News > Mötley Crüe
Nikki Sixx Is, Like, So Totally Over The Internet
By Johnny Firecloud
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx is, like, “so over the internet.” The 51 year old Aqua Net rocker is complaining that the internet is ruining rock and roll, and not the plague of shitty bands trying to sound/act like updated versions of what he did in the ’80s like we had originally thought. Go figure.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, strangely enough, Sixx rages not against file-sharing and revenue loss, but against the voyeuristic trends of the day, implying that the stage setup makes the show, not the… actual… show. The musical performance means nothing if some wise-ass decides to blow the big secret on what it looks like – which actually may not be that outlandishly untrue in this case, given the bands lined up.
“The first thing I did when I walked into the arena to work on the set, I said, ‘It’s 2009 and there’s a million iPhones with a million opportunities to take a picture of our show and ruin Christmas,’” said Sixx. So Crüe Fest 2: The White Trash Circus = Christmas? If so, Santa can skip the shit out of my house this year.
“I’m so over the Internet,” Nikki complains. “Twitter is ridiculous and there’s too much info out there. Celebrities, movie stars and rock stars are losing their mystique.”
After purging a hundred lifetimes’ worth of tales recounting the most disgustingly decadent, soulless narcotic depravity you could imagine and stuffing them into a book that’s now available at just about any major retailer (not to mention the accompanying website), the Crüe low-ender still thinks he’s got a leg of respectability to stand on when he complains about rock stars “losing their mystique”.
Sixx, long-heralded as one of a dying breed of’80s pioneering hair-metal/pop survivors, doesn’t seem to recognize the hilarity of his own contradiction, openly admitting that he sees rock as a corporate business. How many board room meetings have taken place in the name of maintaining “mystique?” One can only guess.
Despite being proud of the tour plans, the man who hasn’t written a good song in two decades doesn’t want to give any details away, potentially ruining “the show.” Because who knows? Maybe they scored a deal on the giant toilet Limp Bizkit used to climb out of at their shows and they don’t want to spoil the surprise.
The dyed ’80s rocker added, “We want to control as much as we can of what’s getting out there about us so that people who come are blown away. The other day I went to a movie with some friends and they were like, ‘Let’s look it up on the Internet and see what people are saying,’ and I was like, ‘Man, that’s messed up.’ Since when is Joe in Poughkeepsie or Sue in Roanoke deciding when something is a great show?” I’d say the answer to that is somewhere about the time that Joe and Sue spent their hard-earned money to fuel your next one-man closet heroin party.
These meaningless hysterics by musicians decades beyond their peak of relevancy are making it harder than ever to listen to their old music anymore without feeling a little stupid. Hell, Mötley Crüe aren’t helping matters by reportedly playing the entire Dr. Feelgood record on every single night of the tour, but I digress.
Don’t believe the tabloid hype, even from those you used to call your heroes. There’s nobody “ruining” Rock N’ Roll. Just like Hip-Hop’s not dead, and nothing is the new anything. The tides of bullshit ebb and flow, but beneath the churning pools of replicated detritus will always lie the true art form. There’s always a way back, unless you’ve built your castle on the sand, like Hinder, Buckcherry and the like.
The mystique is still there for the taking. The shelves are still stacked with ingredients – but the kitchen’s calling for some younger, smarter cooks with newer ideas and sharper blades. The flames are too high these days for sagging nostalgia-gripers whining about what used to be, sticking to the old recipe, refusing to accept that the glory days are long gone and the rulebook on the gluttonous party-rock ethos they barely survived 20 years ago has long since been set on fire.
You’re preaching to the quier. The washed up likes of Sixx and Rose have been spewing their hate so long that they are becoming intolerable. I can’t beleive that an unadaptable hypocrite can ruin my ability to listen to alot of the songs that I loved growing up.
Hey. A precious song like “Crazy Bitch” only comes round once in a drug-induced lifetime. Who’s Nikki Sixx? [/end sarcasm]
He’s got a point, kinda. Twitter is getting pretty ridiculous. Trouble is, no one really cares much about his opinion anymore. If they had new music that didn’t suck, they wouldn’t need to worry about people leaking the details of their precious stage set.
“Your old road is rapidly agin’. Please get out of the new one if you can’t lend your hand. For the times they are a-changin’!” — Bob Dylan
Seriously, Nikki? Mystique? 80’s drug/sex/motorcycle/hair metal has MYSTIQUE? I had no idea…
Twitter for the most part is nonsense. And shouldn’t artists/bands be able to control their property, be it songs, stage sets, etc? I’m missing the point of this piece other than old rock stars should shut up.
The last paragraph is really well written, probably more valid than anything Crue has done in 20 years. Twitter really is overboard, wonder what the next “thing” will be.
Damn, a lot of ANGER in the air, baby… I wonder why? Nikki’s cool… he’s just crazy for all those “lifetime-enhancers” toys he used to play with. Now he’s just getting old and trying to have fun. Well, leave him be, baby!
“You’re preaching to the quier.”
Quier. Wow.
choir…sorry it was early haha
When you back a band like “burnhalo” there is no credibility. the surprise you’re trying to keep is that your singer hasn’t been able to finish a verse without forgetting the words or running out hot air *which is surprising cause he’s fucking full of it*. The stage show is the ONLY thing that saves a boring motley crue show from complete mediocrity.
and the mystique that motley rode on for the first album to fame, the whole satanic angle, totally would have been exposed in a second had the internet been around to ruin the lie
True Neil Strauss was able to pull together a phenominal book about the band, but I think that’s more a testament to his writing abilities than any story telling or whatnot the band can do on their own (‘tommyland’ anybody? where tom talks to his dick literally for a good portion of the book. as far as drug stories go I have a funny feeling John Frusciante from the RHCP could outdo any motley story with some of the tales from HIS lost heroin years, but he’s not out to make a buck on his dark days in the chance that it influences some kids to think that doing smack/crack/coke to deaths door is cool.
His singer sure as hell will though… Scar Tissue was an excellent read, however.
Sounds like somebody’s a little jealous that he’s not as big a star as any member of Motley Crue, Buckcherry, or Hinder. Jealousy will get you nowhere my friend.
Nikki has a point and he’s made a fortune on his songs. I find it hilarious that you say, “the man who hasn’t written a good song in two decades”. How many albums did Saints Of Los Angeles sell?
You should try to make sure that you are actually better than the person you are putting down so you don’t make yourself look stupid.
And gee, why was he being interviewed by the Wall Street Journal? Hmmm…..
Idiot.
I think I understand the “mystique” he feels has left the building. When I went to my first Crue concert in 1983 there was no internet. No one was sharing information like they do now, but what I did see when I went to their concert was what I expected from their album covers, songs and interviews that I had seen prior to walking into the venue that night. Had a blast. Music and our attractions to whatever we end up into have less to do with the information available than it does with what we personally want to hear or make our concert experience into. We do the making of the scene all in our heads, doesn’t matter what anyone else are telling us their take is. Neither Nikki’s or the person who wrote this have had any influence on my personal relationship with music. What Nikki says will give me no different perspective on Motley Crue than already had, nor with the opinions of the author on this site. Truth be known I have longed for not “mystique” but something to get the blood pumping. That has been missing for years in the music scene… if I were to buy stock in the next fantastic thing I’d put it all on, Adam Lambert. Interesting that Adam looks a little like a young Nikki Sixx. Nikki was never as talented and no one in any 80’s band can hold a candle to Adam’s talent. The theatrics are going to be a welcome element to the music scene, something Motley Crue has incorporated into their show for some time, only problem was the story never changed. With Adam he is a “must see live” and an A list studio performer as well as someone who likes to keep things fresh and new. While I like Motley Crue it’s not even close to what we’re getting and going to get from, Adam. I’ve seen several vids on line of him in concert, doing the same show in every city… saw them all before I went to see him here where I live and it didn’t take away, it built the anticipation. I’ve noticed with him though that he is incredible in every performance, everyone gets the same level of quality as the city before. He’s a gifted entertainer, seriously, his voice is out of this world! That coupled with the dramatics and overflowing hormones is a turn on, don’t matter what your personal orientation is, EVERYONE can relate to feeling sexy. He needs no help in making him come across in a certain way, it’s not the lights, sound effects or anything that make the show, he does, and that is what a star should be. Those elements support what is shining brighter than they do… “him”. Motley Crue needed mystique, we need it when we do not have the real goods. Yes, it has become harder to take advantage of certain things because of the internet, people have a harder time cheating on their taxes, soon there will be a way for everyone to know your personal medical history, they can already know your criminal history, can’t write a check and know even though you have nothing in the bank that day, you will by the time it passes through… THOSE are the types of things that people should be worried about when it comes to the downside to the Internet. We don’t need Nikki confusing the problem with losing our liberties, privacies and such with complaining about wanting his privacy. Wait? did that just make his point? I guess, but his point is the lesser sized elephant in the room, the attack on “mystique” doesn’t only effect Nikki Sixx’s ability to be an element of surprise, it is effecting each and every person in this country. There are some things people should be able to keep to themselves, it’s when we lose the ability to do that, that we will find ourselves in a world forced to behave in only a way that is deemed “right” in the overseers eyes. Nikki’s griping about “losing mystique” is a symptom of a truth that can and has effected everyone’s lives, he can only speak to how it has affected his… saddens me to think of the personal anguish and soul enslavement that will spawn from the loss of your privacy.
twitter, myspace, facebook is all ridiculous popularity contest childish garbage! does anyone realy care what time you did this or that or wiped your ass? get over yourself people! who cares what you do you pathetic bastards! nikki is completely right here! and if you disagree with him or me then you are probably one of those lame douchebags that actually get on those websites everyday. get some exercise, do something productive. sell 40+ million records and be as sucessful as sixx and then you can cut him down ..till then shut your mouths, quit logging on to these sites and making fat cats richer and get off yiur chair! and if you read all this, myself and sixx already got the l last laugh ;)
I love Nikki. He’s my idol and Motley’s my favorite band, but his arrogance is creeping in to Axl Rose territory. :/