They got in on the ground floor of hair metal and then got left behind? Why couldn’t Autograph turn up the radio a second time?
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You know what's another funny parallel between Autograph and Def Leppard?
Def Leppard, after spending several years working on the Hysteria album decided to make a last minute addition to it before it was shipped out. This last minute song added to it was 'Pour Some Sugar on Me'' and Hysteria would go on to be their biggest hit of their whole career.
As an aside, Cloud Ten was the best song on Autograph's debut album if you ask me.
To be fair, Danger Danger's "Bang Bang" is a pretty underrated glam rock jam
When you say this sounds like an advertisement for rock'n'roll itself, you're not far off!
This song was used to advertise WAAF in Boston back in the 80s and early 90s. WAAF was Boston's hard rock station, now it's Contemporary Christian music through K-LOVE.
The comment about Bon Jovi not breaking out yet was funny since the first (and only) time I saw Bon Jovi was opening for Ratt. A few years later Bon Jovi was everywhere and Ratt was forgotten about.
Funny how many Americans seem to think of Glam Metal first when someone mentions Heavy Metal. Not so much nowadays, I think, but still what most people think of Heavy Metal is not what I think of. Unless their reference is Metallica, because Metallica managed to get exceptionally big for a Metal band. If Metal survives for 100 more years, people's reference will shift so much, bands like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden won't be considered Metal at all.
The song is an absolute banger even if it's a ripoff of other bands, but Todd is absolutely right that they didn't deserve more than what they got.
Please do Rusted Root’s Send Me on My Way next.
This song is hot garbage, but at least their lead guitarist is ridiculously good.
Also, Neil Kernon has done some good metal records. He produced for Nevermore and Cannibal Corpse to name two
Once again begging Todd to cover Potential Break Up Song.
Hair Metal still enchants people because it's not dreadfully serious and evokes a fun, party atmosphere. Why is that not readily apparent in these dark times?
I feel like I havent heard this song in decades. I really liked this music since I was 4 years old because it was simple enough to understand.
It also gave me an alien notion of what a Woman was. Definitely not something I would ever turn into.
If they really were trying to get audiences to associate their band name with "Photograph" by Def Leppard, they maybe didn't think it through- if you plug their name into the hook to Def Leppard's song you get: "Autograph, I don't want your Autograph, I don't need your Autograph".
man,
I LOVE that song called "rockity rock rock" by the band 'Name'
Autograph is such a bad generic empty nothing ass name
Woah! Name is a great band.
Steve Lynch put on a seminar about his 2 hand tapping thing at a guitar store I went to in the 80s, and he seemed pretty cool. The seminar got derailed a bit when people kept asking about gossip from the hair metal scene (something about why Viv Campbell was fired from Whitesnake), but it was pretty cool that a "big rock star" came to our little town's guitar store.
Only reason I know this song exist is because of farming simulator, they play in every 35 minutes on the in game radio.
I've heard this song a million times, and I've never heard of Autograph. I always thought this was Def Leppard lol.
14:35 that song came out the same year as the film, "The Stuff". I choose to believe it was intentional cross promotion.
"No notable credits"
Todd, you're aware that Brand X was Phil Collins' prog rock/jazz fusion band before he joined Genesis, right?
I actually thought this song was Def Leppard for years
On point. Predicted the rise of a lot of pop bands that turned up the guitars, threw on some leather, and put moose in their hair just at a chance to win the lottery
I'm seriously wondering why he even reviewed this, I was expecting some sort of twist like "and then the joined black sabbath" but nothing, I see no reason for him to OHW this of all songs
Here's an idea for a One Hit Wonderland, The Brains. Their only hit, "Money Changes Everything", was actually a hit for someone else instead (Cyndi Lauper).
i always thought this song was def leppard, lol.
Apologetix Christian parody at the end!? Hahaha. I hope Todd does this more. Would love to see it.
Loved the song then, love it now. I did not remember the pencils. But Steve ‘Plunk’ Plunkett would show up in Guitar World, etc. advertising stuff.
I like your channel but picking bands like “Autograph” isn’t interesting to most people. There are much better and bigger examples you could choose.
Worst Louie Louie evah!
11:27 I was so sure he was gonna toss that pencil into one of those chick's cleavage. What a lost opportunity.
Loverboy you don't hear loverboy
Very interesting. I'm in my late 40's now, actually lived through the 80's and I don't remember this song.
Fun fact from someone who came of age when Metal Ruled the World– grunge did not kill metal, hair metal killed metal. Metal was an outlet for those of us who are always angry. Hair metal was pure camp, no angst or energy. But it sold to people who wanted to feel edgy by listening to "metal" without them having to actually listen to metal. So actual metal bands stayed on the fringe, never really breaking out like they could have. When grunge came along it seemed, at first, to be a new way for us to release our anger. So we flocked to it and away from what was passing as metal at that point. Unfortunately, grunge was just a bunch of crybaby drug addicts. It faded and we are still looking for a suitable replacement for the music that was taken from us.
Whitesnake originally weren’t hair metal though
Seeing the 7th Heaven intro turn up was a jumpscare i did not need.
I actually owned a copy of Sign In Please on cassette. And I'm not sure I'm proud of that. If this song comes on, nowadays I'm more likely to turn DOWN the radio.
The "AUUUUUUGH" when the video cut to the singer when he was talking about how they weren't handsome enough sounded exactly like Butthead and I mean this in the most affectionate way possible. Priceless.
Honestly I think they didn't move on it's because that singer was so dang goofy looking…poodle haired gingers aren't sexy 😂
The lead singer looks like he could be Dylan Mulvaney's dad or grandpa
I don’t think of hair metal when I think of 80s rock. I think of Big Black Songs About Fucking.
They sound like of an AI made hair metal.
I was introduced this song, by the disco boss fight in Alpha Protocol. Absolutely surreal.
"Everytime I Dream" is another good song they did.
Outside of the song with four literal session musicians, I think Autograph might be the most unambitious band covered on this show.
I've never even heard of Autograph but these dives are always interesting!
It's a song about a radio named Turnip.
"Autograph" like many other US-American (especially Airhead)-bands/producers ripped off the sound of "Def Leppard" (and some other British, Australian, Canadian and West-European Bands) and turned them into American Disney-Kitch-Versions.
OK. For Autograph it worked for 1 Hit and 3 Albums for the United Suckers of America but as good as no one gave a crap about them in Europe or the rest of the world. Sorry but most American "Metal" (like most US music in general) was/is junk-food music. And it's getting worse with every year passing by.