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Hair Metal Happy Hour

OVERTHINKING STEEL PANTHER

 Monday, December 7th, 2009 at 12:00pm by

steel panther“Welcome to Overthinking It, where we subject the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn’t deserve.” So reads the site disclaimer at the top of OverthinkingIt.com, which does exactly what it claims to do. Much like MetalSucks, OverthinkingIt.com attempts to take an intellectual approach to art that may or may not warrant it. Their latest topic is the [semi]-ironic cock rock of Steel Panther, a band this author loves but many just don’t seem to get.

What’s great about OverthinkingIt’s Steel Panther piece is that it delves deeply (very deeply) into every facet of the band’s approach — their lyrics, their look, their stage-show, their historical influences and relevance, their musicianship, their general existence as a parallel to Starship Troopers (zuh? read the article) — and concludes that Steel Panther are, indeed, the shit.

Here’s a band that most people probably take at face value for their silly look and ridiculous lyrics, but when you look beneath the surface there’s a whole lot more going on there. And that is precisely why I like Steel Panther’s Feel the Steel so much. It’s smart and well thought out in every imaginable facet. It’s big, stupid rock for smart and dumb people alike.

-VN

[Thanks: Nicholas Nutter]

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  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Cody-Cosgrove/1071491065 Cody Cosgrove

    Great article. Im a big fan of steel panther for two reasons.

    1. They’re fun. Its that simple singing about asian hookers and fat girls is just fun.

    2. They’re actually talented musicians. All the songs on feel the steel are just awesome. The intro to “eyes of a panther” is just amazing.

  • datrick

    wait, is this a promo shot for snakes and barrels? that kinda looks like pickles on the inside left.

  • key

    I mean, I don’t know a lot about these guys but I’ll be the first to make a very similar argument for Immortal. Because they’re badass, and I’m sure they are very aware of just how ridic they may seem.

  • http://schenkeltown.blogspot.com SchenkelTown

    the guy on the far left looks like angelina jolie

  • WowWee!

    I was just listening to them last night at work and thinking they were better than I thought.

  • Reznik

    I Fucking hate steel panther there’s a reason why we went through the 80s. fuck recycle metal

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Rik-Powell/286400508 Rik Powell

    The irony with Steel Panther is that they seem to think they’re metal. Zimmers Hole could teach them a thing or two… “glam rock can suck a cock, strictly for the closet gay” etc.

  • cougar party

    I’ll admit, seeing their pictures I really wanted to hate these guys. However, i just couldn’t. Their songs are funny, have some decent riffing, and are overall just a fun band. They are a parody band, but they do it so damn well it’s hard not to like.

  • http://uponwingsofblack.blogspot.com/ \m/Eluveitie\m/

    Steel Panther sucks, the Darkness did it better.

  • Glenn

    First, I don’t think studying popular culture carefully and intelligently should be degraded as “overthinking”. (Yes, I get the irony like Metal Sucks, but still).

    Generally like the idea of three levels of satire and the parallels with Starship Troopers. However, I found this statement really lame:
    “The genius of Steel Panther is that they lift the thin veil of acceptability of heavy metal and reveal its true underlying nature…”

    Isn’t metal’s “true underlying nature” far more ambiguous than whatever sexism the author ascribes to its 80s glam-metal variant? In other words, metal means many things to many people at many different times. It has no “true underlying nature”.

    Much more to be said about this band though.

  • Ziltoid

    Much like MetalSucks, OverthinkingIt.com attempts to take an intellectual approach to art that may or may not warrant it.

    HAHA, no.

    Don’t flatter yourselves. Rich Hallford’s column existed, therefore this website has no clue what intellect is.

    • http://uponwingsofblack.blogspot.com/ \m/Eluveitie\m/

      Let’s hope you’re right when you use the past tense in regards to Hallford’s MetalSucks career.

  • Anthony R.

    I’m a fan of Steel Panther, I’ve seen them about 4 times, 3 of those times was when they were still Metal Skool before they changed the name of the band.

  • Alex_P

    new favourite website

  • Goatboy

    ” semi-ironic”?!? These guys are a complete piss-take. They are about as serious as Spinal Tap… and that’s why we love them!

  • http://URI Will

    ?

  • H-man

    i takes 10 seconds to figure out that this band sucks
    the look gay but thats not why ,cause every one may look as the want but the music ……………………..
    sucks

  • CJ

    Steel Panther is stupid rock. Period. Glam is an insult to Metal, and these retards are even an insult to glam… Unfortunately a double negative here is not a positive – it’s just twice as bad.
    And don’t go telling me “their music runs deep” / “there’s more than meets the eye” – I mean how deep can lyrics as retarded as theirs run? Is sucking a dick a metaphor for getting the most out of life? If so, I don’t get it.

    Finally, to whoever wrote the article – you completely stopped making sense in the last paragraph.