The origin of the power of metal

[adaher]

One of the cheesy and wonderful things that separates metal from other genres is the idea in music videos that rock itself has tangible power. Such as this White Wizzard video, where they vanquish a jazz-loving warlock with the sheer power of their metal:



Or this Twisted Sister video, the earliest example I can think of, where the kid says, "I wanna rock" and blows his dad through a wall:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xmckWVPRaI&ob=av2n[/ame]

Comedian Patton Oswalt rants about this subject, starting at 1:30:



Oh, and can't forget Dokken destroying the evil Freddy Krueger with the power of metal:




So to get to the point, where did this come from? It seems to have started in the 80s, but who originated it? And how come no other genre does it? Maybe R. Kelly should slay a dragon with the power of his R&B.

 

[AeonicSlumber]

Maybe because most other genres aren't cheesy.


Of course, I always thought using your metuhl to change the properties of things in music videos was always hilariously awesome.

 

[adaher]

Yeah, I guess it would be hard to take Justin Timberlake seriously: "Freddy Krueger, I banish you with the power of my pop!"

 

[modernwizardry]

or this where yngwie is slaying a dragon with his guitar shredding:

 

[adaher]

So who first came up with the idea that metal was so powerful it could slay mighty beasts and turn a Buick into a Ferrari?

Sounds like something KISS would have thought up, but I can't think of any examples of them doing it. But then I'm not a huge KISS fan. Sabbath were way too serious and doomy to come up with something like that.

 

[AeonicSlumber]

I don't think can be traced to any one band. And honestly, it's not an exclusive concept to metal (or even music) either.

 

[OrbWeaver]

I think what it is, is that it's an expression of just how powerfully we (as humans) view music, not just metal. Metal is certainly a very powerful and impactful style of music, so I suppose it's only natural that someone, somewhere, said "hey, let's make this a running theme!" and others latched on to that idea.

 

[TheLongshot]

Yeah, I guess it would be hard to take Justin Timberlake seriously: "Freddy Krueger, I banish you with the power of my pop!"

Hey, Michael Jackson did that all the time. ("Beat It", "Bad" and "Smooth Criminal" come to mind...)

 

[DuchessOfDork]

Fuckin' love it.

Cheese fo' life, yo.

 

[AeonicSlumber]

I think what it is, is that it's an expression of just how powerfully we (as humans) view music, not just metal. Metal is certainly a very powerful and impactful style of music, so I suppose it's only natural that someone, somewhere, said "hey, let's make this a running theme!" and others latched on to that idea.

I mean, if we really want to get to the center of it -- it's about juxtaposition. Taking something completely intangible and having it do tangible things. We can't see or feel music on a physical level, but we experience it on a personal level. So of course, why not change the notion of music's power -- this thing that only truly exists within our minds -- by making it literally powerful? I think also the same can be said with any artform.