My attitude was always, if you are a huge metal fan, the more dedicated and more obsessive a metal fan you are, then why wouldn't you like more metal, widen your net, and include hair metal?

I'm more interested in the meanings and the bands that fill up the spaces known as new wave and post punk.

The only punk that I really care about and am an expert on is the original punk of 1976 to 1979.

If you're into metal, then you should like hair metal!

1994 was the nadir for heavy metal, although the rest of the '90s weren't much of a picnic either.

My attitude was always, if you are a huge metal fan, the more dedicated and more obsessive a metal fan you are, then why wouldn't you like more metal, widen your net, and include hair metal?

Grunge, man, that was incredible. It was dangerous. It was not verse/chorus. Songs could be short, long, a lark, majestic. You were constantly being surprised.