6.28.2006

musings on bon jovi

The man and I watched Bon Jovi on Oprah the other day (before we took the baby to the vet). We do not normally watch Oprah, but since the man used to be a big Bon Jovi fan, we watched the show.

Some history on my early years and Bon Jovi: As a child, I thought Bon Jovi (the whole band) looked like girls; granted, I was in elementary school and long hair on men wasn't in fashion. I did like the music though and had a lavender-colored portable tape player and listened to Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet album religiously.

My current life as influenced by Bon Jovi: The man has a pair of ripped jeans that he refers to as his "Bon Jovi pants" and he often uses the phrase "Hell yeah, Bon Jovi!" at such random times that I don't quite know the reason for the utterance. The man was in high school during Bon Jovi's heyday and sported long locks of his own (which, apparently, was the fashion), the pictures of which are the cause for much mockery in our household.

Okay, getting back to what I thought of Bon Jovi's Oprah appearance. I was somewhat surprised by how much I like Bon Jovi as a person based on the interview. Gone is the bad hair (it's not great now, but it is much better than I remember). Gone are the spandex accoutrements. All-in-all, Bon Jovi is a good man - he and his band donated $1 million to Oprah's charity and he has been married to his high school sweetheart for 16 years despite the hoards of panty-throwers that would love to play Gina to his Tommy. The new single is being released sans music video with the money that would have been spent on production going to a Habitat for Humanity-type organization. He helps homeless kids in Philly. Like I said, he's a good guy.

Bon Jovi is what I think all rockers should strive for - using his wealth and celebrity to help others while remaining a values-driven human being with a real family that doesn't consist of a trophy-wife/stripper and a nanny. Hell yeah, Bon Jovi!