i want you back
"oh baby, i love you so....i need you now....i want you back...i can't go on."
You might've thought from the title that I was about to go into some rant about the jackson five or some disturbing plea for the"fella that got away". Instead, whenever i hear that line, it conjures up the song "the loved one" as performed by INXS, which is a brilliantly raw version of an Australian folk tune.
I have some thoughts about this new INXS show, and while it's not earth-shattering resistance or an embrace of the inevitable ending the competition WILL have on the future of the band, i have to get them out. to say that i'm a fan of the band would be a smidge of an understatement. certainly, i could sit here and say how they were one of the best live bands i've ever seen perform (and that's saying something, i have seen it all, my friends), and their track of hit songs is a testament to how their brand of rock was accessible to fans of all types of music. i could tell you what you already know, that michael hutchence was a unique and gifted songwriter, vocalist and frontman. the day of his death was a dark one for me. and while i've had people tell me all sorts of renditions of what they thought was "wrong" with him, i don't give a shit how it happened.
you see, i own every single one of their albums. i played them over and over (as my brother would probably testify) and i'm not ashamed to admit that i still do play the hell out of them. i had a huge crush on every single member of that band at one point or another (i was actually 12 years old the first time i heard them, so stop your groaning). my favorite song is "don't change" off 1982's Shabooh Shoobah. that one held up well and there was always a really interesting mood switch that would take over the band members when they played it live.
the show. i sat down to watch the first one mainly out of curiosity. i definitely wanted to see the band and hoped that they might play, which they did (with dave navarro, who gained a notch of respect when he talked about how much he liked the band, by the way....not that he needed many brownie points from me). i couldn't even contain my composure when they showed old footage and talked about michael. it's ridiculous, really. i don't know them. but after 20 years of listening to their music and coveting my collection, i feel very strongly about the fate of this band. i grew up with them, after all.
the show. i feel oddly compelled to watch it. and what's interesting about it is that it's very easy to pick out who absolutely can't front that band if their life depended on it. you know right away, really. what's good about this show is that the band members have been extensively involved in the pre-auditions and are present at every single show and maintain the power to send people home. having this hinge on viewer votes would have been a complete and total disaster. as we've seen with a shit-ton of formulaic reality contests.
the show. it's like this train wreck, in a way, in that i want to watch simply because i enjoy seeing all the band members together and in the limelight; but the inevitable conclusion that someone else could possibly be taking the helm, i'm sure, will piss me off and sadden me in the end. i simply can't imagine anyone doing those songs justice and filling those shoes. he was a rare one, after all, and there just isn't anyone in that group that matches up.
i feel like a complete and utter moron for spilling this here, but i simultaneously don't give a shit. my name is heidi, and i'm an inxs-aholic. what the fuck.
*by the way, if you're not watching Rescue Me (FX) this season, you're missing out. and Greg the Bunny is coming back to IFC.
You might've thought from the title that I was about to go into some rant about the jackson five or some disturbing plea for the"fella that got away". Instead, whenever i hear that line, it conjures up the song "the loved one" as performed by INXS, which is a brilliantly raw version of an Australian folk tune.
I have some thoughts about this new INXS show, and while it's not earth-shattering resistance or an embrace of the inevitable ending the competition WILL have on the future of the band, i have to get them out. to say that i'm a fan of the band would be a smidge of an understatement. certainly, i could sit here and say how they were one of the best live bands i've ever seen perform (and that's saying something, i have seen it all, my friends), and their track of hit songs is a testament to how their brand of rock was accessible to fans of all types of music. i could tell you what you already know, that michael hutchence was a unique and gifted songwriter, vocalist and frontman. the day of his death was a dark one for me. and while i've had people tell me all sorts of renditions of what they thought was "wrong" with him, i don't give a shit how it happened.
you see, i own every single one of their albums. i played them over and over (as my brother would probably testify) and i'm not ashamed to admit that i still do play the hell out of them. i had a huge crush on every single member of that band at one point or another (i was actually 12 years old the first time i heard them, so stop your groaning). my favorite song is "don't change" off 1982's Shabooh Shoobah. that one held up well and there was always a really interesting mood switch that would take over the band members when they played it live.
the show. i sat down to watch the first one mainly out of curiosity. i definitely wanted to see the band and hoped that they might play, which they did (with dave navarro, who gained a notch of respect when he talked about how much he liked the band, by the way....not that he needed many brownie points from me). i couldn't even contain my composure when they showed old footage and talked about michael. it's ridiculous, really. i don't know them. but after 20 years of listening to their music and coveting my collection, i feel very strongly about the fate of this band. i grew up with them, after all.
the show. i feel oddly compelled to watch it. and what's interesting about it is that it's very easy to pick out who absolutely can't front that band if their life depended on it. you know right away, really. what's good about this show is that the band members have been extensively involved in the pre-auditions and are present at every single show and maintain the power to send people home. having this hinge on viewer votes would have been a complete and total disaster. as we've seen with a shit-ton of formulaic reality contests.
the show. it's like this train wreck, in a way, in that i want to watch simply because i enjoy seeing all the band members together and in the limelight; but the inevitable conclusion that someone else could possibly be taking the helm, i'm sure, will piss me off and sadden me in the end. i simply can't imagine anyone doing those songs justice and filling those shoes. he was a rare one, after all, and there just isn't anyone in that group that matches up.
i feel like a complete and utter moron for spilling this here, but i simultaneously don't give a shit. my name is heidi, and i'm an inxs-aholic. what the fuck.
*by the way, if you're not watching Rescue Me (FX) this season, you're missing out. and Greg the Bunny is coming back to IFC.
Comments
...saw the Kick tour twice. And used to have that silly black front/back INXS/KICK t-shirt.
It's a real shame that the band went this route. But then again they could have been on that show Hit Me Baby One More Time, like Tommy Tutone and the Motels.
PS. You're the 3rd person to mention Rescue Me is good. Will have to catch it someday. And good news re: Greg the Bunny!
and Rescue Me is a friggin fabulous show. it's really hitting its stride now in the second season. denis leary is one talented writer and actor. he's really great in this. you'd like it, I think.