Doomed, I tell you.

Thanks to Clodyne for spotting this clip on YT and sharing it with me. It's not about DC but you'll forgive me because he looks great here AND he laughs. Serious ear candy, that laugh. Alas, if only his laughs were pig snorts, we'd be spared this "interest" in him, I'm sure. But no, his laugh is as endearing as those dimples of his. Damn. We were so doomed to fall for him.

He's So Vain? Well, yeah, but is the song about him?

Carly Simon's big hit with the infamous ironic lyric "You're So Vain" is about a David. The latest consensus seems to be David Geffen but I think that David Cassidy should still be in the running for one reason: in an episode of "Ruby & the Rockits", Ruby comments on David Gallagher's less than impressive stage outfit and he protests by saying that Carly Simon went nuts over that outfit back in the day. There were a lot of "in-jokes" on that show and I wouldn't be surprised if that was one of them.

Lyrics to Ms Simon's song here. Read various interview segments with her dribbling hints through the years as to who's so vain on her own website.

Questions you WON'T hear during the Partridge Family reunion

Long-time fans of The Partridge Family know all the answers to the questions that will be asked during next Tuesday's cast reunion on the Today show. It's the answers to the questions that will NEVER be asked that we want!

Seeing as a few of you got the ball rolling in my previous post's comments, here's the idea spun off into its separate entry. In the spirit of good fun (that might verge on bad taste) and in the tradition of David Letterman's top ten lists, here are the TOP TEN Partridge Family questions that will never get asked:

10.Who is getting compensated for appearing on the Today show?

9. Which cast members are profiting from current Partridge Family CD and DVD sales?

8. How much does David think his autograph on Partridge Family memorabilia is worth on eBay? (thanks, Racehorses)

7. Was David "intimate" with any of the three Charlie's Angels who guest starred on the show?

6. Danny keeps mentioning David's hair plugs on his radio show: could we get a close up and take a moment to mourn Keith Partridge's hair?

5. Does David regret revealing his intimate encounter with Susan Dey in his autobiographies?

4. Is it true that previously unreleased songs from the show aren't available on CD because David is asking too much money?

3. Why do David's recent concert press bios state that "HE ALONE" was responsible for seven chart-topping Partridge Family hits?

2. Did Shirley ever have the hots for her stepson and vice-versa?

1. Does David want to be remembered for The Partridge Family or was that then and this is now?

(Joking aside, is Danny seeing a specialist about that perpetual frog in his throat?! It sounds like real bad news. As in take your vitamins religiously and get a throat and chest X-ray every six months bad news. :( )

Who wants to bet that these are the top five questions we WILL hear:

1. Did you ever think that people would still care about The Partridge Family forty years after its debut?
2. Do you mind that you're remembered first and foremost for the show?
3. When you signed on, did you know it was going to be a hit?
4. How did it feel to be adulated that way?
5. What's your fondest memory of the show?

Here's what I will probably email the show:

Longtime fans have seen all the Partridge Family bios so there isn't much mystery left. We want to know the current and upcoming projects of this talented cast. Can we expect any new ORIGINAL recordings from David Cassidy? Also, a lot of his concert-going fans would love to hear him perform material from those three solo RCA albums he did in the mid-seventies.

This year does mark the fortieth anniversary of The Partridge Family's debut on television. Not sure if this cast appearance on the Today show will serve as a proper reunion but it can serve as a memory trigger for those fans who've lost touch with the cast or didn't realize that all four seasons of the show were now available on DVD.

Critics be damned, no other TV show triggers such an immediate feel-good response in me than does The Partridge Family. The show connects me instantly to shiny happy childhood memories and for that, my heart says thank you to the whole cast and crew.

The Partridge Family - What do you want to know?

Next week, NBC's Today Show will reunite some cast members from television's greatest families, including The Partridge Family. If you think there's something left to be discovered about the PF (really?!), you can email the show your question and it might get featured.

Now, you'll note that the Today site says the PF will appear on Tuesday, March 3 but next Tuesday is March 2. In his most recent post, Scott at C'mon Get Happy says that the show is scheduled for Tuesday, March 2. To be on the safe side, record Tuesday's show. ;-) And yes, DC is scheduled to appear. Imagine that.

Yeesh! And you think I'm harsh?

I've got nothing on Australian fans. This is what one had to say about an "ageing diva" (oh yeah, she's ancient at 46) who performed recently in Brisbane:

"She couldn't entertain a dead rat, to be honest."

Read about the superstar's dismal comeback attempt in the land Down Under here.

The Donk is Real, People!

Not that we had any doubts. Still, "David" sets the record straight for "Red", a disgruntled audience member who proposed that his unknown illness that concert evening "consisted of having a large head, small penis and being a huge ass". Hilarious post from "David", aka "I Am a Clown", over at the ChicagoReader music blog today at 6:08 PM. Admit it, you've been following the drama too.

Sorry to disappoint, but I won't post a picture here that irrevocably refutes that small appendage claim. You can find your own. And no, there's no need to share it! :)

P.S. I'm torn between labeling this post "wtf?" and "bad press".

What's Going On?

David Cassidy's recent concert reviews - from journalists and fans - are hardly congratulatory this week and the exchange between "River of Music" and "Derek" at this blog reminded me of Janice Turner's insightful article about fandom that appeared in Times Online when a certain superstar passed away last summer. She had this to say about David Cassidy:

"The most troubled person I ever met was David Cassidy, the teen idol of Jackson’s era, unhinged long ago by his fans. For five years girls slept outside his house, followed him everywhere, ripped his clothing, forced him into isolation, made his life empty and lonely. And then, abruptly, when he was no longer the pretty boy du jour they deserted him. Now, two divorces later, he loathes meeting old fans, because they will say, with no regard for his feelings, how old he looks — though they are mostly portly matrons themselves — or get drunk and take a grab at him. To them, he isn’t a man, just an odd manifestation of their teenage years: they own him and they let him know it."

Read the rest of "The fans killed their idol. They always do" here.

I don't believe fans who respond to claims of "very off" performances by Cassidy with "we accept him as he is, an imperfect human being." No, they are still adulating him as someone they'll "love" no matter what he does. He has said in the past that he never felt worthy of all that adulation during those teen idol years (and in his own words, "Really, who is? No one is.") yet they persist in seeing him as a god on stage instead of an actual human being who might need actual help.

Love is an abused word in fandom. Fans unabashedly proclaim love for their idol but it's simply lust and greed masquerading as love: "We want more, more, MORE of you!" That "you" is a mythical being in their heart and a stranger in their life. Loving a celebrity is a bit absurd. Love his looks, talents or wares? Oh, yes! But claim to love HIM? You don't know him. You think you know him. It doesn't really matter because it's a one-way street. He'll never love you the same way. To quote Janice Turner again:

"Fandom is so grossly unequal, so self-abasing. Even when you are closest to your Special One you are humiliated by his — at best — polite indifference to your pathetic, onanistic, unreturned love."

David Cassidy fans, if you think you love him, care for his well-being. His performances are declining in quality, upsetting fans and turning off critics. What's going on?