Hair We Go Again - heavy metal revival; Elton John discusses rock - Brief Article - Interview

If you're sick of all the squeaky pre-pubescent pop quintets dancing on the top of the charts in midriff unison, you are not alone. From the smoky clubs of Los Angeles and Sweden to the catwalks of Manhattan, a raunchy new crowd of fashion designers and guitar-wielding bands are nod 'n' winking back to the classic 1970's era of hard metal.

An entire no-budget caravan of bands are canvassing the world's highways--below the mainstream radar--in rusty vans, riffing out their takes on Black Sabbath, the Stooges, Motorhead, and AC/DC (who recently put out their umpteenth album Stiff Upper Lip). Meanwhile, the Heavy Metal Parking Lot look has been tapped by rock's junior royalty: Fashion designers Stella McCartney (Beatle Paul's daughter) and Charlotte Ronson (the twenty-one-year-old daughter of Foreigner guitarist Mick) recently created fan-obsessed concert T-shirts for Chloe and Tommy Hilfiger, respectively.

"Hard rock is a great soundtrack for extreme lifestyles," explains Matt Pierce, the frontman of Manhattan's the Unband, a Motorhead-influenced cacophony whose penchant for indecent exposure and DIY pyrotechnics has gotten them banned from more clubs than they care to recall. "If I had a normal job I might listen to soft rock. But basically my days are like, sleep late, get drunk, cop drugs, meet girls, and stay up till 6 A.M. until we collapse in bliss."

The crash 'n' burn sentiment seems to be echoed by Southern California's Fu Manchu, whose "Stoner Rock" logo happens to be a Cheech and Chong--style Ford Econoline, and Kittie, the anti-Britney Spears teenage girl quartet from Ontario, Canada who have a repertoire of songs like "Spit," "Suck," and "Choke."

Not surprisingly, Sub Pop, the Seattle-based label that made Nirvana and flannels household items, has recently signed up pre-grungers such as the Murder City Devils, Nebula, Sweden's goateed Hellacopters, the Black Halos from Vancouver, and Norway's Gluecifer. Despite the hairy facade, this crop of headbangers is not nearly as tortured as their new metal peers. "Those guys in Korn seem so tormented," observes Unband's Pierce, from a roadside pay phone somewhere in the California night. "We're pretty happy guys. This music is about constantly celebrating."

ELTON JOHN'S TIP SHEET

INTERVIEW: So, the guys you were predicting last time, Macy Gray and Moby, really are exploding, huh?

ELTON JOHN: Yes. I am so happy Moby is beginning to be huge in Europe. The album is really taking off in England and America as well. Macy Gray has already sold three million copies of her album worldwide. That has only just started. Believe me, this album will be a number-one album in America I predict that. I am so thrilled for both these people. I couldn't be happier if it was one of my records. It restores your faith in what is out there.

I: What do you think it is about both of them that is making people respond?

EJ: It's the quality of the albums, the quality of the music and the performance. It's just brilliantly produced, great music. Macy's got one of the great voices. I saw her live, just before Christmas in Los Angeles, and she was absolutely terrific. She is a big, big star.

I: We sent you records that are coming out in March and April. Anything stand out?

EJ: There's a girl called Anastacia who has a debut album coming out on Epic/Daylight called Not That Kind and she has the best voice I have heard in a long time; she's up there with Macy Gray. She is a white girl and she came up through the ranks in this MTV talent competition. She didn't win, but she's made this record, which starts off great. It is a combination of rock 'n' roll and then dance tracks and she's got this stunning voice. The problem with the album is that it goes into formulaic ballad stuff, like Celine Dion and Mariah Carey stuff, and it's too over-produced. But she is incredibly talented. I would love to hear her in front of a steamy, hot rock 'n' roll band. She is kind of like Tina Turner. The record is really worth checking out just to hear Anastacia's great voice. She's better than the songs she's been given to sing. I am marking her down for the future. Her voice blew my mind.

I: Great. Anything else?

EJ: There are a couple of albums I've been playing. One is a good little pop album that is by John Oszajca, the guy who is marrying Lisa Marie Presley. His debut album From There to Here (Interscope) is very poppy, it's a cross between T-Rex and Beck, and it's good music to listen to. There's a remix on it by Wyclef Jean called "Where is Bob Dylan When You Need Him" that is good. I think Interscope will do well with it; there are a couple of very commercial things on it. And there is another album, Words For Living (C2/Columbia), which is not commerical in the least, by a guy called P. J. Olsson. He's kind of folkish and he writes very nice songs. He has an unusual, beautiful voice. I don't know if it will sell, but it's an album that I would play. There is also an album out at the moment by a guy called Donell Jones on La Face, Where I Wanna Be, which I really like. It's just a great R&B album. It's solid, an album you can play all the way through. And the other one I really like is Michael Penn's MP4 (Days Since A Lost Time Accident) (Epic/Fifty Seven), which is a great pop album. He's been around for a while--he's Sean Penn's brother and is married to Aimee Mann. I am a big fan of his.