Adrian Love

In Memory of Whitney Houston
August 9, 1963 ~ February 11, 2012

If there’s one Whitney Houston song I consider my absolute favorite, this would be the one, the one that defines me now and forever.

I Have Nothing
from the soundtrack to the 1992 film, The Bodyguard

Share my life, take me for what I am
Cause I’ll never change all my colors for you
Take my love, I’ll never ask for too much
Just all that you are and everything that you do

Don’t make me close one more door …

In the ‘80s and 90’s – much until Grunge overtook the music scene – my personal life revolved around the music scene both local and national.  As a buyer for a record store (those buildings where you actually had to go in to purchase music on a record, tape, or compact disc, and are now rare) I had access to concerts and after parties regularly.  Through my boyfriend at the time, who worked at concerts around the city, and sometimes in the outer regions, I had double access to concerts, backstage as well as after parties, too.

Long hair was everywhere at the time, and backstage, groupies as young as twelve constantly tried to sneak their way in to see their favorite guys after the shows were over.  Some of them made it in, and who knows what illegal trysts went on inside those dressing rooms.  All I can say is that there was usually a lot of alcohol being passed around and hair spray was rampant.

I never was really interested in the guys in the bands unless they were onstage in the midst of their musical ecstasy, thrashing their beautiful long blonde locks around with abandon. I was a good girl at the time, and I remained faithful to the boyfriend despite numerous attempts at rendezvousing with me by both men and women.  Alas, I went weak with one, and he wasn’t even in a band.  I was so enthralled by his boldness at kissing me more than I was by his persona.  Thus began my love affair with long blonde hair; I thought it was deliciously in contrast to my boyfriend’s long black wavy hair, and both were over six feet tall to my relative under five feet stature.  Yet one of them called me Princess.

Velvet Revolver – Fall to Pieces
This was more after the hair bands but felt I had to include them in here.   I never got to see this group perform together but only while they were in their separate bands – Guns ‘n’ Roses (Slash) and Stone Temple Pilots (Scott Weiland).  I think it was Scott Weiland who once gently took my shoulders and turned me aside as I stood at the backstage door talking with the boyfriend so he could pass through, saying something like ‘excuse me, honey/sugar/babe.’  I remember his burgundy pin-striped suit more, thinking how oddly eccentric he should be wearing it (on second thought it could’ve been Layne Staley of Alice in Chains because of a beard on his chin but I can’t picture him in a suit).

Some of the Hair Bands and Ballads~

Whitesnake – Here I Go Again
His wife, actress and model Tawny Kitaen is in the video.

Bad English – When I See You Smile
I used to use John Waite’s (the lead singer) name whenever I went on my midnight excursions across the border to Canada.  They would ask where and who I was going to see, and the only Canadian name I could think of was his.  Nowadays they ask if I always travel alone, and I always want to tell them my friend in the back seat has a tendency to become invisible when he’s nervous.

Warrant – Heaven
I went to an after party with Warrant and their opening act (can’t remember the name, only that most of them were long-haired blondes), whose lead singer kept calling me beautiful and autographed a photo and gave it to me, unsolicited.

Poison – Every Rose Has Its Thorn
Bret Michaels has gone downhill, but he still thinks he can get those young groupies.

Love and Affection
by The Green

I’m currently obsessing on this song by The Green, a reggae band from Hawaii. They recently toured my area and my sister and niece had the opportunity to see them in concert. I had never heard of them before, and my sister’s shoutout for them didn’t faze me much. It wasn’t until I was riding in my friend’s car on our way to see another reggae band, a local one originating from Hawaii, Kore Ionz, that I got exposed to this song – several times, in fact, since my friend was also obsessing on it.

Haunt Me
by Sade

Sometimes Sade says it all for me. 

All I Ask of You
from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera
One of the most beautiful songs ever.