Monday, February 13, 2006

Upside Down, Wishing Well


Terence Trent D'Arby
Originally uploaded by chinese_fashion.
By the sixth grade, I was delicately flirting with the onset of high-octane ADD. Terence Trent D'Arby's 'Wishing Well' on top 40 radio was like anthrax delivered out of a leaf blower and straight into my attention span.

I could barely sit still as it was without George Michael's 'Faith' rattling around where my multiplication tables belonged, and the combination of a green Virginia springtime and Terence Trent's silky soul literally turned me upside down.

And by upside down, I mean upside down. I always felt like doing a handstand whenever 'Wishing Well' came on the radio. It was too hard to explain to my parents and sister when I was listening to the top 40 countdown in the living room, so I took to my room for the 'Top Eight at 8', keeping the door shut so I wouldn't have to waste precious seconds of 80's soul/handstand time running across the room in case the song snuck up on me.

I never learned to do a handstand. After the first few failed tries, thundering to the floor (I have been 6'2" since '87), someone would always yell, "What are you even DOING UP THERE?" and the truth was way too hard to explain.

So I took to just standing there on my hands in the corner of the room and walking my feet up the wall, then backing my hands up until I was casually leaning against the wall, but upside down, calmly listening to Terence Trent D'Arby, smelling the spring air through the window and trying to breathe normally.

I just remembered that -- clearly, there is some kind of theme here.

5 Comments:

At 7:23 PM, Blogger Listmaker said...

oh man, i miss terrence. what a velvety voice that guy had.

 
At 6:11 PM, Blogger Margherita Marghera said...

Hi Jeff & Listmaker,

You don't HAVE to miss him as he's still making music!!

Come check him out at his official site where you can find many songs free to download as well his latest project "Angels & Vampires" is up as an mp3 album.

http://www.SanandaMaitreya.com
(he changed his name on 2001)

and he also has a page up here where you can listen too:
http://www.myspace.com/sanandamaitreya

Enjoy listening!

Musical greetings,
Lily
Sananda's webmistress

 
At 2:18 PM, Blogger Jeff Simmermon said...

Thanks, Nics -- you're sweet! Did you see the comment from Terence Trent's PR person? Weird!

 
At 2:18 PM, Blogger Mean Red said...

There are songs that still have that effect on me but unless I'm alone I can't react fully to them. I'm really enjoying the fact you seem to be back!

 
At 4:40 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

i always had problems with breaking into spontaneous dance like an organ-grinder's monkey with disco fever. i spent way too much time in my family's basement making up choregraphed dances for me and... no one. my parents thought it was cute until they saw my moves for George Michael I want Your Sex. Not so cute.

 

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