Comments on: Tomboys of the 80s

By: Jacob T. Levy

Jacob T. Levy — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 03:19:28 +0000

I thought she was great on Herman's Head, and generallyy enjoyed the hell out of that show. My usually-irreproachable neighborhood video store has for some reason been featuring that godawful Supergirl movie in the front window for the past two weeks. Would it be suitably Toddish to note that Angel, whose theme song was apparently written by Holly Knight, was a far superior version of the nonetheless-entertaining Canadian TV show Forever Knight?

By: Todd Seavey

Todd Seavey — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:38:14 +0000

Ah, something that film (which starred Helen Slater, I should say) has in common with the sitcom _Herman’s Head_ and this brief, slightly weird chat about teen anxiety (she looks oddly like a cartoon character in real life, actually):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHSWtHtY0NY

By: Ali Kokmen

Ali Kokmen — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:29:50 +0000

Extra nerd aside: The Legend of Billie Jean also starred Yeardley Smith, who would later go on to fame as the voice of Lisa Simpson. Should you see the movie again, it’s a little surprising to hear that familiar voice coming from a non-animated character…

By: Todd Seavey

Todd Seavey — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:36:59 +0000

…a pair of films that were themselves noted in the second half of my Book Selections entry this month, for those keeping track:

http://toddseavey.com/2009/06/23/book-selection-the-great-rock-n-roll-swindle-by-michael-moorcock-who-is-not-exactly-a-proponent-of-conservatism-for-punks/

By: Eric Hanneken

Eric Hanneken — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:23:14 +0000

Somehow I've managed never to see The Legend of Billie Jean. To me, 1980s + movies + tomboys = Mary Stuart Masterson in Some Kind of Wonderful, John Hughes and Howard Deutch's remake of their own Pretty In Pink, which had been released just one year earlier(!).

By: Todd Seavey

Todd Seavey — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:42:03 +0000

And though it has nothing to do with Holly Knight (to my knowledge — though nothing would surprise me now), I just want to mention with approval “Harden My Heart” by Quarterflash while we’re at it.

And note that while Knight’s “Never” was a solid Heart song, I wish their transitional classic-rock/80s-rock “How Can I Refuse?” got played more.

By: Todd Seavey

Todd Seavey — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:08:04 +0000

…and Holly Knight apparently wrote Animotion’s “Obsession” and my _favorite_ Tina Turner song, “One of the Living” (the _other_ song from _Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome_), and “Rag Doll,” the Aerosmith song I always point to as worthy of Irving Berlin.

And another Benatar song written by Knight that cannot go unmentioned is “Love Is a Battlefield.” Holly Knight built our world.

By: Todd Seavey

Todd Seavey — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:20:35 +0000

…not to mention the theme to Joss Whedon’s vampire spin-off _Angel_ and, yes, co-writing “Better Be Good to Me,” the one song Tina did with…the Fixx. And so once more we travel afar to find our way home.

By: Todd Seavey

Todd Seavey — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:16:09 +0000

Holy crap! I didn’t know that! And Wiki. says she wrote “Simply the Best” by Tina Turner — and a song I thought no one but me ever even heard, let alone loved: “Hanging on a Heart Attack” (with her band Device), the video for which I saved on an old VHS somewhere.

Thank you! Now it all makes sense, and I’ve found my Holly Knight in shining armor.

By: jsg

jsg — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:59:59 +0000

The common factor here is Holly Knight. She wrote
“Pleasure and Pain”, “The Warrior”, “Invincible”, plus songs for Heart, Lita Ford, and Kim Wilde.