Courtesy of Softy: The Unbearable Crapness of Def Leppard

On The Unbearable Crappiness of Def Leppard
Ok, before I say anything, let me make one thing clear: Pyromania is a great album. I loved it in 1983. I loved it in 1987 when I was basically annoyed by the Hysteria. I loved it in 1992 when I spurned the pitiful attempt at music that was Adrenalize. I loved it in 1994 when I openly and fully laughed at whatever song from Slang I saw the video for, mistaking it for some kind of Spinal Tap-ian joke.
Not only do I love it. I love it from a genuine place. I've listened to make sure that I'm not simply seeing it through 12 year old eyes yet and for the most part I'm not. Sure, now I'm quite a bit more cynical about pro-Rock & Roll songs, so I'm not sure how I'd react to "Rock! Rock! Till You Drop" without my 12-year old glasses at this point. One the other hand, "Die Hard the Hunter" and "Too Late For Love" remain powerful pieces of solid rock music. "Photograph", "Billy's Got a Gun", "Stagefright" and "Rock of Ages" still have great grooves that really move me. And none of this is to say anything of the solid material on their earlier albums High 'N' Dry and On Through the Night...
But how long should the world have to suffer through a band that took what was about the only entertaining song on the generally annoying Hysteria album -- nope don't like the song "Hysteria", it makes me feel very tense and don't get me started on "Love Bites" -- and tried to re-use it with stupider, more embarrassing lyrics to create their next "hit" with "Let's Get Rocked"?
And then there's the fact that they hold the distiction along with the members of Motley Crue of being one of the only bands that didn't come off as decent human beings on VH1's Behind the Music. If I were in charge of a record company I'd let them go just for that. It's not even like they're in the same category as Motley Crue where being assholes is part of their image or helps their image at all. They obviously just are assholes.
There are so many good albums out there to be bought. What on earth would inspire me to give my money to people like that? And what is causing the rest of you to? "We had our thunder stolen and we want it back," said Joe Elliott, "The goatees and shorts are going to get laughed at soon, just as much as the big hair and the ripped jeans did."
Look, dumbass! You dropped your thunder, ok? I would have merrily bought a good album you might have produced in the last 15 years, no matter what you had worn (although, I admit the pouf costumes you're wearing on the back of Euphoria come close to turning me away). Your mistake was thinking that "Pour Some Sugar On Me", an amusing pop hit, was the wave of the future instead of sticking with solid music like you did on Pyromania and then you'd at least have the integrity left to make statements like that.
He bitches about Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers not liking him -- apparently under the belief that it's still 1992 when the Chili Peppers were the height of fashion -- as if that was a meaningful problem. Get over yourself, dipshit. The Chili Peppers aren't even the same style of band as yours.
This is the kind of pig ignorant band I can only wish had ended up on the street giving blow jobs to street people for $5 a head -- so to speak.
Well, if I haven't made my point now, I never will.
I hate Def Leppard.
I'm disappointed that the band who created such great music in the early '80s has never followed up on that musically.
I'm disappointed that a band I enjoyed so much, turned out to be such a bunch of shitbags.
Please die soon, Joe.
Thanks for listening,
N.S.

Agree/Disagree? Is Softy (and Tanya) right about this?