I was never a huge fan of Finland's Hanoi Rocks. I think I liked the idea of them more than the actual execution. Oh sure, I bought a couple of their records (one of which I cited in my "guilty pleasures" rundown of a few years back), but they never made it into the realm of 'essential' for me.
Years and years later, while Hanoi Rocks are no longer a going concern, lead singer Mike Monroe is still at it. This clip below evidently came out earlier this year, and it certainly fits the Flaming Pablum bill. While perhaps over-rhapsodizing the grimier aspects of L.E.S. nostaglia ("junkies, pimps and whores," etc.), "The Ballad of the Lower East Side" does echo the grievance shared by many, specifically that downtown New York City has lost its soul. You may not thrill to Monroe's kitschy Dolls-cribbing glam-punk-metal shtick, but you may embrace the argument, as well as lots of topically-appropriate geographical footage.
Also, I wonder if the lyric "Give me back that apple in decay"' is a purposeful allusion to Foreigner's "Long, Long Way from Home"?
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