3 Questionable Decisions by Rock Bands
October 11th, 1983 was the anniversary of KISS performing for the first time without their patented makeup. They eventually decided to fix their decision and have since been on multiple “farewell” tours in the trademark makeup and elaborate costumes. Since we’ve just passed the anniversary of seeing Gene, Paul, and the guy’s questionable decision let’s take a look at 3 of the most questionable decisions rock bands have made.
1. KISS Unmasked Era
The aforementioned no-makeup KISS era. A few weeks before their first makeup-free show in Portugal, the band was on MTV to promote their Lick it Up album wearing only their normal faces and no kiss costumes. It was the start of their Unmasked Era that went from 1983-1996. They were feeling they needed a change after years of costumes and makeup.
2. U2 iPhone album
If you ever wanted to annoy a large group of people immediately. Give them no choice, but to have your album pre-loaded onto their brand new iPhone. Fans of the band might’ve liked it, but their voices were drowned out by all the angry non-U2 fans. The people that pissed and moaned the entire 45 seconds it took them to delete the album.
3. Metallica with Lou Reed Lulu Album
Maybe I’m biased because I’m not a fan of Lou Reed’s Walk on the Wild Side, but this was a misstep for one of the greatest metal/rock/whatever category you put Metallica in. Whether you are a fan of either of these artists and enjoy the respect being shown toward each other or not. This was just a mistake of 2 different styles clashing. I had to go back to confirm how bad this was, and oh boy was it rough.
Hey, we all make mistakes, but when you’re in the spotlight the way these bands are those mistakes are magnified. Of course, we all learned from the movie Superbad, “People don’t forget.” Audio NSFW.
'Enter Sandman': Did No One in Metallica Like This Classic At First?
“Enter Sandman” is one of Metallica’s most popular and enduring songs in their catalog. (Fun fact: It’s the band’s sixth most-performed song in Metallica history. As of publishing, the track has appeared on Metallica’s setlists 1,404 times.)
It’s one of Metallica’s most commercially successful songs, peaking at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. The track has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. It’s the top song listed on Metallica’s artist page on Apple Music and Spotify. Additionally, it’s been covered by a slew of major artists, including Motorhead, Weezer, Ghost, Juanes, Rina Sawayama and, inexplicably, Pat Boone.
As if that’s not enough, “Enter Sandman” has received numerous honors. It was nominated for Best Rock Song at the 34th Grammy Awards. (It ended up losing that Grammy to Sting’s “The Soul Cages.” This, of course, proves the Recording Academy’s hard rock/metal blindspot.) The track has also been included on many “Best Songs” lists. It came in at 408 on Rolling Stone‘s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list. “Enter Sandman” has been featured on several VH1 lists, including “40 Greatest Metal Songs of All Time” (22), “100 Greatest Songs of the ’90s” (18) and the 2003 list “The 100 Greatest Songs from the Past 25 Years” (88).
RELATED: Metallica: All Songs Ranked Worst to Best
With all of this in mind, how come some of Metallica’s members and people in their orbit didn’t like the song initially?
In recent years, stories have emerged of key Metallica figures talking about not really liking the song in its early stages. It’s truly a strange phenomenon, especially considering the longevity of “Enter Sandman.” Seriously, this is a song that refuses to die. If we’re being honest, it’s going to outlive us all.
Below are four instances of notable people talking about their mixed feelings about “Enter Sandman.” Get ready to be befuddled!
Steve Vassalotti is co-host of “The Matt Cord Show with Steve Vassalotti” weekday mornings 6a-10a on 102.9 WMGK. He has been with the station since 2015. For WMGK he writes about inane nonsense that surrounds our daily lives, sports, food and other various topics. Steve writes about Philadelphia lifestyle content, the Philadelphia Eagles culture and trending topics.
