Few genres of music are as critically maligned as the Hair Metal genre, also known as Glam Metal, a term invented to distinguish “Legitimate" Heavy Metal from the poppier and more ridiculous guitar rock performed by men with big hair who wore “feminine” makeup and accessories and performed power ballads.

The music writer and podcaster Elana Levin joins the show from Brooklyn to discuss the lineage of Hair Metal, how it functions as camp, the importance of pop music as an influence on the sound, the controversial content that earned the wrath of the censorious PMRC in the eighties, and spotlight some of the best bands and songs from the era that deserve more attention (Cinderella, Ratt, Kix and Faster Pussycat.) And we explore how the sound of eighties Hair Metal influenced adult contemporary and country music in the nineties.

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Elana’s essay “Notes on Camp: David Lee Roth”

Elana’s appearance on the Is It Camp? podcast to talk about David Lee Roth and Van Halen

"There’s No Wrong Time To Rock: A Peacemaker-Inspired Playlist" by Elana Levin for Women Write About Comics

Cinderella’s local commercial for Pat’s Chili Dogs, 1983

Kix - Cool Kids, 1983

Ratt - Round and Round, 1984

Motley Crüe - Too Young To Fall In Love, 1984