The year was 1987. I was in the 6th grade. A pimply geeky kid who was desperate to impress his friends but had no mack game.
Her name was Heather. She was sorta pimply and geeky too. And a little on the chunky side.
We were at the 6th grade dance. One slow jam had already passed (“You Got it All” by The Jets if I remember correctly), and I’d played the wall. I was determined to dance with someone.
Then it happened. Bon Jovi’s “Never Say Goodbye” came on. A power ballad to end all power ballads, this song served as my introduction to slow dancing. My friends practically pushed me into Heather, who asked “Wanna dance?” I shrugged and squeaked out a “Yeah, sure” and before you knew it, we were amongst the other couples in the school gym, moving back and forth to Bon Jovi singing about high school memories (which we were still a good three years away from) and a relationship that had lasted since then.
“Never Say Goodbye” SHOULD have been the fourth single from Bon Jovi’s behemoth “Slippery When Wet” album, but their label, Mercury, shrewdly withheld its’ release as a single, forcing the 3 teenage girls in America who hadn’t bought “Slippery” yet to buy it. I lived in Michigan at the time, but I came home to New York for Easter and for the summer, and I remember the radio playing the shit out of this and “Edge of a Broken Heart” (which was a song from the Fat Boys movie “Disorderlies”). It’s held up quite well over the years, and I’m sure holds a sentimental spot in the hearts of couples whose memories echo those that Jon sings about.
I wonder what happened to Heather, anyway. If she’s anything like most of my other girlfriends from junior high and high school, she’s probably a lesbian.
Honestly, Marshall? No, we don’t. Not anymore, anyway.
Mr. Mathers has been sliding down the slippery slope of suck ever since peaking with “The Marshall Mathers LP”, which celebrates its’ 9th birthday in a month or so. Not to say Eminem has lost his gift of gab-he’s just been at a loss for interesting subject matter. The more of a star he became, the less righteous rage he could muster up. This is why his last studio album, “Encore” (which is nearly five years old now), struggled to stay afloat. For every righteously indignant masterpiece like “Mosh”, there were twice as many pee and poo jokes-things that might have been appropriate for Em’s daughter Hailie, but not for the hip-hop fans who’d anointed Slim Shady one of the best emcees of all time.
Those of you that thought a few years off might recharge Eminem’s creative batteries? Sorry, y’all. “We Need You” finds Eminem right where we left him. His flow is still ridiculous, but who told him to keep rhyming in that idiotic Triumph the Insult Comic Dog voice? Who told him that people still care about Jessica Simpson? (surely, he must read Billboard). Just like the first singles from each of his past three LPs (I say that since we don’t know where “Crack a Bottle” will end up), Eminem has gone ultra-pop and has resorted to cheap jokes to grab a hit, and the sad thing is, he still has a ton of fans who will eat this shit up. It’s sad.
You can check out this piece of hot garbage here on MTV.com.
Hey folks. If you remember a couple of weeks back, my buddy Pat posted a piece about why he kinda sorta digs Nickelback (and I second that emotion). Now, he’s back, defending the indefensible once again. While everyone can get behind Boston’s smash debut and its’ hit single “More Than a Feeling”, it’s a bit more difficult to come out in support of the band’s third album, “Third Stage”. For those of you having trouble remembering the album, it’s the one with “Amanda” on it. Unfortunately (for Pat, I guess), I can’t get behind this one, since I remember “Amanda” as being perhaps one of the worst power ballads of the decade. Ah well, we’ll always have “More Than a Feeling”. And hey, different strokes for different folks, right?
Take it away Pat…
One of the joys of the music website Pandora is not only the ability to listen to your favorite types of music, but the chance to discover, or in my case rediscover, songs that you’re not as familiar with.
In case you’re not a Pandora fan, the process is simple: type in the name of a band or singer, and the site will pull music from that genre into your own little commercial-free radio station. While you’ll usually hear music you’re familiar with, there’s a good chance you’re going to discover something new and exciting for your listening pleasure.
Such was the case when I decided to build a station around the band Boston. Any classic rock aficionado most likely has Boston’s hugely recognizable debut album, appropriately titled “Boston”, in their music collection. If you’re a big fan of the band, you most likely have their extremely successful follow-up, “Don’t Look Back”, in there as well, but that could be where your Boston tunes end. It would be a shame, because as I’ve discovered, Boston’s third album, titled “Third Stage”, belongs in there as well.
It’s easy to think why “Third Stage” wouldn’t sound recognizable. “Third Stage” was released in 1986, a whopping 8 years after “Don’t Look Back” and 10 after “Boston”. Many reasons plagued the long delayed album: band member changes, lawsuits, and record label shifts. But at the time when other 70s rock bands such as Heart and Fleetwood Mac were finding new success in the pop-power ballad movement of the time, Boston sounds as if it never missed a beat from its mid-70s success. It’s no surprise to learn that Boston founder Tom Scholz worked for years through all the difficulty the band was experiencing to produce this album.
And what an album it is. Starting off with the immediate Boston classic “Amanda†and following with another Boston staple, “Get Ready,†the album shows a continual growth and confidence from its earlier work. “The Launch†and “Cool the Engines†fire off a journey of looking ahead, not worrying about the difficulties that have plagued your past. They show their tender side with “To Be a Man†and “Can’tcha Say (You Believe in Me)†before closing out with “Hollyann,†a song that bookends the album with the opener “Amanda.†As “Amanda†seems to be all about looking forward, “Hollyann†is a quiet reflection of one’s past with that special someone.
It wasn’t until listening to “Third Stage” that I really felt sadness about lead singer Brad Delp’s suicide. While a success, this album didn’t achieve near the popularity of the band’s previous two. Regardless, even though it’s 23 years later, it is worth a listen.
