There’s No Wrong Time To Rock: A Peacemaker-Inspired Playlist

John Cena as Peacemaker.

I am ecstatic that the Peacemaker TV show has helped so many younger fans of the superhero genre discover the glories of ‘80s hair metal. It’s a sub-genre that brought radio-friendly pop hooks and ’70s glam rock and glam fashion aesthetics to heavy music.

The series credits are a dance sequence set to the contemporary hair metal band Wig Wam’s “Do Ya Really Wanna Taste It,” and within the first episode, Peacemaker (aka Christopher Smith) belts out “I Don’t Love You Anymore” by Quireboys and steals several records. Creator James Gunn told Billboard.com that he had an over 400 song playlist for the show, and said that hair metal was an integral part of who Chris was because the “androgyny” of it helped him to rebel against his father.

Personally, I am a huge fan of this music, and have written about it in essays like Notes On Camp On David Lee Roth’s California Girls. Since childhood I’ve loved the genre’s catchy, melodic hooks combined with the power of a metal guitar sound. I sing, and there are great vocal lines to sing along with, full of showboating and swagger. I love it as camp, but I also love it because it rocks.

Like many fans, I prefer to call this genre of music glam metal – the label “hair metal” was ascribed to the style after the fact by people who dismissed it as unserious compared to “authentic” man music like grunge or heavier metal. (That dismissal of this style of rock is all tied up with a rejection of camp and fun — and frankly, femininity.) But the sense of camp that permeates so much of this music is one of the reasons it’s a great fit for the superhero genre.

Some of the bands on my playlist – like Van Halen, Guns ‘n Roses, and Mötley Crüe – had a lasting impact on music and the industry. You’ve probably heard their hits before, so I’ve chosen songs I love that haven’t been played to death. Other bands, like Britny Fox and Autograph, had a briefer moment in the spotlight. Outside of their active and loyal fandom they are all too often mocked for their over-the-top styles, often by people who aren’t even familiar with their music. There should be no shame in men actually styling their hair, and these guys also made some extremely fun music.

With Peacemaker Season 1 over, here’s a two hour long hair metal playlist to tide you over until Season 2, which is already in the works. These are likely all songs that Peacemaker loves, and that we hope you’ll love too. All of these are from the ‘80s, most are American (but shout-out to Loudness from Japan!), and all are in the glam metal or arena hard rock style. (Sorry, the list is on Spotify, but I currently don’t have another platform!)

I’ll highlight a few of the songs by bands that were featured on Peacemaker here. Since MTV played a major role in popularizing this music, I am linking to their music videos as well.

Cinderella – Shake Me

Chris Smith is right, ​​”Tom Keifer and the boys are like the perfect mix of blues and metal.” Cinderella singer and primary songwriter Keifer has easily one of the best voices of the era. In every moment of his songs he is dialed to 11. He sings in his throat for maximum raspiness and he dies on every hill.

To be clear, singing like that will kill your vocal chords, and Keifer suffered from vocal cord paralysis in 1991 and underwent six surgeries to recover. It was a tragedy that hampered the band’s career. But Cinderella’s first two albums are still tremendous, especially if you appreciate Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones, and the blues music they draw from.

Kix – Cool Kids

I love a good gang vocal (that’s when a crew of who knows how many people sing along, or sing-shout along to the same vocal lines together). They don’t just bring energy, they bring a sense of belonging to the song. Gang vocals invite you to join in the song. Be part of the cool kids.

The influence of Cheap Trick runs strong. New Wave 80’s keyboards are a great contrast with Kix singer Steve Whiteman’s slurred and snotty, early punk style vocals. It features a nice, tight guitar solo from Brad Divens. A decade later Beavis and Butthead would make fun of this video. Screw them. I still dress like these guys, and this song is a classic.

Michael Monroe – Dead, Jail or Rock and Roll

Michael Monroe was the lead singer of Hanoi Rocks, Peacemaker and Economus’s favorite band. Hanoi never got a chance in the U.S. because their drummer, Nicholas “Razzle” Dingley, was killed in the notorious Motley Crüe car crash (more on those guys later). This Finnish band was one of the earliest groups to synthesize the sound (and fashion choices) of proto-punk forefathers The New York Dolls, turning it into a melodic hard rock sound. It’s a style that Guns ‘n Roses would go on to global dominance with.

Monroe’s lyrics articulate a rock philosophy perfectly:

“The three choices I ever came to find
Were: Dead, Jail or Rock’n’Roll”

Faster Pussycat – Poison Ivy

Faster Pussycat were the ultimate LA scenesters. Taime Downe (what a stage name) was a co-founder of the notorious LA rock club The Cathouse — a theme that shows up in their songs. Before that, he was a salesman at Retail Slut, the rock scene’s fashion emporium, where he sold Slash that iconic top hat. (Though Slash claims he stole it.)

This album was released near the end of the era. Record labels were throwing money at any promising glam metal band, which meant they could afford nice things like studio musicians to play killer saxophone lines like this one. I adore the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street-esque boogie woogie piano. Like the titular Poison Ivy this song just won’t quit. It has an unstoppable swinging groove, scratchy scat-ing singing and an infectious chorus of fun gang vocals.

Motley Crüe – The Looks That Kill

Motley Crüe’s beautiful, emotional ballad Home Sweet Home is featured twice in Peacemaker. It’s chart success convinced record labels that every heavy band needed to put at least one power ballad on their album — often to mixed results.

But that’s not where Crüe started. This track off their second album is heavier than the others on my list thus far. Crüe took the Van Halen sound and made it dark, menacing and sleazy. Minor key songs with shrill demon vocals over scene veteran Mick Mars’ killer solos.

In their early years Crüe were all about their “Satanic” spiked leather Road Warrior armor, mixed with pretty-boy goth inspired makeup. Kids loved them. Parents hated them. This is what Peacemaker’s evil father Augie Smith was calling “devil nusic.”

I remember seeing this video as a very young kid and it scared me. Now I can appreciate it as horror camp. “The Looks That Kill” could be Hartcort’s theme song.

I could keep going, but hopefully this playlist gives you a taste to start with. I appreciate how the show also features contemporary bands playing in these styles, but I wanted to give viewers a familiarity with the music of the ‘80s – or else this list would have been two hours longer. Though if the readers want one of those too, please let me know!

Elana Levin is the host of Graphic Policy Radio, a podcast at the intersection of comics, nerdom and social change. They also host Deep Space Dive, a Star Trek Deep Space Nine podcast. Elana wants you to chat about music or comics @Elana_Brooklyn on Twitter. Their cat is Axl Rose Levin.

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Elana Brooklyn

Elana Brooklyn

Elana is co-host of the Graphic Policy Radio podcast. By day she works for a community based organization of low-income workers. She has written and spoken about comics and geek culture for Graphic Policy and at the Netroots Nation conference. She is on the board of Girl Wonder.

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