I’m going to disagree, if only for this reason (not that I feel too strongly either way):

1. I’m not a big fan of this song, and
2. I’m not a big fan of Bon Jovi, but

The cultural imprint this song has left on America is beyond almost any other song, as Tom mentions. I feel like it HAS to be a 10.

Shit, it even got Tom to sing it at a karaoke bar. I’ve screamed this song (can’t call it “singing”) almost EVERY time I’ve heard it out. Why was I screaming? ’cause every other person was singing it louder than I was.

Well, shit, I guess I’m going to have to tell this story…

One of my best friends was this girl Jen – we became friendly after I’d dated her friend (another sophomore when I was a senior), and I ended it because I’d heard some things I wasn’t comfortable with. She confronted me outside my 5th period physics class, then called me over the summer when she learned I’d been right.

We became fast friends almost immediately, and remained close for the next 30 years. There were times when I liked her, and times when she liked me, but never at the same time, and we worked better as friends. Inseparable.

Shortly after I graduated college, Jen met her future husband driving home in traffic from the Jersey Shore. I wound up being a part of the bridal party, hosted the bachelor party, but her mother and I concocted a scheme when I’d be the “Chippendale” for her bachelorette party. I had an entire dance routine planned…but backed out at the last second. It would’ve taken a BIG risk to pull it off.

In 1996, I was living in Damascus, Syria, and the expatriate community I associated with kept throwing larger and larger parties, and it seemed like it was a competition as to who could throw the largest. A friend of mine lived in a rooftop apartment overlooking Abu Roumaneh, and he decided to throw the party to end all parties. I teamed up with him and another friend to throw a “Vicars & Tarts” party (priests and prostitutes, for those Americans out there).

*We spent $5000, which went a hell of a long way in Syria
*We hired a DJ, bartenders, lighting artists, butlers, and someone to clean/paint the apartment after we were finished
*We paid off the landlord to ignore complaints from other residents in the building
*We paid off the local police

We arrived to our own party 2 hours after it had begun. One of the first songs I heard the DJ play was “Could You Be Loved”, by Bob Marley, and I witnessed 400 Syrians and ex-pats singing the song from the dance floor.

It may have been the most surreal moment of my life.

But, I had an arrangement with the DJ. I’d be doing my bachelorette routine at the party.

I was dressed as a monk: black robe, rope for a belt, pouch hanging from it, hood over my head. I looked like one of the cartoon monks from Monty Python’s “Holy Grail”. Around midnight, I took the stage, and the DJ handed me the microphone, and lowered the music.

“Look at all of you SINNERS!” I yelled to the crowd. “You’re drinking, smoking, dancing too close with members of the opposite sex…you have let the Devil control your soul! YOU HAVE ALLOWED THE DEVIL INSIDE!!!”

unh unh unh…

To “Devil Inside”, I stripped. Underneath, I was wearing red devil’s horns, a G-string, and…well, nothing else.

With the way social media and easy access to photography, there is no way in hell a teacher could’ve pulled this off, but in 1996 Damascus, with lots of alcohol, I overcame my fears.

When I got home the next morning, I called Jen, by then pregnant with her first child, and told her what I’d done.

She’ll appear in a few of my stories going forward.

That diamond either is going to be driven right through his skull in a car crash and kill him, or else it will stop a bullet headed straight for his brain and save his life. This thing has Chekhov’s Gun written all over it.

This is devastating, to say the least.

I vividly remember seeing the video for “It’s okay to cry” the first time and how much it helped me to come to terms and celebrate my own Queerness. Her vision, music, aesthetics and importance to our community will be incredibly missed and this news leaves me with an empty space in my heart.
I wish her family and friends all the best during these enduring times.

Fuck.

This is devastating. All the love to her and her family.

oh what the hell, lets give him another chance! what do you say America? he seems like a nice white boy who is truly sorry and has only exhibited questionable behavior only twice in his life i’m sure.

i am gutted. a tremendous loss for us queers, music at large, and most importantly those closest to her.

Jesus Christ that is awful

I have to say as a queer person, the impact SOPHIE had on the queer music scene cannot be overstated.

Her music spoke so eloquently to queens around the world in harmony, often without using words at all. To have someone from our community producing the visionary work she did, – from the tiniest, sweatiest clubs to the worlds biggest arenas – was an incredible inspiration.

It’s been so heartening to see so much outpouring of love for SOPHIE this morning, she was loved and she will be remembered.

Just because you, for whatever reason, don’t cover new Alice In Chains and Stone Temple Pilots records doesn’t excuse your ignorance.

Perdida is amazing and a fuck ton better than a lot of the alt-rock slash garage band (read: poor musicianship) promoted time and again.

Those bands are without a doubt just as much, if not more, alt-rock than Foo Fighters. They’re Dad Rock with Pop and if you think Weezer is anything but watered down Hash Pipe shit you need a lobotomy.

Alt-Rock is a style and you have no idea about context if you hold up some of these examples while never covering the real players. Next article y’all gonna label Josh Tillman folk Americana Jesus or what. FFS quit sucking the tailpipe of A&R trash that pack your SXSW venue with trust fund lo-fi dorks who couldn’t tape a cassette back together if it’s get them out of a SAW movie.

Just looked up the statute of limitations, Brian’s got a real legitimate case of abuse himself against Supercuts.

https://i.ibb.co/DMqWCSK/5cd4b85b2400005500aaf71b.webp

It’s important to be mindful of early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, such as short term memory loss, disorientation and releasing albums with Lady Gaga.

Hope she is recovering comfortably? I understand it is not your intent but the empty sentiment comes off as belittling.

“I felt a piece of me disappear, a piece that has never returned. In other words, I was not fine. I am not fine.”

i mean he was saying it to a friend with an “a” there’s no hard “r” there. it’s at the point where i hear young ppl of all races and backgrounds using the word with an “a” with friends etc. i barely know who this guy is but this is common language now i hear it everywhere said by all kinds of ppl. he didn’t say it with a hard “r’ its completely different

People say he’s crazy
He’s got diamond on the fore of his head