May 09, 2008
SEASONS CHANGE
A couple weeks ago, I got an e-mail from a friend at work.
Hi there-A friend of mine has 2 very good seats to the Bon Jovi with Daughtry show at the forum Sunday night, $140 each.
Very thoughtful. But I'm not really the Bon Jovi type. Especially, not to the tune of $140. The closest I got to being a fan was faking interest in "Livin' on a Prayer" at a club one time so I could get a girl to like me. It didn't work. My dignity never recovered.
One of my favorite lines ever, in fact, is a Bon Jovi-related joke by Denis Leary:
We live in a country, where John Lennon takes six bullets in the chest, Yoko Ono was standing right next to him and not one f##king bullet! Explain that to me! Explain that to me, God! Explain it to me, God! Now we've got 25 more years of 'I-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi'. Yeah, I'm real f##king happy now, God. I'm wearing a huge happy hat.I mean, how is it that Stevie Ray Vaughan is dead ... and we can't get Jon Bon Jovi into a helicopter? Come on, folks. 'Get on that helicopter John. Shut the f##k up and get on that helicopter! There's a hair dresser in there.'"
So, to recap: Jeff, Jovi, not a big fan. I wasn't about to buy concert tickets so Jon and Richie could buy more hair product.
Then I noticed the group my friend included me with on the e-mail. They're not exactly what I would call the most cutting-edge cluster on the planet. Nice people, sure, but several seem the type who are looking forward to getting the AARP magazine in the mail when they turn 50.
I shared this tidbit with Rommie:
I don't know whether to be honored that she thought of me, or insulted that I am in this group of people for this type of music.
His reply:
Easy mistake to make with your Jersey accent and all.Dude, you just got lumped in with some of the biggest squares in the company.
So, it was a little disconcerting when I got this e-mail today:
Expose'. On CBS. DVR.
Quite the combination.
Clearly, God is sending me a message. It's no burning bush or stone tablet, but there is a message: You are old. You had no musical taste for the better part of a decade. There is no appropriate pennance. This is your punishment.
In case you were wondering:
About Exposé: Exposé, the Arista Records freestyle pop-dance trio, ruled the '80s and '90s and was the Destiny's Child of the time. They generated highly combustible dance grooves and gut-wrenching ballads with vocal powerhouses Jeanette Jurado, Ann Curless and Gioia Bruno. Exposé, formed by record producer and songwriter Lewis A. Martineé, caught fire with their first album, released in 1986, titled Exposure. The album reeled off a string of major hits, including Billboard Top-Ten's 'Come Go With Me,' 'Point of No Return,' and 'Let Me Be the One' as well as the number one mega-hit ballad 'Seasons Change.' The album itself achieved multi-platinum status.
Okay, I don't remember anything past this point. I'm sure they had a lovely career, but the combination of White Russians and McDLT's that choked my body during the 1980s conspire to fog my brain.
I have no great love for the '80s. It can all go pretty much straight to hell as far as I'm concerned. The fact that that the decade is romanticized astounds me.
Is there anyone I'd pay to see from that era? Sure, but they'd have to be true iconoclasts, artists who truly left their mark.
Like these guys:
Posted by Jeff at May 9, 2008 05:36 AM | TrackBack