Why can't movies and hard rock music these days be more like the 80's!?!?! This became apparent to me when I was youtubing one of my favorite horror songs and videos—“Dream Warriors” by Dokken. I'll be honest with you, I am not a Dokken fan, but I do truly love this song and I would gladly go see Dokken play live RIGHT NOW if there was a guarantee that the band would play it. (Even if it turned out to be like the time in 1995 when my friends and I went to see Blue Oyster Cult play just to hear “Don't Fear the Reaper.” They played a 3 1/2 hour set (it was awful) while we waited for “Reaper”…and waited…and waited. Finally, for the very last song, they played it...AMAZING!) But back to the original subject. Check out this Dokken video. Think long and hard about this song and then try to imagine the director coming up to Dokken and saying "We want a heavy metal band to help promote Nightmare on Elm Street Part 3…and you guys are perfect! Now, the director (or whoever) probably didn't give a shit what the song would actually sound like--in fact, they probably asked a slew of other bands of other bands first (like Crue, Ratt, Cinderella) but all those bands were like "Fuck no!”--But Don Dokken and the rest of the band were serious about it. They were so serious about this that it's like someone had asked them to write the main song for, like, Schindler's List. When you see the way that Don glares into the camera and George Lynch busts through the wall with his skeleton-shaped guitar, it actually seems Dokken truly believe that this song is more serious than anything that happened in Schindler's List or Citizen Kane and maybe they believe it is worthy of an Academy Award and if they don't win an Oscar for Best Original Song (or at least get nominated!) that it’s obviously because the Academy is prejudiced and clearly supports everything Tipper Gore says about heavy metal. And you know what I think? Dokken got robbed they should of been nominated! They should of won the award song of the year back in 1987. (Instead, that honor was wasted on “(I've Had) The Time of My Life” from Dirty Dancing.) Give me a break! So yes, you may think I am ridiculous making a case for Dokken winning an Academy Award and yes, as I write this I also acknowledge that I am somewhat ridiculous, but then…..then I watch the video again. I watch these pioneers of absolutely nothing play and sing their hearts out, pour their souls into the lyric "ain't gonna dream no more!" for the third installment of a movie franchise about a burnt madman killing teenage kids in a mental institution. Again I ask, why can't it be more like the 80's?
EDITOR’S NOTE: In the spirit of this post, I’m advising readers to avoid seeing the new Nightmare on Elm Street remake at all costs. It sucks. In fact, it's an insult to sucking. Instead, go re-watch the original Nightmare (followed by parts 2, 3, 4, and 5). In my personal experience, these movies are best viewed via a worn out VHS copy which is played on a crappy TV located in a basement. For maximum effect, please view while eating a Totinos frozen pizza and drinking a strawberry-flavored Bartles & James wine cooler that was shoplifted from a local convenience store.
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