I want to talk about an effect of Reaganomics that is rarely
spoken about. Through the philosophy of tax cuts and supply side economics,
many interesting consequences arise. And you can only glean so much information
about fiscal policy from macro-economic numbers like GDP increases and deficit
increases. The real influence of an economic plan are seen as social effects. These changes shape the society and
culture in which we live. Reaganomics gave birth to hair metal.
The policies enacted by Reagan were to reduce punitive taxes
and excessive regulation. Big government was the problem and reducing its role
in people’s lives was the solution.
Glam metal embodies the Reagan's anti-regulation ideology. In
the words of Twisted Sister “Well, all I got to say to you when you tell me not
to play. I say, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no" (I Wanna Rock). And when
Reagan famously said that the homeless “make
it their choice to stay out there” you might say that they’ve got to “roll
with the punches and get to what’s real” (Van Halen, Jump).
Chronologically, the fit is perfect. Though the musical head
of hair metal was crowning with Van Halen’s debut in 1978, the country was not
ready for the full girth of metal to be topping the charts until after Reagan served
some time as Commander in Chief. As Secretary of the Treasury Donald Reagan was
reengineering the tax code, legendary producer Mutt Lange was reengineering Def
Leppard’s High N Dry. In 1981, Reagan's inauguration year, Mutt’s influence
helped steer Def Leppard from a standard hard rock band towards a more pop oriented
sound with “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak” as the one of the first metal music
video on MTV. That year broke ground for many of hair metal elite, Black and
Blue, Killer Dwarves, Queensryche, Loudness, Pretty Maids, and of course Mötley
Crüe. These bands would go on to define
80’s rock music.
It would be a few years until bands will fully notice the
POTUS. By 1983 Reagan had logged his second fiscal year and the Economic
Recovery Act of 1981 had begun to take effect. The act aimed to “encourage
economic growth through reduction of the tax rates for individual taxpayers”
and would decrease the marginal income tax rate by 23% over three years (Economic
Recovery Act of 1981). And although a “20-percent maximum rate on net capital
gain” was in place, there was no maximum rate for amp gain. 1983 saw the first
definitive heavy metal album top the Billboard charts. No longer was metal a
periphery music genre, with Quiet Riot’s “Metal Health”, distorted guitars and
grinding high pitched singers were now mainstream.
Regulation was the enemy of hair metal. Soaring falsettos,
machine gun guitar picking, and canyon-esque drums , nothing should be restrained when making a good glam metal album. This
aesthetic hinged on the philosophies of Milton Friedman and Ayn Rand, and their
application in Reaganomics. In the Fountainhead, Ayn Rand writes:
“But you see," said Roark quietly, "I have, let’s
say, sixty years to live. Most of that time will be spent working. I’ve chosen
the work I want to do. If I find no joy in it, then I’m only condemning myself
to sixty years of torture. And I can find the joy only if I do my work in the
best way possible to me. But the best is a matter of standards—and I set my own
standards. I inherit nothing. I stand at the end of no tradition. I may,
perhaps, stand at the beginning of one.”
Here, the main character espouses a work ethic based on joy.
To live and work on something that doesn’t create joy in you “by your own
standards” is torture. Musicians will always tout a love for their work, but glam
metal is almost hedonistic.
Bon
Jovi orgies, heroin
overdoses, and piles
of free cocaine aside. These were artists dedicated to their craft. In the
above article, Lita Ford “wanted to work, I wanted to jam, I wanted to get
paid. I didn’t want to fuck off as much as they were”. In the Metal Evolution
Documentary, former Circus Magazine editor Ben Liemer states “These guys they
were all starving in the early days, a lot of them would sponge off of women,
women would buy them make up. How anybody bought them all that food I don’t
know, but they did.” In the same show a young Mick Mars retorts “it’s our job”,
in response to an interviewer’s question “You’re very keen on the theatrical
and the appearance, which I think, you’re perhaps at the forefront of bands who
do care what you look like on stage and in videos”. These bands were dedicated
to their joyful work, unfettered by anyone. Hair metal encapsulates the
entrepreneurial spirit Reagan admired.
Reagan’s second round of tax cuts came in 1986, spouting a
new wave of glam metal. Reagan chopped the top individual income tax brackets
payments from 50% to 28%, increased the
Capital Gains Tax to 28%, and reduced corporate income tax across all brackets (Forbes,
Investopedia,
Tax
Reform Act of 1986). Hair metal bands recognized this monumental shift in
the tax code and reacted accordingly. Perhaps Reagan’s favorite band, white
metal pioneers Stryper, released To Hell with the Devil just two days after
signing the bill to celebrate. This era was the commercial peak of hair metal. Milton Friedman's long haired, pouty lipped, scholars with guitars and eyeliner, moved with the invisible hand of the market. Van Halen’s 5150 and OU812, Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet and New Jersey,
Def Leppard’s Hysteria, Motley Crue’s Doctor Feel Good, and Guns N Rose’s
Appetite for Destruction all reached number one before the end of the decade.
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| Platinum Record Selling Christian Glam Metal Band Stryper |
I want to say that I like the theme of Reaganomics. Creators should not be
hampered by outside forces, and when you make something, in industry or art,
you do not owe any responsibility to anyone but yourself. As Reagan said “There
are no constraints on the human mind, no walls around the human spirit, no
barriers to our progress except those we ourselves erect”
(Reaganfoundation.org). I really do like believing in that individual exceptionalism.
Unfortunately this irresponsibility led to a crumbling infrastructure. As national debt almost tripled under Reagan, so too did hair bands feel the strain of excess (US Treasury). The bacchanal lifestyle took its toll on many artists. The most memorable example is Penelope Spheeris's The Decline of Western Civilization Part 2: The Metal Years, where she interviews W.A.S.P. guitarist Chris Holmes.
From here we can see the pitfall's of indulgence without restraints. As Reagan's tenure ended, so too did the metal mania. George Bush Senior raised taxes and grunge came to fruition. Bill Clinton further diminished the effects of Reaganomics and LA became better known for it's rap scene than its metal.
Interestingly, whenever a Reaganomics-esque tax plan is passed, like George Bush Junior's tax cuts in 2003 a small bump in glam metal can be seen. The
Darkness, Crashdiet, Hardcore Superstar, all saw their success after Bush's plan passed. Steel Panther as Hole Patrol formed in 2003 but wouldn't see major success until President Obama extended those tax cuts in 2010 (Washington Post).
Reagan's legacy will be remembered through the rest of America's history. His anti-regulatory stance clearly influenced glam metal, as a music without limits. Reaganomics was the largest chagne to the US tax system since its inception, but certainly Reagan's most important role in US history was as the God Father of Hair Metal.
Reagan's legacy will be remembered through the rest of America's history. His anti-regulatory stance clearly influenced glam metal, as a music without limits. Reaganomics was the largest chagne to the US tax system since its inception, but certainly Reagan's most important role in US history was as the God Father of Hair Metal.
