{"id":2212,"date":"2011-08-12T16:42:43","date_gmt":"2011-08-12T16:42:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jasonbennion.com\/?p=2212"},"modified":"2011-08-12T16:42:43","modified_gmt":"2011-08-12T16:42:43","slug":"friday_evening_videos_down_boys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jasonbennion.com\/index.php\/2011\/08\/12\/friday_evening_videos_down_boys\/","title":{"rendered":"Friday Evening Videos: “Down Boys”"},"content":{"rendered":"

For this week’s musical selection, I was going to track down a fun little clip I know of that features Ben E. King singing “Stand by Me” with the young cast of the movie — I may still post that later — but my plans changed when I read this morning that Jani Lane, the original lead singer of the late-80s hair-metal band Warrant, died yesterday<\/a>. He was only 47, just five years older than myself, and although his death is still being investigated, he is known to have had a lot of problems with substance abuse, so I’m willing to bet the cause of death won’t turn out to be “natural.” It’s too bad, and a little spooky considering how near he is to my own age.<\/p>\n

Warrant is of course best known for the song “Cherry Pie.” With lyrics consisting of not-at-all-subtle innuendo and lots of sleazy attitude, it was naturally a monster hit in the waning days of glam-rock, just before grunge came along and depressed the shit out of everyone. But I’ll be honest, I never cared much for that one. There’s nothing I like better than a good, dumb, crunchy-guitar-based  tune about getting laid, but “Cherry Pie” is a little too <\/i>dumb for my tastes, and it doesn’t have much of a melodic hook, not like, say, Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me” or just about any of Poison’s major hits. (I did enjoy watching the video<\/a> on the big projection TV in the student union, though. That Bobbie Jean Brown<\/a> was rather pleasing to the eye…)<\/p>\n

My favorite Warrant song — the only other Warrant song I know, to tell the truth — is actually this one, a track called “Down Boys,”  which I discovered only a handful of years ago when I picked up a compilation CD of 80s-vintage hard rock that included it in between Aldo Nova’s “Fantasy” and Blue Oyster Cult’s “I’m Burning for You.” But what a great tune it is; have a listen and try to tell me this doesn’t make you happy:<\/p>\n