-in no particular order...
1. 
Mel Gibson - circa 'The Year of Living Dangerously'
I watch that movie, and I see his youthful enthusiasm and it makes me want to scream into the television from the future and warn him of what's to come. What a shame.
2. Michael Jackson - circa 'Off the Wall'
He was a good looking guy with as much talent as one body could possess. The photo alone says more than I ever could. An obvious choice for this list.
3. Whitney Houston - circa 1986
I had a humongous crush on her back in the day. Sometime just after she wrapped 'The Bodyguard' is when it all seemed to come apart for her...more than a little to do with her and Bobby Brown getting together...which is not exactly a secret. Still, I look back at old pictures of her, and clips of her live performances - and it's hard not to feel sad.
4. U2 - circa 'War'
Okay, you have to bear with me a little on this one. Go back and listen to 'War', and the radical, change-the-world-with-our-music-or-die-trying energy on that LP is palpable. When I listen to that album I hear a band that would've ended themselves right there in the studio with a bayonet if I'd arrived in a time machine armed with a "This is Your Life" video doc chronicling just how far past the "sell out" line they'd gone in the years that followed. Yes, the term "sell out" is hipsterish - but it's appropriate when you consider what Bono and the rest used to say whenever they were asked about popular music, and what their goals were as musicians. I get that goals change as you age, but still...this is a sentimental list - so on it they go. Listen to "Like a Song"...then put on anything that came after 'Pop'...you tell me.
5. Ally Sheedy
Saving the best for last. And I know...she's never gone the full Lohan, but she's on the list mainly because all I have to do is watch 'St. Elmo's Fire' or 'WarGames' or 'The Breakfast Club' and the feelings from my number one 80s massive mega-crush come rushing back. But it's a strange feeling because that was almost 30 (!) years ago, and it makes me wish Ally Sheedy could've stayed her 80s self forever. Maybe it's just me wishing I could too. I'm crushing on an almost three decade old iteration of a person - it's like falling in love with a shadow. Wow, talk about rambling your way into one awesome story prompt.
I can't relate to any of these. I don't get invested in pop culture, so when something changes I don't feel bereft. Also, I tend to like a lot of old stuff, so I already know that it is what it is. Rolling Stones aren't as good as they used to be? No shit. Who cares? They used to be one of the best bands going, and thanks to technology I can experience the peak whenever I want.
You could've won the top ten thingie with this idea!
The only thing that breaks my heart is pointless blathering about the cultural equivalent of pocket lint. Oy vey ist mir.
I think we touched on Ally Sheedy in another thread. U2 always sucked. Michael Jackson is still god and is alive and well, he has just traversed corporeal planes into the MIRRORWORLD now.
Different opinions on the internet. WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT?!?!
I get bothered that Motley Crue gets played in restaurants these days; they've become easy listening. Not really an example from their past, but I think I'm still drunk from last night and it's all I've got.
Oh and what's become of Jared Leto! He used to be a HOT mediocre actor and then he decided to do music! Look at him now, a HOT mediocre singer.
@Liana--have you seen the pictures of him in drag for his new movie? For some reason, I would have thought Jared would make an okay looking female...but, not so much. It's just scary.
Yep... Not as pretty as I would've thought. May still beat Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie, look-wise.
Oh and what's become of Jared Leto!
HE WORKS AT MY PIZZA HUT!!!!!!!!!!
Question: is a "brocation" a holiday trip you take with your bros, or is it perhaps just a really bitchin career-oriented employment position?
Pop yo collar and see the elephants.
