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Pop
music can be easily dismissed. But some power
ballads refuse to leave the room.
Scroll
down for links to 'Total Eclipse' videos.
Sung
by Bonnie Tyler, written and composed by Jim Steinman,
'Total Eclipse of the Heart' was released 24 years
ago, in 1983.
"Turnaround,
Every now and then I get a little bit lonely and
you're never coming round"? Yes. That's the
one.
It was a smash hit. It sold approximately 5-6
million copies in total, and reached number one
in the pop charts of many countries. But, unlike
most other 20 year old pop sings, it will not
go away.
Tyler
fever
For me, for example, the dramatic soft rock epic
always conjures up mental images of a white, boxy,
Fiat Panda, or Uno car. Because
the album I first heard 'Total
Eclipse' on
was given away free - if you test drove a Fiat
car.
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 Another
Total Eclipse video |
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I did not test drive the car. I don't still own
the album. I don't even think that there were
cars on its front cover.
But still, if I hear:
"Turnaround,
Every now and then I get a little bit angry and
I know I've got to get out and cry"
I think of a boxy white Fiat Uno, with a low powered
engine - being driven by cowboy-hatted country
singer Kenny Rogers, up a steep incline.
Now that I've done my
in-depth research it turns out that Kenny did
not sing the 'Turnaround' bits. That was done
by Rory Dodd - but it's no use telling my brain
that - it doesn't want to listen. It's
only got ears for Bonnie.
Conversely,
when I see a mid-80's Fiat it can trigger a faint
echo of:
"Once
upon a time I was falling in love
"But now I'm only falling apart
"There's nothing I can do
"A total eclipse of the heart"
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| Another
Total Eclipse video |
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Which is fine. I accept that my view of the world
may sometimes have a Bonnie Tyler tinge to it.
But, of course, it's not just me. Now that we've
got the internet, people can no longer keep their
inner Tylers to themselves.
A world of Total Eclipse Of The Heart
Across the globe people are uploading their silly,
serious and odd versions of 'Total Eclipse' to
YouTube, GoogleVideo and similar.
A quick internet search reveals hundreds of versions
of the song.
There's the video of the two gentlemen, lying
side by side, who lip-synch 'Total Eclipse' with
towels over their eyes and eyes drawn on their
chins.
There's the American ladies grabbing at the air
for all they are worth - screaming "I need
you more than ever".
There's the half naked college jocks lip-synching
their hearts out in their dorm.
There's the 'Total Eclipse of the Heart at 90 MPH!!!'
version - filmed while driving through a desert.
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| Another
Total Eclipse video |
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There's the puzzling 'Chris Darvis Tribute' in which
'Stevie13nash' sings along to 'Total Eclipse' while
videoing an episode of the Cosby show.
Then there's the cover versions. Which include The
Pink Fuzzies' Total Eclipse of The Heart - a breathy
version sung by a man wearing full evening dress
and white gloves.
A special mention must go to the Hurra Torpedo comedy-grunge
version. Three men with their buttocks exposed performing
'Total Eclipse' by damaging cookers, fridges and
other kitchen appliances.
There's the... well you get the idea. A video of
me dressed as Kenny Rogers driving up a steep hill
while lip-synching badly would not be out of place.
Earnest
conclusion
Now
I don't want to draw an over-earnest conclusion,
but I'm going to anyway. I'm tired of typing.
So,
what does it all mean?
I think that the videos are proof of the power
of the popular song. And that human beings are
deeply irrational.
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| Hurra
Torpedo's Total Eclipse |
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The
impact of popular music is considerable. For many
of us, pop songs are tangled up with our lives
and memories in more ways than we can imagine.
Corny or not, Jim Steinman spoke to many when
he wrote:
"I don't know what to do and I'm always in
the dark
"We're living in a powder keg and giving
off sparks"
"Once upon a time there was light in my life
But now there's only love in the dark
Nothing I can say
A total eclipse of the heart"
All over the world, Bonnie Tyler has won a place
in our heads and in our totally eclipsed hearts.
By CR for Extrageographic, 2007.
Links
Hurra
Torpedo performing Total Eclipse of the Heart
Total
Eclipse at 90
Total
Eclipse by Dustin and Terrance
The
Pink Fuzzies - Total Eclipse
Bonnie
Tyler - Total Eclipse Of The Heart
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