Warning... this is an adult site. If reading or viewing things about what gay men do sexually with one another bothers you - you should not read this blog. This blog is a reflection of my adventures and thoughts. Some are fun, some not so pretty. I won't name names, or kiss and tell... but I will live to tell. And baby, trust me - I am gonna spill it all over your pretty little party dress. Enjoy!
Some girls give me money, some girls buy me clothes Some girls give me jewelry, that I never thought I'd own Some girls give me diamonds, some girls, heart attacks Some girls I give all my bread to, I don't ever want it back
Some girls give me jewelry, others buy me clothes Some girls give me children, I never asked them for...
What some girls won't do!
For their man.
For love.
For fame.
For a cheap thrill.
And it doesn't get any cheaper than these B-Movie treasures.
These girls? Oh, they've got a lot going on... just you wait and see!
Girls! Girls! Girls!
"The swingin'-est Elvis! + Girls (girls, girls) + Songs (lots of them.) Who could ask for anything more?
"13 of the coolest songs in RCA's fabulous 'Girls! Girls! Girls! album."
(Are they... are they trying to sell me a boat?)
"Climb aboard your dreamboat for the fastest-movin' fun 'n music!
(I don't think Elvis has that much jam.)
Girls In The Night
"The shock-story of the big city's delinquent daughters!"
(The real shock here is that there is none.)
Girls On The Loose
"Girl gangs that stop at nothing!"
(Not even McDonald's?)
"Crime-crazy! Trigger Happy!"
(I wouldn't have it any other way!)
Girls Under 21
"Sure, we're headed for reform school, but anything's better than our dirty 'dead-end' street!"
(Well, it could be worse. They could be interning for Matt Gaetz.)
Girls In Trouble
"See the shameful things that put them behind walls... and the worse things that happened after they got there."
(I see they blew their budget on Fanci-full's Black Rage #12.)
(An international award winner? Really? What? The Idi Amin Golden Shower Award?)
Girls Of The Road
"Meet the girls of the female hobo 'jungles'!"
(I bet one of 'em wants to know how come that new girl's still got all her teeth?)
"Meet the hunted girls of the female hobo 'jungles!'
Girls At Sea
"Shiner's up to his old tricks again..."
"Oceans of fun... on a wacky wave length."
(Please note, it's girls at sea, but only the male actors get their names on the poster.)
Girls Can Play
"While the crowd roars, a beauty dies!"
(So, this is about the dangers of women playing baseball?)
(A prequel to A League Of Their Own?)
Girls Come First
"...and that's a big problem!"
(Yeah... I don't think that's EVER the problem, dude.)
"He loves women and women love him!"
(Consent is always nice.)
Girls For Rent
"Delightful, dirty & deadly."
(Fashion. Karate. Cars. Guns. And with Georgina Spelvin, no less.)
Girls In Chains
(Ah, behind bars, I see. And not the kind I like to sit at.)
Girls At The Gynecologist
"5 sexual experiences!"
(This one is for those with a bit of a clinical bent!)
(I can't imagine they did much business at the snack stand during this one.)
Our recent loss of the late, great Ronnie Spector brought this one to mind.
Sometimes, a songwriter knows what truly serves a song best, and only they have the inside track on what will make it click with the public - especially when that songwriter has previous experience hitting the Top 40. Such is the case with today's Who Did It Better? entry.
Love On A Rooftop is a song by Desmond Child. He wrote the song with Diane Warren, another songwriting juggernaut at the time. In fact, the two were profiled together in an article in Rolling Stone Magazine with Warren being interviewed with a parrot sitting on her shoulder.
Child's career began in 1975, when he formed the R&B-influenced pop rock band, Desmond Child & Rouge with singers Myriam Valle, Maria Vidal, and Diana Grasselli. Backed by session musicians, the band rose to prominence when their song Last Of An Ancient Breed was included on the soundtrack for the 1979 film, The Warriors. This was quickly followed by Our Love Is Insane (written by Child), a single which managed to climb to #51 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. The group would record two critically well-received albums, but lackluster sales would lead to the group dissolving in 1980, with Maria Vidal (Body Rock) going on to a short-lived solo career.
Child would go on to enjoy a stellar career spinning Top 40 gold as a songwriter and producer, working with and creating hits for the likes of Kiss, Cher, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Bonnie Tyler Ricky Martin, Selena Gomez, Kelly Clarkson. Alice Cooper, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, and Michael Bolton.
Thanks to Eddie Money's Top 5 Billboard Hot 100 hit Take Me Home Tonight, 1986 saw the return of Ronnie Spector. Columbia Records wasted no time, offering Spector a contract to record a solo album, 1987's Unfinished Business. Spector, in her 1990 memoir Be My Baby, said the offer was "like the dream of a lifetime come true." The album featured a number of guest stars, including Susanna Hoff, Eddie Money, Paul Schafer, Anton Fig, Kasim Sultan, and, on track two, a reunited Desmond Child & Rouge.
Two singles were released from the album. Who Can Sleep, featuring Eddie Money, was released in April 1987 and Love on a Rooftop (written, produced and arranged by Child specifically for Spector) was released in August that same year. Neither charted and, despite relatively positive reviews, the album was not a commercial success. According to Spector, "I could tell within two weeks that it was a flop. I know the excitement that happens when you've got a hit - the telephone rings off the hook, and everybody wants a piece of you. But none of that was happening."
In 1988, Cher was busy assembling her second album for Geffen Records. Her first for the label had been a surprise hit, so the powers that be decided, why mess with success? As Child was a huge part of that story, his Love On A Rooftop served as one of several contributions made by the songwriter/producer. Released on June 19, 1989, the album spun off five singles, but Love On A Rooftop was not one of them. Instead, Cher's version of the song would end up as the B-side to The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss), featured in the 1990 film Mermaids.
But Child was not done with the song. Working with members of Bon Jovi, his old pal Maria Vidal, a reunited Rouge, Joan Jett and Burt Bacharach, he put out a solo album on Elektra Records, 1991's Discipline. The lead single? Why it was none other than, you guessed it, Love On A Rooftop.
Third time proved to be the charm.
Released on June 18, 1991, Child took the song to #40 on Billboard's Hot 100, qualifying the song as a bona fide hit. It would also prove to be his only solo hit.
And that's the whole story.
Now? On to the competition.
The Song: Love On A Rooftop
The Competitors: Spector vs. Cher vs. Child
Love On A Rooftop - Ronnie Spector
Love On A Rooftop - Cher
Love On A Rooftop - Desmond Child
Ronnie Spector
That keyboard is all ice on the intro, though there is a big bottom brewing, too. The strident cadence is no doubt meant to invoke Spector's classic work with The Ronettes, as is the imagery populating the lyrics (...walking in the sand.) It works.
Sadly, Spector's vocal entrance lacks punch. Her shredded voice, cloaked with vulnerability may be the culprit, but I fault the unsympathetic production work. Child has set her up to fail with a song pitched and arranged to compete with Spector's vocals. It's a challenge the veteran singer can't win. The listener loses out, too, as we have to fight in order to separate Spector's performance from the mechanics that surround it.
The multi-tracking of her voice helps, but also calls attention to its weakness.
The chorus kicks in and had Child placed Spector in a more organic environment with less artificial instrumentation, this might have worked. As is, the percussion is all soft edges and rendered ineffectual. The punch that should be there to fortify both the song and the vocalist arriving D.O.A.
Still, the charm of hearing Spector in this type of environment works it's magic. With a bank of backing vocals, it brings to mind her work with Springsteen's E Street Band, which is something I have a feeling Child wished to replicate.
And then back to the very messy arrangement on the verse, with both Spector and the song losing ground and momentum.
In the second half of the chorus Child ramps up the backing vocals, muddying those waters as well. And then a sax on top of all that? This is very disappointing. Had he presented this song honestly, with organic instruments stripped of all the studio dazzle and Spector's voice standing naked, this could have been a stunning homage to an era gone by. Instead? What a mess.
When she returns to reintroduce the chorus, Child strips away all the garbage and Spector is able to right the ship for a brief reprieve. It's like a glimpse of sky or a breath of fresh air. However, all the nonsense soon returns and the song plays out to its overburdened end.
A bit soul crushing.
Cher
This time Peter Asher (Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor) is behind the board, providing clarity, a big, punchy beat and a much more straightforward approach. Cher enters the mix with a knowing strength and confiding tone.
Big, icy keyboards sparkle behind Cher as we ramp up to the chorus. Stellar backing vocals (is that Bonnie Tyler?) act as a springboard to the chorus. This is set up to pop with a cinematic largess on scale with Cher's, then, out of this world career trajectory. I could quibble with the backing vocals, as, sonically, they feel in the way... I mean, Cher is more than capable of carrying this all alone with only that giant dropped backbeat. Love that vibrato-filled sustained note Cher provides moving into verse number two.
Huh. That back beat grows old on the second verse. Asher would have been smart to kick in a full band, with the rhythm section fully engaged and allow the rhythm guitar to provide a bit of a driving, new wave edge. As is? Second verse, same as the first. I'm bored.
Those icy synths from the intro are reintroduced on the ramp up to the second chorus. Meh. I really want more muscle on display, not artifice.
A big fat (overblown) sax appears right on cue... it's fine, just, so expected.
Very strange. This is a strong performance; Cher is in great form, but it also feels anemic. The damn thing never soars. It's sort of set up to soar, I mean, all the right elements are there, but it never truly takes to the skies, horrible tethered to the earth by some very unimaginative production choices.
Maybe it's the era?
Desmond Child
The intro is very similar to Spector's version, but the tempo is slightly up. A lot of the atmospherics, toned down as we begin the first verse. Child's voice is on top of the mix. This tempo is making a huge difference. This is a much cleaner sound. The backing arrangement on the verse brings to mind The Motels.
Child's voice is very strident. Not a bad thing, but it lacks ulterior color.
This is a much more straightforward approach and the song benefits from it. More guitar-driven, I think the members of Bon Jovi have a lot to do with this cleaner sound. Gone are all the complicated backing vocals, making way for a bright pop sound with an homage to a by gone era.
Love the piano. In combination with the rhythm section, it brings to mind Springsteen's Jersey skyline.
Yeah, I am not loving Child's voice. It pierces, which is great, but it lacks character. Oh, dear, an angelic choir softly oohing.
Ugh. Sax. On cue. That's some very Clarence Clemmons-like playing by Chris Mostert. It's good. .
This plays out like an E Street jam.
But by the 4:00 mark I am done with it. It's pleasant; a nice bright read. Too bad he didn't have Ronnie Spector providing the backing vocals. That would have been heaven. He could have had an Eddie Money moment.
The Verdict
Spector's is a miss. And a damn shame.
I blame Child. His ego was in the way here, showing off all his shiny toys and know-how. He forgot who he was dealing with and forgot to put her in a sympathetic environment. Had he provided the same clean production work he employed on his own version for Spector? We'd be telling a different story.
Note: Ronnie had a rough time of it. Being Phil Spector's hostage, er, I mean, wife, definitely was not a good time. Her story is a cautionary one, for sure. I don't know how one gets over that kind of trauma.
Cher's version is fine. Her performance is assured, and the production work, fairly clean, if a bit anemic. In the end, it fails to soar and we never even get to glimpse the skyline.
Child's version is the best of the bunch. The leaner, guitar-driven, E Street sound (for what was Bon Jovi, if not Springsteen lite?) provides a great backdrop, devoid of all the production pitfalls that plagued Spector's version.
The song is a fun one, but also one that wears out its welcome long before Child hits the 4:00 mark.
Still, to the victor go the spoils; this is a win for Child.
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And that's all for now.
Leave your choice and thoughts in the comments section. I always love to hear from you.
"But you got to have friends, the feeling's of so strong. You got to have friends to make the day last long."
We've got ten questions to get through today. But don't worry, it's very straightforward, very easy.
We're talking about friends. Besties. Buds. Compadres.
I love walking down memory lane.
The only rule? None of the answers can be your long term partner or current boyfriend! Yes, we want the info on those who have come and gone from your personal inner circle - so dig a bit deeper, dears.
Let's hop to it. First question...
1/ Who was your best friend in elementary school?
My elementary days are divided in two, due to a move from a farm in one community to a house in a different town.
Russell was my best bud from kindergarten through third grade. We stayed in touch, seeing each other on occasion until we were seniors in high school. I adored him. He lived on a big farm and his grandparents lived in a house adjacent to the woods that bordered their property. I loved visiting him, although I don't recall ever returning the favor. Watching Shazam in our PJs on Saturday mornings while wrestling around? A cherished memory.
Once I moved into town, I still had a thing for farm boys. Merlin was my bestie then. He sat behind me in fourth grade. He was shy and sweet and I adored him. I had experienced a total personality change with the recent move. I'd gone from a grubby, sweaty roustabout to an introverted academic. My grades improved dramatically, but my self esteem suffered. Suddenly, I was the ugly duckling that did not belong. Merlin, a farm boy, was kind enough to be my friend and would remain so until high school.
2/ Who was your best friend in high school?
Randy, also a farm boy, was an amazing person. Bright, generous, easy-going, creative, technically savvy and mad about rock and roll. We spent so many hours listening to music, discussing music, and, eventually, playing music (he learned bass and drums.) He was in my first two bands. We experienced 'punk' together.
He was so kind to me. Always had my back, keeping the bullies at bay. In hindsight, I see all this. At the time? I was oblivious. I had no clue how the world worked. Too busy naval gazing.
We would have a falling out in college, when I abruptly broke the lease on a house we were renting. I was falling apart, at the time. Had I remained under that roof, I think I might have done myself in. It was a painful time and I never shared any of what I was going through, because that simply wasn't done back then. So, Randy had no clue and I've never had the opportunity to tell him why I abruptly left.
3/ Who was your best friend in college?
Which time? Honestly? Like colleges, I didn't stick with friends very long. A lot of intense theatre-based friendships were formed in the early days.
The second time I went back, I met my dear friend, Roxy. She remained in my life (and in my corner) for many, many years, coming to my rescue a number of times - particularly when I returned, quite ill, from L.A. She offered me shelter and respite. We laughed a lot.
She was a lesbian and when I first said hello to her in a philosophy class, her guard was up something fierce. But I kept smiling and eventually she thawed. We became as thick as thieves.
But there was always something that separated us and it is only recently that I have isolated what it was. She came from a very privileged background. In comparison, I was white trash. Her life and career always operated on a plane that I didn't have access to. Her friends, never became my friends, because I was not cut from the same clothe.
We haven't spoken in years. I last saw her (and her partner) at a surprise birthday party The Ex and my mother cooked up. They'd rented a restaurant and there were way too many people, so I didn't get to spend any quality time with her. My father was still alive at the time, and attended the party, but required a lot of my attention, as he was pretty deep into the abyss that is Alzheimer's.
I remain very grateful for all Roxy did on my behalf. Her friendship means the world to me.
4/ Who was your first drinking buddy, post college?
Natasha and Eve.
Natasha was a Russian immigrant who did the windows at the downtown Minneapolis JC Penney. We hit it off because I was always creating displays for the toy and sporting goods department, very much wanting to become a part of her world. She was fearless. And a bit scary. She would take me to Moby Dicks, which was this biker's dive on Hennepin Avenue. A lot of heroine and money was trading hands there. She reveled in my wide-eyed innocence when faced with total debauchery and would buy me drinks. After helping her decorate her house for a Halloween party, we made out and I could have gone all the way, but I knew she had a boyfriend and, quite frankly, I was scared of them both.
Our friendship died when she got busted at JCP for stealing. She'd routinely work after the store closed, at which point her boyfriend would drive up to the loading dock and load his car up with stolen merchandise. I never found out what became of her.
Eve was a theatre bud. We were company members in this theatre run by a pair of lesbians which operated like a cult. We had a spirit guide named Raab, who would speak to us through one of the lesbians as she sat at a typewriter. Raab would tell us who to sleep with and who was bad juju and needed to be cut out of our lives. It was nuts. I realize all that now, but back then, I was naïve and wanted to fit in somewhere so badly.
Eve had recently divorced her high profile lawyer husband and had a taste for the high life. She took me to bars and clubs I had no business standing in. We once attended the ritzy wedding of one of her snobbiest friends dressed as John Lennon and Yoko Ono. I wore a white tux, a holdover from a musical I had done in summer stock! We were outrageous... and the bride loved it.
Eve and I started as best buds and, thanks to the prodding of Raab, became lovers. That's when I completely short-circuited. Our relationship ended in a downtown Minneapolis bar where I created quite the exit scene, breaking up with her in the loudest, most irrational way possible.
Yeah. Not my best moment.
5/ Who was/is your longest/most enduring friendship (longest relationship besides partner or a family member?)
Aww, Brent.
Twenty years. He was my gay mother. My brother in arms. One of my best collaborators.
We went to hell and back together. Through many moves.
Oddly, he remained very absent in my life during my darkest days in L.A. - something I hadn't actually realized until recently.
I was there for him when his father died and when he became involved with a bitch known as 'Tina' while living on South Beach.
We did a lot of shows together. Oh, we hated each other when we first met. I was everything he despised - uncultured, unworldly... and I thought he was a prissy little queen. Somehow we became besties, sharing everything for years and years.
It all went south in St. Louis. He was 'in the program' and those were his friends now. I did not fit in. I was loud, obnoxious and very, very forward. Yeah, I did not go over well. He had found his own people - and I was not one of them. I sensed this on some level and, during my last visit, let him have it with both barrels, calling him out on his selfishness. He was cold. And generosity never came easily for him.
I'm sure his therapist had painted me as a toxic person.
But, the fact is, I saw the writing on the wall and I wanted to hurt him before he rejected me.
It ended oddly.
We remained in daily contact for months after.
But one day he stopped responding to my emails.
And then, one day, I took the hint and stopped writing.
Twenty years. Gone.
6/ Ever have a friend who was an ex?
Of course, The Ex is my current best friend, next to The Boyfriend.
But, this makes me think of Josh.
I've written about him before. We co-owned a collectibles shop on Chicago Avenue. He was a lovely man. Kind. Sweet.
He had some annoying habits. His fingernails were too long. He smoked. And he ate sardines out of the can.
I know, small things to complain about. He was beautiful. Tall. Like a Great Dane.
At the time we were a couple, I was still delusional and dedicated to the theatre. So myopic was I, that I failed to be grateful for all that was being given me. I wanted what I wanted and I wanted it quickly.
I was very mistaken. Our relationship suffered and then, after a theatre debacle, I took the first train out of town, ending up in the middle of fucking Iowa. I thought he would follow. I left him holding the bag - the store.
He never came to Iowa. And we never really broke up, so much as we both moved on. He was there to see me off the day I flew to L.A. to live happily every after with The Artist. I handed him the keys to my car and said... thanks. See ya!
He remained in my life until his death, which is something I learned about second hand. He was in Seattle then, and I would visit once or twice a year. By that point, he'd fallen so far off the wagon, sobriety had become nothing but a distant memory. I hold myself responsible.
I did him wrong.
7/ Who is your newest friend (in the flesh?)
My work wife, Melissa. In the last 15 years we have been through a lot together. Had a lot of laughs and shared some tears. She knows a lot about me and there's very little we don't share.
When her divorce became final, I whisked her away to Cancun for a week. We had a blast.
She has two kids and I know our friendship is not the highest priority for her, but we remain very close, even though we no longer work side by side.
We make each other laugh.
And that is what will keep us together.
8/ Have you ever made an internet friend?
Not really.
It's very hard. I think sometimes I come on too strong. Over sharing right out of the gate. I get so excited to find someone with similar interests, be it sexual or social or artistic, I scare them into silence.
At the same time, I am a very private person. Good luck getting facetime with me. I like to hide on the edges, not unlike a troll under a bridge.
Though I don't bite.
Unless you ask me to.
9/ Do you have a friend you miss?
Josh. Kindest, sweetest man. Big eyes. He was like a Great Dane. He was 6'4" or maybe 6' 5". Loved his nose.
But, it's his heart and wisdom I miss the most. He served as great counsel. And today, I am finally in a place where I would listen to him.
I just want to hug him one last time.
And tell him how much he is loved.
10/ Do you have a friend who is also a family member?
My youngest sister.
We laugh. And celebrate everything.
Oh, my. I do not understand why she has put up with me all these years or what she sees in me, but she has always been my fiercest, most loyal friend. No one has ever had my back the way she has.
That's why I plan on moving wherever she is once I retire. I want her around on a daily basis. We're good for each other, always plotting and planning things.
I have no idea what the future holds, but... if I hook my wagon to hers? I am sure to have a lovely time.
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And that's enough of me.
Your turn. You know what to do. Leave your answers in the comments section, or post on your blog and leave a link here. Either way, I love getting to know you better.
