The Demon of Screamin' turns 59

March 26, 2007 8:09 AM

Happy 59th Birthday, Steven Victor Tallarico. His full name anagrams to "Vertical, not so Vertical", but he is better known as, Steven Tyler, the leader singer of America's Greatest Rock 'n' Roll band, Aerosmith. As a 19 year old from hardscrabble suburban satellite city Yonkers, NY, Steven was an attendee of the original Woodstock Peace and Music Festival in 1969, and then again as a performer in 1994. He is one half of the infamous toxic twins, a drummer, singer of sprituals, front man par excellence and a famous collector of scarves. He fathered a child with über hot model, singer, muse and groupie extraordinaire, Bebe Buell [NSFW!!]. However, she so hated Steven, that she raised their daughter Liv as Liv Rundgren (daughter of Todd) until Liv discovered the truth at age 9, when she noticed that she was a dead ringer for Tyler's other daughter, Mia. Please join me in wishing Mr. Tyler a happy 59th because, given the life he's led, he probably doesn't have too many more of these left.
posted by psmealey (107 comments total)

Aerosmith had some workmanlike radio hits many years ago, but the claim that they are "America's Greatest Rock n Roll band" is debatable.
posted by Burhanistan at 8:35 AM on March 26, 2007

Agreed, Burhanistan. Fyi... should have qualified that. For my money, X is America's Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band, but I parroted it in the FPP above because I have seen it used many a time in reference to Arrowsmith (as we say up heah).
posted by psmealey at 8:40 AM on March 26, 2007

that's a lot of front-page real estate for the 59th b-day of the lead singer of a band you agree is distinguished by some workmanlike radio hits many years ago.

Just saying, leave something in your hip pocket for his 60th.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 8:47 AM on March 26, 2007

Back when I used to be a TV cameraman, I shot a "plus size" fashion show downtown. Tyler's daughter Mia (Mya??) was in it. I was backstage getting a bunch of b-roll and in walks Stephen with Liv. It was hilarious - Steven is about 5'2" 85 pounds soaking wet. Liv is like 5'11" 135 and towers over her dad. However, you have not seen a face until you seen Steven Tyler's up close. It's like Mick Jagger's crossed with a coal miner's. All you see are lips and crags. It was a fantastic sighting. Love the guy. And clearly his DNA is fabulous, as both Mia and Liv are stunning.
posted by spicynuts at 8:49 AM on March 26, 2007

Oh, I agreed that that whether they are the greatest is debatable, I still think he (and they) are great however. I also refuse to bow down to the tyranny of the factor of ten. 59 is as significant as anything.
posted by psmealey at 8:50 AM on March 26, 2007

I would vote for the Beatles as America's Greatest Rock 'n' Roll band before I voted for Aerosmith.

I knew about Liv being the daughter of a groupie and have always marveled at how someone could go from being a (hot) nobody to a somebody. Now I find out she'd otherwise be the daughter of a Playboy bunny and Todd Rundgren....meh.

Also, I'm surprised Tyler is so young. I thought for sure he was over 60.
posted by DU at 8:50 AM on March 26, 2007

Aerosmith is pretty much terrible.
posted by keswick at 8:51 AM on March 26, 2007

Yeeeahh bu bibbidy bibbidy bibbidy bahwwwww!
posted by priested at 8:52 AM on March 26, 2007

As with most "great" bands, all their decent material was released decades ago. Now, we're left with just lackluster retrospectives, weak new songs, and expensive tours catering to those who still believe the hype.
posted by SaintCynr at 8:59 AM on March 26, 2007

Do we REALLY need to do this? I thought jonmc ended all debate with his list.
posted by spicynuts at 9:00 AM on March 26, 2007

People are remembering recent Aerosmith....think back to the Aerosmith of the 70's, Toy in the Attic etc, they were great.
posted by fire&wings at 9:01 AM on March 26, 2007

they were mediocre at best
posted by keswick at 9:03 AM on March 26, 2007

christ..i guess we are going to do this. ok then i have only one thing to say...TRAIN KEPT A ROLLIN!
posted by spicynuts at 9:09 AM on March 26, 2007

People seem to like to feel unclean.
posted by Burhanistan at 9:11 AM on March 26, 2007

Nah, classic 1970's Aerosmith is stunning; anything past Pump is execrable. Soundwise, they're two very different bands: one dirty, sleazy with attitude, one horrible, polished, inoffensive radio rock that their peers have done a whole lot better.
posted by TheDonF at 9:13 AM on March 26, 2007

I like "Back in the Saddle" cuz you can hear a horsey in it.
posted by Mister_A at 9:21 AM on March 26, 2007

...TRAIN KEPT A ROLLIN!

Meh, Yardbirds did it better.
posted by octothorpe at 9:26 AM on March 26, 2007

After everyone finishes jumping up and down yelling "Aerosmith's not cool!", let me say I really enjoyed this post.
posted by serazin at 9:28 AM on March 26, 2007

Run-D.M.C. should've let 'em rot.
posted by davy at 9:30 AM on March 26, 2007

Meh, Yardbirds did it better.

Meh, Johnny Burnette--and Tiny Bradshaw before him--did it better.
posted by y2karl at 9:34 AM on March 26, 2007

When the hiphopped-up "Walk This Way" came out Tyler was 38; at that age rockers should be learning to play jazz instead. By the time they're 59 they should be playing polkas. On the kazoo.
posted by davy at 9:35 AM on March 26, 2007

Aerosmith sucks/Aerosmith doesn't suck. The important thing is that Steven Tyler was 21 when he attended Woodstock, not 19.
posted by wabashbdw at 9:38 AM on March 26, 2007

The important thing is that Steven Tyler was 21 when he attended Woodstock, not 19.

Ugh. The bad arithmetic is an unfortunate side-effect of a life long fight against dekaphilic hegemony.
posted by psmealey at 9:43 AM on March 26, 2007

In the early '70s, while she was living with her then-steady Rundgren (certainly no model of fidelity himself), she [BeBe Buell] would drift into affairs with dashing rock stars partly to get back at him, but mostly because she was madly, and understandably, drawn to them. "Todd would always be fucking these nondescript road tramps," she writes, "whereas I would be fucking major icons."

Some people have no sense of self-irony.
posted by three blind mice at 9:45 AM on March 26, 2007 [2 favorites]

Your favorite America's Greatest Rock n Roll band sucks.

Someone had to say it.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 9:45 AM on March 26, 2007

He scares me.
posted by miss lynnster at 9:49 AM on March 26, 2007

Mia makes me feel funny in my pants.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 9:49 AM on March 26, 2007

People are remembering recent Aerosmith....think back to the Aerosmith of the 70's

This is the problem: I can't. The Crazy Amazin' Cryin' Aerosmith became so ubiquitous, so self-righteous about its reformed ways, and so relentlessly tunelessly soullessly dicklessly awful, that I honestly can't find a way to tunnel mentally through it to why "Sweet Emotion" was a great goddamn song when I first heard it.

I don't generally suffer from this kind of thing - no piece o' crap from the geriatric Stones has ever soured me on Exile, for example - but there's something so egregious about what Aerosmith has become that I think it may have tipped the scales from rock to suck permanently.

And that's just sad.
posted by gompa at 9:50 AM on March 26, 2007 [1 favorite]

^ what he said.
posted by stenseng at 10:00 AM on March 26, 2007

I liked the post because it brought back many happy memories, so thanks for the good work psmeasly.
posted by Dizzy at 10:01 AM on March 26, 2007

The Crazy Amazin' Cryin' Aerosmith became so ubiquitous, so self-righteous about its reformed ways, and so relentlessly tunelessly soullessly dicklessly awful

I was fortunate to miss those days. By the time the Run-DMC had done "Walk this Way" I was in college, and I missed everything after that due to tuning out MTV and steering clear of Top 40 radio. In so doing, I had managed to preserve my memory of them as the band who produced the dirtiest, filthiest, record I ever loved in my youth ("Rocks"). I knew all about the ridiculous tripe they produced in the 90s and 00s, of course, but I always forgave them for it.

Odd fact, the only time I ever saw them live was when I was in grade school. The Clash opened up for them in what is still one of the truly oddest billings I have ever seen in my life.
posted by psmealey at 10:02 AM on March 26, 2007

I agree with gompa about the Clean Aerosmith Inc., but I still have a HUGE soft spot for Toys in the Attic & Rocks. The drugged-up Aerosmith is what Guns and Roses only wished they could be. Sick as a Dog was one of the anthems of my generation.
posted by Devils Rancher at 10:03 AM on March 26, 2007

I though Tyler was from MA.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 10:03 AM on March 26, 2007

Oh, and these days I consider Los Lobos to be the Greatest American Rock & Roll Band. Gotta keep up with that changing demographic, ya know.
posted by Devils Rancher at 10:05 AM on March 26, 2007 [1 favorite]

DevRan---
Total agreement on Los Lobos-- saw them live many, many times in East LA in the early 80's and they were extraordinary.
I'm partial to their "La Bamba" soundtrack, even if the movie itself was poop.
(But Esai Morales rocked!)
posted by Dizzy at 10:11 AM on March 26, 2007

The Clash opened up for them in what is still one of the truly oddest billings I have ever seen in my life.

I once saw The Inbreds open for 1994 Palace Brothers. Okay, not super odd... but they were both opening for Girls Against Boys.
posted by dobbs at 10:23 AM on March 26, 2007

no piece o' crap from the geriatric Stones has ever soured me on Exile, for example

I dunno... most of the post-Brian Jones crap has soured me to the Stones. That and their relentless SuperTouring.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 10:25 AM on March 26, 2007

I think the 'America's greatest..." thing was an homage to the Stones and their (also highly debatable) claim of being the "world's greatest rock and roll band."

70s Aerosmith was good though, and I have a soft spot for Permenant Vacation:

"going down, Mr. Tyler?"

re: Mia. Her official site is Geocities?? Dad can't shell out the $8/month for a basic hosting plan somewhere??
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:26 AM on March 26, 2007

most of the post-Brian Jones crap has soured me to the Stones.

yes, Exile and Sticky Fingers are horrible horrible albums. Some Girls too. They should be very very ashamed of themselves.
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:28 AM on March 26, 2007 [2 favorites]

I SWEAR we must've been in the same room at some point, dizzy. I'm amazed by the number of Mefites that have my memories.
posted by miss lynnster at 10:36 AM on March 26, 2007

.



Oh wait it's his birthday. Oops , never mind. Happy B-day Steven
posted by nola at 10:50 AM on March 26, 2007

Meh, Yardbirds did it better.

Meh, Johnny Burnette--and Tiny Bradshaw before him--did it better.

Tiny Bradshaw is a new name to me but I don't doubt that Burnette did a great version.
posted by octothorpe at 10:51 AM on March 26, 2007

Oh, and my weirdest lineup hands down was at the Universal Ampitheatre in 1987 or so: Firehose, Jerry Lee Lewis, X & the Knitters.
posted by miss lynnster at 10:53 AM on March 26, 2007

Did you get a Rock Stars Birthdays desk calendar for Xmas, psmealey?

(Just got Aerosmith's first album a couple days ago, and was remembering how great they used to be...)
posted by klangklangston at 10:54 AM on March 26, 2007

Until recently, Tyler's two youngest kids went to the same school as my children. It was, at first, a little odd to see Mr. Tallarico at school events, where he acted (though did not look) exactly the same as any other parent. He'd be there with the little video camera taping Taj in the school play, nudging the Ward-Cleaver-type standing next to him as he nodded approvingly. I liked him better having seen him in this context, as a "normal" parent, who seemed to want his children to have as normal a school experience as was possible. Well, except for wheeling up in the Lotus 7 at pick-up time.
posted by Pliskie at 10:58 AM on March 26, 2007

Tyler is one of the all time great rock singers. Hapy birthday old man.
posted by caddis at 11:05 AM on March 26, 2007

The Clash opened up for them in what is still one of the truly oddest billings I have ever seen in my life.

Speaking of which, the weirdest billing I ever saw was when Stevie Ray Vaughan opened for The Clash in Austin. Think it was '83.
posted by Devils Rancher at 11:06 AM on March 26, 2007

GrandMaster Flash and the Furious Five opened for the Clash for their stint at Bonds NYC in the early 80's.
posted by caddis at 11:15 AM on March 26, 2007

Public Enemy opened for U2 in a tour in 92 or 93. It seemed kind of strange at the time, but bombast attracts bombast.
posted by Burhanistan at 11:30 AM on March 26, 2007

"America's Greatest Rock n Roll band" is debatable.

What they once were was the World's Greatest Stones Tribute Band (although admittedly 'Walk This Way' and 'Same Old Song & Dance' are excellent songs and 'Angel' is one of the great power ballads), but the Black Crowes usurped that title from them in the 1990's. For the past decade and a hlaf they've been a mediocre ballad band.
posted by jonmc at 11:35 AM on March 26, 2007

Some of their unlistenable latter day stuff sounds (in the 10 seconds I can stand of it) like it was recorded on the same excessively multitracked recorders that movie studios use for sountracks. Really overblown and horrid.
posted by Burhanistan at 11:38 AM on March 26, 2007

miss l---
if your favorite color is sunflower yellow then we are the same person.
posted by Dizzy at 11:48 AM on March 26, 2007

Hate all you want - I love me some Steven Tyler. Thanks for posting this.

Joe Walsh opening for Jefferson Starship in the early 80's
posted by ersatzkat at 12:03 PM on March 26, 2007

U2 opened for the J. Geils Band at the San Diego Sports Arena in the 80s. How's that?

dizzy. Damn. Nope, royal blue. :(
posted by miss lynnster at 12:05 PM on March 26, 2007

I MEANT ROYAL BLUE!
I MEANT ROYAL BLUE!
posted by Dizzy at 12:09 PM on March 26, 2007

Happy 63rd birthday, Diana Ross.
posted by blucevalo at 12:12 PM on March 26, 2007

Goddamn it, I missed posting early for this. But I said it for McCartney and I'll say it again for Tyler:
"F- him, and why is this on MeFi?"

Seriously, there are a bazillion Aerosmiths sites out there, I don't need to see this crap here.
posted by Vindaloo at 12:15 PM on March 26, 2007

Didn't they do the soundtrack for one of those asteroid movies?

The last twenty five years of Aerosmith hits have been the garish bombastic musical equivalent of Micheal Bay movies.

Everything is all crescendo and campy and over the top for me.

Chicks seemed to dig them. I do have happy memories of getting naughty with a girl when Toys in The Attic came out.
posted by tkchrist at 12:38 PM on March 26, 2007

This birthday tribute is now immortalized thanks to the Red Meat cartoon generator.
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:39 PM on March 26, 2007 [1 favorite]

He and the rest of the band are relatively common sights down here on the South Shore of MA (where they live). Their favorite breakfast place is also mine. They buy their scuba gear at the shop where I used to work (and came in to pick up wetsuits and such, as well as a couple of underwater scooters, while I was there). I see him occasionally at his restaurant.

They're all very nice people, and everyone here kind of lets them be (as Pliskie was saying.)
posted by nekton at 12:42 PM on March 26, 2007

yes, Exile and Sticky Fingers are horrible horrible albums. Some Girls too. They should be very very ashamed of themselves.

Aaah... Exile. Like Revolver and Pet Sounds, albums rockophiles are required to love because they're quintessentially awesome. And sure, I loved them all the first couple hundred times I heard them. But Some Girls? To quote Mick... "Look at meh! I'm in tatters!"

Anyway, happy birthday, Boston Yonkers-Dude.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 12:42 PM on March 26, 2007

You mean to tell me that, you don't have a Steven Tyler story, tkchrist? Jesus, even I have a few of those -- one of which rather infamously takes place at 4am at the Store 24 on Beacon Street in Brookline on cold winter night in 1988.
posted by psmealey at 12:44 PM on March 26, 2007

U2 opened for the J. Geils Band at the San Diego Sports Arena in the 80s. How's that?

I opened for Jewel at the Tinker Street Cafe in Woodstock in 1994. That's some bombast.
posted by spicynuts at 1:02 PM on March 26, 2007

Aerosmith sucks
posted by Bonzai at 2:23 PM on March 26, 2007

Bah, I thought everyone knew by now that America's Greatest Rock n Roll band is the "classic" lineup (i.e. pre-1997 and 1/2) Guided by Voices.
posted by Jezztek at 2:26 PM on March 26, 2007

Jezztek, I saw them once around that time. The performance was OK, but what struck me was that Pollard drank at least 9 beers over the course of his set and didn't have to stop to use the lavatory. I think therein lies the key to his prolific song writing ability.
posted by Burhanistan at 2:29 PM on March 26, 2007

I think therein lies the key to his prolific song writing ability.

I think the key lies within his ability to rip off Kinks, Small Faces and Who riffs and turn them into endless acres of 90 second tunes.
posted by psmealey at 2:32 PM on March 26, 2007

Not that I don't enjoy Pollard or GBV... Just kind disappointed that so much of the dicussion was centered around the "Greatest Band" thing, rather than a discussion about a guy who has long been one of rock 'n' roll's most colorful personalities. At least wanted to give a nod to that before he kicks the bucket.

But you know, once you get to the point where you are ready to release your FPPs into the wild all you can do is hope you brought 'em up right.
posted by psmealey at 2:41 PM on March 26, 2007

Btw, one final note on GBV. The last time I saw them was at a show at the old Off Ramp Cafe (Graceland?) in Seattle in the fall of 2003. He was about 5x drunker than I'd ever seen him, and he was ranting simultaneously about how much he hated Jack White, and that he was the captain of his high school football team. It was fucking weird. He was like some freaky drunk uncle at a family gathering. Very different than the forms of piss-drunk I'd gotten accustomed to from him. I always assumed he broke up the band because he just couldn't take the booze anymore.
posted by psmealey at 3:00 PM on March 26, 2007

It would not be Metafilter if we actually stayed on topic. Did you miss that part of our orientation lecture?
posted by miss lynnster at 3:13 PM on March 26, 2007

As I recall, I was too hungover that day to attend, miss lynster.

You might call it jonmc's second law of music threads: the principle that your favorite band sucks/rules will always trump all other content contained within the post. I think the first law is that you should always forget what you think is or is not punk rock, because you're wrong about it. But, the latter doesn't really pertain here.
posted by psmealey at 3:27 PM on March 26, 2007

Did they do Dude Looks Like a Lady? Maybe they are responsible for the rise of the use of "dude" by the uncool masses.
posted by snoktruix at 3:56 PM on March 26, 2007

Can we talk about cake now?
Not "Cake"--
cake!
posted by Dizzy at 4:05 PM on March 26, 2007

Pecan pie is the best.
posted by snoktruix at 4:11 PM on March 26, 2007

Sibilance. Sibilance.
posted by kimota at 4:26 PM on March 26, 2007

Wow Bebe Buell was teh hot. I'm sure picked the wrong decade to try and be a rock star in.
posted by Flem Snopes at 4:37 PM on March 26, 2007

Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band opened for KISS at the Baltimore Civic Center I think in summer 1975. It was the 2nd or 3rd time I smoked pot, the first time I smoked PCP, and the 2nd time I almost got too stoned to make it home. I liked Bob Seger's music better, but then I was 12. (I still say Seger is more punk than Simmons.)

"Dude Looks Like A Lady" is one of the stupidest rawk songs ever. It's right up there with "Strawberry Fields."

And hey, Bebe Buell is 10 years older than me. Feh. I'm sure with enough plastic surgery I too could look that "well preserved" -- and frankly I need it more. (Friends, I look like a slightly overweight Keith Richards warmed-over, with less hair.)
posted by davy at 4:54 PM on March 26, 2007

davy, davy, davy.
posted by Dizzy at 5:06 PM on March 26, 2007

...can't you see, sometimes your words just mystify me
posted by Kwine at 5:19 PM on March 26, 2007

I still say Seger is more punk than Simmons.

Huh? I would say that Seger SUCKS more than Simmons, but neither is remotely punk.

the first time I smoked PCP

Ah, that explains it.

Snark aside, how many times did you smoke PCP if that was merely the first? I only know a handful of people that have been "dusted" and none of those instances was it intentional. That stuff always struck me a pure evil, administered orally.
posted by Flem Snopes at 5:36 PM on March 26, 2007

I almost tried PCP accidentally once. Let's just put it this way... if you're ever within second-hand-smoke range of George Clinton & Macy Gray? WALK FAR AWAY. Otherwise you might end up pulling a Helen Hunt.*

*Obscure television afterschool special reference.
posted by miss lynnster at 6:00 PM on March 26, 2007

Huh? I would say that Seger SUCKS more than Simmons, but neither is remotely punk.

Tell that shit to the gang at Hot Topic, kiddo.

You've never listened to any Seger besides the Against The Wind stuff, have you? When the MC5 recorded Back In The USA they used Seger's "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" as their sonic model. Punk cred dosen't come much deeper than that. His early stuff from the mid-60's like 'East Side Story' and 'Persecution Smith' are garage rock of the highest order, and even his later stuff like 'Get Out Of Denver" and "Feel Like A Number" pack some serious wallop.

Try to know what the hell you're talking about before making such statements in the future.
posted by jonmc at 6:33 PM on March 26, 2007 [1 favorite]

Like most people who have spent their lives having 'too much fun', Babe looks ok from a distance but does not hold up at close viewing range.

The switch from Tyler to Rundgren to Tyler was all about $$$$$. Neither male nor the kid had a clue. Blood test were used--who would believe the skank without them?
posted by hexatron at 6:37 PM on March 26, 2007

Wow, I actually agree with jonmc about something musical. Hell, are you frozen over?
posted by Eekacat at 7:05 PM on March 26, 2007

It happens to everybody eventually, eek.
posted by jonmc at 7:09 PM on March 26, 2007

Further proof of Seger's punkness. ;>
posted by jonmc at 7:14 PM on March 26, 2007

Where'd you get that picture of Joan Jett and that guy from "Welcome Back, Kotter", jonmc?
posted by Dizzy at 7:39 PM on March 26, 2007

Your favorite band sucks translates to "I have a small penis and an even smaller ego and I am struggling to somehow show how cool I might be, please love me, I am so pathetic."
posted by caddis at 7:57 PM on March 26, 2007

You mean big ego. A small ego is a sign of development and maturity.
posted by Burhanistan at 7:58 PM on March 26, 2007

jonmc, didn't you hear about how Handsome Dick Manitoba had to turn in his punk card? He sued the band Manitoba over their name.
posted by nonreflectiveobject at 8:01 PM on March 26, 2007

I've heard it more times than I care to, sir, and it matters not a whit to me. His musical contributions outweigh any political gaffes.
posted by jonmc at 8:06 PM on March 26, 2007

Regarding the last link: not to disparage the achievements of either of these fine musicians, but how the fuck can Chet Baker or Robert Johnson be considered "rock stars?"
posted by the_bone at 8:30 PM on March 26, 2007

The only good thing I've heard him do was backing vocals for The Left Banke.
posted by tapeguy at 12:24 AM on March 27, 2007

The PCP was always unintentional but unfortunately in the mid-late '70s commercial pot was sometimes dusted. And sometimes not with anything as innocuous as PCP. The one time I meant to smoke PCP to establish some kind of knowing comparison I was told by someone else it was only formaldehyde. Anyway, what'd happen is we'd get some odd high that didn't feel much like pot and then we'd speculate, read up on drugs more, and/or describe the symptoms to someone older and more experienced. So no, I can't prove I ever really smoked real PCP, only that I got some pretty weird shit sometimes that sounded to people like it'd been dusted. ("And I felt like my feet weren't really bearing my weight and I felt confused and nauseated and Satan told me the CIA hates me, but no visions or anything mind-expanding.")

As for that "that explains it" snark, stuff it. I was "disturbed" before I even huffed Elmer's in 4th grade.
posted by davy at 12:31 AM on March 27, 2007

And by the way, sometimes the highs I thought were PCPish were kinda fun. Not something I'd want regularly, but like a roller coaster.
posted by davy at 12:33 AM on March 27, 2007

And one needn't be On Drugs or Mentally Disturbed to realize that post-comeback Aerosmith sucks. Sometimes substance-fueled artists should simply retire as well, e.g. Stephen King; my list of Creative Types whose stuff improved after getting clean is short, so far only Miles Davis, Tom Waits and Warren Zevon (and no poets or novelists).
posted by davy at 12:38 AM on March 27, 2007

Blood test were used--who would believe the skank without them?

I'm not too hip to this kind of misogyny. Seems like what was good for the gander was equally good for the goose in this case.
posted by psmealey at 3:17 AM on March 27, 2007

You've never listened to any Seger besides the Against The Wind stuff, have you? When the MC5 recorded Back In The USA they used Seger's "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" as their sonic model.

Pwned! I refer you Flem Snopes to the aforementioned Rule #1
posted by psmealey at 3:28 AM on March 27, 2007

MetaFilter: Try to know what the hell you're talking about before making such statements in the future.
posted by kirkaracha at 6:58 AM on March 27, 2007

("And I felt like my feet weren't really bearing my weight and I felt confused and nauseated and Satan told me the CIA hates me, but no visions or anything mind-expanding.")

And this was the control state of consciousness ?
posted by y2karl at 7:07 AM on March 27, 2007

What if the CIA told you that Satan hates you? Who to trust?
posted by Burhanistan at 8:00 AM on March 27, 2007

Blood test were used--who would believe the skank without them?

I'm not too hip to this kind of misogyny. Seems like what was good for the gander was equally good for the goose in this case.

Not referring to sex, but to the flow of $, and the direction they took.
posted by hexatron at 4:20 PM on March 27, 2007

Skank=viral.
Groupie=rustic.
Muse=neutral.
Partner=contractual.
posted by Dizzy at 6:38 PM on March 27, 2007

Aerosmith is pretty much terrible.

I am bemused to note that hell hath frozen over, and I agree with keswick.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:48 PM on March 27, 2007

I am bemused to note that hell hath frozen over, and I agree with keswick.

truly, the end is nigh
posted by keswick at 11:01 AM on March 28, 2007

I can't believe he's only 59. He looked 59 when he was singin' about Janie and her gun.
posted by Ynoxas at 11:22 PM on April 5, 2007

Also, Steven Tyler is actually the person who settled for me in my youth the argument over whether looks had anything to do with popularity with women.

He's a tiny, pathetically skinny, ugly-ass man. Seriously, he looks like a burn victim. And he's probably slept with more women than all the people in this thread summed, and then squared.

My wife still considers him to be just about the sexiest man she's ever seen.

What's interesting is this almost never goes the other way. There were never armies of men who went crazy over Bea Arthur just because she was famous. I don't recall a lot of guys having posters of Gilda Radner in a swimsuit when I was growing up. I've never seen guys throw their underwear up on stage for Stockard Channing.

Basically, with men, fame drives their attractiveness, where with women, attractiveness often drives their fame. There are LOTS of women who are famous for no reason other than they are attractive. Not actors nor musicians, just pretty. While I'm sure there are examples of that with men, it certainly doesn't compare.
posted by Ynoxas at 11:34 PM on April 5, 2007