"This guy Justin Bieber? He stole my haircut! And that Axl Rose, he stole my dance!Plus, I’m the guy that made David Bowie change his name."
Davy Jones
A few weeks ago I had planned to write about the passing of Davy Jones. Of course, Rush Limbaugh had to ruin it for us all that week and instead I wrote this. My anger has not really subsided but I feel like I need to dial it down for a few minutes and talk about first crushes.
I was seven years old in 1986. That’s the year that MTV and Nickelodeon both began to rerun The Monkees. My brother wore a red and white Monkees t-shirt and we could actually agree on a television show that didn’t involve an animated character. Scott is 6 years older than me so you can understand why finding something we both could enjoy would be problematic. I remember hearing “Daydream Believer” and “Last Train to Clarksville” for the first time. I remember Davy being pushed around in a bathtub. I loved Mike Nesmith’s hat and thought Mickey Dolenz looked a bit like my Uncle Tom. My first school crush looked more like Peter Tork (and his name was Peter!) than I care to admit. But none of them could hold a candle to Davy.
Davy Jones was it for me. He was my first real deal crush. To this day, I can’t decide if it was because he was nice and cute or cute and nice (because the order is important) or if it was the voice plus being cute and nice or nice and cute. And British. Even at seven, I understood the power of a British accent.
He was also funny (all The Monkees were funny) and you know I love funny. I don’t think I realized that he was really my parents’ age (actually a few years older) and not a teenager. For me, it was like the show was brand-new and they were all still teenagers doing zany things and I knew all the words to their songs (still do).
My Davy Jones crush would morph into a David Cassidy crush since Nickelodeon also aired The Partridge Family around the same time. Seriously, if a guy wanted me to marry him all he’d have to do is sing “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You” followed by “I Woke Up In Love This Morning” and I’d say yes. He should also be employed, not a felon, and funny but the songs are the important part.
These crushes would fade into crushes on the Coreys, Josh Brolin, Sean Astin, and Fred Savage but ultimately, my crushes tend to be on musicians. There are notable exceptions to this but Davy Jones started me on my lifelong love of musicians. From Davy and David, I moved onto the boy bands of the late 80s/early 90s (NKOTB was my first concert) to metal/rock bands (my second concert was Def Leppard) to emo boys in the 2000s and now I have enormous crushes on Colin Meloy from The Decemberists, the Black Keys, John Paul White from The Civil Wars, and Jack Lawrence of The Greenhornes, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather. My crushes are rockers but also slightly nerdy which is genius. Along the way, I also took a detour into glam and punk rock and will always be devoted to Bowie, Iggy, and Lou.
What does a first crush say about you? Is it weird that Davy Jones was not only a first crush for girls in 1967 but also 1986? I remember watching the movie The Brady Bunch and loving the fact that Davy Jones came to the dance. I was genuinely upset when I heard he died. Celebrity deaths don't usually make me emotional but this one did. I went home and got out the Best of The Monkees and listened to it for a week pretty much non-stop. I got the new issue of Rolling Stone today and there's a nice little article all about him. If I were 7 or 10 or 13, I'd probably cut out the pictures and tape them to my bedroom wall. But I'm not 7 or 10 or 13 so instead, I'll listen to "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" for the 400th time and think about a time when MTV played videos and another generation of kids were listening to The Monkees for the first time.
I travel a lot for my job. This has been a constant for me for the last 7 years between being an admissions counselor and a trainer. Work travel is not as glamorous as movies would have you believe. Contrary to the movies, work travel tends to be a lot of crap flights, chain restaurants, and boxy rental cars. While I can count trips to Hong Kong , Rwanda, the UK, and Switzerland among my work travel, I have also spent an inordinate amount of time in Omaha, NE, Houston, TX (sorry NE and TX friends), Iowa, and every conceivable airport in between. The dawn of Yelp has at least made restaurant selection a little better but seriously, if posting Yelp reviews is your hobby maybe consider taking up Civil War reenactment instead. And sometimes, a Chili’s hamburger is exactly what you need.
If you saw Up In the Air, the whole mileage thing is so true. If I traveled as much as George Clooney’s character, I’d want that card too (and to meet Sam Elliot because he's pretty badass). I remember the day that I got my elite status cards for US Air and Delta. It was even better than getting my driver’s license. I might not need a first class upgrade between Phoenix and Oakland but I’ll take one.
About 3 years ago there was a time when I spent more time in airports than I did in my apartment. I call this period the “cranky Erin” years. When you constantly spend time flying between coasts (which included a lot of time LAX), crankiness is pretty much all you can muster. If heaven smells like an airport, as the wonderful Neko Case tells us, then I’m totally fine with going to hell if the airport is LAX.
Back in September I posted a link on my FB page to a Hello Giggles post about traveling alone. The article is specifically about why women should travel alone but one of my guy friends randomly told me that he had read my post before he went on his “Odyssey” trip (my description, not his) a few months before we had this conversation. I was impressed that he had read the article and that as he traveled the Western US by himself, he thought of it. While he didn’t find my jokes about the Tom Cochrane song “Life is a Highway” amusing, at least he understood the spirit of solo travel and the importance of it as part of your life.
I think about this a lot when I’m at airports. How often do people travel because we want to not because we have to? My friend was definitely traveling because he wanted to not because he had to. This past week, I traveled from Oakland to L.A. and back and from San Francisco to DC (I’ll be back on the Island on Saturday). Both of these trips are for work and while I enjoyed myself in L.A. and I know I will enjoy myself in DC, I would not have chosen to go on either trip.
Think about it: when you go to the airport have you ever checked into your flight, walked to your gate, and decided you’d rather go to Paris than Des Moines and changed your flight? Probably not but wouldn’t it be great if you did? This is a fantasy that I entertain every time I go to the airport. What if I didn’t go to Houston today? Or Orange County? What if I took the next flight to Berlin or Paris or San Diego or Savannah? Would the world end?
The answer is no. I might get fired but ultimately the world would not end. I used to travel with my passport because I thought one day I’d be brave enough to throw caution to the wind, ditch my ticket to Chicago, and end up in Paris the next day. I have never been this brave but I hope that one day I will be. Or maybe I’ll just hop the next flight to Sioux Falls, South Dakota because I’ve never been there but wouldn’t it be awesome to just go? It doesn’t matter where you go; it matters that you went.
So Island readers, have any of you ever jumped on a plane or in your car and just gone somewhere? No planning, no thought, just adventure? Was it the best experience ever or a complete disaster?
It’s Women’s History Month! I hope that you’re celebrating accordingly—reading up on women who have changed history, taking the time to realize all the awesome women you have in your life, not using inappropriate language when describing women (even if you don’t know them or don’t agree with them).
I was at a birthday party on Friday and we got to talking about pop culture, specifically music and movies from the late 80s-mid 90s (ages 7-16 for me and the majority of the group). It turned into a discussion of the things we loved, the shows we remembered and how dorky we all were (or really, still are). I imagine that this is my generation’s version of The Big Chill or one of those emails that periodically goes around (“Remember when we collected Garbage Pail Kids and wore jellies? Remember Crystal Pepsi and New Coke?”—you know you’ve read them and laughed). The other image I had was of those I Love the 80s shows on VH1 (usually Michael Ian Black is one of the guests). One day there will be a series of I Love the 2000s shows. The same people who hate everything now will wax nostalgic about hipsters, moustaches (is it 1976?) and their love of all things Real Housewife. Being on tv sometimes makes you say things you don’t really mean.
One of the people we talked about was Molly Ringwald. One of the guys said that he was in love with Molly Ringwald and I (of course) had to share that I wanted to be Molly Ringwald for the majority of my life. I wonder how many other women out there have been attempting to be Molly Ringwald their whole lives (I even dyed my hair red for awhile and had a cat named Molly—neither of these things made much of a difference).
I no longer want to be Molly Ringwald. I've come to this realization over the years. I also realized that I don't necessarily want to be Molly Ringwald; I want to be Samantha Baker. I idolize fictional characters just as much as I idolize real women like Hallie Flanagan and Gloria Steinem (and for some of the exact same reasons). So in honor of Women’s History Month, here are my top 5 80s Movie Heroines:
5. Corey Flood, Say Anything (1989): Corey wrote 65 songs about Joe and sang them all at the party. ("Joe lies. Joe li-eyes. Joe lies when he cries. When he cries.") She had a lot of feelings and song is her way of expressing them. Do I think Corey and Joe are a disaster wrapped inside a catastrophe? Yes, and I’m sure if we met Corey today she would agree. She’s got a huge heart and wants Lloyd to be different from all the guys out there. Every guy should have a friend like Corey; she will instantly make you feel like a genius when it comes to women (even if you are being an idiot) and every girl has a bit of Corey (even if you don’t write 65 songs about a guy). I’ve been Corey for several of my guy friends over the years. Hopefully, they were better boyfriends/husbands because of my advice. I apologize if they did anything stupid though; my intentions were good!
Best Corey quotes:
“Brains stick with brains. The bomb could go off and their mutant genes would form the same cliques.”
“The world is full of guys. Be a man. Don't be a guy.”
4. The cast of Satisfaction (1988): There are so many things to love about this movie—wondering what Liam Neeson was thinking when he signed on to do this, the dog, Scott Coffey—but of course, the ladies rock it. Let’s ignore the fact that they butcher of some of the greatest songs in rock history and just focus on their collective awesomeness.
Satisfaction is about a girl band from “the city” that goes to “the coast” to play at a club and possibly go on tour in Europe. Totally plausible! You’ve got Jennie Lee (played by Justine Bateman, stepping out of her annoying role on Family Ties) as the lead singer, who falls for Liam Neeson and almost destroys the band (and has some of the most awkward scenes ever) but of course keeps them all together in the end; Mooch (Trini Alvarado) the tough girl who not only falls in love with Scott Coffey but also illustrates that dresses are okay to wear if you make them your own; Billy (Britta Phillips) provides us with our drug story line because it’s the 1980s and Nancy Reagan made this a requirement; and finally Daryle (really?) played by none other than Julia Roberts. This would be one of many roles for Julia in 80s chick flicks and she played a variation of the same role in each movie (the beautiful girl who wanted to be more than her poor upbringing and it usually involved a rich guy). From these ladies my desire to be in a rock band was magnified times 100 because they made it look so easy. All you needed was a spirit, slightly average musical ability, and the ability to not be embarrassed when you make a great song like “Satisfaction” sound somehow weak and not as cool. Add a rad 80s wardrobe and you will be a star!
Best quotes:
Billy to the dog: " Wanna know what it's like to be me dog? No? Well, I'm gonna tell you anyway. Being me is like... being me is like... ah geez I forget."
Daryle: "Okay. We're going in there now, and anybody who doesn't act elegant is a douchebag"
3. Samantha Baker, Sixteen Candles (1984): As much as I wanted to be Molly Ringwald when I was younger, the actions of her later characters (Andie in Pretty in Pink and Claire in The Breakfast Club) actually take her out of the top spot for favorite heroine. Hands down, Samantha Baker is my favorite of all of her roles because it’s the one I identified with the most. She was dorky (but not a geek—that was Farmer Ted) and she wore her heart on her sleeve (a manager of mine actually used this phrase in one of my performance reviews). I have two favorite scenes in this movie: the heart to heart in the auto shop (where she agrees to give her panties to a geek—we talked this on Friday too) and the perfect guy and his car scene at the church. I like that Samantha doesn’t believe that Jake Ryan is actually there to see her and who doesn’t get a little weepy when they hear “If You Were Here?” Samantha Baker was funny, self-conscious and nice. She also helped to perpetuate the myth that older guys go for younger girls in high school. This is usually only true if you are a cheerleader.
Best Sam quotes:
“Donger's here for five hours, and he's got somebody. I live here my whole life, and I'm like a disease.”
“I loathe the bus. There has to be a more dignified mode of transportation.”
2.Allison Reynolds, The Breakfast Club (1985): I almost put Allison as number one but I’ve always been a bit conflicted about the end of the movie. I’ve never really understood why Allison feels the need to go along with Claire's makeover and try to be the Claire version of herself. That she stays a bit defensive about her transformation makes it a bit easier to handle. Allison has always been my favorite character in this movie and it’s mostly because she was herself from the moment she walked into detention (until Claire got a hold of her). She was quirky, a little damaged, and pretty funny. I wanted so badly for her to take the makeover back and she sort of does when she steals the letter off of Andrew’s jacket. It was like she was saying, “I might be “pretty” now but I’m still a badass.” Her best quote of the movie sums up it up pretty well: “When you grow up, your heart dies.”
1. Kat Arujo, Mystic Pizza (1988): I love, love, love Annabeth Gish. (Have you seen Shag? She and Scott Coffey are so wonderful in this movie.) I even suggested she be in my Lifetime holiday movie if it ever gets made. Kat was pretty, funny, smart, dependable, responsible and awesome. Minus the affair with a married man, I’d say that I’m pretty much Kat (or at least I've always felt like the Kat of my friends). She basically proves that my 9th grade English teacher was totally wrong. Oh and she also goes to Yale, rides around town on a scooter, makes the silly bridesmaid dress look cute and is able to entertain a 5 year old (or maybe 4 year old) without pandering. Good stuff.
I could do productive things today like vacuum but instead I’ll be spending the day with Kat, Samantha, Corey and Allison. I don’t have Satisfaction or that would be on the list too. Instead, I’ll substitute Shag because it’s amazing. And yes, I’m watching at least two of these movies on VHS—don’t be jealous!
My mix tape post was quiet popular! It's gotten a ton of views and people have been sharing stories and mixes with me since I posted it. My brother, Scott, was inspired enough by the post to write his own (without me asking) and asked if I'd let him guest blog. Of course! It's a great companion piece to my original post and gives you some more insight into the art of the mix and specifically, road trip music. I learned from the best! So, dear readers, your super spectacular mystery guest: my brother, Scott.
Mix Tape Musings: Running Down A Dream
When you’re planning a long distance road trip, you need to prepare for that journey and I don’t mean packing.It’s the music you need in your car that will get you there.
Whether it was to wherever Uncle Sam sent us, going back to Detroit to visit family/friends (sometimes on the way to the new post), going to see a concert/sporting event with a friend who’s not in the area you currently live in or moving your sister coast to coast to coast, we’ve always listened to music along the way.We took turns on what we listened to, whether it was dad’s 60s/70s classic rock, mom’s Motown or whatever fad my sister or I was into at the time of the trip.Along the way, we’ve always found artists from different genres that we all could agree on, and sometimes not so much, especially when I need that Metallica fix.But you put Symphony & Metallica on and mom is tapping her foot or humming along (sometimes both) three or four songs in until the end. When you call her on it, she says she likes the beat &/or melody.
When traveling with friends, I still try to share the tunes though sometimes nix a suggestion if it doesn’t have the right vibe for when they choose it or what point in the journey it is.If it’s my car, I try to make sure I have something that the other person(s) like so even if I’m driving the whole way, they’re involved somehow.You don’t want something too mellow when in that final stretch at 1 in the morning, it needs to be something that keeps you awake and/or sing along with if everyone knows the lyrics.Looking back some of the lyrics we came up when we didn’t know/couldn’t understand the words were pretty funny.
So, preparing for that trip: What do you need?
Good snacks that don’t need both hands to eat or make your hands sticky & drinks.
Traveling companion(s): Whether family or friends, it needs to be someone that you enjoy going on the road with.You get that one person who wants to go but just doesn’t do well in the car for long drives or has completely different taste in what they like to talk about (if they talk) or listen to while driving and it can make even the shortest trip feel twice as long.
Money (duh) “…for lunch, gas & tolls.”
Cell phone &/or GPS unit (Mine goes by Rosie cause her voice reminds me of the maid from the Jetsons).
Great tunes, of course, especially if driving solo, good music can get you through those lst/last hours when you’re barely awake/almost there.Got to have stuff that keeps you pumped up, makes you want to sing along, play steering wheel guitar/drums.The right music can be better than your caffeine beverage of choice.
A “new” cd to listen to:
You don’t have to have it at the start of the trip, it can be acquired somewhere along the way before that last pit stop before you get back. It doesn’t have to be played first thing and if it’s something that caught your ear, but it’s just that one song and the rest isn’t to your taste, change it.
It has to be something you don’t already own!You can pick up the new cd by one of your favorite bands if it comes out before or during your trip or you haven’t picked up yet/waiting for amazon to deliver. No cheating and listening to it before you leave (putting it on your mp3 for later is allowed).
You can pick up that classic album that you never upgraded/got around to buying that you find at the gas station/convenience store on the road.
A new artist/band you hear on the radio/event or see in concert on the trip, even if it’s some band in a bar that’s selling their home made demos.
Something fitting for the journey or the destination.
A surprise or twist from your usual style(s) of music or your fellow traveler's that you think they might like or something that could be a reach but no one expects (Who’s thinking Dweezil Zappa?) I do think D.Z. has some cool stuff if you can find it, but should’ve picked something else up along the way.
Something that just strikes you along the way that you have to check out.
That damn song that you can’t get out of your head til you listen to it 5 times!If you don’t like it afterwards, you can always throw it away or let someone else keep it.
As my sister is fond of, a good mix tape/cd or making your own best of a band/artist can go a long way.If built right, you can finally change your fellow traveler’s mind on someone they say they don’t like, introduce them to something new or songs from before they got into a band, and possibly put them in your “School of Rock (other genre) 101.”I like to start with a kick, then tone it down, throw in an album cut or two you wouldn’t hear if you don’t own it before closing with the best of the best.
Growing up in the 1980s, there’s some great artists/bands that make trips enjoyable or made you not want to get out of the car!Springsteen, Mellencamp, Huey Lewis & the News have some great songs that make you want to keep driving. If I decide to make a mix cd for the next road trip, I almost always start there and build around it.Sometimes there’s a theme to my madness, other times it’s just the mood I’m in going into the trip, especially since I usually don’t sleep well the night before cause I’m too excited to get going.For our coast to coaster, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ “Running Down A Dream” unintentionally became our theme song.From the cd I made of the songs they played when we saw them live the summer before the trip, to it popping up on the radio or the iPod we heard a version of it on all but one of a 5 day trip.It’s one of those songs that just gets you going and makes you want more music about driving and it was fitting for our trip.
I’m heading to Nashville in a few days and though I’m not into country music at all, I felt a little Johnny Cash could be a good start for the trip.Still working on some of it, but it’s nearly there.A friend is going with me and didn’t have any suggestions for music at all, so he’s in for a few surprises, including this cd!
And bring your chargers, that $20+ could be used for the above “new” cd or that souvenir you’ve been eyeing…Even with the mp3 player taking over and leaving other music formats in the dust, I still keep a 248 count cd case in the trunk (just in case) that covers most of the music I enjoy.If someone can’t find something they like in there, then they don’t belong in a car with me for more than a couple hours!
The new Springsteen cd comes out just before the trip…
