Thursday, February 25, 2010
Let's Go Crazy, Let's Get Nuts.
July 8, 1985
I have been really depressed. It’s strange because I should be happy, it’s summer, I have a good job, I have my 14th birthday coming up this Thursday – so why do I feel so down?! Isn’t life funny in that way – at times when you should feel great you feel bad, and vice versa!!
Yeah, life is funny that way. And sometimes it seems more vice than versa, if you know what I mean. But it’s important to smell the roses, even when they’re surrounded by manure:
July 8, 1985 (continued)
The other day I got my ears pierced (Saturday). I absolutely love it!! Although I am not really used to it yet!! I keep feeling to make sure I did really have the guts to do it!!
Something recently pissed me off (that’s nothing new!!)…
Here we go now. Pierce those ears and clench those fists, the perpetual outrage rides again.
You may have noticed by now that I’ve got a considerable amount of beef with the world.
Being mad for this long can be exhausting.
July 8, 1985 (continued)
…Anyway, my brother was going to rent a V.C.R. for me for my birthday. The movie he was going to get was “Purple Rain.” (by Prince) Well, boy, did he pick the wrong moment to spring the idea on mom. She had just seen a feature on a group of mothers complaining about Prince being “inappropriate” for children and how they were going to start putting warning labels on record albums. Have you ever heard of anything so gay?!
I want to take a moment to apologize for my unfortunate use of the term “gay”. I thought about changing it to make myself look better, but that somehow seemed dishonest. I was 13, but that’s no damn excuse. Don’t worry, I got my comeuppance when my hopes for a hot love affair with George Michael were dashed on the rocks of reality. Furthermore I say, DOWN with prop 8, UP with gay marriage!
But I digress...
July 8, 1985 (continued)
I can just see it now – a little white paragraph: “Warning: The Surgeon General of mothers has determined that Prince is Dangerous to your health.”
What a joke!! Next thing you know it, albums will be rated “R”!! Anyway, she said I couldn’t have the movie! I told her if she thought she was sparing my inner soul she was wrong – my character is strong enough to withstand one movie without becoming a juvenile delinquent!! And this record business is just plain stupid!! If my mother thinks she’s gonna take my Purple Rain album away from me – she’s got another thing coming!! It is my favorite album – obscene as it may be. This is just plain censorship that they’re talking about!! And if they try it – it’ll only get teens more hyped. It’s a natural fact, teenagers are rebels against their parents. A Tears for Fears song says it well (Shout) – “They gave you life, and in return you gave them hell”
That’s all for now…
My poor mother, by the way.
This was bigger than me and my birthday and my rented V.C.R. and the movie Purple Rain, this was about CENSORSHIP!
Or, maybe it was more so about me and my birthday and my rented V.C.R., etc…
Either way, my inner soul was pissed.
I have an issue with what I like to call “my levels.” Once I get going, the volume is through the roof. To put it kindly, I’m passionate. To put it honestly, I’m a nutbag.
For example, I recently went to a birthday party where I lost my shit because these two guests didn’t show up until 11:45PM. (for a party that started at 8:00PM) But the thing that really pissed me off was that they showed up carrying nothing but a half empty 12-pack of some obscure flavor of Dr. Pepper! I wanted to scream: Where have you people BEEN?! And who brings a half empty 12-pack of Dr. Pepper to a party?! What the hell happened to the rest of it for christsakes?!
easy now, easy…
Not every battle is worth fighting. I’ve since seen Purple Rain, and not only was it inappropriate for a 14-year-old birthday party (though Prince also struggled with his parents), it wasn’t an entirely great cinematic effort.
Damn good album though.
I’m working on controlling my levels. Mainly because it’s hard to win a fight when you’re yelling…people tend to hang up on you. But if you think you're gonna take my moral outrage away from me, you've got another thing coming!
Dearly Beloved, I think it’s ok to get a little worked up now and again. A “natural fact” even.
I don’t advocate fist fights with tardy people who like Dr. Pepper, but generally speaking -- things aren’t fair, and until they are, as Tears for Fears would say...
Shout. Shout.
Let it all out. Come on, I'm talking to you...
8 comments:
You were quite prescient at the age of 14! Don't they know have parent advisory labels on albums now, not unlike the R ratings on movies? Also, its funny to think of a time when you not only rented movies, but also vcrs!
Isn't that funny?! Must have been the height of the Tipper Gore album crusade! Still makes me mad today.
VCRs may be dead, but I'm going to put Purple Rain on my Netflix queue.
I just added Purple Rain to my Netflix as well. I was obsessed with that album! You really took a stand as a teenager. Bono would have liked you, I bet. And thanks as now I have "Shout" running through my head and it won't stop. Laverne strikes again.
I apologize, if it's any consolation, it's stuck in my head now too.
There was a lot of emotional motorcycle riding in Purple Rain, as I recall. I can't wait.
Postscript: Can you imagine if we all still used VCRs? It would be so cumbersome for Netflix to mail us our movies (and for us to mail them back). Along with the stapler, the DVD player is probably the best invention ever.
Oh god, the thought of mailing all those tapes...
nice to know i wasnt the only kid that had to fight for my right to 'PURPLE RAIN'. i was invited to a 'PURPLE RAIN' party on beta... my mom said i couldnt go because my sister wasnt invited BUT WE ALL KNEW THE REAL REASON WHY. the only reason i was allowed to have the album was because i was in dance classes at the time and 3 of my dances was to songs of the album. i remember listening to 'Darling Nikki' and not understanding it fully but knowing it was NO BUENO... TO THIS DAY I BLUSH WHEN I HEAR IT. LOL. as for levels... hun, we are ALL KOO KOO FOR COCO PUFFS. i have been having issues with EVERYONE lately. i vowed to join the gym and take my aggression out on myself. i hope it works. ;)
Remember all the girls in their nighties who sang with him? Wendy? Lisa? Vanity? I forget who everyone was, I just know they wore NEXT TO NOTHING.
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