Oh, Rick...

Anyone who knows me (and you know who you are) knows that once a song catches my fancy, I tend to play that song obsessively. Unfortunately, this tends to grate on the nerves of those in earshot (Tara has been a good sport). I could list you a whole mess of songs that I've done this to, but I'm not going to do that in the interest of getting to the point. Though if you ask me, or if I'm supremely bored, I may put something like that up...

So, this second post is dedicated to my new favorite song by a talented Rick. Not Rick Astley, the father of Rickrolling...Not Rick Carpenter, male half of the 60's band 'The Carpenters'...Nor is it Rick Wright, the pianist for Pink Floyd. No, it's the hard working Rick Springfield, who is known to the general public for one or two things. The first is his big hit in '81, 'Jessie's Girl'. He is also known (and this is something I found out recently) for playing Dr. Noah Drake on the daytime soap 'General Hospital'...

The new single is called 'What's Victoria's Secret' and it's very catchy, or at least catchy enough to grab my little obsessive quirk. Part of this catchiness can be attributed to its similarities to its predecessor, 'Jessie's Girl'. The guitar part has the same, 'Jun-a jun-a jun' progression as JG, and the vocals bear similar vocal progressions. I've also seen it compared, both favorably and unfavorably, to his old hit. I'm in the camp of favoring it. I'll even call it a tribute to JG and I admire him for taking his styles and reworking it to give it to us again. Further, and this was pointed out by my good friend Jesse, that the vocals also bear some similarities to Eddie Money's 'Take Me Home Tonight'. You decide that one, but my final verdict on the single is 'Really Good' and I'm looking forward to hearing more of the album, 'Venus on High'...



There is one thing left to say on this, though, and it's about the man himself. I happend across the song on internet radio and then Youtubed it, seeing 'ol Rick perform it and saying to myself, 'Man, he's aged really well. He's gotta be like in his 40's.' Wrong. Rick Springfield is a year shy of 60. Everyone I've 'unveiled' this to has had the same reaction as me: Woah. Literally, the man could pass for mid to upper 30's, and does from what I've seen. The fact that he is nearing 60, looks great, and still writes good music, as he has been doing his whole life, shows what doing what you love can do for you. If Rick Springfield reads this, and he won't, this is my thanks to him for the music and here's to more music from the man. Keep it up, Rick...