The lead vocals of grating falsettos irritated millions. The ridiculously foolish looking drummer was a visual turn-off too.
A miserable affront put forward by Big Media execs to make millions through cultural degradation.
Styx contributed nothing but ugliness. Like their name. A loathsome collection of poseurs and front men for greedy leftist's enrichment.
Great band, great musicians, great songs.
I tend to agree with you but Styx was harmless. Be nice.
Actually, almost all of what you described about Styx is inaccurate.
Far from being a creation of record company executives, Dennis DeYoung and the Panazzo brothers grew up in the same Chicago neighborhood and played in bands together from the early 60s and were joined by James Young in the mid-60s.
Rather than make their way to New York or LA to be ‘discovered’ by the tiny insular clique of record company executives and journalists that determine for you what music is deigned to be cool, Styx and their predecessor bands spent years playing high school proms, college bars, and opening act gigs in Chicago and the surrounding Midwestern states. Tirelessly playing small venues with music that average people actually want to listen to is a very uncool formula for success, but the one that they followed.
Dennis DeYoung was and is a devout Catholic, has been married to his high school sweetheart for over 40 years and frequently brought his family on tour with him, which are all reasons why he and Styx are hated by all the coolest folks in the rock world.
And then there is the matter of the Styx lyrics. Early Styx lyrics were littered with references to classical literature and mythology (DeYoung was a school teacher). There are references on to Tiresias, the blind prophet of Thebes on the Grand Illusion album. Thus infuriated rock critics, who didn’t want kids to hear about any culture that pre-dated Marx or Nietze.
And there was “Blue Collar Man” which extolled the virtues of hard work and self-reliance. And there was a song on the Cornerstone album called ‘Eddie’ which told Ted Kennedy not to run for the Presidency, because his time had passed.
And then came Paradise Theater which used an actual movie palace that Dennis DeYoung remembered from his childhood, which had fallen into disrepair, as a metaphor for the country’s decaying value system. The album was released just as Reagan came into office, and the songs on the albums were a laundry list of social problems caused by liberalism. “Too much time on my hands” was about idleness. “Nothing ever goes as planned” was about empty materialism. “Lonely people” was about the breakdown of the family. “Snowblind” was about drug use. “Half-penny, two penny” was about materialism and the breakdown of the family. And sprinkled in were songs that held out hope, like “Rockin’ the Paradise” which was about hard work and honesty, and “The Best of Times”.
Yes, they were a band that was truly hated by Rolling Stone and the leftist rock music establishment.
But for a teenager growing up in the Midwest, who loved rock music but actually listened to the lyrics and wanted something other than the options of hedonism, nihilism and Satanism that were promoted by record companies in the 70s, they were a welcome resident on my turntable.
You left out the gay bass player.
Dear Mr. Vomit,
No one likes you, you are the guy with annoying opinions at the party that you were invited to out of obligation and not want... the hosts soon realized having you and your unsolicited opinions were a huge mistake... Again. You are smug arrogant and constantly believe you are the smartest guy in the room and will do everything to let every one know it. It’s time to keep your unwanted trap shut or go back to your self indulgent life....alone....