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Pop Rock Nation

Tag: Mikey Hersh

  • Out There!- “Edge Of A Broken Heart” by Bon Jovi

    Bon Jovi had five Top 40 hits in 1986 and 1987.  Can you name them all?  Livin’ On A Prayer, You Give Love A Bad Name, Wanted Dead Of Alive, Never Say Goodbye and Edge Of A Broken Heart.  Of course!…. Wait a second.  What is Edge Of A Broken Heart?  Stumped you, huh?  Don’t worry, even the most die-hard Bon Jovi fans don’t even know what I’m talking about when I refer to this magnificent tune. I wish I was making this up.

    Edge Of A Broken Heart was Bon Jovi’s fifth Top 40 hit in the 1986/1987 period, peaking at #39 in 1987.  It was never issued on Bon Jovi’s classic album Slippery When Wet.  So how did it become a hit song?   It was surprisingly featured in the camp classic movie Disorderlies starring the Fat Boys.  Which reminds me, why aren’t the Fat Boys given more credit for their influence on hip hop music.  Oh yeah, that’s right, because they sucked!

    The Disorderlies soundtrack has been out of print since 1995, and the song was tough to get my hands on until a fun little internet program called Napster.  I don’t think you’ll find any music outlets carrying a copy of this soundtrack, although the  album did feature songs by other noted artists like the Fat Boys, Gwen Guthrie, Bananarama, and Art Of Noise.  This album could be a nice little find in a local record shop.  Edge Of A Broken Heart was eventually was released in 2004 on Bon Jovi’s box set of B-sides, demos, and rarities, 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong.

    I personally think it’s one of Bon Jovi’s best songs.  Don’t mistake this song as a predecessor to Vixen’s hit song of the same name.  Edge Of A Broken Heart has a great hook. and features the typical 80’s pop/rock sound.  David Bryan’s keyboard work is outstanding on the track, and it makes me yearn for the days when Bon Jovi rocked.  The country shit they have recently put out really bothers me.  Enjoy!

    “On the edge of a broken heart, whoa yeah!”

  • MisenPOPic-The Resurgence of Hair Metal; Am I happy or still upset?

    At the 1991 American Music Awards, the nominees for best hard rock band were Alice In Chains, Nirvana, and Firehouse. And the winner was… Firehouse. This would be us hair metal fans’ last triumph until sixteen years later when we realized that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Because bands like Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains were soon building steam by bringing a new flavor to hard rock, while the beloved glam-metal bands were slowly but surely becoming extinct. Dial MTV which featured all these terrific bands went bye-bye so more exposure could be given to the up and coming grunge scene in th early 90’s. No more fist in the air, bang your head, make love to the nearest stripper music on the radio or the Billboard charts. We were supposed to think more when we listened to hard rock, wear flannel shirts to make us appear that we just didn’t give a shit and it should be about the music and not the appearance, and sing along to songs about how life sucked and how we needed to stand up to our government. I didn’t care about kids named Jeremy who wanted to kill their classmates because they didn’t fit in, I cared about Suzy and her all day sucker! I cared about nothing but a good time! I didn’t want to think when I listened to hard rock, I wanted to bang my head because metal health drove me mad!

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  • Out There!- “Swept Away” by Christopher Cross

    Christopher Cross was on top of the musical spectrum in 1980 upon the release of his self-titled debut album which produced four Top 20 Singles (Ride Like The Wind, Sailing, Never Be The Same, and Say You’ll Be Mine). For my fellow trivia buffs out there, did you know there is only one person to ever in the sixty something year history of the Grammys to win the Grand Slam for Best New Artist, Song Of The Year, Album of the Year and Record Of The Year? Yep, it’s our boy Christopher Cross who won album of the year for his self-titled debut as well as Song and Record of The Year for his hit single “Sailing”. And it didn’t stop there as one year later in 1981, he also would claim an Academy Award and Golden Globe for his performance of Arthur’s Theme (It’s The Best That You Can Do) from the classic Dudley Moore move. “When you get caught between the moon and New York City!” Now you know what I’m talking about. Did you also know his name wasn’t really Christopher Cross? I was shocked upon researching for this column that his real name was Chris Geppert. Makes sense that he changed it. Anyway….

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