Saturday, October 30, 2010

JUST LIKE SUMMER OF HEAVEN


Today is that magical music Saturday I promised. Yeah, we ride this merry-go-round every Saturday just because. Just because it's fun. I have a few newbies for this Saturday, so this is the dish on this event: every Saturday I pick one 80s artist who impacted MTV. That means they rode MTV or MTV rode them to success. MTV was this magnificent vehicle for the artists who figured out how to harness it. As a teenager when MTV came out, I can attest that it was very much like crack cocaine to the teenage brain. I can't tell you how many hours I spent glued to the set watching video after video. So, it is safe to say that MTV in its heyday was a success. Music Television. MTV has forgotten its roots and has taken the M out of the TV, so we are reliving its glory days here.

The other part of what happens today is that I pick a song that speaks to me today. I usually end up picking said song today. I picked a song by Cher about a month ago, and said something like you should never count Cher out of The Game. As soon as you do, she is back In. I recently went to see The Easy A (hilarious movie if you are going to just zone out and laugh), and there was a preview for the movie Burlesque.... starring Cher and Christina Aguilera. I did an internal high five with myself. Yep. She's back and hotter than ever. So, prepare yourself for some Cher awesomeness because she is about to blast us into space again. This woman just gets better all of the time. When I decided I wanted to be Cher when I was seven, at least I chose well. She has got it all. So, here she is with one of my favorites. It is designed to get all of your senses heightened so that you are fully prepared for the onslaught of magnificence headed your way. Okay, hit it...




Okay, so on the days that I don't want to be Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I still want to be Cher. Man, she can SING. I can't wait for her new movie because she can also ACT like nobody's business. And DANCE. The woman is a triple threat. The trifecta. She probably really is a vampire slayer in her free time. Okay, got to move on...

Well, there are always so many artists to choose from that I have trouble narrowing the field. I decided on (drumroll please) Bryan Adams. I almost went with John Cougar Mellencamp. That might be next week. The only thing that prevented that this week was my including one of his videos in my Thursday lineup. It just gave me a taste for some John Mellencamp. And then last night we went to the local pizza joint for dinner and they had karaoke in there. OMG. I couldn't believe it. I hadn't done any karaoke in forever. So... I took the plunge again and again and again. I even sang a John Mellencamp song. Yeah, it was on the brain. But, it made me think about Bryan Adams. They all came out about the same time. And then I remembered the video for this song, which is one of my favorites...



Which made me think of this video. Anyone look familiar?




Now that is exactly the sort of deliciousness that made teenagers want to just jump up and down and scream for more. What happened next? Well, my fellow youtube addicts... I am not telling. You will have to go searching yourself to see if they ever answered that story, or if it all just disappeared into the mist. However, the strategy was brilliant. Everyone was waiting for the next Bryan Adams video. It was better than a soap opera. And it was this sort of brilliance that shot Bryan Adams to the top of the music charts. Not saying he isn't a great singer, or that the songs weren't awesome, but just that he is the whole package. People who are smart enough to use everything that they have and make it all work for them deserve to come out on top. They are THINKING. Rolling concert footage of yourself is just lazy. Gimme some genius. Thank you Bryan Adams for that blast to the past. And thank you MTV for the good ole days. You might think about revisiting them in the present and cut out the reality crap. Everyone has enough reality in their actual life. It is called MTV for a reason. Just sayin'.

13 comments:

  1. You know something lady, you write very well - and you have good taste too. Happy Halloween.

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  2. Another great Music Saturday post! I was so in love with Bryan Adams back then... Never wanted to be Cher necessarily, but always liked her music and I think she's a brilliant actress. She just never ages. I always wonder if there's a picture stuffed away in her attic that has long grey hair and a gazillion wrinkles. lol I absolutely agree about MTV. I remember sitting there for hours just like you mentioned. I'd love to see them go back to that format, but the reality shows are far too popular with the younger kids. VH1 shows a few more videos than MTV, but still not like the glory days of Music TeleVision.

    Have a great weekend!

    Martha

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  3. Wow! This brings back so many awesome memories ... mainly of being glued to MTV as a teenager. Remember Cory Hart's original video for "Sunglasses at Night" and Starship's "We Built this City" ... and who can forget the original video for Huey Lewis & The News - The Power of Love with the car from Back to the Future?!! We would spend hours watching video after video convinced that we were witnessing a revolution in the music industry and that music could only get better and better.

    Sadly, maybe it hasn't really continued to improve... when you look at Cher and what she can accomplish compared to some of the young artists now, she has EVERTHING! Not just hyped-up glamour ... she always has had her gimmicks and that is part of what makes her such a wild act, but part from the sequins and the crazy costumes, Cher can sing, really sing! And I love her acting too.

    As for Bryan Adams ... well, us Canadians have always been sort of embarrassed over Celine Dion, but always so wickedly proud of Bryan Adams! I think I'm still just a little bit in love with him after all these years. :)

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  4. You felt well enough to go out, and to sing??? Oh, I'm so thrilled for you!!! :)

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  5. I agree you really can write. Have you joined 'She Writes" yet? The link is on my blog.
    I am a bit older than MTV but of course I have 2 daughters that watched 24/7 and of course I could not help but get sucked in with them. I loved Bryon Adams and agree 100% enough with the reality crap.

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  6. 'Summer of 69' SO speaks to me...

    Great writing, Robin!!

    ~shoes~

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  7. Ahhh, Bryan Adams- one of my first big girl concerts. We had seats pretty far towards the back & then he did this thing that turned out to be one of his trademark things. Bryan popped out of a surprise little stage at the back, right near us! My friends & I went to another BA concert that summer at an outdoor venue and got seats in the back. It worked!
    So yes, his gimmicks worked and I still love him. Thank you for making me think about him again. It's been awhile. Also, 'Heaven' brings back a wonderful memory of a slow dance with someone I wished was more than a friend at the time...that's kind of a cool feeling that I haven't been in touch with for so long as I am happily long term married. You always do know how to grab onto a feeling and give it all you've got. Thanks Robin.

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  8. um, was I supposed to notice something other than bryan adam's @ss in a pair of very tight jeans. wow, I never knew he was built like that....nice. lol.
    I am an @ss girl.
    now you know.

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  9. When I first saw Cher I did not like her, she looked more like a vampire. But when I caught her in Mermaid and Moonstruck, I thought she was awesome. Such talent, she can sing and her acting skills are better than some real actresses.

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  10. me and some guys from school..had a band and we tried real hard...we were young and restless and needed to unwind...I guess nothin can last forever ...forever...yeah!

    Great Lyrics..great song.

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  11. MTV use to Rock...now, it just blows!

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  12. I STILL burst out into song whenever "Summer of '69" comes on the radio in the car. I like to think it amuses my fellow commuters.

    When I don't want to Buffy the Vampire Slayer I want to be Shadowcat, but Cher is a close third, I swear. ;)

    I hope you had a lovely Halloween!!

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  13. I love all those video's brings back grat memories....you are a great writer keep them coming!!!

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