One legendary hair metal band releases most misleading song ever
By Lee Vowell
The term "cancel culture" is overused and has no real meaning. If someone does something wrong and then slaps back at any criticism they might receive, they might offer that people are trying to "cancel" them. In fact, maybe they need to be set free of whatever popularity they possess.
In the 1980s, Mötley Crüe was one of the more important hair metal bands. They didn't always churn out the most artistic of records, but they were a step above the drivel of bands such as Poison. Unlike the boys in Poison, Mötley Crüe has been able to maintain some semblance of popularity, maybe because they keep grinding away at touring and owning the fact that they were always a bit glam.
Still, one thing the Crüe never faced was being "canceled." Maybe they should have been because the rock and roll pathos led to some outlandish situations, but people just kind of got used to that being their schtick. Without all the extra, the band was really just a bunch of guys in makeup who made loud songs.
Motley Crue never lived through the theme of their new song
This is why the group's new song, "Cancelled," is so misleading. Heck, even Crüe drummer Tommy Lee told Bill Maher last year that the band was always just a notch below being so ridiculous that they did get "canceled." They were more fun danger than truly dangerous. In other words, "Cancelled" should really be named "Not Cancelled" if the band was being honest.
The lyrics of the song imply that Mötley Crüe did get in real trouble, though. They didn't. Of course, this could be the band taking a bit of artistic license, but we have already established that the group is about as far from art as one can be.
The words include such nuggets as, "Speak your mind, you might get cancelled/Call me trash, burn down my castle/Take a shot, it's a masquerade/Diggin' up my dirt on your woke crusade."
Besides the horrible wordplay, one might wonder if the band is trying to make some kind of political statement as well with the "woke" part. Possibly, the band feels as if most of their fans lean right and will feed off the use of the word. One thing is for sure, though. Mötley Crüe is not singing from a point of experience because they were never - and never will be - canceled.