren't killed, they coexisted.

[@magicwindow6682]

WITH THE LIGHTS OUT

[@iwritechecksatthegrocerystore]

Ok for real though that: “I’m a weirdo… Woooo!” Had me fucking dying 😂

[@iwritechecksatthegrocerystore]

Edit: 3 months later: my wife and I are watching “guardians of the galaxy 3” and I’m trying to explain “I’m a creep I’m a weirdo whooo!” this to her. 😂 This is such a good video . Thank you.

[@cartmann94]

22:06 “Let’s make a baby inside of you”. Nikki Sixx singing with all the eloquence of an eight-year old who just discovered that babies are not brought by storks from Paris.

[@galleryofrogues]

ewwwwwwwwwwwww

[@TimmyTickle]

IMO, that lyric is worse than anything off "Brandon"

[@rpgaholic8202]

Of course not a stork from Paris... usually a shag in the back seat.

[@oswaldfigglebottom]

They're not?

[@porcupineangel6632]

I love Todd's tiny- but visible- smirk of glee when he says "and then..." before cutting to Smells like Teen Spirit. True artistry

[@emilyadams3228]

Yes, he was in Nirvana. Sorry, didn't mean to be so Kurt about it. tee hee

[@TMC1982Part2]

Somebody recently told me on Todd's channel that "Generation Swine" is like the Motley Crue version of MC Hammer's "The Funky Headhunter". Both were party-song artists trying to go darker and heavier, but failed because their roots are too noticeable.

[@freakfoxvevo7915]

I've seen more people compare it to Van Halen 3, but your comparison also works here, too.

[@dusty2080]

And both had similar backgrounds to the darker artists they were trying to emulate (Hammer came from the streets and had gang connections, while Motley Crue lived like squatters with terrible, almost fatal, drug addictions) but just couldn't make them come across in their music due to them still clinging to their old personas

[@MrRyan-wu4jx]

I think they would’ve been much better off just sticking to who they were. Millions of people bought their albums in the 80s, they weren’t all just gonna not like that style anymore just because grunge happened.

[@MrSkerpentine]

Rewatching this video made me go “how the fuck does Vince manage to pull off 90’s grunge frontman worse than Hammer pulling off a hardcore gangsta even though he had a lot of the credentials”

[@frankdries6788]

Exactly sir. I mean they should have gotten back together with Bob Rock. Worked with Doctor Feelgood and it worked for Metallica. Maybe they could not afford him.

[@jmckenzie962]

Todd absolutely should do a Trainwreckords on "Time" by Fleetwood Mac. By 1995 both Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham had left the band so they brought in two country randos to replace them... which went about as well as you'd expect. Christine McVie recorded all her songs completely separate from the rest of the band and has outright stated she did not want to be on the album and even in the band anymore by then. Oh yeah, and in a similar vein to "Van Halen III", another example of a 70s/80s band trying and failing catastrophically to reinvent themselves for the 90's, the final track is a 7-minute ambient piece with spoken words recited by Mick Fleetwood himself - the only time he stepped in front of the mic, which, again, went about as well as you'd expect. All of this ended up resulting in a record that was unreal levels of bad, and it was a complete commercial flop as well, not even charting on the Billboard 200. And to top it all off, that album crashing and sinking like the Titanic led to the only time in history where Fleetwood Mac _officially_ broke up, between 1995 and 1997. Of course, they would end up reuniting and just kinda doing whatever since - they did record one more album, "Say You Will" in 2003 solely written by Stevie and Lindsey, which IMO could've been a fairly decent comeback had it not been so crushingly long, but regardless of that, it was clear after the "Time" experiment failed spectacularly that Fleetwood Mac was a firmly Cold War-era act whose glory days were long gone, whose only real option now was ride the seas of people's nostalgia. It checks all the boxes of a Trainwreckord in my eyes, and I think that with how surprisingly popular Fleetwood Mac and their masterpiece "Rumours" are among Gen Z, it would be really great for Todd to make a full Fleetwood Mac video - if nothing else, it would be a great opportunity to generally discuss the fucking buckwild history of the band.

[@privacee6929]

really interesting, thank you for sharing! I'd enjoy a trainwreckords on that too

[@soulbrother5435]

Every Fleetwood Mac record was a trainwreckord. But somehow they managed to convert all their personal issues into timeless music.

And I thought Rumours had a brutal production history, Jesus Christ...

[@leegeddyfan]

god i remember hearing about that trainwreckord

[@TheAndradeCS]

Mic The Snare did an amazing video talking Bout the entire story of Fleetwood Mac and all albums they made, line up changes, and much of the conflict inside the band. He did mention Time as being complete trash, which is an outlier as this is a really positive guy who tries to look at the good in the bad, and for even him to call that album trash, then thats because it is. Great pick for Trainwreckord. Also R.I.P. Cristine McVie, you will be missed.

[@philly_sports1558]

I work as a security guard for the Phillies and we’re also required to work concerts in the summertime. One of those concerts was Motley Crue. I’m not exaggerating when I say at least 5 or 6 cringe-inducing things happened over the course of their set. Including Nikki Sixx saying “You can’t cancel Motley Crue!”, MGK making a guest rap appearance on the jumbo tron, and them still needing half naked 20 year old girls on stage to make their performance more interesting. These guys are 60+ at this point. Mick Mars is 71. Even if I like some of their songs, it was pretty damn embarrassing.

[@the-np4mr]

Only thing I'd have a problem with there is mgk, throwing a rap into a rock song that doesn't have one almost never works (see - that time Pete Townshend decided to add a rap part to who are you)

[@JCOdrjones]

@@the-np4mr Good thing MGK is now a crappy pop punk rocker rather than a whack rapper

[@thequietdreamer2186]

Cheap fanservice for old perverts: a great way to cover up your terrible performances! (See also: Vince McMahon and the XFL.)

[@gars129]

i mean, to be fair, you can't cancel them because stan twitter could not care less about hair metal.

[@xp8969]

@@JCOdrjones these 2 pictures are identical

[@valmarsiglia]

They did reinvent themselves with every album tough: if you look closely, their hairstyles were somewhat different on each tour. The amount of makeup also varied.

[@austindolan7182]

they start as like a punk/heavy metal band on too fast and shout, then switch to more hair metal. but even when they're hair metal, they do quite a few blues tunes. so this album makes even less sense. especially when they just go back to their sound with a modern twist on new tattoo.

[@f4lc0n15]

honestly up to their self titled, every album was different musically one way or another and that kept things interesting bc pretty much every hair metal band at the time were making the same album over and over again

[@p.d.l7023]

Also, stage costumes.

[@Mario_Gillette]

That's true, one thing you can say about Mötley Crüe, love or hate them, they never released the same album twice. Every album has its own sound and vibe to it.

[@johndavidtibbetts7320]

5:37 you know tommy's gotta be unhappy when he can have a dog that big and floofy and not be just constantly happy

[@NJGuy1973]

At the time he was married to Heather Locklear. If that don't make you happy...

[@amandahaynes7030]

According to Tommy, his marriage to Heather ended because he desperately wanted children, and she did not. She either wanted to focus on her career or suspected (rightfully, I believe) that Tommy would not make an ideal father. That strikes me as a legitimate reason to not be happy.

[@NJGuy1973]

@@amandahaynes7030 After divorcing Tommy, Heather singlehandedly saved Melrose Place from cancellation and made it a hit, married Richie Sambora, and became a mom.

[@demoleramera]

@@NJGuy1973 We should all marry Tommy Lee when we feel down, then immediately divorce him because life will instantly get a lot brighter

[@AnIdiotsLantern]

@@NJGuy1973massive wins for her

[@JacqueBruce0]

My dad worked at a place called Chatsworth Tire in California. This was a little before Vince left the band the first time and Vince stopped by the shop in his Lamborghini drugged out of his mind. He proceeded to give my dad a blank check and asked him to fill it out for him as he was way too high to do it himself. Since he is a good man my father refrained from writing a check for thousands of dollars and hightailing it out of there but he said he deeply considered it and Vince would’ve been none the wiser

[@TheoRae8289]

I definitely would have charged extra for having to deal with him at all.

[@JacqueBruce0]

@@retrocatalog You’d think so, but old habits die hard

[@SairajRKamath]

There should ABSOLUTELY have been a scene of Sebastian Stan recording and singing "Brandon" in 'Pam and Tommy'. It would be a highlight, hands down.

[@FluffyBunniesOnFire]

Knowing the opportunity that was missed deflates my interest in watching it now.

[@ronniejdio9411]

Whoever was in charge of the property made a few poor choices. Both the dirt and the Pam and Tommy show could have been a mutile season series

[@EvanCWaters]

They probably thought nobody would believe it

[@calmbbaer]

I know everyone has ideas here (and some pay for them!), but I'd love to see a series about the flip side of the trainwreckord - the come back. From Leonard Cohen to Johnny Cash to pre-Hagar Van Halen to Green Day - there are plenty of artists that were written off as relics only to come back with a vengeance... but not so many as to be terribly common. Some have interesting stories - an album where the hits were covers (Van Halen), a rap producer going back to basics (Cash), an embezzlement-based bankruptcy (Cohen), lost masters (Green Day). Some are well known, some less so. I'd love to hear Todd's take on both the ones I know and the ones I don't, highlighting what led to the artist's decline and why it wasn't permanent .. the way it is with trainwreckords.

[@plantain.1739]

I dunno if that'll happen. Not that it's actually a bad idea that no one would watch, but I don't know if it'd work on KZbin. I think the algorithm prioritizes negativity over anything. Plus I personally think Todd is better at pointing out why a certain thing fails over why it works.

[@jofride]

Resurrecords?

[@krrr.4902]

@@jofride perfect 👌

[@shelbyherring92]

@@jofride Yes, make sure to charge Todd for the name if he uses it.🤣

[@royalninja2823]

@@plantain.1739 In the very Trainwreckord, Jewel's 0304, he talks about how he's fascinated with failure. It's a theme in all of his shows really, pop song reviews are always more interesting when he has something bad to say about them, and One Hit Wonderland is also on some level about the failure of these artists to achieve mainstream success again. I don't think he's ever gonna make a show to talk about how good something is.

[@brokenfunnibones]

Even Brandon was like "dad don't ever sing that shyt" prob why he ended up breaking Tommy's nose

[@Nutoleon]

Hearing john corabi list the disparate musicial influences is hilarious, because they could of accidentally made a shoegaze album if the cards fell differently

[@Leg_Man]

i was thinking the same thing lol. Like a poppier Saturday Night Wrist by Deftones or something

[@doodooswaggy3825]

Could they of?

[@portagenial]

If I heard "Brandon" in the wild, I would've thought it was a joke, it sounds like a parody, or a Phineas and Ferb scene of a bad songwriter. it's impressive how such a sincere song can be so bad.

[@soniaantakusuma]

oddly enough, another comment mentioned a song about candace singing about her little brothers in a very tsilted way. by that i mean: 'You will always be my Little brothers 'Cause you're younger, we're related, and you're boys'

[@missybarbour6885]

@@soniaantakusuma This immediately came to my mind too lol

[@brysimm404]

Vince’s voice sounds like the 80’s no matter what decade it is.

[@rogeliofernandezjimenez3053]

So True.

[@6li8storm40]

Vince’s voice sounds like an anti-smoking ad, tbh.

[@joaquinlezcano2372]

Finally someone got it right

[@laurenyoung9334]

Vince Neil's voice sounds like someone just stepped on a cat.

[@DashingPunkSamurai]

I love the mirth in Todd’s voice @5:35 “Look at him. He’s so unhappy”

[@lucayaki]

Ah, Mötley Crüe. I will always know them by how much my hair metal fan friend complains about how shitty all of the members are. They are to him what Chris Brown is to me, and I think that's beautiful.

[@DirtiestDMusic]

Every hard rock Trainwreckords brings us one step closer to the Chinese Democracy video.

[@someguy7424]

I really didn’t think it was that bad. It was just built up too much.

[@xaviersweet93]

@@someguy7424 Which is exactly what makes it a Trainwreckord. An album that took almost a decade to make and being the most expensive rock album ever produced being received as "not that bad" is damning by anyone's standards, never mind Guns N' Roses'.

[@DirtiestDMusic]

I think it has enough bad/weird songs to qualify as "that bad." Shackler's Revenge alone makes it a Trainwreckord.

[@nicholastricarico2957]

​@@xaviersweet93So much talent, so many guests, so much rotation of the core band members, it truly makes it a disaster. Are there decent/good songs on there? Yes. Was it revolutionary, transcendent, or in any way worth the hype? Nooooooope.

[@robertlee2092]

Back in 2012 or 2013 I was doing a bunch of work in tiny little farming towns all around northern Alberta, and I ended up in a place called Fox Creek right before some annual community festival. It had all the traditional small farming town festival stuff you’d expect, small local bands, farmers market, tractor pulls, etc, but one of the days was advertising a headlining Vince Neil solo concert. Tiny little festival in the absolute middle of nowhere. It’s the closest thing I’ve ever seen to a real life “Puppet Show and Spinal Tap”, and in my head I always remember that trip as “Tractor Pull and Motley Crüe”

[@michaelkeller5927]

Vince seems like the guy who would have played in Balzac instead of fox creek.

[@PapistWitness]

As an Edmontonian, it is so surreal to see Fox Creek and Balzac referenced in a Todd video comment section

[@nickchambers3935]

What was the set like? Was it a low key acoustic kind of thing or was he just trying to sound like Motley Crue?

[@frostythesasquatch]

Wtf?? I ABSOLUTELY would have gone to see Vince Neil in Fox Creek. When I was in high school in 2005 Flo Rida played the Centennial Arena in Brooks, Alberta. Maybe room for 1000 people, standing shoulder to shoulder? And he was getting radio hits at the time! There were posters all over town; everybody thought it was some sort of elaborate practical joke. I wonder where else he played on that tour: Shaunavon, SK? Flin Flon, MB?

[@robertlee2092]

@@nickchambers3935 Didn’t go, I had to leave a few days before the festival started. Definitely would have gone if I could have stayed longer.

[@drummerdude476]

This is why I like AC/DC so much, never took themselves too seriously despite massive success, always did what they wanted. I can pick up any album of theirs and enjoy it, I get why people don’t like that about them, but they’re like a Coke, and sometimes you’re just in the mood for a Coke, know what I’m saying? Lmao

[@noesunyoutuber7680]

AC/DC found their niche in the 70's and they never quit it. They never cared about appealing to trends, they've just always made the music they like making. They've aged better than basically any other rock band of their time because they didn't tie themselves so heavily to their time period - most Hair Metal seems goofy and outdated now that we're out of the 80's, but the raw power of a song like Back in Black is just as potent as ever.

[@demoleramera]

I have never been an AC/DC fan and probably never will be, but I could never say a single bad thing about them either. And I bash bands I don't enjoy based on really petty, arbitraily thing's all the time

[@clusterflick6333]

As someone born decades after the fact, looking back at all the music videos/live concerts from the 80's, AC/DC constantly seems to be one of the few big bands of the time who *actually* seemed to be having real, actual fun - not just putting on an exagerated performance of "fun" that just reeks of them desperately trying to overcompensate for other personal issues, like a lot of Hair Metal bands (Crüe in particular) seemed to be doing. Idk, just looks that way to me, looking back. AC/DC's was a more laid-back, "chill out and have a beer"-type of "party rock", which made it seem much more genuine and sincere than the "YEAH, FUCK EVERYBODY AND DO ALL THE DRUGS"-type of other bands at the time.

[@pinkrose8272]

@@clusterflick6333 It also helped from what I have heard of their music they never took themselves too seriously. They just made fun music people liked that is just fun. And never went the direction Molte Crue did this album and desperately try to stay relevant by doing what everyone else did. AC/DC kept on doing what they were doing. My favorite thing about that band is Agnus Young's incredible quote of “I'm sick to death of people saying we've made 11 albums that sound exactly the same, In fact, we've made 12 albums that sound exactly the same.” Just pure honestly like AC/DC is not an eclectic band and never pretended they are, they are just AC/DC. They make AC/DC songs. you know what you get when you listen to one of their songs and what you get is a good time.

[@joaquinlezcano2372]

I like this comment section. In this age, a little appreciation of AC/DC is always welcome.

[@BonJoviBeatlesLedZep]

Jesus Christ. I had no idea Tommy Lee wrote his version of freaking "Good Night" by The Beatles, and he just sang it with complete sincerity himself, instead of handing it off to another member of the band who can sing softly but effectively against a wall of strings.

[@jclementine3371]

"Brandon" was definitely one of the songs I've ever heard. The lyrics were written. The music was arranged. The song was written around a concept. And, it was performed with emotion. Definitely a song, written about a person who was born to their mom. *sheds tear*

[@VandalParty]

I have read this comment.

[@notmyrealname453]

My favorite part was when Tommy went ‘It’s Brandon Time!’

[@ItDoesntMatterReally]

You can't convince me that those lyrics were written. It sounds like bad improv.

[@joejackson9986]

We live in a world…

[@ronniejdio9411]

@@ItDoesntMatterReally an ai wrote this

[@GeneralOlde]

"Poison? They were about as metal as New Kids on the Block." It's true, and he should say it.

[@TacticusPrime]

They were basically Zoolander: The Band.

[@someguy7424]

True, but I don’t think Poison considered themselves “real” metal. They probably wouldn’t be too insulted by being compared to the New Kids.

[@henrydrummond5902]

Poison=metal Good Charlotte=punk

[@bt3743]

@@henrydrummond5902 if by metal and punk you mean pop rock and rotting garbage

[@thecollector4332]

Eh, some songs on look what the cat dragged in were a bit metal. You could see some form of NWOBHM inspiration at least. By “open up and say aah” though? They were just another pop rock glam band in the same vain as winger.

[@tbow13gbr22]

This is probably a really basic view of situations like this, but the way I see it, when you’re a band entering a sort of free fall in popularity, there are three directions you can go to try and save yourself. 1) You can go back to your old style and just embrace what you once were/keep doing what you’ve been doing. Bands that do this eventually fall out of mainstream success, but they retain their loyal fans and become something of an icon. 2) You can make the change and chase trends in favor of getting more mainstream success. Bands that do this generally alienate a large portion of their classic fanbase, but in certain rare cases they can shoot themselves into a new level of mainstream popularity (Metallica is a really good example of this particular path). Or 3) you can embrace change and make the music you want to make. You’ll stop being a mainstream success, and possibly alienate some of your fans, but you’ll make music you’re happy with and eventually settle into a groove with loyal fans. The problem with Generation Swine is that they somehow tried to do all three and failed at every single one of them. They wouldn’t commit to a new, darker sound that they’d started exploring with their self titled record, they wouldn’t fully embrace their classic sound in the interest of brining back their old fans, and they wouldn’t fully commit to any particular mainstream trend in the hopes of regaining their old level of success. They tried to balance all three at once and just completely dropped the ball. Let Generation Swine be a message to future artists. If your popularity starts to wane, you can either chase trends, embrace what made you successful, or just make music you like. You can’t do all three.

[@jessedanger8788]

The transition from glam metal to grunge wasn’t as overnight as many believe. GnR we’re still famous and you still had stuff like Ratt on the Point Break soundtrack

[@foreafterdark]

Not to mention all the alt rock acts that were already being signed to majors in the late 80s

[@patrickreeves4650]

l.a. guns was on that soundtrack too!

[@henrydrummond5902]

Def Leppard was still big in 1992 and 93

[@patrickreeves4650]

@@henrydrummond5902difference being def leppard had two 10 million selling albums before then in pyromania and hysteria!

[@dgnx69]

@@patrickreeves4650 I remember reading an interview with Def Leppard, they mentioned they were wearing their leather stage clothes when their '92 tour started then switched to jeans in the middle of the tour when grunge became big.

[@julianthesmooshyhusky8976]

Hope you enjoy the rest of Pam and Tommy Todd; the scene with the teenagers wearing various grunge band shirts unamused by a live Crue performance is the best visual depiction of “cobain killed my career” I’ve seen to date.

[@jegger2143]

When I first listened to this album, I had put their music on shuffle and was just walking around with one ear open. I was so confused listening to 'Afraid' I almost got hit by a car. The only album to almost kill me with how weird it is.

[@averokageotherstuff2760]

slayed

[@walmorcarvalho2512]

narrowly passed the vibe check

[@againstthepods4316]

there are people in Africa who dont even know what electricity is and here yall are complaining about some shitty 80s band making a bad album, FOCUS ON REAL ISSUES.

[@yellowfamilyfunny3065]

@@againstthepods4316 HAHAHAHA

[@againstthepods4316]

@@yellowfamilyfunny3065 I don’t remember telling a joke

[@andysee6996]

It doesn't matter that Brandon was only 30 minutes old when that song was written, there are ways you could make that a good song. Write the first verse about how your life is going to change now that you're a father and the second verse could be about all the things Brandon could be in the future. Basically, make it a "Welcome to the world" sort of song.

[@WorldsUnhealthiestFitPerson]

Annnnnnnd, Green Day put out "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" the same damn year.

[@cardioandfriends]

@@WorldsUnhealthiestFitPerson Good Riddance was written in '89 and demoed in '96 (Brain Stew CD)

[@TheLarryburns84]

even fucking Creed did it better. that's what With Arms Wide Open was about

[@littlekingtrashmouth9219]

Don’t forget Mike and the Mechanics - The Living Years. It’s about how he and his dad didn’t get along, never reconciled, and now his dad is gone. However, now he has a son and he’s going to make sure things are right in the living years. When Creed and Mike & The Mechanics know how to make a song better, that’s a shame. “Brandon” is no “Beth.”

[@WhatDaHeckIsThat]

Isnt that also what Closing Time is about?

[@alexrexaros9837]

I never liked Mötley Crue. Not because of their music, but because of their lack of integrity, their sheer disrespect for anything, their metric ton of allegations of violence against staff, their fans, and women. And when they became irrelevant, all they could do is cope and say "Y-yeah but 30 years we're still kicking ass, don't we?"

[@dw89music73]

Yeah, they're a big reason why I hate 80s hair metal, because it was more about image and/or stereotypical lifestyle than the music.

[@heishinmega]

Theyre like Kiss but worse in every single aspect

[@LordArikado]

@@heishinmega They're like Kiss if they didn't at least have the exciting live shows to distract you from how awful people they are. I saw Crue and Kiss back-to-back on a co-headlining tour in 2012, and not only did a geriatric Paul Stanley put on a better performance, so did the opening act, The Treatment. It was actually kind of depressing to watch.

[@campfortson4387]

​@@dw89music73Honestly, I have the same problem with most mainstream Hip Hop. Trite observation, I know, but I think its worth considering.

[@zachary_attackery]

What a gay reason to not like a band lol do you do a deep dive into the history and personal lives of every band you consider listening to?

[@TayTayMakesBeats]

Shoutout to Todd for maintaining the same high level of quality for years. Unlike Mötley Crüe it never feels dated, the formula just works.

[@ironymatt]

He does what he loves

[@hiimemily]

I'd say he's gotten better over his 13 years making videos. Compare the first few of his videos (Down - Worst of 2010) to some early OHW stuff (Take On Me - Smooth Criminal), then to early Trainwreckords (0304 - Van Halen III), then to his most recent stuff, and you'll see clear improvements within and between each group.

[@TayTayMakesBeats]

@@hiimemily I agree, especially with how he ditched the "angry reviewer" shtick and mellowed out over the years. There have been clear tweaks and improvements but the core formula hasn't changed all that much, which I think speaks to the overall quality of the content.

[@countof3everybodyOD]

Brian Wilson: 😡 Mike Love: 😍

[@RozWBrazel]

@@TayTayMakesBeats everyone improves now that they're not being pushed to copy a certain [censored]'s schtick

[@tommylakindasorta3068]

There's nothing inherently wrong with a band being shallow and vapid, but it definitely limits what they can do artistically. They were right to go back to mindless party rock, trends be damned.

[@missybarbour6885]

Everyone makes fun of artists known for the "party rock good time" genre who later try to get serious once they're successful (see: Katy Perry), and I think that's because they're usually bad at it (still Katy Perry). But the more I think about it, the more I feel for those artists. Imagine you get wildly successful in your 20's and quickly ascend to the highest ranks of your profession. You're on top of the world and everyone's constantly telling you how awesome you are and offering you million dollar contracts. But as you enter your 30's, it starts to feel really empty and you want to prove that you're more than a party clown. Everyone's been telling you how talented you are for a decade and you're more mature now than at your peak. You should be able to make some more meaningful art! But everyone just laughs at you. And the worst part is they're usually right.

[@jessmorgan6732]

Inspired by Tommy Lee's heartfelt lyrics, I've written a ballad called "Sam's Hands" about my one-year-old son, Sam, and the fact that he has hands. $1.5 million, please.

[@answerthequestionpls]

"Making Motley Crue a movement!" "Of what?" Bowels.

[@aidanhickey9845]

For as many bands as Nirvana killed, let's not forget the dozens of bands whose careers they made over the next 10 years...

[@royalninja2823]

This is mentioned in the Butthole Surfers One Hit Wonderland. "Kurt Cobain likes the Meat Puppets? SIGN THE MEAT PUPPETS! The Meat Puppets are a license to print money, baby!"

[@Clay3613]

Red Vox!

[@1000huzzahs]

@@royalninja2823 Exactly. the biz realized there was money and signed/promoted accordingly.

[@ryanjacobson2508]

Honestly, there were dozens of borderline talentless 90's "alternative" bands that got record deals and MTV exposure for a cup of coffee and then were never heard from again. As corny as many people think a lot of 80's metal bands were, they at least generally had an understanding of how to write and play music.

[@BP-dn9nv]

Eh, I'd say they did the world a favor by killing hair metal. Trends don't just die because something new comes around, they die because they start to get lame the longer they're popular.

[@hardyhardyha5767]

I love Motley Crue, but I really do feel like Mick Mars deserves a better band. They put him through absolute hell throughout their career and he just took it like a champ and stuck around when leaving would've been a perfectly viable option. All while suffering from a degenerative bone disease that was crippling him more and more as time went on. We don't deserve what this man did for us.

[@grahamkristensen9301]

A lot of hair metal bands had guitarists who were way more talented than people gave them credit for. I always maintained that Mick Mars was the most talented member of the band and the main reason they were halfway listenable. I saw videos of their performance at Rock in Rio, and while most people remember that show for Vince Neil sounding like an auctioneer with cotton balls in his mouth, there was Mick, practically a skeleton by that point, still shredding.

[@bradraymer796]

Like Limp Biscuit & Wes Borland? He was so good to be in that band!

[@fietehermans9903]

Him and Kirk Hammett should start and award ceremony ‘Only decent human in an 80’s rock band’

[@grahamyoung3433]

I remember Mick in an interview talking about what he thought of using the backing tapes at gigs. He was basically like 'well I don't really like it but it's better than hearing Vince's out it tune vocals'. I guess you pretty much have to give up any musical dignity for Crüe.

[@ryanchase9332]

"I could never see just how much pain Mick was in, all while taking all the shit me and Tommy could throw at him. All hail Mick Mars, the strongest man on Earth." -Nikki Sixx.

[@joellapuma8183]

All the respect to Todd for quoting the old Monster Ballads compilation commercial.

[@comettamer]

"Generation Swine" sounds like a hodgepodge of every rock sound that was out there at the time. Like Crüe just took every sound they could and tossed em in a blender, hit mince and poured out this album.

[@jimthar17]

Kinda like Chinese Democracy.

[@comettamer]

@@jimthar17 or Van Halen III

[@ChromeDestiny]

Brandon is like if Wesley Willis wrote a song about fatherhood. "Rock over London, Rock on Los Angeles, Pampers. Pamper the skin they're in."

[@redvelvetunderground]

wesley willis would do a way better job lol

[@TimmyTickle]

Underrated comment

[@Thomasmemoryscentral]

VAN Halen did ballads fine with Sammy Hagar, Motley Crue apparently got as far as 1 good one.

[@TheAlexSchmidt]

Except if it was Wesley Willis the slogan would have nothing to do with babies, even on Rock and Roll McDonald's he doesn't end with a McDonald's slogan although maybe that's just because the song is pretty harsh on McDonald's.

[@jageiosjgaeiojg]

Dun dun dun dun dududududududu

[@ThatGuy-y2c]

Ozzie had something going for him that these other performers didn’t: he was loved by most of the alternative rockers because of Black Sabbath, who were listed alongside The Beatles and Neil Young as massive influences. His 80’s era was his second act and was fairly removed from the era of Sabbath.

[@joaquinlezcano2372]

Also Ozzy had the voice. One could argue if he sucks or not, but he definitely could still sing.

[@bradchambers5886]

@@joaquinlezcano2372 He came out with a new song I just heard on the radio a few weeks ago and that demented old geezer can STILL sing.

[@RichV20]

Ozzy wasn't just an 80s artist like the other Nirvana-victims. Ozzy had a whole other decade with Black Sabbath. Ozzy was entering the grunge era as a living legend and mythical figure who could do whatever he wanted at that point.

[@Lunchbox224]

Sabbath had a pretty timeless sound under Ozzy, and Ozzy tended to change with the times in a way that didn't make him seem like he was acting younger than he should have been. He also tried to bring up promising music acts with him, which helped keep him in the eyes of younger and younger audiences. Springsteen does much the same thing as an Elder Statesman of music.

[@kospandx]

@@bradchambers5886 These days it is hard to tell because his voice has obviously been autotuned since the Down to Earth days. I think his voice reached its peak around The Ultimate Sin, and was clearly starting to decline as early as on No More Tears.

[@MichaelSmith-fq6hz]

"What are you guys still doing here?" could describe so many bands in the 90s.

[@rushnerd]

Kind of offtopic, but Rush is one of those bands that ALWAYS found their footing progressing through time. Sure they had weak albums in the late 80's and some 90's, but never bad songs. They were able to adapt and change in a way that made SENSE and they made it work. Generation Swine here like so many other albums in this YT series don't work because there is no focus and everyone kind of ends up doing what they want, leading to a confusing experience.

[@OrgaNik_Music]

Bands like Rush had a plan and knew what they wanted. Even when their sound changed, it wasn't just randomly slapping any ideas in there hoping it would work.

[@empire0]

Rush were dedicated musicians first. Motley Crue just wanted to do drugs and bang sluts. They went as far as their image would take them, no one wants to see a pot bellied Vince Neil running around on stage getting winded while singing about sex

[@rushnerd]

@@empire0 Hahaha, well said man. In comparison Rush were always kind of the anti-rock lifestyle which is why they stuck around so long. They didn't overdo things and kept themselves grounded. I feel like it's impossible for some of these ultra-success bands to ever do the same with the way they were going and time tells all.

[@sagecolvard9644]

"The other songwriter he's talking about is Bryan Adams" Dear God. That's not a twist I was expecting. Holy Shit.

[@jvondd]

I'm a father of two sons who are both still very young, but if I was going to write a song about them, I think I'd have to do better than just listing basic information about them and saying that I love them without any nuance. It's as if this was a first draft of a song and because it was about something meaningful to Tommy, nobody thought it was a good idea to give him any direction. As much as I despise "With Arms Wide Open," that is a far better written song about a father's love for his infant son than "Brandon."

[@robertlee2092]

I’ve got two young daughters and I can’t even imagine how uncomfortable it would make all three of us I wrote a song for one but not the other. Although if it was as bad as Brandon, maybe the one that didn’t get a song would thrilled.

[@jvondd]

@@robertlee2092 To cut Tommy a little slack, Brandon was his only child at the time because his second son Dylan hadn't been born yet, even though Pamela was pregnant with him at the time. I can understand that because before we even tried for another child, I wasn't sure if it was possible for me to love anyone as much as I love my son, but the instant his little brother was born, I found out how wrong I was and how quickly I could love someone just as deeply. But yeah, now that Dylan is around, it makes "Brandon" even more awkward and cringe-inducing.

[@againstthepods4316]

there are people in Africa who dont even know what electricity is and here yall are complaining about some shitty 80s band making a bad album, FOCUS ON REAL ISSUES.

[@jvondd]

@@againstthepods4316 A few things... 1. I don't know why you clicked on a video detailing an 80s hair metal band's inability to adapt to trends to start a discussion on international poverty. 2. You're here too, so your complaint is kind of hypocritical since you clicked on the video about Mötley Crüe and now seem focused on haranguing everyone how you're above it. 3. The way you name-dropped Africa as an example stinks of implicit racism. Do you realize that there's more to the continent of Africa than how it's displayed in Michael Bay movies? 4. I don't know your life story, but if this is how you normally interact with people, you probably seek counseling because your comment is one of the most socially illiterate things I've read in a long time.

[@againstthepods4316]

@@jvondd and the award for missing the point of a very important comment goes to…you. I will NOT apologize for trying to show people that these trivial things don’t matter and I only clicked on the video because I look for trending videos to spread the message of helping others instead of wasting time. And don’t you DARE judge that. I’m waiting for an apology from you now.

[@sugarbugx3564]

That opening bit gets me every time. Perfect set up. Perfect delivery. Thank you Todd for existing

[@sadslavboy]

19:33 I just love how he shows "Creep" right after he says "they don't say the title of the song in the actual song" cause thats like one of the only ones where they actually do say the song's title

[@camillaquelladegliaggettiv4303]

As someone who's only ever heard three motley crue songs, one of which being a cover, I'm weirdly interested in this

[@ososnake97]

You havent missed anything tho

[@erocrush]

Same. I couldn’t click the link fast enough.

[@marystone1526]

As someone who doesn't know a single Motley Crue song, yet has heard of the band a lot, I'm extremely interested. (:

[@chrislawuk]

well ya, it's Todd in the frickin' Shadows

[@Zooropa_Station]

@@marystone1526 you should listen to their most famous song "Kickstart My Heart" if you haven't heard it yet (since Todd didn't play it in this video).

[@Alex_DC413]

Pam & Tommy had lots of comedic highlights, but if they actually showed Tommy playing "Brandon", it might have been the comedic highlight

[@Alex_DC413]

Also, not surprised they're a-holes. I read somewhere that Pam & Tommy pulled its punches in depicting Tommy negatively cuz he signed off on the show. My gut reaction was "THAT was pulling their punches?"

[@JD1710a]

What’s insane is Nikki has proven that he can write darker material and make it work with his other band Sixx.A.M. If Motley had a better singer, I think these songs could’ve worked. Songs like Afraid and Beauty are begging for a Rob Zombie or Scott Weiland-esc singer.

[@patrickreeves4650]

imagine if we could hear the versions that were intended with john corabi. they probably would have sounded 10x better, as that is who they were written to be sung by.

[@thecollector4332]

@@patrickreeves4650 I actually like “afraid” as it is. But goddamn, that song sung by Corabi would no joke be a top 10 Crüe song. I’d pay hard money to hear that. The downside would be that the album would’ve flopped even harder if it hadn’t had the selling point of Vince’s return.

[@sarahquinn6849]

“Guns ‘n’ Roses - They showed up late to the decade”… so on point for Guns ‘n’ Roses

[@JasSpy]

Ultimate Worst Trainwreckords Lines List: "0304" by Jewel: “We love Spam in America” "Kilroy Was Here" by Styx: “I am the modren man” "The Funky Headhunter" by MC Hammer: “A Tribe Called Quest is a bad investment” "Be Here Now" by Oasis: “You see me, I've got my magic pie” "Van Halen III" by Van Halen: “In a word to the wisdom tooth” "Mardi Gras" by Creedence Clearwater Revival: “This stuff'll get the stain out if you use it loosely wadded” "Cyberpunk" by Billy Idol: “Like Adam in chains, I want revenge” "MTV Unplugged No. 2.0" by Lauryn Hill: “And now she thinks that she’s bisexual” "American Life" by Madonna: “I'm drinking a soy latte, I get a double shoté” "Paula" by Robin Thicke: “Dancin’ on her tippy toes, her tippy toes” "Cut the Crap" by The Clash: “I shout I am a dirty punk” "Fairweather Johnson" by Hootie & the Blowfish: “And I’d love to hurt the population” "Summer in Paradise" by The Beach Boys: “Oooo I got it bad, I got the island fever” "Zingalamaduni" by Arrested Development: “After I scold you, I hope I can mold you” "Two the Hard Way" by Cher and Gregg Allman: “Oh, I love making love to you” "Funstyle" by Liz Phair: “Uh oh, you're being a penius, Colada, that is” "St. Anger" by Metallica: “My lifestyle, determines my deathstyle” "Crash" by The Human League: “And if that girl won't swang with me, I'll swang me another girl, yes sirree” "Turn It Upside Down" by The Spin Doctors: “Biscuit head, a double-decker biscuit head” "Passage" by The Carpenters: “Say b'wana she no home” "Mission Earth" by Edgar Winter: “With intrigue, sex and foggy pot” "Witness" by Katy Perry: “You’re ‘bout as cute as an old coupon, expired” "Lost and Found" by Will Smith: “I'm not your punchin bag, you gon' blow me… up” "American Dream" by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: “I ain't never goin' back to driving school” "Generation Swine" by Mötley Crüe: “Brandon, I love you, I love her, she is your mom” (Had to change this. I made a huge mistake thinking at first the worst line was that "love inside" line. The comments have clearly proven what the actual worst line is.)

[@livwake]

I was looking for this comment!

[@isabelrodriguezsjolund9701]

Perfect post

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

I like how the "Did They Deserve Better?" is always implied in this series.

[@gustavmarie]

They deserved jail for sexual assault and vehicular manslaughter actually...

[@johnenigma8506]

John Corabi definitely deserved better. I'll say that.

[@ImDependentFilms]

I worked in a record shop in the late 90s and only knew MC from the hair metal days. We had probably a dozen of Generation Swine T-shirts that sat on the rack for 3 years before my manager wrote them off. I never listened to the album but rocked the shit of those shirts because they were clean and looked cool.

[@TMC1982Part2]

I wonder if Beavis and Butt-head had as much to do with destroying hair metal as Nirvana. Remember that there was a recurring segment where the duo would sit in their living room and make MST3K-style commentary at the music videos that they would watch on TV. The KZbin channel Rock N' Roll True Stories even has a video entitled "Winger: Did Beavis & Butthead & Metallica Destroy Winger's Career?"

[@kospandx]

With all due respect to Winger (and they really deserve more respect than they get), B&B didn't come out until 1993. I'm sure they didn't have a beneficial effect (and in hindsight the show obviously sucks up to what was new and trendy at the time it came out), but by then the writing was already on the wall.

[@NJGuy1973]

Beavis and Butt-Head didn't destroy metal. They destroyed stuff that sucked.

[@kennydnolan]

​@@NJGuy1973They went off the air the year this album came out. I would've LOVED to hear what they would've said about that "Afraid" video.

[@thecollector4332]

Beavis and butthead were odd in the sense that the show didn’t just shit on hair metal, but most metal/hard rock of the 80’s. Aside from AC/DC or KISS they seemed to despise most of the metal scene from the era. They shitted on Accept, Judas Priest and Scorpions just as much as they did the hair bands… except ironically Mötley Crüe. They praised kickstart my heart lol.

[@zombiedodge1426]

This is the second time Todd has defended a self-titled perennial Trainwreckords nominee: Liz Phair (2003) and now Motley Crue (1994).

[@creamydistortion]

Pearl Jam is next, hey heryyuyy.

[@MissAlmostFine]

@@creamydistortion 😭😭😭 OMG, why did I make the sound as I read your comment??

[@someguy7424]

@@creamydistortion IF Pearl Jam has a Trainwreckord, you would think it would be No Code.

[@patrickreeves4650]

the 94 motley record is critically acclaimed and loved by most fans today. at the time, it stood no chance, but most fans have grown to love that album

[@someguy7424]

@@patrickreeves4650 That makes for a whole new category of albums that initially bombed but that gained acclaim. I don’t know what that series would be called, but I think Pinkerton by Weezer would be an obvious choice.

[@theneonchimpchannel9095]

The difference between KISS doing "Beth" and Crue doing "Brandon" is that Peter Criss came from a more singer/songwriter background. His major influences were trad jazz and The Beatles so he knew how to construct a ballad. He'd also had it lying around for years before it was recorded as there was a demo recorded by his pre-KISS band Chelsea. It was called "Beck" at the time as it was about his wife Rebecca, but when he brought it to KISS, Gene thought it sounded like he was singing about Jeff Beck, so it became "Beth". Peter also had a really good voice for that sort of music, very similar to Rod Stewart who has had a lot of success with rock ballads. On top of that, they had Bob Ezrin to write and arrange the string section. Crue had Tommy Lee who was not established as a singer, not exactly a great writer and came from a rock/metal background (although from memory he did play in a marching band so I guess there's that). He was never going to be able to create something that hit the same nerve as "Beth".

[@TheWaffleRadio]

Say what you like about Tommy Lee's songwriting skill level. But one thing we can say for sure about the songs he wrote, is that he wrote them.

[@josephrowe849]

I was never a fan of Beth because it sounded more like Barry Manilow than KISS.

[@Noah-je2xj]

honestly brandon would suck even if Neil was the singer, because the reason crue couldn't do ballads was because the focus in those songs are on the singing, and Vince Neil was just a bad singer

[@saintrocketIX]

@@josephrowe849 Maybe, but at least it's a really good Barry Manilow song.

[@supernothing77]

He did write the piano part to home sweet home

[@Ruleof2Review]

I’m just here to say that their ‘94 Corabi album is absolutely KILLER. I will hear no slander. It’s the best music they ever wrote.

[@winslow-eh5kv]

Well, it damn sure isn't as great as THAT, but it's not a "true mess" either like the narrator said (I think HE was pretty accurate there).

[@Lyendith]

Albums that end with a ballad not sung by the lead singer seem to be a weird recurring item in this series… Van Halen III, Summer in Paradise, and now this…

[@demoleramera]

"If every word I said, could make Stamos slaughtering of one of the definitive Dennis Wilson tracks be made undone, I'll speak forever..."