“Mean Man” by W.A.S.P.

"Mean Man" comes from The Headless Children, W.A.S.P.'s fourth studio album, which Capitol put out in 1989. Blackie Lawless wrote it, sang it and produced it himself, and the band behind him plays it lean and loud: Chris Holmes on electric and acoustic guitars, Johnny Rod on bass and Frankie Banali on drums, with Duane Baron, Mikey Davis and Alex Woltman engineering and Davis handling the mix.

The album around it marked a turn for the band, trading the leering, lewd rock and roll lyrics of their first three records for politics and social issues, all under a John Kosh cover crowded with a rogues' gallery of dictators and killers. It was also the last W.A.S.P. album before they broke up in 1990, a split that ended two years later with The Crimson Idol.

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