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Having said that, I realize I have some new
When I was in junior high, I was Ann Wilson and my friend Laurie was Nancy of the superbly awesome band Heart. We chose each sister because we had long brown hair and long blond hair, respectively. Naturally, we both got perms to completely pull off the look, and Laurie played a mean air guitar. To me, these 2 sisters were the definition of cool. Ann with her amazing vocal range and Nancy with her daft guitar playing skills. Nancy wasn't just a chick who could play guitar, she was actually a great guitar player. Little Queen, Dreamboat Annie and Dog & Butterfly were, to me, three incredibly amazing albums. Granted, they put out a sizable amount of really crappy music after that, but much can be forgiven when you have that kind of legacy. (Call we all say "Aerosmith" together?) I also got the sense that Ann and Nancy were true and faithful to their art. It was the work that mattered, not the fame or the money. What was "Barracuda" all about anyway? It's been many years since Heart's heyday, but great music remains great. From time to time, I still dress up in my saucy wench outfit, put on my "Little Queen" CD and get my angry diva on. That is, until I saw this:
Not only did they sell out to THE MAN, but they allowed my beloved "Barracuda" to be used in an effort to convince soccer moms that driving a minivan was cool. Bono himself could drive one -- cool, they are not!
In closing, I would like to add a personal message to Ann and Nancy Wilson (because I'm pretty sure they read my blog):
"Sell me, sell you the porpoise said,
Dive down deep to save my own head
You...I think you got the blues too."
INDEED! (This is me, slowly shaking my head in disappointment.)
12 comments:
That is exactly how I feel when I hear Rhaphsody in Blue played for an airline commercial. Dang that George Geschwin!
Not Bob
YOU ARE SO DAMN FUNNY. And I am glad to know someone shares my pop culture. My friend Liz and I were Ann and Nancy too---my mom wouldn't let me get a perm though, but Liz had the perfect hair.
I have only to hear "Dog & Butterfly" to summon up the exact feelings of that age.....
There is obviously a generational gap here, because despite the hilarious post, I have no idea who Ann and Nancy are. Nary a clue. Now if you want to talk Sonny and Cher.....I got you babe.
Heart was the kind of group my mom would not have let me listen to if I'd wanted to. Of course, I'm a teeny bit younger than you, so I was more into Tears for Fears and Depeche Mode. ;)
It's okay -- they've sold out too.
Wow, what an incredible post. And since you'll be spending less time with us, I'll have to go back to the beginning and start reading all you previous posts (just like delving into a good novel).
I used to ♥ Heart too, and Fleetwood Mac, and Jackson Browne (before he brought all his political activism into his music). Good times.
Hey! You have to come over to Rose Cottage today 'cause I know you like Audrey Hepburn. Tell me what you think. ;-D
First of all, I'm not entirely convinced they "sold out." There's a whole bit about legality and who owns the rights to the recordings which should be factored in before making that claim.
At that time, I'm pretty sure the rights belonged to the record company and not Heart. Having said that, if they did allow the song to be used for a commercial, it's not quite in contrast to the concept of the song itself as you imply.
Barracuda was inspired by some jerk who made a rather inappropriate comment regarding Ann and Nancy's relationship, implying they were more than sisters...that they were lovers. Which of course is not true. Ann was so furious over the incident she went back to the hotel and fired off the lyrics to Barracuda. History was made.
The line to which you refer, "sell me, sell you..." was basically talking about Mushroom records using that rumor campaign and a picture of bare shouldered Ann and Nancy with a caption that read, "It was only our first time," which really was a quote referring to the Dreamboat Annie album going platinum or something like that and not that it was the first time they had sex as the add implied.
Finally, if they did allow the song to be used, it's not the worst way Heart has ever sold out. "All I WANT TO DO IS MAKE LOVE TO YOU" is the biggest way Heart sold out. That's the cheasiest song ever and it was beneath them. But how can you listen to any song on the Dog and Butterfly album or the Jupiter's Darling album and NOT forgive them for that...or allowing Barracuda to be used to sell minivans. They're both Moms now, by the way. Maybe they were doing the Mom thing.
Either way, if you're given up on Heart because of that, you should revisit that. They toured last year with Journey and Cheap Trick and the reviews were awesome. Ann Wilson still blows everyone away with her voice and Nancy is just as energetic and limber as she ever was.
Take Heart,
Ms. Tralwind
I was going to comment defending Heart selling out. After reading Andrea's comment before mine, I'm rendered mute. Anyone heard of Heart? Yes, Andrea Gonzales FTW!
WV: reving.
What I do when I get to the stop light aside a little old lady. It's on!!!
@Andrea,
Bravo!
I love Heart. Admittedly, I'm not the biggest fan, knowing only a few of their songs well. But I grew up listening to them in my dad's blue Chevy pickup. Those were some great times and Heart was definitely considered rock and roll gold.
Your post was hilarious. I love all the crossed out, side comment words.
wv: actio
What you say to your Mexican uncle when he tries to kiss you: "Actio, leave me alone."
Ahhhh...Heart. I was too young to fully appreciate them....but my daughter does a mean Barracuda on Guitar Hero. It's her favorite song on it. She's 4. And she can play guitar hero better than I can. So I think there's a bright future in kick butt girl rockers out there.
P.S. It's taking me forever to catch up on blogs...I'm overwhelmed!! I want to comment on everything but just can't! On to the next person!
Yeah, I dunno. Saw them in concert last spring and I just gotta say, they still rock. Really hard. They make me look old, they rock so hard. I just want to be walking without a walker when I'm their age, you know?
I'm probably going to have to keep idolizing them for a while longer. At least it wasn't a lame commercial about bass fishing or Viagra or something.
Smile like the sun. Kisses for everyone. And tales, it never fails!
Please see today's post everyone! I'm not really a Heart hater!
Candy - I remember watching the Sonny and Cher show. Do you remember the Glenn Campbell show? I always asked my mom to put my hair in pigtails so I could be a "Glen Campbell Girl" -- good times.
YAY! Beth is back! BTW - if you try to catch up with everyone, you'll never get through it all. I think I'm gonna write a post for you detailing all the best comments from various blogs. Cuz that's really what it's all about anyway, huh?
Jamie - truth be told, you always kinda reminded me of Audrey anyway!
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