Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder reignited the battle between grunge rock and hair metal when he aimed comments at Mötley Crüe that had Nikki Sixx firing back at the “boring” singer.
Eddie Vedder talked recently about how he “despised” the glam bands of the mid-to-late 1980s when he once worked at a club where he witnessed such hair metal bands firsthand.
Speaking with the New York Times, Eddie talked about the “Gen X/alt-culture explosion” of the 1980s and whether traces of it still exist today.
Eddie Vedder says he ‘despised’ Mötley Crüe
“I used to work in San Diego loading gear at a club,” Eddie told the publication. “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.”
Eddie said that the glam metal bands of that era felt as though they lacked substance, and he wasn’t exactly fond of their fashion choices either.
“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.”
Eddie then brought up female fashion in the glam rock world, compared to the alternative rock crowd, and took aim at one prominent actress in the hair metal scene, Heather Locklear, who was married to Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe from 1986 to 1993.
“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,” Eddie added.
“They weren’t selling themselves short. They could have an opinion and be respected. I think that’s a change that lasted,” Eddie continued. “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 [Jane’s Addiction singer] Perry Farrell.”
Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx fires back at ‘marble-mouthed’ Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam
Nikki Sixx, one of the founding members of Mötley Crüe, caught wind of Eddie’s comments and took to social media to fire back at Vedder.
“Made me laugh today reading how much the singer in Pearl Jam hated @MotleyCrue,” Nikki tweeted to his 867k followers on Twitter.
Nikki not only got a rise out of Eddie’s comments, but he fired back with his own subtle insult against the marble-mouthed singer.
“Now considering that they’re one of the most boring bands in history it’s kind of a compliment isn’t it?” Nikki wrote.
Nikki had another snarky comment about Vedder when one of his followers wrote, “My best friend is about to have a baby, I will recommend Pearl Jam songs to put the baby to sleep hahahaha.”
“Or just sing to the baby with marbles In your mouth…Very zen,” Nikki responded, taking a shot at Eddie’s singing style.
Eddie’s band, Pearl Jam, got in a dig after Nikki’s comments and took to Twitter to fire back with their own subtle message.
“We ❤ our bored fans,” the band’s sarcastic tweet read, along with a video from one of their concerts showing their fans singing along to their song Given to Fly.
Both Mötley Crüe and Pearl Jam were highly successful during their prime, with Nikki Sixx’s band selling over 100 million albums worldwide and Pearl Jam with over 60 million albums sold.
Mötley Crüe kicks off their The Stadium Tour this June in Atlanta, Georgia, alongside Def Leppard, Poison, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, after the pandemic initially put the tour on hold.
Meanwhile, Eddie Vedder is touring briefly with his side project band for The Earthlings Tour, featuring eight shows during the month of February in support of the upcoming album Earthling.