Cinderella and Cinderella

When I was a tween watching Headbangers Ball, I internalized the possibility that long-haired metal guys could infiltrate my daily life and save me from the tedium, save me from, say, school, or an arguing father. It seemed completely rational to me that Twisted Sister might show up to help convince my folks to let me go to the metal show at Nassau Coliseum or that Suicidal Tendencies may tie a rope to my window to liberate me when I was grounded. Metal videos of the 80’s were very much like fairy tales, where the misunderstood and alienated prevailed against the oppressive forces of the uptight and uncool. The videos often had morals, elements of magic and single-faceted archetypes. Of course these elements, in story and in music, grossly simplified the complex reality said tween was eventually to enter. And I ushered a host of puerile misconceptions into pre-adolescence and regular ol’ adolescence. Some even made it to my adulthood. Misconceptions about what it meant to be pretty, what it meant to be different, what it meant to be me and, of course, what it meant to love and be loved. Now, I am not saying that my musical taste was partly responsible for stunting my development. But I am saying that finding myself within the rigid parameters they helped create was more of an obstacle. Of course, as I grew older, my penchant for hard hair-band rock evolved as did my quest for quality and a more accurate soundtrack to my innards.

But for now, let us sit down for heavy metal story time with one of my favorite fairy tales from Cinderella: