| re: My Jim Tribute | |
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Posted by: |
steven_stuart 12:43 pm UTC 04/21/21 |
| In reply to: | My Jim Tribute - LordRahl 11:03 am UTC 04/21/21 |
| Thanks for sharing that with us LordRahl. I found it to be very moving. I am feeling very sad about Jim today but reading that helped. You are absolutely correct to say that Jim's music and influence will live forever and he was such a kind man who loved his fans. Jim was a fantastic person. > This is what I posted on a website that I visit pretty > often, which had a tribute to Jim. I wanted to share it > with you guys as well: > > Jim Steinman’s music has been a part of my life since > 1994. In fact, Id say he was the soundtrack of my life. > Losing him is losing part of myself. I am still > struggling to accept it and I cried all day yesterday > after reading the news. I spent the evening honoring his > memory by listening to his music with my daughter while > posting his lyrics in the comment sections of different > websites I frequent. > > I remember when I first discovered Jim. I was just a > kid, 8 or 9 years old at the time, waking up early one > morning while the family was still sleeping and flipping > through the channels to see what was on. I landed on > VH1/MTV and saw a “real life” story of Beauty and the > beast playing out with a song unlike anything I had ever > heard before accompanying it. It was like a mini musical > or something wrapped up into one song. Of course I am > talking about I Would Do Anything For Love and the awesome > video by Michael Bay. From there I would go on to get Bat > 2 for Christmas and over the years pick up every Meat Loaf > album, gradually learning more and more about who this > “Songs by Jim Steinman” character was. Coincidentally one > of my favorite films as a young kid was “Short Circuit 2” > and the ass kicking ending sequence had “Holding Out For A > Hero” playing over it, so that may in fact have been my > first exposure to Jim. > > Moving well into the 90s I was browsing the internet all > the time and discovering more and more of Jim’s > involvement in the music industry. I found out that he > was originally Andrew Lloyd Webbers pick for writing > Phantom of the Opera, and while that fell through they did > eventually work together for Whistle Down The Wind. > Speaking of Phantom, the legendary Steve Barton (RIP) who > played Raoul would go on to star as Count Von Krolock in > the most popular modern musical in German history that Jim > Steinman just happened to create (with Roman Polanski) > called Tanz der Vampire. The 90s also introduced me to > more of the “children of Steinman” and I got to hear his > work with Barbara Streisand (Left in the Dark), Celine > Dion (It’s All Coming Back to me Now & Is Nothing Sacred > Any More), Barry Manilow (Read em and Weep), Karine Hannah > (an entire album of unreleased music), Bonnie Tyler (Hero, > Ravishing, Total Eclipse, Loving you is a dirty job), Rory > Dodd, Pandora’s Box, The Everyly Brothers, Air Supply, and > many others. There is even a Batman Musical Jim was > working on (that was unfortunately canceled) where he > still shared his demos with his fans. As an aside, the > music from those demos inspired a big fan of his to create > some extra songs for it that I personally felt were on the > level of Jim (Scaramouche). That’s the influence he had > with his fans. > > And speaking of his fans, something that always impresses > me is the variety of ways Jim’s art encourages and > inspires us. Even as his music releases became few and > far between in the later years, his rabid fans that were > always hungry for MORE would occasionally release their > own covers of his songs, which really spoke to how much he > meant to the people who he touched. A few “rabid fans” > even went to the next level, hosting tribute shows with > some serious musical guests showing up to honor the > maestro. One fan in particular went on a mission to > discover (and thankfully could share) some true gems from > “the vaults of heaven”, that being Jim’s college and post > college musical works (Dream Engine, Neverland, More than > you deserve). He tracked down the live recordings and > demos and uploaded them to the internet so people could > finally hear this legendary music thought to be forgotten > (a million thanks Ben). At the time I compared it to > finding a lost book of the bible. That goes for the rare > demos Rory Dodd also shared from a few of his studio > sessions with Jim. > > Something very special to me was the few times I actually > got to interact with Jim directly. In particular when I > once shared a story on his message board about the time I > met Mick Foley & James E Cornette at an autograph signing > and had a discussion with them about Jim’s music. Jim > mentioned it on his blog (1/24/06) and said that he was > “thrilled with AGAwesome’s story of Mick Foley and Jim > Cornette knowing all about my work”. Wrestling is as > important in my life’s story as Jim Steinman’s music is, > and knowing the two universes overlap was like a personal > prophecy being fulfilled. We also spoke on FB about some > book recommendations (Boys and Girls Together by William > Goldman and Foley’s first book), which he told me he > picked up to read! May not seem like much, but when you > “worship” someone, an interaction like that can mean the > world to you. Hell, Im talking about it 15+ years later > still! > > Personally, I look back at Jim’s effect on my youth and > growing up and how rather than struggling to fit in I > instead grew a superiority complex because of the better > music I was listening to. Hahaha. I was surrounded by so > many kids who listened to bubble gum music and teeny > bopper garbage. All mass produced and consumed by the > simple mob. It offended me to no end and I would proudly > wear my Bat out of Hell 1 & 2 T shirts to school all the > time, letting people know what “real music” was. I recall > a creative writing class giving me an assignment where I > wrote a parody of Dante’s Inferno about myself and Jim > Steinman wandering through “hell” together. And I still > chuckle thinking back to the time where, rather than write > a summer book report going into my freshman year of high > school, I instead wrote a five page rant about how “kids > today” don’t even read “real” books or “get” what real > music is. I also filled it with Steinman lyrics that kind > of poorly reflected on life/society (a bad move a few > years after Columbine happened and the school admins > thought I was a nut, of course maybe I was/still am). > > Jim guided me through my adolescence and painted a picture > for what I thought life and love and growing up (never to > do it) should be. He inspired me, he protected me, he > taught me, and he saved me countless times. As I > mentioned, I still can’t fully grasp it… he was supposed > to live forever. “I don’t ever want to be rescued, and I > don’t ever want to be saved. I got a feeling that Im > gonna be alive forever, dancing on the edge of a grave… > dancing on the edge of a grave”. But I know that even as > he enters into the great beyond (heaven can’t wait…) his > music and influence WILL live forever in my life. Thank > you so very much O Captain! My Captain! > > Say a prayer for the falling angels > Stem the tide of the rising waters > Toll a bell for the brokenhearted > Burn a torch for your sons and daughters > The endless night has got a hold of me > Dark days are pulling me forward > And all the tears are washing over me > I'm crying, lost forever > In a future that ain't what it used to be > No more, no more, no more > > The future just ain't what it used to be > It's never gonna be like it was > The future just ain't what it used to be > I wish it wouldn't come but it does > I wish it wouldn't come but it always does | |
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