Music of the Week – The Dead Boys – Not Anymore
Hailing back from 1977, in the tornado of the punk revolution, the Dead Boys proved to be among the most interesting and original acts among the countless bands that surfaced at the time.
The Dead Boys (and their frontman, Stiv Bators) influenced and contribuited to shape a lot of the music that was slowly forming at the time. Glam, heavy metal, new wave (with the seminal post-Dead Boys band, Lords of the New Church).
Stiv was a close friend of a lot of the people which belonged to the alternative music milieu, who ended in forming seminal bands for the time to come. In particular he was a big friend of Michael Monroe, from Hanoi Rocks, and ended sharing a flat with him for some time. A lot of the Dead Boys sound, in particular the most hidden components, like the subtle melancholy that pervades this song, ended up in Hanoi Rocks (and later Monroe’s) sound.
Sadly, today the Dead Boys are quite forgotten, at least for the general public, while the Lords of the New Church got a slightly better remembrance…
I chose this song, straight out their debut album, because of it’s intimistic, intense and melancholic mood: a mix of self-destruction, introversion with a strong, energetic and painful will to live, to fight and go on, despite the difficulties and confusion, inner and outer, which is one of the key elements of the piece.
I hope you will enjoy it.
Below, a cover version of it recorded many years later (1996) by Michael Monroe, in the “Peace of Mind” album. It’s a bit heavier and more modern sounding, without betraying at all it’s inner core.
Tags: dead boys, michael monroe, music of the week
Music of the Week | Snake February 14, 2016 | 
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