WHAT I WANT PINK CENTER

Once upon a time I featured a post on Saturdays that spotlighted 80s music and MTV.  I also selected a song/video that was inspirational to me on that given day.

This post isn't like that... exactly.

It's still 80s and music, but I wanted to take a moment to depart from the songs that rocked MTV and focus on the inimitable soundtrack.  A movie soundtrack, if done well, can launch a movie even further into the stratosphere of success.  With the advent of MTV, a successful soundtrack combined with video coverage on television... these forums stairstepped one another to success.

image found at www.weheartit.com

Back in 1986, my senior year of high school for the curious, the movie Pretty In Pink came out.  It was another brain child of John Hughes and immediately became the Movie To See among my peers.  However, another interesting phenomena happened shortly thereafter: their was buzz in my high school about the soundtrack.  I started hearing things like, "This is the first movie soundtrack I have actually liked - ever."  Naturally, I was curious.  I bought it.  Here are the tracks (courtesy of Wikipedia):

1.	"If You Leave"	Andy McCluskey, Paul Humphreys, Martin Cooper	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	4:25
2.	"Left of Center"	Vega	Suzanne Vega with Joe Jackson	3:33
3.	"Get to Know Ya"	Johnson	Jesse Johnson	3:34
4.	"Do Wot You Do"	Andrew Farriss, Michael Hutchence	INXS	3:16
5.	"Pretty in Pink"	John Ashton, Tim Butler, Richard Butler, Vince Ely, Duncan Kilburn, Roger Morris	The Psychedelic Furs	4:40
6.	"Shellshock"	New Order, John Robie	New Order	6:04
7.	"Round, Round"	Neville Keighley	Belouis Some	4:07
8.	"Wouldn't It Be Good"	Nik Kershaw	Danny Hutton Hitters	3:44
9.	"Bring On the Dancing Horses"	Will Sergeant, Ian McCulloch, Les Pattinson, Pete de Freitas	Echo & the Bunnymen	3:59
10.	"Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want"	Johnny Marr, Morrissey	The Smiths	1:51

Having seen the movie, I recognized OMD's If You Leave right away.  It was featured prominently in the movie at at the end, plus it was on the radio a lot.  Wikipedia indicates that it charted at #4 on Billboard in May of 1986.  That sounds right to me.  I was already a HUGE fan of INXS, but many of these other bands were a mystery to me.  Their sound was very different than anything that was getting Top 40 radio play.  I soon learned it was 80s Alternative Rock Music.

It turns out that many people were already plugged into this Alternative Rock Scene and these bands were just the tip of a fairly large iceberg.  John Hughes was, once again, at the forefront of what teenagers like.  Yeah, I was a few steps behind him.  ::shocking::

Since I think EVERYONE knows OMD's song If You Leave, I am not going to post it here.  It is a great song, mind you, and I still love it.  It was a strong start for the soundtrack and absolutely the right choice.  Instead, we will jump through this thing and hit some of the more alternative sounds for the day.

Let's start with the second cut.  Suzanne Vega singing Left Of Center was, in my opinion, a perfect choice for this soundtrack.  If you are familiar with the movie, it fits in nicely with the overall theme of the film.




Now, keep in mind that most people were still buying their music on cassette tapes in 1986, so track #5 was actually the last cut on the first side.  I am not sure I would have done that.  Pretty In Pink, by The Psychedelic Furs, is one of the strongest cuts on the album.   I would have placed it in the #6 spot, making it the first cut on the second side, but that is just me.  The video is alluring and plays hard to the movie.  Now that is working the room, so to speak.




Wasn't that great?  I don't recall it getting much play on MTV, but most Alternative bands still hadn't broken into MTV.  Maybe someone with a better memory than I can shed some light on this one....

I am not going to play the New Order song, but this soundtrack began a little love affair with that band.  I also had a couple Echo & The Bunnymen cassette tapes.  They finished this soundtrack off with a song that lasted less than 2 minutes.  2 minutes of genius that is.  The Smiths.  I don't think I really need to say more.  They are one of the most successful Alternative bands from the 80s and don't need little ole me promoting them:)




If this song sounds familiar, you may remember it from the movie 500 Days of Summer.  This song was featured (again) in that film twenty years later.  I suppose the saying is true:  You can't keep a good song down... or something like that.

When I was on Wikipedia pulling the tracks for this album, I discovered a tidbit of information there that I think is worth sharing.  Spinner chose the Pretty In Pink Soundtrack in their 2012 article Best Movie Soundtracks: The 15 Film Music Compilations That'll Change Your Life.  I know that it shifted how I related to music back in 1986, so I can agree with that assessment.    

Were any of these bands new to you?  Any long-time favorites here?  Have you heard the Pretty In Pink Soundtrack?  Do you own it?  Did you stumble into 80s alternative music and love it or hate it?

FEEL BILLIE THRILLER

Many of you have indicated that you are interested in seeing the return of Inspirational Song Saturday. Well, okay. I am going to cheat a bit and do a repeat of one of my VERY EARLY posts to give you an idea of what you are in for with these Saturday posts.  If you like them, I might post a list of all the bands/singers that have already been "done" and you can Search those posts if you want to go back and read them.

The way this post goes down is with one song at the beginning that is feeling Inspirational to Me Right Now. That means it is one song hitting me in my Happy Place right this very minute. It is not limited to any decade. So, while the rest of this post is a feature of 80s music and MTV, and how these two things are meshing, or maybe not meshing, though I haven't really gone there yet, but I am sure that I will, that has nothing to do with this first song.

 I actually dedicated this song to Jasmine a couple of months ago on my Thursday post. However, I love love love it. Back in December, I felt like I was dying inside. Or maybe I was already dead. I don't know... just hollow. It felt like all the good things were gone and were never coming back. I had to very deliberately change my life, and what I was doing, so that I could start feeling again. It was a glorious thing to feel after months of not. So, when I heard this song it almost felt One Republic wrote and sang it just for me. It is one of those songs that I could listen to repeatedly. Every time I hear it I want to play it again. Yep. It's one of those.

Do you have songs like that, or days like that, or moods like that? When I get like that, I just sit on YouTube and keep hitting the repeat until it is out of my system. So here goes:


Well I took two trips; I almost went a third time, but I decided that this blog wasn't going to write itself. So, I decided I better stop watching and listening and grooving - and get back to the writing. How many times did you hit the repeat? I warn you that is the BIGGEST PROBLEM with these posts. Especially with the upcoming music if you are an 80s lover... you are about to watch videos you haven't seen in FOREVER and you are going to fall in love all over again. So, don't say you weren't warned...

Okay, now let's get down to business.

You can't talk about the 80s, MTV, and NOT talk about Michael Jackson. Unlike some other musicians, Michael Jackson wasn't an unknown in the industry. He was part of the Jackson 5. He was the youngest member of the Jackson 5, but the one that spent the most time in the spotlight. So, one could safely argue that he was the most talented member of the Jackson 5. In 1982, something phenomenal happened. Something that hasn't happened again. THRILLER was released. Would it have been the success that it was if not for MTV? I don't know. However, the combination of MTV and Michael Jackson was magic. And THRILLER set the music industry ablaze and the public went wild. I don't think Michael Jackson knew what hit him. THRILLER was not his first solo album, but it might as well have been, because nothing could have prepared him for what was to come. To this day, THRILLER is the best selling album of all-time. Let that sink in. (best selling album of all time) There were nine tracks, and all but two, hit the charts, which is unbelievable! Here they are:

1. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" Michael Jackson 6:02
2. "Baby Be Mine" Rod Temperton 4:20
3. "The Girl Is Mine" (with Paul McCartney) Michael Jackson 3:41
4. "Thriller" Rod Temperton 5:57
5. "Beat It" Michael Jackson 4:17
6. "Billie Jean" Michael Jackson 4:54
7. "Human Nature" Steve Porcaro, John Bettis 4:05
8. "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" James Ingram, Quincy Jones 3:58
9. "The Lady In My Life" Rod Temperton 4:58

Let's take a look at what had the fans in such a frenzy.



Do you remember when I talked about how some stars knew how to rock a video and some didn't? Michael Jackson knew how to rock a video. People watched that and their jaws hit the floor. It wasn't just that the concept was awesome, there was some story there, the singing was incredible, but how cool was the dancing? He hit you in every sense you had. In fact, it was sensory overload. You wanted to call MTV and ask them to play it again. Please, pretty please play it again. Just two or three more times. Billie Jean knocked it out of the park. Michael Jackson understood the power of video. Video and song. They fed each other. You could do a video of yourself in concert, but why would you? So, he didn't. And he hit one homerun after another while everyone else stood around with their mouths hanging open wondering, "How is he doing that?"

I found this video looking for other videos and it isn't a song, but more of a "what they were thinking back then" video. I thought it was really interesting. If you find it tedious. You know where the stop button is. You can move on...



Of course, the last song has to be Thriller. The video is 13 minutes long and people couldn't get enough of it. We waited for Thriller to come on. Even me. And the only other thing I waited on was Duran Duran videos. So, that should tell you something. It was like a mini-movie. If this doesn't indicate that Michael got the connection between video and music, nothing will.



The only two videos I picked were from the Thriller album. That doesn't mean that Michael Jackson's career ended there. In fact, one of my favorite songs of his is Man In The Mirror.

It made me really sad that Michael Jackson died so early in his life. It made me even sadder that he felt the need to change his appearance so dramatically. I like these videos, not just because it is Michael in his prime, but it is because Michael when he still looks like himself. Just because you have the money to lighten your skin and have all kinds of plastic surgery to make yourself look different, (in his case, more Caucasian) doesn't mean you should. If I could have given him one thing, it would have been simply loving what he saw in the mirror.

RIP Michael Jackson. You are one of a kind. There will never be another musician like you.

Did you notice how much more important it became to be a good dancer or to have good dancers after Michael Jackson and MTV?  What is your favorite song by Michael Jackson?  What is your favorite video by Michael Jackson?

Blaze of Glory (MQW)

"You know, Sir, I do admire you, and I sure would like to touch the gun that's gonna kill Billy the Kid."                       ~William H. Bonney, Young Guns



"I'm gonna make you famous."       ~William H. Bonney, Young Guns

Today is Movie Quote Wednesday over at Alex J. Cavanaugh's blog.  The movie genre for today is Westerns.  I obviously chose Young Guns.  And, as usual, have more than one quote that I find particularly tantalizing and memorable.  Sigh.

As you know, Young Guns was a movie from the 80s.  If you have been following this blog for a REALLY LONG TIME you might be able to reach way back into your memory reserves and be able to recall when I had a regular Saturday post featuring 80s music.  That post was actually all about how MTV and videos launched videos and (some) singers and bands into an orbit of celebrity and fame that they would not have achieved had it not been for the medium.  Videos, music, and movies all of a sudden were riding in tandem with one another for mutual moneymaking success.  If a movie played its cards correctly and put out a good soundtrack, along with a dazzling video, each one of these mediums could stairstep one another to greater and greater success.

The more I think about it, the more I wonder if I shouldn't start writing that Saturday blog again.  I actually enjoyed that little fluff piece each weekend.  Hmmmm.  Well, that is something to think about.  Let me know YOUR thoughts.  If you want to know what those look like, I tagged them as Inspirational Songs.

One last quote before we shut this one down:

"It ain't easy having pals."         Charley Bowdre, Young Guns

WANTED GLORY PRAYER A NICE DAY

It is Sunday. Yep. That revelation became clear mid-afternoon today. Time is really having its way with me. If time were code for Really.Hot.Man that would be fabulous. Instead, it is more like code for Really.Sucky.Migraines. Gahhhh. Both involve inordinate amounts of time in bed. The migraine just means I am there by myself listening to my head pound. The other alternative would be much more fun. I think that I really shouldn't spend so much time dwelling on the other alternative. So, let's move on.

For those of who read my last post... you know that my dad checked himself into the hospital. Turns out that he did have a mass in his colon. They removed a portion of it to be biopsied. We have not yet gotten the results. So, will let you know something when there is something to know. As my brother pointed out, he and I are different people. I tend to worry about things ahead of time. He waits for there to be something to actually worry about. Of course, that worked to my advantage in places like, say school. I actually got my papers and things done, thoroughly researched, and on time. He didn't always get them done. Period. So, therein lies the difference. The idea of just not doing a paper... Even now, I just can't fathom it. Yeah, he and I are totally different people. Hence, there is the worrier with the migraines and the non-worrier who is very healthy. Case A and Case B. Something to ponder later. After those test results come in.

In the meantime, we have some 80s songs picks and an Inspirational song pick. Wow. It feels like FOREVER since this blog has blasted back into the past to hash and rehash what was burning up MTV. One point that I have to keep picking up and putting down (for those of you who weren't there or who have forgotten) is just how important being pretty was in the 80s. That went for the girls and the boys. Mostly for the boys. Seriously. Pretty boys were the rage in the 80s. Long hair. Big hair was in (for everyone) and eyeliner looked good on everyone (apparently), because everyone was wearing it! The 80s was the decade that men rocked it out looking a bit la femme. They got to swing that long hair around and the teenage girls swooned.

Especially for Jon Bon Jovi. They really swooned for Jon Bon Jovi. And he was totally swoon-worthy. And his band wasn't too bad either. But, Jon was The Deal. Women all over The USA cried when he got married. Seriously, it was on the news. There were reports of teenage girls locking themselves in their rooms and having a day-long cry. Refusing to come out. Yeah, it was the hormones. And they probably grew up to be certifiable. But still. He was H*O*T and he still is. 20 years later and he still stops traffic. That is saying something. Mick Jagger stops traffic, too. But, it is because he is so scary looking. He has been rode hard and put up wet way too many times. Not knocking The Rolling Stones. That particular stone has just rolled way too many times. Just sayin'. And he was never a looker to start.

I found the video choices for Bon Jovi to be interesting. They are almost all concert videos. You know my feelings on that. I think that when you have MTV working for you, you should work it. However, Bon Jovi kinda sorta does in their own way. Their concert vids aren't straight concert vids. They are mish mashed with their tour footage to give you a feel for what they are "really" like as people. That is not a bad idea. And they also give you a feel for what their fans are like. That is an interesting look back. I am going to post two different tacks they take. The other one is a mish mash of them "making" a video/their effects for a concert. Again, it gives you a sense of them as people.





Both of those songs came out in 1986-87. Bon Jovi was asked to do the entire soundtrack for the movie Young Guns and he accepted the project. The biggest hit from that movie was the song Blaze of Glory. Finally, a Bon Jovi video that uses footage from the movie in the video. Most big movies did this because fans loved the song, loved the video, loved the movie. It became a big circle. Each "event" helped propel the other to success. The more the people loved the video, they were likely to buy the soundtrack and watch the movie. The more they liked the movie, the more likely they were to watch out for the video on MTV. If they liked it, the more likely they were to buy the soundtrack. It was just a big old moneymaking circle.



I really loved that movie back in the day. I haven't seen it since "the day." Now, it makes me itchy to watch it again. Emilio Estevez really did pull off Billy The Kid. And I think that I saw a young Kiefer Sutherland. Man, I love me some Kiefer Sutherland. I am missing 24 like a crazy person misses whatever drugs crazy people take. The red pill. The blue pill. The yellow pill. Something tells me the crazy person doesn't care. They just say, "Give me my pills!" Yeah, like that.

You might be wondering why I am ~ once again ~ going with my Inspirational song last instead of first. Well, I am so glad you are wondering. It is because I am sticking with Bon Jovi. Bon Jovi, more or less present day. This one came out a few years ago. Really love this song. It is my "don't mess with me song." And I can't believe how great he still looks. Actually, I can. Some people just age well. Like fine wine.



So, the next time someone ticks you off, just tell them to have a nice day. Bless their heart.

MONKEY UP EVERYTHING HONEY

It is Sunday. You know what that means. Yep. I am one day late, but not TOO late for the Inspirational Music Post for the weekend. I used to call it the Saturday post. I can't remember when it last made it on a Saturday. I am thinking of calling it the Inspirational Music Sunday post. That way it would fall on the correct day.

Normally, I pull out my Inspirational To Me song first and then move on to what was rocking MTV back in the 80s. If you are new to Inspirational Song Day, the MTV portion of this post is decided on several factors. 80s music and 80s video were using one another to rocket songs to success. Some artists were exceptional at this and others not so much. I think that everyone understands that teenagers were riveted to MTV, but they didn't all understand how to go about making a great video. Or they didn't have the skills to really entertain. Some people can sing, but can they perform? Those are two very different skill sets. If not for MTV, Michael Jackson and Madonna might not be the legends in music that they are today. Ponder that for a moment and then we shall move on.

Okay, I am going to bank on the fact that you have pondered. Or as John Cage from Ally McBeal would have said, "You have taken a moment." Let's take a look at WHAM today. That would be the duo that was George Michael and that Other Guy. You don't remember his name? Me either. George Michael was the talent in that duo. He was also the good looks and the performer. In other words, he had it all going on. If your gaydar was installed and working properly, you knew he was gay, straight out of the gate. My friend, Megan, spotted it immediately. Gay. I was like, "Say what? He is yummy."

She says, "If those shorts get any shorter in WAKE ME UP BEFORE YOU GO -GO, he will be without pants." She then went into, "Who wears short shorts, George wears short shorts," in a sing song voice. I was very familiar with the video and the short shorts. She was right. They couldn't get any shorter. Gay. How sad. I got over it and just enjoyed the show. It's still a great song. How does he get his teeth that white? Inquiring minds need to know! And here is the video and George in his very short shorts... I apologize ahead of time because it is a very catchy tune. The 80s are brilliant with their songs.



WHAM! Now wasn't that awesome? That is just like going back in time. Well, as close as I am ever going to get. Here is another best from WHAM! I love this one for two reasons. You get the plus of seeing what the concerts were like, because they have it going on in the background. Man, that was insane. You can also see what the live performances were like... incredible, amazing, mind-blowing, insert your own word here. However, it isn't strictly a lame concert video, which I think is lame when you have this wonderful medium at your disposal. However, George Michael functions best as a performance artist, so you can see why inserting pieces of his concerts into his videos works. It is all part of the art. It showcases how he MOVES. Sort of like Michael Jackson and his dancing. That is a big part of what made him such a huge hit. Singing and dancing and how they went together were a very big deal in the 80s. I will stop talking about it and let you watch it in action...



Eventually, George Michael split from the Other Guy and went solo. Well, that was huge because one of his first big hits as a solo artist was I WANT YOUR SEX. Does anyone else remember this? I was glad I was at college when this happened. I can't imagine playing this at top volume at home. My mom would have blown a freaking gasket. At college, it was a whole different ballgame. I was listening to the Violent Femmes at top volume and they used the "F" word repeatedly, which would have might caused her to disown me. Did I mention there was some rebellion going on in college? No. I suppose that listening to The Violent Femmes and I WANT YOUR SEX are fairly large clues. I suppose that is better than having lots of sex. People who talk about it a lot are usually not doing it. Just sayin'. Mom would be relieved. Just in case she reads this blog. Moving on...

Anyway, one of my favorite songs off of that album was the song called MONKEY. I don't think that I have seen the video until today. However, it illustrates how much George's image changed in a fairly short amount of time. About six years, I think. I don't know if he was out of the closet with everyone, or if I just knew because of my above-mentioned friend, Megan. I know that my college best friend, Jennifer, had a terrible crush on him. I hated to dash her hopes and dreams. She refused to accept the cold, hard truth, so I am thinking that maybe he was still in the closet. I don't know. My memory is lousy. Or she thought it was a waste. Whatever. *sigh* Anyway, at the time, I thought the song was about drugs, because drugs were commonly referred to as being a monkey on someone's back. However, I now think that any addiction can be the monkey. It's a great song. I think I love it more now than I did then. I hope you give it a listen. George still has excellent moves, but the lyrics of the song just might speak to you. A monkey is anything that is holding you back. Keeping you from getting what you want in your life. You need to figure out how to peel that thing off, once and for all, so that you can start living the life that is waiting for you. And when I say you, I mean you... and me.





Technically, I suppose I could stop this post right here because that song was pretty darn inspirational to me. Right now. However, I already had something else picked out for today. Something occurred to me a couple of days ago. As someone who loves 80s music, there are a few things about it that make it appealing. It is lyrical in a way that it is distinctive to the decade. Most songs last about three minutes. Another thing is that the chorus repeats many times. Particularly at the end. If you don't know any part of the song, you know the chorus, because it is repeated often. Not so in current rock music. You get the chorus at most, in many, three times. And the songs can last up to five minutes. Also, the chord structure in current music is limited. The riffs don't linger in your head. You don't find yourself humming them later. The music isn't lyrical. They aren't easy to sing. As someone who likes to karaoke, the current stuff is tough to sing. And a lot of it is actually not that pretty. 80s music is fun to sing. Sounds pretty. As a singer, it is easier to sing. All kinds of pluses. Interesting.

Now, where was I going? The thing that is closest to 80s music in today's music: Country music. You heard me. It is the reason that people who like OLD country don't like today's country. It is too pop. If you listen to Tim McGraw's song BACK WHEN (which I love, by the way) there is a line in there about him missing back when because they have put pop in his country. It's true. All of the people who grew up on 80s music rebelled when the 90s rolled around, started throwing up in their mouths every time the radio came on, and finally switched to country. Country figured out they were gaining a younger audience (people who grew up on 80s) and started putting pop in their country to keep them, and it worked. People of the 80s: that is where your 80s music went, just in case you were wondering. Everyone who loved John Mellencamp, Bryan Adams, Journey, etc. switch your dial to country. They now go by Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, etc. You can pay me later. I will give you my PayPal information, just send me an email.

Last week I played a Miranda Lambert song called The House That Built Me. That one makes me cry. It's a song about wanting to go home again. I have been feeling that myself. That "if I can just go back for a few minutes, I will find the missing piece and put myself back together again." In fact, I was thinking about roller skating around my neighbor's garage to Rod Stewart's DO YOU THINK I'M SEXY this morning. We would strap on our skates. Yeah, I am that old. And skate around the garage with the record blaring, singing at the top of our voices. At the time, I was certain NO ONE thought I was sexy. I was twelve. Maybe thirteen. However, I was looking forward to a day in the future when someone I had yet to meet would definitely think I was sexy. Back then, all I wanted to be was older and sexy. Now, I would love to be back in that garage, strapping on those skates, and not have a real care in the world. Funny how that works. And that is why I like this song. And so I present Lady Antebellum. The 80s gone country.



I think I used to have the dress she is wearing while she is under the clothesline. Bless her heart. Rock on people.

And in the immortal words of our Atlanta newscaster on youtube, "I love you long. I love you strong. And for God's sake, don't do anything stupid. Don't do anything stupid, people."


images found at www.weheartit.com

FREEZE THE HOUSE CENTERFOLD STINKS

I don't know how many of you even noticed, but last weekend I completely failed to put an Inspirational music post up at all. Ugggh. Here's To You Thursday came out on Friday, and by Sunday evening I knew that the music thing just wasn't going to happen. The really sad part about that whole debacle was that I had all of the music chosen. I just didn't feel able to put a post together. That seems really pathetic in hindsight.

Well, let me tell you a little story. Actually, have you ever noticed how sometimes that in life you get a bunch of little stories that fold into a collective of one big story? I think it is the universe trying to tell you something. Maybe. Or not. I do know that I pick up bits and pieces of wisdom from you people on here that make me stop and think and reevaluate. It has been cause for some major chicken coop cleaning (aka brain cleansing).

About a month ago I had a dream about my best friend, Jennifer, from high school, that I think I told you about, that prompted a telephone call. Anyway, we have been talking on the phone since then. It has been a really wonderful reconnection for both of us. To recap for those of you who missed that blog, I was on a crazy vacation with my parents and stressed out, when I bumped into her and her parents and literally said, "Thank God you're here." And then I woke up. I took it as a sign that I should track her down, so I did. Turns out she was thinking about me, too. Life is funny like that.

I think that I also told you about this little family pizza place that does karaoke on the weekends. Well... they have started doing it on Saturday nights now, too. Fridays got crazy. So, we now go on Saturdays. Less crazy. Everyone has a different approach to the whole thing. Some people sing the same thing every week. I suppose, because of that, they get pretty good at the song. It gives them the chance to really practice. They know what is coming, etc. Then there is me. Easily bored. I am more like kamikaze karaoke. I like something different all the time. If it works, great. If not, oh well. Of course, this did work better when I was going to a karaoke joint that let me use my own CDs so I could practice at home and use my CDs. I have LOTS of CDs. Now, even songs that I have on CD aren't necessarily good, because every version is different. LOL. One would think I might do the same thing a few times just so that I have a few things that I know are top-notch. Nope. Apparently that is not how I roll. I know that I have some things that I think will be better, but that is as close as I come. I get easily diverted, because that really isn't where I was going with this story...lol. Now where I was going...

Last week there was a young girl who sang Miranda Lambert's The House That Built Me. Honestly, the kid really couldn't sing that well. As in, she found about half the notes half the time. However, anyone who does karaoke is a superstar in my book. It takes courage to stand up and sing in front of people, so I clap for everyone. Some people because they are good, and some people because they are done. I just don't explain. At the end of that song, I was about crying in my chair. That is puzzle piece number 2 to this story. How about we listen to Miranda sing the song? She hits all of the notes. That is refreshing. And it is a cool video to boot.



I have been dreaming about the house where I grew up for a while now. In several different contexts actually. For those of you who have read this blog for a long time might remember some of them. But sometimes I just go home and walk around my house in my dreams. There is a part of me that knows that whoever moved in changed "my" house. They redecorated, maybe even made major renovations. But in my dreams it is just the same. I have also talked (repeatedly) about time travel machines and fixing my life. I used to joke that if I could just get back to the summer before my senior year of high school, I think that would do it. I would be back at a place where I was healthy enough that I could make better choices, and stay that way. Blah blah blah. I think mostly what I want is just to feel what it was like to feel certain again. That girl felt certain about her life and where she going. The last time I felt certain was when I was in high school. So those lyrics speak to me.

You leave home and you move on and you do the best you can
I got lost in this old world and forgot who I am

I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
This brokenness inside me might start healing
Out here it’s like I’m someone else
I thought that maybe I could find myself
If I walk around I swear I’ll leave
Won’t take nothing but a memory
From the house that built me

Enter the third puzzle piece to this story. Once again, it comes to me via a dream. I tell you, if not for dreams I am not sure I would figure anything out! One morning this week I had a dream where I was with my friend, Megan, after a very long absence, and I was so happy to see her that I was crying. I mean really crying. Crying so hard in the dream that I was crying in real life. Crying so hard that it woke me up. At 4:30am. Yeah, that part sucked. Cause my head was freaking killing me when I came awake. Like it was going to roll right off my shoulders killing me. But, I knew that it was another sign. I was supposed to call her. Naturally, my address book was lost in my move. But, her husband, another former high school friend of mine is on facebook, and I sent him an email. She lives on the West Coast and we have been trying to connect since then. It is difficult to conquer time zones.

What I am getting at here is support system. Everyone needs one. When you are in pain, you don't want to talk to people because you feel lousy, so you push people out. That is the wrong thing to do. I have been doing it for years. However, it is the wrong thing to do. You don't want to burden them with your pain. You want to wait until you are all better, and have good news to report. Well, guess what? By the time you have good news to report a decade may have gone by; a decade is rough on a friendship. Don't wait. I have good friends. That are patient with my stupidity and willing to understand. Not everyone is. Make the call already.

Now, on to our 80s bands of the week. MTV is still rocking it out. I don't have lots to say about this band. I think the music speaks for itself. The music is good. The video is good. I always try to choose good music and good video. If you don't have good video, you don't make my weekend line up. So, this week's 80s pick is.... wait for it... J Geils Band. And you can decide what your favorite is and let me know.










Okay, once again this has all made me miss MTV like crazy. Well, not today's MTV. But MTV when it was GOOD. So, I salute the 80s and it's fine music. And I miss it like crazy. And I promise to be back next week to favor you with another impressive video artiste. Until then, rock on!

SAVE MAGIC TONIGHT

I decided to go ahead and do my Saturday post today. I am still sick, so you might actually benefit by reading a shorter than usual post. lol. Colds are just nasty. Unless they actually turn into an infection, there really is not much you can do. Soup, rest, water, over the counter medicine, blah blah blah. Mostly it is just letting the darn thing run its course. Or wait for it to turn into something bacterial that requires an antibiotic, so that you can actually get better. It is enough to make you crazy. In my case, crazier. I have my appt with the regular doctor that social security assigned me to see on Tuesday. I am fairly certain that I will still be sick as a dog. That will be lovely. Well, there is no point in worrying about what you cannot control.

Yesterday, I spent some time thinking about song for Inspirational song day and cruising around Youtube. I found a few things and saved them into my favorites. As I was contemplating this post, I thought about the jingle for Alka Seltzer. Right now, that is really about the only thing resonating with me, and that is not my over-the-counter brand of choice. I take Nyquil every six hours. Dayquil sucks. However, I like the song for Alka Seltzer. It made me realize that I miss jingles. They don't do jingles so much anymore for commercials. It is pretty much talking with music in the background. That is kind of sad. More commentary on how we are changing as a society.

Anyway, I didn't have a hard time coming up with my Inspirational To Me song at all. I have liked it for a long time. I had not watched the video until yesterday and I LOVED IT. I had to watch it a couple of times. I hope that you like it, too.



Sometimes, the answer is just showing up. You don't have to have any of the answers. Anyway, great song and great video.

When I decided to feature The Cars this week I had no idea what I would find on Youtube. I was surprised that so many of their songs were available. In fact, a lot of their songs from the late 70s are now on video and called Classics. I had their Greatest Hits on cassette tape and it was one of my favorites. When I went to college, it was about a seven hour drive home. That meant a lot of music shuffled in and out of my cassette deck. I loved that Greatest Hits tape by The Cars. The first track was JUST WHAT I NEEDED and was probably my favorite. In fact, I liked their earlier stuff best. However, for the sake of showcasing what was playing on MTV in the early 80s I should stick with what was actually playing then.

Before I started looking anything up, I did a mental review to see what I could remember. The song that came immediately to mind was the one where the lead singer was walking on the water in the pool. I couldn't think of the name of the song. This could be old age or my migraine issues... not sure which. I remember watching that video intently whenever it came on to figure out how they did that. I finally decided that there must have been panels of glass that he was standing on. I don't know with any degree of certainty how they actually did it, but that is what my teenage brain deduced. Turns out that the song is called MAGIC. So, the concept of a guy walking on water is actually pretty cool. I could continue to tell you about it or just let you watch it...




Also in keeping with their stuff that was playing about the same time period is this one. What I like about both of these videos is that they aren't concert vids. They understood what MTV was all about as a forum and used it. This makes me want to go digging through all of my old cassette tapes to find The Cars Greatest Hits. I have just been hit by nostalgia. Well, while I am thinking about that, we can watch this...



Well, I have thought about it. That is a lot of work. And I have youtube. I think I will just watch more Cars videos. It will be just what I needed.

FOOTLOOSE DREAM ZONE

Some of you may have noticed that all was quiet on the southern front yesterday. That is my quippy way of saying that I didn't blog. I did read a couple of blogs, but not many. My head was killing me and it just didn't let up. Usually I can squeeze a few good hours out of a day, but the last few days... make it the last week or couple of weeks, it has been challenging. And it has been manifesting itself in every aspect of my life. The migraine meds just don't work for me, so it has all been pain mgmt via pain pills. Well... I know that too much of that stuff is bad for you.

I have been living on pain medication for years, so I really try to not take it unless it is necessary. Well... for the last couple of weeks my migraines have been so bad that they have been waking me out of a sound sleep between 3-5am. Ladies and gentlemen, this is not good. This means that I am taking meds all day long; as soon as the medication wears off, the migraine kicks back in. Not surprisingly, the last few days my stomach has really been hurting. I have no doubt that it is a response to all of the pain medication. I sent off an email to my doctor today. Fortunately, she is excellent about replying.

Normally, I don't post this kind of crap on my blog. No one wants to hear about your medical junk. Besides, I know many of you have medical junk of your own. I am also a big believer of negative builds on negative and positive builds on positive. So, I really try to throw positive stuff out into the universe because that is the foundation that I want to build on. I believe in positive comments, positive thinking, positive visualization, asking for what you want, believing you will get it, and that there truly is a Grand Design (no matter how messed up everything looks at any given moment).



Yesterday was supposed to be my magical music day. That didn't happen. It was my spend the day in bed day. Yuck. And my laptop is at the computer fix-it place being wiped. That has me less than happy. All of my wonderful youtube footage saved in my favorites for later are very likely lost in space. *sigh* Ironically, I didn't even have an 80s group picked out because I was feeling so bad all week long. Yeah, it was really that kind of week. So, now I am sitting at my step dad's computer and thinking about how I might accomplish this mission without totally annoying my mom. She is at the next desk, which is only a few feet away. I love listening to youtube music. It drives her up the wall. I have nothing saved and no ideas. It is entirely possible that she might kill me, even though she loves me like crazy, and I am her only daughter. It would be a crime of passion. Totally an "in the moment" thing. I know that she would feel terrible later.

Well, I will try doing some listening and see what happens. If she gets that look in her eye and goes for the iron skillet in the kitchen, I might have to switch gears and do something else.

Well, this turned out to be easier than I thought. I strongly encourage you to listen to the inspirational song for today. You will probably look at the name of the song and band and scratch your head. The only reason I am familiar is because this song came out at a time when I was actively watching CMT. Why CMT? Because if I felt cruddy and only could stand 10 minutes of TV it was no big to turn it off. There was no emotional investment in a "show." However, as soon as I saw this song I LOVED it. However, I never heard it on the radio... of course. Because it was awesome. Probably not country enough for country radio, rock enough for rock radio, etc. Basically it just didn't fit in anywhere. In other words, it was awesome. So, give it a listen even if you hate country. It may never rank up there with your faves, but it is a very cool song. Definitely inspirational.

Click here to watch the video. It would not embed.


I have been thinking that I wanted to do an 80s soundtrack for a while. My original thought was to take a successful soundtrack and pick a couple of songs that had particularly interesting videos. Well, that isn't how this post is going to work. However, that idea is still on the backburner. Instead, I am going to go with an 80s artist that had two REALLY successful songs on two DIFFERENT soundtracks. In both cases, this artist shot the videos using footage from the movies. That was brilliant. Had the movies been duds, that would not have been a good idea. However, both of these movies were box office blockbusters and this was a case of a song using MTV in yet another visual way. The movie, the song, and MTV all were using each other to ride each of these separate, but interlocked, entities to success. People watched the video and then had to see the movie. People watched the movie and then loved the video. People loved the video and had to buy the soundtrack. It was one more unanswered question of which of these caused the other to become the unparalleled success that it became. Who knows?

The only thing that was certain was that the fans were glued to MTV, buying the soundtracks as fast as they could, and hearts were palpitating all over America for Kevin Bacon and Tom Cruise. Yep, the artist we are talking about was Kenny Loggins. In the 70s and early 80s he was "speaking" to our parents. In the mid-80s, he jumped the generational gap when he became the musical voice for FOOTLOOSE and TOP GUN. Yep, Kenny Loggins jumped back on the musical rollercoaster and became a hot property. If you don't remember, or doubt what I am saying, just watch the footage. Kenny Loggins knew when to step in and when to step out and it put him back on top. Yeah, he was, once again, a top gun.... lol.







I have to admit that both of those movies were HOT HOT HOT back in the 80s. And Tom Cruise was the sh*t before he lost his freaking mind. Kevin Bacon still is the sh*t. I have a funny story to tell about high school, but today isn't the day. One day when I am lacking material I will share it. Well, it was funny then... maybe not so much now. Maybe it was a had to be there story. I don't know. But, Kenny Loggins always was classy to me. I always loved that song that he wrote for his father THIS IS IT. At least, I understood that it was for his father. As I understood it, his dad had cancer and was mentally giving up. It was the kick in the ass song that Kenny wrote for his dad. It was him drawing the line in the sand letting his dad know that he had a lot of fight left in him and no one else was giving up. It makes me cry every time I listen to it. So, yeah, I think Kenny Loggins is hardcore. In his soul. Where it counts. And I think he knows something about walking in the Danger Zone. Not necessarily where there is artillery and gunfire (I don't know about that), but fighting the good fight. Yeah, I think he knows about that. And he isn't a quitter. I like that.

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'.

NEED YOU STRONGER DON'T CHANGE

Saturday has rolled around once more. Amazing how that happens. Like clockwork. For those of you new to the blogging world, this is the day where more people are actually doing something. They are not writing blogs and/or reading them. That opens up all sorts of freedom to those who choose to write blogs over the weekend. Your audience is fairly limited, so you can really go for it. Speak your mind. Say what you need to say. Go ahead... unburden yourself.

As for me, today is the day where I share music with the masses that hop, skip, jump, or accidentally fall down the rabbit hole, and end up at this blog. Wheeee. I even have some vague format for this day. However, I can and do break my own rules. Nothing is written in stone here. Here's the overall deal: I choose one song that is inspirational to me right now in this moment. Then, I choose one artist or band from the 80s that rocked MTV. I find it disturbing that MTV really doesn't play music anymore. The M in the TV is for Music. It is not for reality TV or anything else. That is just dumb. Back in the 80s, it was pretty much all videos all the time. It was awesome. So, we are time traveling to revisit some of that incredible amazingness, just to see what these groundbreaking artists did with this new form of musical expression. Some of them just used vids of themselves in concert. For the most part, we won't be looking at that. That is not a creative form of expression peeps!

Now, that we have the whole "what this thing is about" ironed out, let's move on to my inspirational song for today. This is gonna be a strange one. Usually the song just comes to me. In this case, it was a feeling. I have been feeling lousy and that ticks me off, so I wanted a kick some butt sort of song. Mostly I wanted to be Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I go through these phases. No, I pretty much always want to be Buffy. I just don't talk about it. So, I cruised through youtube watching Buffy videos until I found one that was sufficiently down and dirty that it worked for me. So, here we go... Don't forget to turn off my music player at the botttom of the page.





Okay, now that I am all warm and gooey from the inside out, we can move on to the rest of our Inspirational Music Marathon. Let me just towel off. That was quite a workout. And I need a drink. Be right back and then we can proceed. Is anyone else sweating? It is HOT in here.

Okay, I am back. It didn't occur to me until last night that I had not even thought about the 80s artist that I was going to feature today. Rutro. That is bad. I usually have a handle on this much sooner. However, there are so many to choose from that it really is not tough. My friend Megan came to mind ~ again ~ once I decided on... wait for it... INXS. I will take this moment to strongly encourage new readers, or old readers who missed the blog on Megan, and her stellar musical knowledge, to go back to this blog and read it. In addition to being informative, it cracks me up.

Megan was the first person to introduce me to INXS. We listened to Shabooh Shoobah and Listen Like Thieves regularly as we drove around town. She might have had some of their other records, too, but those are the ones that come to mind. At the time, that was considered to be somewhat alternative or new wave. It wasn't getting any radio play in the US. I still don't know how Megan ran them down. However, she listened to a LOT of music that was foreign to my ears, but was always super cool.

The first song that introduced most people to INXS (here in the US) was What You Need. They followed that up with what has to be one of the best records of all time, in my opinion: KICK. I confess I did do some reading about this, but only because I was curious! I normally do no research on these things and rely strictly on my memory. If I am wrong, I really don't care. I am not declaring myself to be an expert on this subject. Apparently the record label didn't want to release KICK and fought them all the way down the line. The plan with KICK was to have every song on it be so good that it could be released as a single. In my opinion, they succeeded. However, Atlantic Records had other ideas...

They hated it, absolutely hated it. They said there was no way they could get this music on rock radio. They said it was suited for black radio, but they didn't want to promote it that way. The president of the label told me that he'd give us $1 million to go back to Australia and make another album.
—Chris Murphy, manager

Well, the album got made despite Atlantic's idiocy. I am sure that they claimed all the glory after it was such a resounding success. Ah well. That is just the way it goes. I played KICK so often that I think I wore the music right off of the tape. It was a freaking awesome record. I call them all records, no matter what form you buy them in. They are still records. Saves confusion. In this case, it was a cassette.

KICK was such an amazing record that the next one must have felt overwhelming. INXS went on to release four more records before lead singer, Michael Hutchence died. None of the records reached the level of success that KICK garnered. The last was aptly titled ELEGANTLY WASTED. It was how I felt about Michael's death when I heard about it: all of that talent and charisma just gone. Poof.

I had a very difficult time just choosing one video from KICK. It was so much fun just watching them. However, I wanted you to see one of the videos pre-KICK, so that you could see the difference. And I do take a bit of divine pleasure, once again, in saying to those of you who missed MTV when it was actually good, you really missed something GOOD. Thank the powers at be for youtube. Where would we be without youtube???? I really do think that they have laced youtube with crack. I am becoming more certain by the day...

This is Need You Tonight. It was one of SEVEN songs that charted on this amazing album... KICK.




Well, that was all kinds of fun for me, and brought back lots of really great memories. I hope that you enjoyed a similar walk down memory lane, or found a brand new path full of musical joy!


image found at www.weheartit.com

EIGHT TO THE EIGHT TO THE EIGHT AGAIN!

It seems like a lifetime ago, but I tagged Purple Cow, at Australian in Athens, with 8 questions to answer. I totally forgot about it when she didn't answer them. Then, for no good reason, she decided that yesterday would be a good day to tackle that project. I was thrilled until she tagged me back. There is a penalty for that I am certain somewhere in The Blogger's Handbook. If I could find mine I would cite it and call her out. Anyway, she answered my eight questions and then created eight of her own, per the rules, and tagged eight people, including me. Which I am sure is illegal.

I am still participating in the letter writing challenge. Tomorrow, however, is Inspirational Song Saturday, which I am totally looking forward to, and if you haven't dropped in on one of them, I hope you will. I always pick one song/video that is inspirational to me in that moment. And then I highlight an artist/band from the 80s that rocked MTV. Yeah... that was back when they actually played music on MTV pretty much 24/7. My focus is the videos that used the weight of video to give their song forward momentum on the radio. A well done video had the potential to move a song up the charts faster than say... just a concert video. We have already looked at some of the masters: Madonna, Michael Jackson, and Duran Duran (blowing kisses at John Taylor). Okay, I am over that. But, there is still a lot of territory to cover and it is so much fun.

Let's move on to Purple Cow and her questions...

1) Why do you blog? Have the reasons changed as you've been doing it?

Ironically enough, I wrote an entire blog devoted to this subject matter. Obviously, I have a lot to say about it. I suppose if you care enough about the answer you can click here to read it because I am not retyping it.


2) Why do they ask "What animal are you most like?" at job interviews? And what could they possibly learn about the person being interviewed when they ask this question? (Also feel free to share any other stupid questions you've been asked at job interviews).

I have never been asked what animal I am most like in a job interview and that is good news, because I am sitting here sifting through all of the information in my brain and coming up empty. That would not look good in a job interview. Probably a bear. They are seriously protective of their young or even those in their protection. I am not real knowledgeable on wild animals, but they strike me as the do what is necessary kind of animal. Not the kind to back down from a fight if they feel threatened or they are protecting their family. So, I will go with the bear.

One real question that I did get asked that wasn't a stupid question, but to which I gave a stupid answer was this one: "What would be your ideal job?"

Without thinking, I said, "I would love to write novels."

I was applying for a commission sales job to sell maintenance supplies. Not the right answer, but I got the job anyway. Turns out I loved it. Not as much as writing, but I really did like that job.


3) If you were to arrange a rendezvous with your 18-year-old self what would you say to yourself? How much would you have in common? Would you accuse yourself of something?

I would have a lot to say. All of it would take me off of this lifepath. However, I now see why I am here. Every rotten experience that I would dearly love to tell 18 year old me to avoid has contributed to the person that I am today. If I were to do that, I wouldn't be the same person sitting here typing this answer. I wouldn't be the person with this Big Idea that the world needs so much. I suppose I would just hug her and tell her that she will go through a lot of crap. However, it will be alright. There will be lots of days when it won't feel like it, but it will be alright.


4) Imagine me? What do I look like? (Skip this one Robin as you've already seen me on FB)

I try to imagine what your life is actually like. I know what you look like. But your day-to day life still stymies me somewhat. For instance, I wonder how many people in your real life actually know you. I imagine many of them think that they know you. But, do they really? You appear to be this working woman with children and a husband living a fairly ordinary life. Do they know how smart you are? Do they know how well you write? Do they have any idea how you think? Do they know the real you or just the superficial you? The nice, pleasant facade that you show to the world. We all have one. How many people in your real life actually know you? This is what I imagine when I think of you. I think the number is fairly small, which is why you started blogging in the first place. It is also the reason I can't understand why you would want to quit. To go back to just being the you before you started blogging. That is what I imagine when I think of you.


5) Have you ever surprised yourself with your own wickedness?

Unfortunately, yes. Usually I was drunk and my better sense had deserted me. Where does that better sense go? I am not getting into details here because it is well.... wicked.


6) What makes you special and different from this blob called humanity?

I think everyone is special and different. We are all given gifts. The trick is figuring out what your gift is and then using it. Of course, you can use your gift for good or ill. I suppose I should say gifts, because it is certainly possible, and often necessary, to have more than one. I was being general and you asked about me specifically. I have a gift for sales. I am good at that. I see the problems in our healthcare system that extend beyond insurance. For people who are chronically ill and misdiagnosed or undiagnosed, it can be devastating if it goes on long enough. I understand that because I lived that. I plan to take those two gifts and put them together to create a solution to that problem. That is what makes me special. I am going to then reach out my hands to all of you and ask you to reach out and so on and so on. It is all about assisting people in their journey from illness to wellness.


7) Do you ever wonder if you are wrong about everything you currently believe and hold to be true? And if it turns out that none of it is as it seems would you wish to be told the TRUTH a minute before you die or die not knowing at all?

No. I don't wonder if I am wrong about everything I believe is true. If I have some things wrong, I would just as soon die believing them if they make me happy. If, for instance, I believed something about someone that was or wasn't true and it made me sad or unhappy, I would rather know the truth before I died. It would be a truth that gave me peace. Any truth that gives peace or relief, I would rather know.


8) So how come it's 8 questions? Why not 5, 7 or 10? Why 8? Do you want more or do you wish you'd had less?

Beats me. That was just how it rolled out. I am glad that there aren't any more!


Okay, people, the rules are that you are supposed to make up eight questions and pass this on to eight people. I have already done this twice. I am not doing it again. However, if you are looking for some blog material, haven't done this yet and want to, or just feel bored, you can have at it. Just use Purple Cow's questions, pick eight people, and make up eight questions of your own.


image found at www.weheartit.com

INSPIRATIONAL SONG SATURDAY

It is Inspirational Song Saturday again. This week has been particularly easy. In fact, I knew last weekend who my MTV feature was going to be. The only problem was going to be narrowing down the video selection. And, even then, I kinda sorta had that figured out, too. There are some things that you just know.

The inspirational song to me was actually the song that was more difficult. This is going to sound totally contradictory, but the song I had in mind is actually by the same artist who is my MTV feature. I FREAKING LOVE THIS SONG. And it is a song that I play when I feel down when I want to feel up. There is a part of me that when I feel down that wants to play really depressing music so that I can just really let myself feel it. You know just let it penetrate my soul. And, sometimes, I have been known to do just that. I don't think that is the healthiest choice, by the way. I think that John Cusack's character had it right in BETTER OFF DEAD. He was soooo depressed (hence the name of the movie) because this girl broke things off with him. So, he's driving down the road and a sad song comes on the radio, so he changes the station and it's another sad song, so he keeps changing the station and they are ALL SAD SONGS. He becomes so frustrated and pissed off that he pulls the entire radio out of the car and throws it out the window. That movie is just one awesome scene after another. (I want my two dollars!) But that is one of the best.

Anyway, I am not going to play for you this song that I freaking love because I don't freaking love the video. As in the original video. The one made by the artist that got all of the play on MTV. What I will play for you is another song that I really like that is a tribute to the era known as the 80s and MTV. It never fails to put a smile on my face. The song and the video. Don't forget to turn off my music player at the bottom of the page.



Yeah, that was awesome.

Okay, now let's get down to business.

You can't talk about the 80s, MTV, and NOT talk about Michael Jackson. Unlike some other musicians, Michael Jackson wasn't an unknown in the industry. He was part of the Jackson 5. He was the youngest member of the Jackson 5, but the one that spent the most time in the spotlight. So, one could safely argue that he was the most talented member of the Jackson 5. In 1982, something phenomenal happened. Something that hasn't happened again. THRILLER was released. Would it have been the success that it was if not for MTV? I don't know. However, the combination of MTV and Michael Jackson was magic. And THRILLER set the music industry ablaze and the public went wild. I don't think Michael Jackson knew what hit him. THRILLER was not his first solo album, but it might as well have been, because nothing could have prepared him for what was to come. To this day, THRILLER is the best selling album of all-time. Let that sink in. (best selling album of all time) There were nine tracks, and all but two, hit the charts, which is unbelievable! Here they are:

1. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" Michael Jackson 6:02
2. "Baby Be Mine" Rod Temperton 4:20
3. "The Girl Is Mine" (with Paul McCartney) Michael Jackson 3:41
4. "Thriller" Rod Temperton 5:57
5. "Beat It" Michael Jackson 4:17
6. "Billie Jean" Michael Jackson 4:54
7. "Human Nature" Steve Porcaro, John Bettis 4:05
8. "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" James Ingram, Quincy Jones 3:58
9. "The Lady In My Life" Rod Temperton 4:58

Let's take a look at what had the fans in such a frenzy.



Do you remember when I talked about how some stars knew how to rock a video and some didn't? Michael Jackson knew how to rock a video. People watched that and their jaws hit the floor. It wasn't just that the concept was awesome, there was some story there, the singing was incredible, but how cool was the dancing? He hit you in every sense you had. In fact, it was sensory overload. You wanted to call MTV and ask them to play it again. Please, pretty please play it again. Just two or three more times. Billie Jean knocked it out of the park. Michael Jackson understood the power of video. Video and song. They fed each other. You could do a video of yourself in concert, but why would you? So, he didn't. And he hit one homerun after another while everyone else stood around with their mouths hanging open wondering, "How is he doing that?"

I found this video looking for other videos and it isn't a song, but more of a "what they were thinking back then" video. I thought it was really interesting. If you find it tedious. You know where the stop button is. You can move on...



Of course, the last song has to be Thriller. The video is 13 minutes long and people couldn't get enough of it. We waited for Thriller to come on. Even me. And the only other thing I waited on was Duran Duran videos. So, that should tell you something. It was like a mini-movie. If this doesn't indicate that Michael got the connection between video and music, nothing will.



The only two videos I picked were from the Thriller album. That doesn't mean that Michael Jackson's career ended there. In fact, one of my favorite songs of his is Man In The Mirror.

It made me really sad that Michael Jackson died so early in his life. It made me even sadder that he felt the need to change his appearance so dramatically. I like these videos, not just because it is Michael in his prime, but it is because Michael when he still looks like himself. Just because you have the money to lighten your skin and have all kinds of plastic surgery to make yourself look different, (in his case, more Caucasian) doesn't mean you should. If I could have given him one thing, it would have been simply loving what he saw in the mirror.

RIP Michael Jackson. You are one of a kind. There will never be another musician like you.


image found at www.weheartit.com

INSPIRATION STRUCK A DAY LATE

You know how some people are perpetually a day late and a dollar short. Well, I suppose that would be me today. I am not saying that I qualify as "perpetually" a day late and a dollar short. Just today. It would seem that many people have embraced Saturdays to post an inspirational song. Unfortunately, I already had my Saturday post half written in my head, and was already committed to it, so I felt the need to go with it.


However, I can always get down with a reason to cruise youtube for music. Or for any footage actually. I am a youtube junkie. If I didn't know it already, I would never try heroin or crack, because it turns out that I have a highly addictive personality. Or meth. No meth for me. Thanks anyway. I learned in 7th grade health class that you can't really get off these drugs once you start, so there is no point in starting. People can rationalize that they are the exception, but that is a big fat lie. Or cocaine. I forgot the cocaine. None of that either. All it gets you is to spend your money on the drugs until you run out. Then you steal, lie, and do even worse stuff, until someone throws your stupid self into rehab, (if you live that long) and then the really awful part starts because you go through the withdrawal period. So, I made the decision at twelve that "No," to all of that stuff was the right choice for me. Turns out that was pretty smart because once I do decide on something, I am freakishly committed to it. We have rolled back around to the aforementioned youtube. If youtube were actually crack in disguise, I would be a goner.


I forgot what we were talking about. Inspirational songs. Right. Anyway, since I missed that for yesterday, I will not use their cute little logo and just do my own variation. Besides, I am not really a follower. Have you noticed that? I am an Aries. Aries is the Ram. It is the 1st sign on the zodiac. It is the leader. Let me give you an idea of the personality of the Aries. Let's say there are a group of people (me included) that get stranded in the desert. Maybe we are in a small plane and it goes down. Pilot is dead and we have no clue where we are. Lots of arguing about what to do. After two days and no one comes to find us. We all think that surely we will be missed and they must track us because of that box thing all planes have; it begins to dawn that our plane didn't have the black box or it somehow malfunctioned when we crashed. Our supplies are low and everyone has an idea about what we should do. I would be the person who stands up and says, "Everyone shut the fuck up. (I apologize for the potty mouth. But I would probably use the "f" word after two days stranded in the desert.) I don't give a rat's ass what you do. I am going to take a bottle of water and my provisions for the day and start walking. I am picking a direction and I am going. If I am going to die out here, so be it. But I am going to die trying to get somewhere, rather than die sitting here listening to you argue." That is pretty much how Aries rolls. I never said I was nice. In a crisis, I can be a mean little biotch. I'm a lot like Jack on the show LOST. Pretty much think I know everything and, once everyone decides that I am the leader, well I will die for the group when push comes to shove.

How do I keep getting away from my goal? Inspirational songs. This first one is a song that I often will sing in a karaoke bar. Particularly if I am in a karaoke bar I have never been in before. I once landed in a bar outside Nashville, where there are a lot of really good singers. A lot of rising star wannabes. It was probably the most nervous I have ever been singing karaoke. I chose this song because I know it backward, forward, and upside down. I have been singing it into a hairbrush since I was in elementary school. My parents had an extensive record collection. This song was my favorite (Don't forget to cut off my music player at the bottom of the screen):



You might be wondering how that karaoke experience went in that bar outside of Nashville. Pretty good actually. This guy I was seeing, who I later lived to regret dating, but that is another story altogether, was standing at the bar talking to his ex-girlfriend. Yeah, you read that right. Anyway, she is this really good singer. I know this because he talked about it ad nauseum. The more I type, the more I want to kick him in the nuts. Alas, he is safe because he lives far away. Anyway, he tells me that as soon as I started singing, she said something like. "Finally, someone who can sing in here tonight." She lived to regret those words when she craned her head around the bar and saw it was me. So, I guess I was pretty good.

On a totally different note, I grew up in one of the coolest eras ever. The 80s. I saw the launch of MTV. Matter of fact, I can't tell you how many hours I sat and watched MTV. It was addictive. I think we've been here before. The thing was you got a new "snack" every 3-4 minutes. So, if you didn't like the previous song, well it was only a few minutes of suffering before you got something else. Because it was new and different, the bands and singers went out of their way to come up with interesting videos. Every now and then you just got the band playing a song live in concert, but the bands saw the opportunity to break out, and really use this medium to stretch, and make a name for themselves. This is one band that did a FANTASTIC job with the song and the video and then nothing. I go on record for saying it is one of the best.videos.ever.



Okay, well that definitely wasn't in the spirit of the Inspirational Saturday Songs that I read yesterday, but it was a typically random Robin post with some (hopefully) interesting stuff thrown in. Happy Sunday everyone!