Posted by Jacqueline on November 26, 1998 at 00:39:48:
Every time I get too low...every time I get too high... it's there - the music is there - to raise me up and to help me down...I depend on it and it's the best decision I've ever made.
Posted by Carrie C on November 25, 1998 at 18:59:02:
When I bought Back Into Hell I was not very impressed. I was immediately turned off by songs like 'Life Is A Lemon...' and 'Rock and Roll Dreams...'; those two songs really soured my impression of the record. I stopped listening to the album, but occasionaly I'd put on "I'd Do Anything..." and "Objects...". After about 5 or 6 total listens I was bummed about Bat II. But the other day something funny happened: I found this site. I read what people were thinking about Jim and his songs, and Meat Loaf. It got me thinking about "Bat II" and I whipped it out and put it in the CD player...and it was wonderful. It makes me wish that I would have liked it this much back in 93.
Love to all.
Carrie C
Posted by Mr PC on November 25, 1998 at 05:27:05:
I don't care about life after death
But I gotta know if there's life after birth
You never be as young as you are right now
Keep on believing and you'll discover:
There's always something magic
There's always something new
And when you really really need it the most
That's when rock and roll dreams come through
All this and more are Jim's wise life lessons to me.
But more important: since I realised that "Bat Out Of Hell"
is nearly the story of my life, I decided that this song
will be played at my funeral.
Breaking out of my body and flyin' away
Like a bat out of hell
Mr PC
Posted by bat_out_of_hell_2100 on November 25, 1998 at 11:59:11:
In Reply to: Breaking out of my body... posted by Mr PC on November 25, 1998 at 05:27:05:
I'd have to agree with the bat out of hell/funeral idea.
I'd made the same decision about 3 years ago.
BooH is the song that screams who I am.
Of course, the album as a whole does the same thing.
Posted by Birgie on November 24, 1998 at 23:26:08:
There's so much I could say in response to this topic... but I don't want to bore anyone! I guess the best place to start is right at the beginning...
I've been a SteinFan since birth (as far as I can remember!) but the first time Steinman's music was ever there for me was probably when I was six years old.
My beloved grandmother had just died. As is always the case, the adults didn't bother telling me she was close to death until she died, and then everything was confusing and strange and I never really understood what was happening. That woman was often more like a mother to me than her daughter was, and without her I was lost. I had no role model.
And then I heard "Tonight Is What It Means To Be Young".
I should have known it was Steinman behind this sound all along- my brother would enthusiastically show me the clips from "Streets Of Fire" just as enthusiastically as he would call me over to play the "Bad For Good" and "Dead Ringers" albums. I would watch in awe of that beautiful woman in the red dress, swaying her hips and singing that wonderful, powerful song. There I was, six years old, thinking to myself, "I want to be her! I want to be as lovely as she is! I want to make music as beautiful as that!" So if she was the ideal woman with the perfect voice, then who was the ideal man?
Well, no prizes for guessing. And it ain't MeatLoaf. ;)
Then I started to "grow up", and I tried to push the music out of my heart, saying that I didn't need it. My brother had already dismissed Steinman's music as a "teenage phase" and I tried to do the same. It was awful! Thank God Jim is not so easily pushed away. In 1993 he came roaring back into my life with a vengeance, and I willingly succumbed to "Bat II". Let me tell you, if you ever truly wish to appreciate paradise, you must lose it first. Jim's music sounds a thousand times as sweet as it ever did, and it soothed me and hardened me, always beside me, whether I was plunging to the depths of despair or soaring out of the ashes of my life into dizzing heights of ecstacy. It was always there, throughout my early teenage years- When I needed it the most. Believe me, it is not easy being suffocated in the smallest, most isolated city in the world, when your friends are only interested in chasing the most boring guys they can find, and settling down. And no one can seem to understand why you need to "peel
out". But Jim always knew. And he always seemed to know just what to say, just how to say it.
And I will always remember when I rediscovered that "Tonight Is What It Means To Be Young".
One day, when I was out camping, I felt the music creep inside me, and I just stopped fighting it. I had forgotten "TIWIMTBY" but I still had flashes of images in my head, and that wonderful melody. By disinterested brother tried to tell me I was remembering Bonnie Tyler singing "Total Eclipse Of The Heart", but I loved that song too and knew it wasn't it. Then with a flash, as if God had sent me a vision (it was probably the SteinGod answering my prayers! :)) a single line flashed into my memory as I struggled to fit lyrics to that sound, that imagery:
I was so excited, I spent the next few days in the wilderness, singing it constantly, saying a prayer in the darkness for more SteinMagic to come... it didn't. But it was enough. I knew the song, and now I could find it, and when I did I was in ecstacy... and the rest is history. Before you know it, it's gone..."
I later found out it was dubbed. It didn't bother me much, it was the song that I loved. What an irony, huh?!? Well, I guess that's just another one of life's little lessons- nothing's as it seems, and there are a lot of fakes out there. But not Jim. There is still the purity of that song ringing in my ears and I am convinced that it will ring there forever. It just won't quit. And I don't ever want it to.
No matter what, no matter how dark our lives may become, he's always there. No matter how low we've fallen, how far we've wandered, how desperately we've crumbled, his music is always there to lift us, whether it be gently and tenderly in a warm embrace, a loving caress, or in a powerful sweep that will knock you to you knees and shake the very core of your heart, until you want to scream, not for mercy, or for more, but a fierce combination of both.
I can't think of anyone else who has ever been able to make me feel that way. And if you do, you're a damn lucky person (and can I have their number? :)).
The truth is, SteinMusic is ALWAYS there, lurking in our hearts like a dark shadow and a beacon of hope all at the same time.
Every time I listen to that song, Jim reminds me to sieze the moment, and that the darkness will pass, as long as I have faith. But of course, no one can say it like he can...
"I've got a Dream when the darkness is over
We'll be lyin' in the rays of the sun
But it's only a dream, and Tonight is for real
You'll never know what it means
But you'll know how it Feels!"
It's gonna be over
Before you know it's begun
It's all we really got tonight
Stop your crying hold on (tonight)
Before you know it, it's gone (tonight)
Tonight is What it Means to be Young
Tonight is What it Means to be Young..."
Thank you Jim!
Posted by MJK on November 23, 1998 at 16:57:21:
Hello. I am a huge fan of Jim Steinman's work with Meat Loaf. I am interested in discovering more of his music but I want to do it wisely, being careful not to burn myself out. I own "Bat Out Of Hell", ""Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell", and the songs "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All" and "Total Eclipse Of The Heart". I ordered the "Streets Of Fire" soundtrack after reading Kate's & Damian's posts and after falling in love with the song title "Tonight Is What It Means To Be Young".
My question is...where do I go next?
MJK
Posted by IV on November 23, 1998 at 18:16:52:
In Reply to: Where do I start? posted by MJK on November 23, 1998 at 16:57:21:
I suggest hunting down Jim Steinman's solo album, Bad for Good.. it's still available on CD if you special-order it. Then go for the ultimate Steinman fan's prize, the Pandora's Box: Original Sin album.. you'd have to import this from England. This website has a ton of info on both. Well, good hunting.
Oh yes, the Very Best of Meat Loaf comes out Nov 24th. You should pick it up, it is a good intro to his non-Steinman work as well as a showcase of his finest (Steinman) songs.. it has a few new ones too.
Posted by Birgie on November 23, 1998 at 20:12:32:
In Reply to: Re: Where do I start? posted by IV on November 23, 1998 at 18:16:52:
If you live in (Western) Australia, "Bad For Good" is VERY easy to get on CD- and also very cheap, often between Aus$15-$20. It's one of the few Steinman works you can get here quite readily. And it's WELL worth it!!!(though that's a bit of an understatement!!)
Posted by Öysterboy72 on November 23, 1998 at 16:26:58:
April 1991. I had left my home of 12 years. Barstow, California - a desolate desert town with custom cars, L.A.-style gangs and go-nowhere jobs. All that I gave up for the damp, forever-green city of Tacoma, Washington. I was 19 years old and all alone.
After 6 brilliant months in Tacoma I lost my job. I was crushed. Someone else's dishonesty had cost me my source of income. That same day I was informed that my car insurance was cancelled, which was followed by backing into another car while wandering aimlessly, trying to get some perspective on my tenuous situation.
The next day I started my hunt for another job. Day after day I searched for work and could find nothing. After a while I became disillusioned and would only look for work in the morning, the afternoon being spent sitting in Wright Park listening to tapes that I had made. Shortly after this happened I lost my apartment; luckily, I had my '74 Volare.
As I sat in the rainy park on those afternoons the song "Heaven Can Wait" struck a chord inside me. This song, although not written about me, seemed like it was written for me. While the world around me seemed cold and uncaring, this song kept me warm and gave me hope. This song is definitive for that period of my life.
Thank you, Jim. I am forever in your debt.
Marc K
Lost in California
Posted by the Steingirl on November 23, 1998 at 03:57:33:
There have actually been a lot of difficult times when Jimmy's music has been there for me...I'm not going to print them all here (it will bore you), but some of them are, for instance, when my (divorced) parents can't get along because my father is such a jerk and my mother blames that on me...or when she always chooses her mother over me...or when I was 14 and everybody hated my taste in music to the point when some guys I knew actually knocked the CD-player out of my hand so I wouldn't be able to listen to my "shit music" anymore...or all those nights I couldn't fall asleep because it felt like I had this horrible fire inside...the nights I was sick and actually was crying for Jim...whenever a test went like shit in school...
Like I said, there has been more times than I can count, but the most wonderful thing about Jimmy's music is that, whenever I really feel like shit it sort of takes me to the brink of that misery and then makes it okay again...just like having a friend that first slaps you and yells at you to make you calm down and then holds you until you've finished crying...and I suppose in a way that's what I have.
Just to wake up in the morning and knowing that I can listen to Tanz, or Bad for Good, or Whistle, or Original Sin, or whatever, makes me feel well at once. I wouldn't say that it's the ONLY thing that makes life worth living, but it sure as hell is a very big reason. Thanks, Jimmy.
I love you.
Posted by Ravnen on November 22, 1998 at 10:39:10:
Humph. A time when Steinmusic was there for us. I think
the real question should have been, when WASN'T it?
I have heard many stories about how powerful Steinmusic
is, from crying on the crapper to bringing us back
from the brink of the edge of madness.
I think it's because of the overwhelming sense of hope that
seems to have been infused within the territory of what
is called 'music' created by the singular man. Oh, I'm
not referring to the obvious songs here such as Rock'n'Roll
Dreams, or You Took the Words Right Out Of My Mouth, but
consider instead such offbeat and even moreso overwhelmingly
positive messages displayed in The Future Just Ain't What It
Used To Be. Sure, most hear this song as a dirge of hope and
blessings, a death of plans and sensibilities bought into
with full expectation of a happy shiny future. But imagine
instead a song that tells us things change, nothing's set in
stone, and dammit, the future just ain't what it should be.
It tells us to stop kidding ourselves, to stop wasting precious
energy on trying to change every possible contingent of what
will shape the future, and instead, we should say a prayer for the
fallen angels (ourselves) light a torch for the boys and girls (our
progeny) and stem the tide of the raging waters (meaning to
take care of what we can, and realize that the river will
just keep right on flowing.)
Or perhaps I'm Gonna Love Her For the Both Of Us. It reaffirms
that love is stronger than kinship, love is stronger that the
closest male bonding, and if given properly then we'll shine
like a 'jewel in the crown of the holy sun.' Without it
we're just a pale ghost, a lonely imitation of what we could be.
I'll Kill You If You Don't Come Back also illustrates this point,
albeit in a more co-dependant nature.
But for myself. In my most difficult time I can remember
in the past years, when I thought I'd never get into law
enforcement I listed to Life Is a Lemon and The Future Just Ain't
What it Used to Be. I started singing snippets of both
songs before I could even get home and throw the discs into
the player.
In more severe times I throw in Bonnie's Making Love Out of Nothing
At All for several reasons. One it reminds me of what I'm waiting
for, what it is I want and desperately need. That when I hold
out for my heroine, I won't be stuck with just another flat
character. And when combined with Cher's One By One Junior Vasquez
mix, it becomes probably the most high energy kick ass beat song
I can think of.
Steinmusic isn't about melodies and words. It isn't about
where you cried when you heard a song. It's about what we
find in it, what helps us, what dreams we borrow to get through
the night. Steinmusic is what we allow to be tattooed to our
very souls. I dare anyone to just try to find corrective surgery
for that operation.
Ravnen....
Ich kann hore ein Stimme....
Posted by Öysterboy72 on November 23, 1998 at 09:02:12:
In Reply to: Conscription of the Holy Blessings From the Mount posted by Ravnen on November 22, 1998 at 10:39:10:
Damn...I wish I would have wrote that.
Posted by Ravnen on November 23, 1998 at 14:14:35:
In Reply to: Re: Conscription of the Holy Blessings From the Mount posted by Öysterboy72 on November 23, 1998 at 09:02:12:
So do I....
:->
Posted by Vin on November 22, 1998 at 01:34:46:
Way back in 1993, it was Summer....and my girlfriend was going away to college that fall. She wasn't going far, and I would see her on weekends, but being the doom and gloom guy that I am, I pretty much figured it was a given that soon enough some new guy or guys and the college life would get me dumped. Luckily, I knew Bat II was coming out that September, so I didn't feel that badly. I figured "Hey, I may get dumped, but I'll have new Steinman to listen to." I didn't end up getting dumped, but that's not really the point.
Posted by rebel without a clue on November 20, 1998 at 22:00:11:
have you ever found a love so strong, so happy, so moving and motivating...so perfect...the quitessence of perfection...developed it over time, spent an eternity becoming friends...lovers...have you ever found a woman so perfect, beautiful, charming, agreeable, stubborn, cheerful, exuberant, sweet, giving, taking, gentle, wild, freakie...have you ever truly loved...have you ever truly lost...for reasons beyond both of your control...previously made vows...innocent victims...the inability to risk it all on the roll of the dice...a brief note...a phone call...infinite tears, endless memories dying yet still alive...broken dreams...and it all comes to an end...and for days, for weeks, for centuries...the inability to get out of bed, to live, to die, to remember to forget...so many cries in the night...the voices won't stop...and the only thing that soothes the savage breast is a song, a song that'll break the rebel's heart...the song we shared..the song we loved together...tha painful song of unattained
tomorrows...in the cd player...repeat...repeat..endless repeat day and night...can't let the dreams die...can't let the world we created be forgotten...and now the chilly california wind is blowing down our bodies again...and i sink...and i sink...and i die in my bed...the will to live breaks out of my body and flies away...and i reach under the pillow...clutch the cold steel...why...why not...nothing to gain, nothing to lose...and yet i can't...i can't...and so for days on end, the music keeps playing...through my consciousness, and deep into my unconsciousness...a song that can never end...i won't let the song end...and it plays in the jukebox of my heart...there's only one girl that i will ever love...and i can't let go...don't wanna let go...and most of all...for crying out loud...you know i love you.
Posted by Michael on November 21, 1998 at 20:28:09:
In Reply to: For Crying Out Loud posted by rebel without a clue on November 20, 1998 at 22:00:11:
Plain and simple ... this is Jim Steinman's best lyric.
Through the years, this song has reminded me and all those who
have heard it that the time is now. It says it so much more
eloquently than "No Day But Today." Sorry, Jon - it truly does.
When I fell victim to one of the ten worst breakups of all time
:) (late 1996), this song magically appeared on WPLJ the next day.
Thank you, Jim.
Posted by IV on November 20, 1998 at 07:36:39:
Well, I suppose I should post my own little story.. every time I listen to a certain song, I'm reminded of a dear friend of mine who I lost without warning one day... I remember every little thing as if it happened only yesterday.. almost two years ago now.. me and Jennie met and became very good friends, always hanging out, seems we were attached at the hip.. all the time I knew her it seemed she kept getting hurt, by parents or guys or what have you, and I was always there for her.. I don't think she ever knew that she was possibly the only person I have ever loved up to that point. It was strange, I never really wanted to tell her.. never thought it was necceasry, that we'd always just be friends and it was better that way.. until that one day when her mother just decided to send her off to California to live with her aunt without telling anyone, she didn't want Jennie in contact with 'her old friends'.. and about a week after I found out she was gone, I moved myself, severing any hope of her contacting me. Naturally, after she left, I felt such regret for never letting her know how I felt. It tore me up inside for a long time and even now I find myself wishing I could have her back, to see her smile again. Well.. what song was I talking about again? Well, I felt that this was one situation Steinman hadn't wrote about yet... until I heard A Kiss is a Terrible Thing to Waste... this song has quickly beocome my favorite song ever.. for no other reason that it gave me the mentality to never again let that happen, to always seize the moment, to never let feelings just sit there. It's made me a lot happier in the long run..
But I still can't stop thinking about her. It Just Won't Quit.. heh.
Posted by Susan on November 20, 1998 at 05:16:54:
The reason that so many people are attracted to Jim Steinman's music is because it cuts to the quick on how so many of us are feeling. People tend to believe that no one understands what they are feeling, how much they hurt, how badly they want to break out of the mold they are in, how deeply they love, and the anguish when that love is gone.
But Steinman does, and it is all right there in the music. We listen to the music and suddendly we are not alone. We may still hurt as much, but we are not alone. The music becomes our strength, it heightens our senses, it makes us feel alive.
"And the melody's gonna make me fly. Without pain, withour fear." - Heaven Can Wait
Thanking Jim, above all, for his gift of music,
Susan
Posted by Xavier T on November 19, 1998 at 15:54:48:
Absolutely nothing to do with this topic but anyway. Someone asked last week about recent releases of Steinmusic in Oz. Brief update on latest happenings: According to HMV Queensland, Tina Arena's new Oz-only "In Deep" re-release album featuring WDTW and IWTSMLLY which was supposed to be released in October, will not happen, contrary to the info on her website. Instead an international re-release will be out around Feb '99. There are no plans to release the single WDTW at this stage in Oz, but HMV will order in - cost approx AU$16 ex England - 6 weeks, or order direct CDZone approx AU$14 - Polydor 5674492. Boyzone - "No Matter What" single will be released in Australia next Monday 23 Nov and will be available through HMV, Sanity and most other stores. Following an unofficial release on Rage, pre-orders are apparently threatening to outstrip supply so grab one early - very good song for those who haven't heard it - Polygram 5676092. Album release "Where We Belong" will be released the following Monday 30 Nov. No Oz record labels list the album "Songs From Whistle Down the Wind", so there appears to be no plan to release the album in this country, at least in the short term. Available from CDZone UK approx AU$39. However, "Vaults of Heaven" by Tom Jones off the WDTW album should be out by Christmas. Too much to list here. If anyone needs info on the availability of old and new Steinmusic in Oz, email me and I'll send a complete and hopefully accurate Excel list. Xay......
Posted by Birgie on November 23, 1998 at 20:05:35:
In Reply to: Australian releases posted by Xavier T on November 19, 1998 at 15:54:48:
Xavier, I think I love you!!! :)
But where the hell is your e-mail address?!? I must find out more!!!
Posted by Xavier T on November 24, 1998 at 08:41:20:
In Reply to: Re: Australian releases posted by Birgie on November 23, 1998 at 20:05:35:
xay@bigpond.com.au - let me know your email address and i'll send the list to you. Any ideas for a locally-based JS site??? Xay.
Posted by Kerin Coleman on November 22, 1998 at 20:11:45:
In Reply to: Australian releases posted by Xavier T on November 19, 1998 at 15:54:48:
I'm thinking same would apply to New Zealand, therefore I would be greatful for more details. regards,
KC
Posted by Leon O. on November 19, 1998 at 08:16:32:
Steinman's songs have been the essence of being young and horny. Whether done by Meatloaf or Bonnie Tyler - they are powerful.
I realized recently that the overture that came with the orginal "Bat out of Hell" album (on a single), was not on the CD. Does anyone know if it is still in print, or where one can get it?
BOOH is from a period of my life that was very intense, and I would like to have that extra bit of it now.
Leon
Posted by Roberto St. Orm on November 18, 1998 at 11:53:20:
What songs and artists would you like to have on another Whistle album? Here are some of my weird ideas:
Nick Cave: Annie Christmas
Travelling Wilburys: Cold
Massive Attack: If Only
Marc Almond: Unsettled Scores
Roger Taylor: When Children Rule the World
Manic Street Preachers: No Matter What
How about Songs from Tanz der Vampire?
Posted by Josh from FL on November 18, 1998 at 10:06:59:
6 years ago when I was 12 my father killed himself after finding out my mom was cheating on him with his best freind. I heard the song Total Eclpise of the Heart on the radio. Even though I'd heard it a million times before, after that it meant something different. I got the record and started figuring out the whole Jim Steinman thing from there. I though More Than You Deserve was some kind of cruel joke when I first heard it but, it just goes to show how much Jim Steinman "gets it." I listen all the time. I'm a total fanatic and don't play much else unless friends force me to.
Posted by Xavier T on November 17, 1998 at 17:01:19:
31 December 1997. Red Rock National Park, Yeppoon, Australia.
It had rained non-stop for the past four days. Stoney Creek was at the highest level he'd seen for years and only the keenest of campers remained. The weather forecast on the radio had said there was no chance of the tropical depression letting up for at least another week. From past experience the young man had to agree. He laughed to himself. The rain didn't matter. This was the first time he'd been able to come back since his transfer to Brisbane a year ago. And Red Rock was his place. It was 'no-bullshit' nature, and it made no apologies to the tourist for its purity. He often found himself drawn here when he needed to put his world in perspective, and now more than ever he needed perspective. He felt strangely inspired. Perhaps it was the mountains. He was home.
'I've missed this place so much'.
He was surprised that most of the campsites had put their fires out early. New Year's Eve didn't seem to have the same significance for people any more, but for the young man tonight was all that he'd been able to think about for the past month. His lover had told him to come. The heavy rain died down to a light shower for a minute, and he took the opportunity to stoke the flames. He poured himself a whiskey and sat in the misty drizzle. He glanced at his watch for the tenth time. '11.55pm'. He walked over to the Falcon and slipped the well-worn Meatloaf tape into its cassette player. As the first tender notes of "For Cryin' Out Loud" gently filled the night, he sat on the log next to the fire and closed his eyes. 'Our song my love'. A beautiful face filled his senses, as he knew it would. "I miss you so much", he murmured softly. The ghost smiled. The young man wanted to touch his lover's face but knew that he couldn't. As always the phantom reached out and beckoned him to take its hand. 'I want to go with you Baby - I've tried - you know I can't'. He began to cry. "You know how much I love you", he sobbed. The ghost embraced him. "You said you'd stay forever!" the young man wailed. He could barely speak. The phantom brushed the man's cheek and moved away, sad smile on soft lips, love and compassion dancing in chocolate eyes. "Don't leave me!" the man begged. The vision began to fade. "I never will", the ghost whispered in silence. And then it was gone. Overcome with loneliness and helplessness, the young man put his head in his lap and wept. The haunting tune enveloped him. "You promised me!" he cried out to the darkness.
A New Year cheer went up from a distant campsite and he glanced up the hill towards the noise. His heart skipped a beat then roared. Not a single cloud remained to darken the sky. He hadn't seen such a magnificent starburst in decades. He remembered the night and he remembered the place. Their place. Their night. Wreck Point Yeppoon, fifth of November 1978. His lover returned.
"My gift to you", the phantom offered.
"Thank you", the man whispered in awe. The ghost gazed at him sternly, pleadingly.
"I want you to see the stars again", it murmured.
"I can't", he shook his head in anger and frustration, "I need to be with you. I want to be with you".
The distant revelers began singing 'Auld Lang Syne' and the young man broke down again. He felt his lover's fingers on his arm, then scented breath and soft lips brushed his face. Strong arms lifted him possessively, lovingly. "Stay with me", he pleaded. The stars seemed to sparkle at his words.
The sky had just begun to lighten. Soon the sun would be on the horizon. The man felt his way in the semi-darkness to the tent and lay on the blanket. He smiled at his lover. For a few moments the ghost held him, then kissed him slowly in farewell. "Know that I will never leave you", it whispered. The phantom forced a smile to comfort him but the sweet lips were ringed with sadness. The apparition began to fade and the man pulled the blanket up over his head and began to cry once more. "I love you so much Baby".
He heard the tropical deluge erupt once more. His lover was gone.
Posted by Baal on November 17, 1998 at 03:28:38:
I always think that if I ever met Jim Steinman my
words would be:
"Rock 'n' Roll Dreams saved my life and
your other songs make life worth living. Never stop
making magic."
It's quite true. RARDCT has picked me
up when I didn't think I could ever stand again. It's
pulled me from the brink many many times. Whoever decided
to put it back-to-back with Life Is A Lemon is a genius.
The ultimate cathartic experience. Anger and frustration and
despair vented in a pyrotechnic orgasm of fury. The overwhelming
sense of injustice articulated in the screams of a guitar, soul
rising and thundering with the music, heart pounding with
the drums, body blazing with the rhythm. The pause, the calm
after the storm. Hollow. Empty. Then the healing
begins - "You can't run away forever...".
At times there's no magic left in the world, for me, except
in the music of Jim Steinman. He's weaving with more than sound here.
He's composing with our emotions, tugging the heartstrings, wrenching
the feeling out of us. His music has the power to change and sustain
lives. His music is the soundtrack to my life. Everything raw
and inarticulated, everything I cannot find the words to say made
manifest in the most perfect way possible. Nothings so right as
those songs. They pervade my life at every level. They are a part
of me. I've been baptised in his dreams. They mean more
than I can ever convey in words. The song "Rock 'n' Roll Dreams Come Through"
encapsulates a large amount of what Jim's music means to me.
"You're never alone/ 'cause you can put on the phones/
and let the drummer tell your heart what to do"
Thanks Jim.
Posted by King of Fools... on November 16, 1998 at 23:54:02:
It as long ago and far away but sometimes I can still feel all the little bits and pieces rolling over in the grave I call memory. We pass through so many things in our journeys in life, but some journeys we never forget because of the people who walked with us. Some of us create love stories out of nothing at all because it is the only way we know how to live. I remember back a few years when the world was sunny and bright, bright enough to blind me to the things that were going on in my life. To my flaws and unkind, uncaring attitudes that were destroying my relationship with someone close to me, and destroying her because of it. I still recall the sting of all the yesteryear tears, days after we hung up the phone one night and all I could do was crawl into bed and sleep. She loved another then, someone I once trusted and all I could think was that she would ever be more than he deserved, but never would she step back into my life to love. And the two are engaged now, with me just a footnote along the way. And that is when the music is mine to hold onto in the night, when I feel myself fading into insignificance, when I need something to tell me that I am worth the silver moonlight reflected on a wet sidewalk. To wander through life seeing these images before me and knowing that the dreams come through and can take me through all the walls I place around myself. To dream was what I needed and dreams were what I found, holding on to an image of a friend I knew as I tried to heal and the music ever there softly in the background until the volume crescendoed into ear splitting joy. Nor was that ever meant to be and though things grew hectic for a time, a friendship was rekindled simply because it could be. Dreams lost and dreams found rule the existence of one poor soul and he knows the truth of his name more so than any other. For he still believes in all the love and all the tears and maybe a good obsession to get him through the night, to provide him with the lyric and note to start a new vision, a new entry into his journal, a new scribble into the things he writes. One day, ever one day away, he knows he will meet her, the one in the songs he sings to himself at night, in the music he loves and lives when the darkness surrounds him. He can do nothing else...
Dream more,
G. Matthew
Posted by WILLY on November 16, 1998 at 20:44:51:
there is a girl I call My little Princess, (because the very thought
of her name is too painfull) that always comes and goes inside my life.
She has a condition of innocence, and she is always too brief, as she
has always finished. The first time she came into my life, all the ends
came together, and the first time she left, all parted with her.
But I didnt really care. I cared more for myself and my protection,
till there was "It just wont quit". It got this fixiation, a connection
between the song and the girl. That got me really obssesed.
But, what is an obsession, if not a disfunctional love? Is it love
after all?
So, Steinmusic was there for me, but in a way, it created the difficult
time. Before Steinman, there was no feeling. His music created the
feeling, and the feeling still hunts me, every moment, every step I
take.
Damn you and curse you, after all that youve done, now I cant
forget her!
Thanks man.
Posted by Xavier T on November 17, 1998 at 17:33:11:
In Reply to: It just wont quit posted by WILLY on November 16, 1998 at 20:44:51:
Obsession's too vague a word. People tend to label it as dysfunctional too easily. Have you considered that love was love - that simple - it was always there? You said that you built up self-protective barriers, as I too did. It's called denial. In your case the music was perhaps just the catalyst that threw the loss of that love in your face, and nobody does it quite like Jim. The loss hit home and you couldn't avoid it any more. But as magnificent a poet as JS is, he can't actually create love for someone that's now out of our lives, only highlight or remind us of that love. The trick is to admit that love, at least to yourself and don't try to define it too much. Stay True, Xay
Posted by Ed D. on November 16, 1998 at 16:54:18:
There are a million situations that I go through
everyday in which I could very easily apply a Steinman
song to my life, but unlike a lot of fans I have run
across, I don't find Steinman's music to be
particularly dark. I don't think there's a doomsday
quality to it at all. Rather, I think that most of it
is filled with HOPE.
and hope is what Steinman's music gives me.
I have the capability of being a very bitter person,
we've all been wronged by someone or something in our
life and I have a tendency of taking these situations
to heart, and holding grudges on life, so to speak.
One song that has given me hope is Tanzsaal from Jim's
musical "Tanz der Vampire."
The music tells a heartfelt plea that love can exist no
matter what the situation, and when you really really
need it the most.
Thanks, Jim.
Posted by Ed D. on November 16, 1998 at 16:55:06:
In Reply to: Tansaal posted by Ed D. on November 16, 1998 at 16:53:50:
Sorry about murdering the title of this beautiful
song. :(
Posted by Kate on November 16, 1998 at 12:14:40:
I work nights for a morning newspaper (from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m.), a real shift from my usual day jobs, and for the first three months, I couldn't get my sleep schedule right. But every afternoon before going to work, I'd play "Tonight Is What It Means to Be Young" and it always perked me up just in time for a full shift at work! Now my sleep schedule is all right, but Steinman's music still picks me up when work seems too much to handle!
Posted by Damian (Belfast) Burns on November 20, 1998 at 03:28:09:
In Reply to: Tonight Is What It Means to Be Young posted by Kate on November 16, 1998 at 12:14:40:
This is my favourite JS song. When did I first hear it...
I was in university in Dublin and one night I was walking
in the city centre. I decided to go to a movie and when to
see Streets of Fire (I didn't know JS had done any of the
music).
On hearing Nowhere Fast & TNIWIMTBY I thought they sound
great. A few weeks later I came upon the single TNIWIMTBY.
I've played it hundreds on times - very loudly. It sends
tingles dowm my spine. Yes, it certainly does give you a bit
of a lift.
Brill song James.
Dee Belfast Burns