My First ‘Metal’ Memory

Back in the day, MTV used to do a daily top ten show of videos at about the 5:00 hour, Monday through Friday. The videos were chosen by votes called in from viewers earlier in the day. I am sure most of the readers of this site remember those days, and probably even remember what the show was called. Odds are it was hosted by Adam Curry too!

I remember watching the videos one day with my older sister, who was already a fan of the Glam metal scene, and the RATT "I Want A Woman" video came on. I can still remember watching the video in awe of the band: the music, the stage show, everything. Then, at one point in the video, the camera cuts to a couple of girls holding up a homemade banner that read "Eat me, I’m cheese." My sister started laughing, but I didn’t get the joke. I asked her, "Is it because they are called RATT, and the sign says that they are cheese?" Her response was simply, "Someday you’ll get it."

Of course, eventually I got the joke, and to be honest, I still think it is funny as hell. I know RATT gets a lot of grief from fans about the Reach for the Sky and Detonator eras, but personally, those are my favorite albums by the band. Both of those albums take me back to the time when I first really discovered the music that, many years later, I still cannot stop listening to. Great stuff.