Pop Goes My Heart

Yesterday, it sub-zero outside, and I had cut a four-inch-long gash into my leg while shaving (which bled all day long), so I wasn't really in the mood to go much of anywhere. So I did what I've often done on cold weekend days lately; I watched TV and crocheted.

There was nothing good on, and I had no new Netflix movies to watch, so I ended up spending an hour or so with VH1's Top 100 Songs of the 1980s while I finished a scarf I'd been working on. It's your typical VH1 special, where famous (and marginally famous) people share their memories and make jokes about the songs, plus they throw in a "where are they now" for those folks who haven't been in the limelight lately.

There were a couple of sad faces. They kept showing the guy from A Flock of Seagulls talk about how sick he is of people asking him to play "I Ran," and the singer from Dexy's Midnight Runners voiced his disappointment that "Come On Eileen" is the only song people remember of theirs. And I'm sure it is very frustrating to people who worked hard for years. But then, there were some folks who had great songs and then moved on to other things and are just tickled that someone remembers something they did 20-some years ago.

I have no aspirations to become a professional musician. Even if I had the talent and desire, I don't think I'd survive the lifestyle. But watching that special yesterday got me to thinking, I might like to have a one-hit wonder. I'd have enough fame to make me some money and get me into cool parties for awhile, but before I got a chance to let the fame go to my head or start using drugs, I would quietly fade back into the background, emerging only every once in awhile to commentate on VH1 specials. And because it was never my dream to make a career out of music, I wouldn't feel bad about the "has been" label.

I'm not really sure how one goes about securing one's place on the one-hit wonder charts, but I think if I send a few query letters to some record companies, I might generate some interest. If anyone wants to help lick the envelopes, let me know.