“How dare they”: The one rock ‘n’ roll movie Steven Tyler hates
Very few people in this world could watch a parody of rock ‘n’ roll and see themselves as the main character, but there aren’t many people like Steven Tyler. Aerosmith’s music aside (which often gets unnecessarily harsh press), Tyler himself is reminiscent of somebody dressing up as and pretending to be a rock star. He was often criticised throughout his career for being a poor impersonator of Mick Jagger, which frequently frustrated him.
You can imagine why, as Tyler was in a popular band who were trying hard to keep pushing classic rock even when a lot of styles of music were taking over, yet despite putting everything into his music, he is constantly mocked for his appearance instead. The court of public opinion can be a cruel place, and Tyler has spent his career realising it in the face of these criticisms.
However, Tyler also acknowledges that while he was dealt an unfair hand in the face of some of these comments, he has also proven himself to be a success. Aerosmith are undoubtedly a huge band and a tour de force in rock music, and he has never been afraid to celebrate that face.
“You’re looking at an Italian kid who grew up in the Bronx, that played in The Strangers and The Maniyaks and The Kingbees,” said Tyler, “And all these bands before Aerosmith, and made it as big as the peers I wanted to be like! The Beatles aren’t around any more, but I always wanted to be like the Rolling Stones – I wanted to be Mick Jagger – and Donovan, and the Animals.”
His career has been a riot of ups and downs. While he is aware that he has had great success, he also acknowledges the criticism he has received and the self-inflicted lows that have plagued his career. Like everyone in rock ‘n’ roll, Tyler has been the victim of drug abuse and mass fallouts because of the volatile nature of working in a high-pressured creative industry. He understands how difficult it can be to make it in music, so he became incredibly frustrated when watching the parody movie This Is Spinal Tap. While the film was meant to be taken light-heartedly, Tyler didn’t see things that way.
“That’s why it struck me like that,” he said, “Because they were talking about amps on 12! If you fail as being a band, most likely it’s because you got in an argument with your guitar player—or your guitar player got in an argument with your fucking singer—over those very same things! Like, ‘Why don’t you put 12 on the amp? It’s on 10 all the time anyway’.”
Rather than admiring this accuracy, which is captured throughout the film, Tyler grew annoyed at it. His own band has frequently been at risk of these potential fallouts, and he has seen other bands fall apart under similar circumstances. Subsequently, he doesn’t see such arguments as the kind of thing people should laugh about.
“So that’s the reality, and I’m sitting there watching Spinal Tap and they’re making a joke of it. And I’m going, ‘But that really happens; you don’t understand!’” he said, “I actually got up and left. It was like, how dare they make fun of something that means so much to me?”
