Archives for August 2009

When Melanie and I were in Charlotte a few weeks ago, we somehow started talking about power ballads. Not ballads like kids listen to today where some four-note-range somebody sings the same two words over and over for sixteen measures – POWER BALLADS. Songs that physically hurt you when you tried to sing them while you were driving around in your parents’ 1988 Buick Skylark. Songs that contained notes beyond the range of most mortals, unless of course a pre-Bobby B. Whitney was the one doing the singing. Songs that were made all the better by the presence of Sheena Easton and/or Marilyn Martin. Come on.

Most of my favorite power ballads are duets, but as Melanie reminded me that day in Charlotte, there are some very fine power ballads by solo artists (yes, we mean you, Kenny Loggins). And while I’d like to think that there are singers in the current musical climate who could hang with the big voices of the 80s and 90s, I feel like they’re missing a certain earnest innocence that’s helpful when belting lyrics like “it’s a paradox / full of contradiction / how I got from there to here / it defies all logical explanation.”

Oh, Peter Cetera-era Chicago. You never disappointed. Not even one time.

So over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been thinking a good bit about my favorite power ballads. After all, we’re talking about our musical legacy, people – a heritage for our children and our children’s children. We need to remember and document these things so that people will be able to identify a power ballad written and arranged by the incomparable David Foster for generations to come, amen.

Here are my 10 favorites.

1) “Search Is Over” – Survivor – DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED about being 14 years old and Identifying Deeply with the lyrics to this song. Because even though I’d never been in love in my life, this song captured all the angst and drama that I hoped with all my heart would eventually be within my romantic reach. Good times.

2) “Something To Believe In” – Poison – I wasn’t typically a fan of the hair bands, but this song – OH, THIS SONG. It hit at just the right moment in my pseudo-intellectual phase. And on the off chance that you’re doubting my use of the word “pseudo,” then let me just remind you that it’s an entirely appropriate adjective because I was in fact a person WHO THOUGHT POISON LYRICS WERE VERY MEANINGFUL. I rest my case.

3) “To Be With You” – Mr. Big – At this point I was older and much more sophisticated. And this song was the second exception to my No Hair Bands rule. Granted, it’s a little more up-tempo, but that’s how I fancied myself at that stage in my life: very enthusiastic and with it and now. Delusion is a powerful thing.

4) “Separate Lives” – Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin – I think my affection for this song is best summed up in the following excerpt: “Oooh, it’s so typical / love leads to isolation / so you build that wall / yes, you build that wall / and you make it stronger / -er -er -er.” Thank you. Thank you so much.

5) “Forever” – Kenny Loggins – I’d forgotten about this song until Melanie reminded me of it. And may I just say? Ever since that Saturday afternoon when she reminded me? My life has been all the richer.

6) “Hard To Say I’m Sorry” – Chicago – I listened to the whole “America’s Top 40” with Casey Kasem on my GPX stereo system so that I could record this song on my cassette player whenever Casey played it on the countdown. After I listened to my recording about 92 times, I asked my mama to drive me to the record store so that I could buy the album. She did and I did. It was a defining musical moment.

7) “Can’t Fight This Feeling” – REO Speedwagon – Okay. So. The stuff that I wrote about the first song on my list? DITTO.

8) “Run To You” – Whitney Houston – If my 22 year-old self could’ve written a power ballad, this song would’ve been the end result. I loved this song so much that I wanted to sing it in a pageant. Preferably Miss Mississippi. But that never happened because 1) I’m not a very strong singer and 2) there is no pile of cash money big enough to get me to walk across a stage in a swimsuit.

9) “And When She Danced (Love Theme From Stealing Home)” – David Foster & Marilyn Martin – Listen. This song holds precious memories for me. David and I used to sing it all the time when we were just friends and would entertain ourselves by driving to neighboring towns and then driving back home again. And then – AND THEN – when we were in North Carolina last fall, we sang it all over again with our friends Travis and Angela while we rode down the highway in a minivan. It was like the completion of a 20-year musical circle. With the lovely Ms. Marilyn Martin as our guide.

10) “All By Myself” – Celine Dion – Let me tell you something: if someone googles “power ballad,” Celine’s picture and a recording of this song should be top result. It’s PERFECTION – and my favorite part is that in order to sing along, I have to HOLLER. Which makes my version of this song sound sort of like the horn on an 18-wheeler. It’s quite charming, really.

Okay. Those are mine. What are some of yours?

Dear Internets,

It struck me this morning that I haven’t been a very strong blogger lately. My mama was visiting this last week AND I had a few meetings (if you’ve been reading here awhile, you’ll remember that, in addition to blogging, I also do some work for top-secret government agencies in the area of weaponry design and production, but clearly I cannot discuss such classified information here) AND I’ve been trying to mentally prepare myself for the fall television season. The Bravo line-up alone is going to require some pre-season training and, I feel, quite a few scrimmages.

And I don’t know if y’all are aware of this, but SEC football starts in three weeks.

I may need a moment to compose myself.

This week definitely had some fun moments, including a trip to the picture show this past Thursday night to see “Julie & Julia” with some friends. I thought it was just delightful. I read the book about four years ago, and I liked it a lot, but I loved the movie. Meryl Streep is stinkin’ great in it. Plus, it stands to reason that if you make a major motion picture about food and blogging, odds are that I will be interested.

By the way, I still can’t quit thinking about this bruschetta-type dish that Julie makes towards the beginning of the movie. Does anybody have a recipe for such a thing? The food in the movie looked FANTASTIC; I left the theatre with an incredible craving for beef burgundy (I would use the French terminology here if I had the foggiest idea how to spell it – oh, wait – it’s boeuf bourguignon – my WORD the Google is handy) and cannot wait to make it sometime this fall. Perhaps to accompany the aforementioned fall television / SEC football extravaganza.

Finally.

I thought I had two more giveaways before I take a little self-imposed giveaway hiatus, but I was wrong. I have four giveaways scheduled – all music-related (Christy Nockels, Selah, some Glory Revealed II concert tickets and one more giveaway from one of my very favorite singer/songwriters in the whole world, but we’re still working on the details). So stay tuned. Unless you don’t care for music. In which case I probably have absolutely nothing to offer you except for a bowl of Cheeze-Its and some leftover green beans.

(OH MY WORD. That reminds me. I made the best thing for supper Wednesday night, and I sorta/kinda made it up. I mean, others have probably thought of it before, but I am unaware of their efforts, so I choose to believe that for one whole time in my life I may have done something that was at least partially original. I will share it with you next week and DADGUMMIT I should have taken pictures, WHY DON’T I EVER TAKE PICTURES?)

So that is all. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. I’m going to mow the backyard now. It is by necessity and not by choice. I would appreciate your prayers.

Love,
Me

1. In the midst of this past weekend’s technical difficulties, I completely forgot to close comments on the “Love Story” CD giveaway and draw for winners. So I just closed comments a few minutes ago, and I’ll draw for winners tomorrow. I’d draw for winners tonight but quite frankly it’s just too late for my mind to deal with all those numbers.

2. After I put supper in the oven tonight I sat down to catch up on a few blogs. This post was the first one I read, and the honesty in it just blew me away.

3. This morning I was flipping back through my journal (the one where I write on real-live paper with a real-live pen, just like in THE DAYS OF YORE), and I saw this verse from Proverbs 19 at the bottom of one of the pages: “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” Haven’t stopped thinking about that all day. Mighty fine dose of perspective.

4. Are any of y’all watching “Design Star” on HGTV? Who’s your favorite? I really like Torie and Dan. And also: I’m dying to know what kind of hairspray Torie uses because she achieves some SERIOUS hold.

5. This post by Missy is absolutely beautiful.

6. I am currently in the process of trying to solidify my hair goals for the fall. Have y’all seen any cute haircuts lately? Anything sassy and fun? Please feel oh-so-free to share.