In 1982 I was 14 years old. I wanted to grow my hair long but my parents wouldn't let me. I listened to music constantly. I love bands like Rush, Van Halen, KISS, Motley Crue, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. It was all hard rock and heavy metal. It was before all those hair bands started to appear silly (or perhaps it was because I was 14).I was appalled when I heard that Eddie Van Halen, the greatest guitarist in the history of guitarists performed on the song Beat It on the new Michael Jackson album Thriller. I couldn't not hear it. It was on MTV nonstop and on every radio station. Usually when a song gets overplayed I get sick of it really fast. Not this time. I grew to love it. I had it on tape. I listened to it over and over. I sang it, I danced to it (and metal heads never danced to anything), but all in the secrecy of my room. I can still hear it in my head.
It Doesn't Matter Who's Wrong Or Right Just Beat It, Beat It, Beat It, Beat It. . .
I've been harboring that little secret for 27 years. If my metal friends back then knew I liked that song I would have been ridiculed. I'd have been forced to hand in my leather studded wristbands. So I kept it a secret. And yesterday Michael Jackson died. Say what you want about him, but the man could write and perform a song. Many openly loved him and his music, many others did so in secrecy. It's time I got that off my chest.
Anyone else have a song or album you secretly loved?
3 comments:
Most of the time, I'm too dorky to be embarrassed by my choices! I have an Air Supply song (just one! really!) called "Chances" on my iPod, and the thought of it does make me cringe a little - it looks out of place next to Def Leppard OR Joni Mitchell! I should probably really hang my head in shame over owning several CDs by The Backstreet Boys - hey, cute guys who could sing, so sue me! Sometimes I fall for a bad song, but then my brain gets the better of me after I've heard it 3,000 times: "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter comes to mind. My brother still makes fun of me for liking Michael McDonald-era Doobie Brothers. I feel sad about Michael Jackson. He was a pop genius and on top of the world during my senior year of high school - it's a shame he had to take such a long, hard fall. While not a huge fan, I was really rooting for him to make a comeback. Does DPPL have any MJ in its collections?
We have a number of his CDs, listed below:
Thriller 25: the world's biggest selling album of all time - 25th anniversary deluxe edition
The essential Michael Jackson,
The ultimate collection,
Off the wall,
Invincible.
The song Achy Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus (that's Miley's dad for you younger folks) is one of my secret favorites. I'm not much of a country fan, but that song just appeals to me for some reason. Another favorite country song is Goodbye Earl by the Dixie Chicks. I can actually sing all the words to that one thanks to my sister Laura, who made me watch the music video of that number and got me hooked on the Dixie Chicks.
Post a Comment
Please leave your comments and suggestions here. Thanks!
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.