#aerosmith

Doug Brod: They Just Seem a Little Weird: How Kiss, Cheap Trick, Aerosmith, and Starz Remade Rock and Roll (2020)

I'll tell you what else is a little weird ...

Ask anyone to name the four most important and influential American hard rock bands of the 1970s, and they'll undoubtedly cite Kiss and Aerosmith, probably Cheap Trick, and then Van Halen -- so what if the latter enjoyed continued and even greater success into the 1980s?

But not former Spin editor and revisionist historian Doug Brod, who instead placed the comparably obscure Starz alongside three Rock and Roll Hall of Fame giants in 2020's They Just Seem a Little Weird: How Kiss, Cheap Trick, Aerosmith, and Starz Remade Rock and Roll.

Fake news? At first glance, it certainly feels like it.

As someone who routinely champions underrated, underachieving hard rock hopefuls from the late '70s -- Moxy, Riot, Ram Jam, Teaze, Legs Diamond, the Randy Rhoads version of Quiet Riot, and, yes, even Starz -- I'd never dream of elevating any of them among the hard rock firmament.

That would be downright irresponsible!

But, to be fair, a plausible argument for Starz's seemingly arbitrary inclusion here is that they shared professional ties with the other three groups Van Halen simply did not, such as manager Bill Aucoin (Kiss and Starz) and producer Jack Douglas (Aerosmith and Cheap Trick).

Another was that, from a musicological standpoint, these four bands experienced intertwined trajectories in '70s arena rock and then collectively struggled to adapt to the flashy visuals and guitar heroics adopted by the '80s hair metal bands, largely inspired by Van Halen.

And a third argument was that Brod intentionally included Starz in order to illustrate how different bands can succeed or fail, attain immortality or oblivion, despite sharing many of the same musical ingredients, support team, and other professional alliances behind the scenes.

If nothing else, I too will agree that, by inserting a forgotten cult band into the narratives of three popular ones, Brod transformed what might have been a predictable retread through well-documented band histories into a compelling genealogical study of the classic rock canon.

With all this in mind, I'll argue that Brod and his publishers could have probably avoided some controversy and confusion if they'd altered the book's title to: They Just Seem a Little Weird: How Kiss, Cheap Trick, and Aerosmith (With a Little Help from Starz) Remade Rock and Roll.

Featured Records:

Kiss: Hotter than Hell (1974)

Cheap Trick: In Color (1977)

Aerosmith: Live! Bootleg (1978)

Starz: Starz (1976)