There are, however, a few things you’ll need to know when moving to Greater Boston. But you don’t have to say “wicked” every other sentence or say “pahk ya cah” like those stupid lists say. I grew up in the suburbs of Boston, went to college in Arizona, and stopped over for a very long 3-years in Omaha on my way back to Massachusetts where I’ve now happily been for the last 20 years. You know those “You know you’re from (insert name of city here) when…” lists that pop up on Facebook every 10 seconds? They’re all ridiculous. And if you run into that college girlfriend in your travels, give her just a little kiss. Go ahead, take Toys in the Attic out for a stroll around the block. There’s a language and a rhythm to that relationship that comes rushing back to you with a single smile. You remember all the good times, the craziness, the lack of responsibility that you shared once upon a time. Putting it on is like seeing an old college girlfriend after many years have passed. Toys in the Attic holds a special place in my personal music library. “Walk This Way” is so good that it brought the disparate fan bases of rock and rap together to celebrate what is, to this day, one of the most successful collaborations of all time.
Is there any rock fan among us who doesn’t know all the words to “Toys in the Attic”, “Sweet Emotion” and “Walk This Way”? The opening notes of all three of these songs bring entire stadiums to their feet. Were there no other hotels to stay at in the 1970s? A Hilton? A Hyatt, perhaps?Īnd then there are the monsters. That makes three or four that we’ve covered by my count. Side Note: “No More No More” is yet another road song that mentions the Holiday Inn in an unflattering light.
I can forgive Aerosmith for “Big Ten”.)īut, just in case you thought they weren’t serious, the band hits you with the super sludgy “Round and Round”, the exquisite ballad “You See Me Crying” and the requisite I-can’t-stand-another-day-on-the-road travel log “No More No More”. Even the goofball “Big Ten Inch Record” has enough swing to make it a fun listen every once in a while. Cuts like “Uncle Salty” and “Adam’s Apple” combine the perfect mix of musicianship and sleaze. They draw heavily from their blues influences while infusing what can only be described as a ‘70s rock sensibility into each song. (That sound you hear is Don’s head exploding.) No matter where you fall in that argument, though, the power of this album is undeniable.įollowing the success of the first two records, the band had a swagger and a confidence that is evident throughout Toys. With the release of Toys, you could’ve made a case that the Stones were the British Aerosmith.
Unless you’re from Boston, it’s easy to forget that Aerosmith was once considered the American Rolling Stones. And they may have never recovered had it not been for a combination of-in no particular order of significance-MTV, Run-DMC and Betty Ford. By the end of ’76, substance abuse, in-fighting and everything else you’d find in a Behind The Music episode sent the band into a nearly decade-long tailspin. Even if you were a teenager in a west Texas town being hunted by a crazed, paddle-wielding, 37-year-old Ben Affleck pretending to be a high school student.Īt the time, Aerosmith was finishing up a four-album, four-year run of terror that included 1973’s Aerosmith, 1974’s Get Your Wings, 1976’s Rocks and, in my opinion, the capo di tutti capi, 1975’s Toys in the Attic.
#Aerosmith toys in the attic movie
In the summer of 1976, which is when the movie is set, going to an Aerosmith show was just about the coolest thing you could do. There’s a reason Richard Linklater has Pink, Wooderson, Slater and Simone embark on a quest to purchase Aerosmith tickets at the end of his beloved coming-of-age flick Dazed and Confused.