The Dirty Dirt….

Okay, so I may be reviewing books that have been out for a long, long time…..but as I’ve only just discovered them, so maybe some readers out there are the same. In any case, this book is part of my trip back in time to the 80s rock scene. You can see other related posts here and here.

So here’s my latest review….

The Dirt – Motley Crue

Having recently read the excellent Dirty Rocker boys by Bobbie brown, I thought I’d spend some of my Amazon Kindle vouchers on purchasing The Dirt by Motley Crue. It’s always good to get the other side of the story where possible, and after reading Bobbie’s book, I was intrigued to learn more about the guys from the Crue. I’d already read the Heroin Diaries by Nikki Sixx and the truth was, I ended up quite liking the guy. His chapters were easily the best ones in this book, however the others didn’t fare that well…..so where do I begin?

Let’s begin with Vince Neil.  This book makes him come across as total dirt. He’s cheated on every woman he’s ever had, betrayed ever person he could ever call a friend, killed someone (and then bitched about how badly off he was afterwards…..whining on for sentences about how hard his life was in the aftermath, without ever mentioning the other people in the other car again), let down his family, his friends, himself; all while trying to justify his actions. He called the car crash an accident. How is it an accident when you’re off your face on booze and drugs? Or driving like an idiot and doing 70 in a 25 zone? He literally comes across as the most self-centred, spoiled, egotistical brat on the face of the earth. The only time I felt any sympathy whatsoever for him was when his little 4 year old girl died (very, very sad story). He could have taken something utterly tragic and it could have made him a better person; made him take stock of his life and turn his ass around but I don’t think he did, I don’t think he ever will.  He may be an outstanding front man, but he is one selfish, self-important shit. Safe to say, his chapters in the book and the way others spoke about him did not endear him to me. At all.

Tommy Lee doesn’t come off looking much better. He’s not an arrogant prick like Vince Neil and I can see that he has a good personality and maybe a good heart from what I read, but seriously this guy’s favourite line is something about “…..never in my life would it have occurred to me to hit a chick..” just before he hits chicks. I’m not saying it’s okay that Pamela Anderson hit him (it really wasn’t), but to kick her when she was carrying their son? And then push her? Nice guy! This is after what I’d read in Bobbie’s book about how he attacker her in front of her daughter. Then he complains about being perceived as a wife beater. Hmmm.

Mick Mars comes across as mostly okay although he seems to consider himself enlightened and everyone else pretty much stupid because they don’t have the secret cool knowledge that he does. But that’s okay, he’s also one of the sanest guys in the band and his battle against his illness is talked about candidly and the ‘grey ghost’ concept done really well. His chapters are few and far between though, almost as though he thought it beneath him or just couldn’t be bothered.

These guys were real asshole in the day – beating up men, women and cops just because. Knocking a woman’s teeth out and leaving her bleeding on the sidewalk. Making babies all over the place but never being straight or sober enough to raise them. Drink, drugs, parties, fights, arrests, rape, violence, theft, guns, killings, vandalism, cheating, lying, jail…….for a long time, this was the world of the guys in Motley Crue.  They thought they were rock gods, but they were just overgrown kids with parent issues and insecurities and no place to call home.

I still have a soft spot for Nikki though.

I wish I could say I liked this book, after all, I’ve always liked the music. The truth is though, I rolled my eyes at when they talked about how many drugs they did how often, or which musical instrument they inserted into which woman’s body part….they seem to think that their wild lifestyles were what made them cool and ‘legendary’. They’d be wrong. It was what made them thoughtless, selfish, inconsiderate assholes who people didn’t want to be around. They used people, they abused their partners, wives and girlfriends, they abused themselves and each other and all in the name of being one of the coolest rock bands to rule the sunset strip.  It made for very entertaining reading indeed, it just left a sour taste in my mouth…..they did some seriously questionable, illegal, horrible immoral things and then seemed pleased with themselves about it. They’re unapologetic, still full of shit and the only redeeming quality is that now they’re mostly clean and have maybe (hopefully) seen the errors of their ways.

Unbelievable tales of debauchery await you if you fancy giving this a read.