I was a big fan of both. What do I like better?
Well, one point of the debate, is why do Hair Metal fans get sooooo upset and outraged about 90s grunge? you don't see Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam fans moaning constantly about Hair Metal. But for some reason Hair Metal enthusiasts go way over the top. As for Nirvana destroying Hair Metal, I think bands like Soundgarden, Faith No More and Red Hot Chili Peppers had started to sow the seeds.
For me, it wasn't just Grunge that killed Hair Metal, Hair Metal killed Hair Metal. People were getting bored of the whole, let's write another song about all the girls I can get and the wild parties we have. People were fed up of seeing 30 -50 year old guys in videos perving over girls barely out of school. The songwriting hadn't progressed, bar GN'R. PLUS. the obligatory BALLAD destroyed hair metal. They were some gems, like Don't Know What You Got Til It's Gone and I Remember You; but let's face it, Every Rose Has It's Thorn sounds like a Justin Beiber song or that it's been written by some 13 year old youtube wannabe. Too many bands were just releasing albums to have the BIG ballad on it and filling the rest of the album with b-rated rock fillers. Grunge came, when Hair Metal had run out of ideas, and that's a fact.
As I said, I liked both, and though musically and intelligently, grunge is better and produced more top notch albums - Ten, Dirt, Badmotorfinger, Nevermind, Doolittle, Temple Of The Dog - all classics that are still loved today; there aren't many Hair Metal albums that were great start to finish, only Appetite For Destruction stands the test of time; though personally I am still a fan of (the fairly unknown) Vain's No Respect and DLR's Eat Em & Smile which were also fantastic records. And when grunge came along I listened to Hair Metal a far less, as I was just bored of it by then, and I think that was the same for many, many people, hence its decline.
However, hair metal IS more fun and I'm more likely to have a good fun blast of Def Leppard, GNR, Vain, Cinderella than I am, Temple Of The Dog.
So, songwriting wise and credibility wise, grunge is better. If Pop music is your thing, then Hair Metal is better and I don't mean that as a dig, it just, is Pop. It's Backstreet Boys in spandex.
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