Till My Head Falls Off 02.07.03: To Know Him Is To Love Him

For Your Listening Pleasure
T.A.T.U. – “All The Things She Said”

I know a lot of the 411 staff has been jumping on the T.A.T.U. bandwagon over the past few weeks (being perceived as appealing to “dirty old man” and pedophiles [read: Pete Townshend] is apparently ’cause for a national controversy in the UK, and therefore international hype), but this song’s addictive. Yes, so is the video — I’m as dirty an old man as you can get — but the song is damn contagious. It’ll most likely be 2003’s “99 Luft Balloons”, but I have no problem with it also being my first official guilty pleasure of the year.

News to You
From the “there should be laws prohibiting certain celebrities to breed” files, Courtney Love was arrested this week for getting rowdy on a Virgin flight to England. As happy as I am about any instance where Courtney’s name gets slowly dragged through the mud, was this really that big a deal? I mean, was anyone surprised at this? Does anyone even notice anymore? Let’s ask my friend Andrew…

moodspins: so what do you think of courtney love getting arrested?
orcman89: i dont care

That says it all, folks. How soon — as Jimmy Kimmel and his co-host Kathy Griffin recently mentioned on Jimmy Kimmel Live — before she’s on the cast of yet another “washed up celebrities” reality show? Who Used to Be a Millionaire? perhaps?

To Know Him Is To Love Him
“It had to stop,” Phil Spector said of his behavior in a 1977 Los Angeles Times interview. “Being the rich millionaire in the mansion and then dressing up as Batman. I have to admit I did enjoy it to a certain extent. But I began to realize it was very unhealthy.”AccessHollywood.com

As you’ve probably already read by now, legendary music producer Phil Spector was arrested this week as a suspect in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson. Police have placed Spector behind a Wall of Sound. Ha! {{cymbal crash}}

But seriously, folks, what more can you say than… wow? From his work making practically every girl-group into stars, to his participation at the center of the never-duplicated Brill Building scene, to his revolutionizing of the producer role as he put his stamp on everyone from the Beatles to the Ramones, Spector was one of a kind and the true definition of a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer.

Where did it all go wrong? His ex-wife Ronnie Spector recently reiterated statements that she had made a few years ago: she knew when she left Phil that, if she didn’t get out then, she’d end up dead. Pretty scary stuff to think about, and hopefully he’s eventually found innocent. It’s always hard to try to stomach that someone could actually take someone else’s life when it’s not a matter of self-defense. But when it’s someone as revered as many of these celebrities are — celebrities and entertainers and artists that are supposed to help you escape from reality, even just a little bit — it really burns.

Now comes the really burning question, though. Did Lana Clarkson deserve to die? I mean, while she played bit parts in such classic films as Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Scarface, she also starred in Amazon Women on the Moon, Barbarian Queen and Deathstalker. That’s just inexcusable. Plus, what are you doing letting a documented freak like Phil Spector bring you home? That’s almost as stupid as letting your 12-year-old son sleep over Michael Jackson’s house.

Okay, okay, I’ll stop. My condolences to Ms. Clarkson’s family, and here’s hoping OJ Simpson lawyer Robert Shapiro — recently hired by Spector — can help us all get to the bottom of this.

Rockin’ and Lovin’ in the Rock and Roll Night of Love!
Last week, I challenged my readers to share their “sex and music” stories with me. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to print any of them, but Rooseriffic’s was too funny to leave out:

I lost my virginity to “Dreamin’ Of You” from Selena. I had the soft-rock station on at the time, I was getting significantly cozy with my then-gf, and wouldn’t you know it, on comes “Dreamin’ Of You.” It could have been Barry White, it could have been Marvin Gaye, it could have been anyone else, but no, mine had to be SELENA. On the other hand, the song more or less reflected how I felt about my gf at that time, so perhaps it had to be that way. But, still… it would have been a hell of a lot cooler to say I first got laid to “Let’s Get It On.”

Aww, Roos, tough call there! Looks like some of my readers are pretty damn sappy… Me? I’m gonna throw some Ronnie & the Ronettes on… or maybe some T.A.T.U.

peace. love. moe.

– Matt

Till My Head Falls Off can be found weekly on 411 Music (old columns are archived in the pull-down menu below). Already hit everything on 411? You can find more from Matthew Michaels at moodspins and 1-42.

Matthew Michaels is one of the original editors of Pulse Wrestling, and was founding editor of Inside Fights and of Inside Pulse Music.