Eddie Vedder Slams Motley Crue And Nikki Sixx Responds

Bruce Henne | 02-06-2022

Back cover photo Theater Of Pain

(hennemusic) Pearl Jam frontmam Eddie Vedder recalls his disdain for Motley Crue and the 1980s heavy metal scene in a new interview with the New York Times, and Nikki Sixx has issued a response to the Pearl Jam rocker's comments.

While promoting the February 11 release of his new solo album, "Earthling", Vedder was asked about the changes in music trends through the years.

"You know, I used to work in San Diego loading gear at a club," Vedder explains. "I'd end up being at shows that I wouldn't have chosen to go to - bands that monopolized late-'80s MTV. The metal bands that - I'm trying to be nice - I despised. 'Girls, Girls, Girls' and Mötley Crüe: [expletive] you. I hated it. I hated how it made the fellas look. I hated how it made the women look. It felt so vacuous. Guns N' Roses came out and, thank God, at least had some teeth.

"But I'm circling back to say that one thing that I appreciated was that in Seattle and the alternative crowd, the girls could wear their combat boots and sweaters, and their hair looked like Cat Power's and not Heather Locklear's - nothing against her. They weren't selling themselves short. They could have an opinion and be respected. I think that's a change that lasted. It sounds so trite, but before then it was bustiers. The only person who wore a bustier in the '90s that I could appreciate was Perry Farrell."

Several days after the New York Times interview was posted, it caught the attention of Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx, who issued a critique of his own on social media.

"Made me laugh today reading how much the singer in Pearl Jam hated @MotleyCrue," wrote Sixx. "Now considering that they're one of the most boring bands in history it's kind of a compliment isn't it? #TheStadiumTour #RocknRoll"

This past week, Vedder began a brief US tour to launch "Earthling" with his touring band of producer Andrew Watt, Chad Smith, Josh Klinghoffer, Chris Chane and Glen Hansard.

Sixx and Motley Crue are scheduled to launch their delayed US stadium tour with Def Leppard and others in June; the group's return to the stage follows a farewell tour that wrapped up in 2015 after the group signed a formal Cessation Of Touring Agreement declaring they would not perform again unless all band members agreed to do so. See Nikki's tweet here

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