I Think I Like You Too

What's happened to good old-fashioned romance in popular culture? Wooing is dead and buried, isn't it? When's the last time you saw a proper turn-your-heart-into-a-helium-balloon romantic movie, comedy or otherwise? Been over ten years, hasn't it? What about songs that describe falling head over heels?

“I Think I Love You” is the classic falling-in-love anthem that catapulted our David Cassidy to stardom. I was listening to it on YT recently (one video of it has gotten over 1.6 millions hits, btw) and as usual, YT helpfully recommended videos based on my selection. One of them was “I Think I Like You” by The Black Box Revelation. At first glance, I thought it was a cover of our beloved ITILY but since it had gotten close to a million views, I figured it had to be a different song. Well, would you look at that, it’s a different TITLE, so yeah, DeeDee, I guess it’s a different song (reading glasses? who, me?).

What a lovely surprise. Thank you Black Box Revelation. I loooove the song’s beat and energy but had to admit that there, in all its glory, was today’s cynicism. As sentimental declarations go, “I Think I Like You” hardly packs the same knee-weakening wallop as “I Think I Love You”, does it? Whatever. I think I like the song. Nah, I’ll go on an emotional limb and declare that I know I like the song.

I liked it so much I had to listen to more of their stuff. Second listen was “Never Alone/Always Together”. The vocals reminded me of Jagger and the rhythm of Smoother’s East Side (I thought everyone knew this song but the video's views say otherwise - do not fear, I've embedded it here). Third up was “High on a Wire”. I like this one too. Looking forward to discovering more of Black Box Revelation.

Anyway, all this fearful sentiment sharing made me wonder about current love songs. What odes to amour would I discover in Billboard’s Top 100? (I’m so very not au courant). I went on Billboard’s site and scanned the titles in search of romantic declarations. Selena Gomez’s “Love You Like a Love Song” had a very promising title and I was intrigued by Jennifer Lopez’s “I’m Into You”. Unfortunately, the songs couldn’t float my rubber ducky in the middle of the Dead Sea but William Levy could. Never mind the Dead Sea, he'd do it in the desert. Who’s Mr. Levy, you ask? In the words of one blogger, he’s a “Cuban actor/model/panty creamer and walking orgasm”. Like dessert, I've saved him for last.












Mind this pic, he’s more than a pretty face. You can see his physique in Ms Lopez’s video. Oh and more pics on You Know You Care, site of the apt description. Go. Now.

Did Tony Romeo write kick-ass songs, or what?!

And no one sang them better than David Cassidy.

Don't know how I managed to miss this version but here are The Lettermen covering "It's One of Those Nights (Yes, Love)". It's an amazing song full of evocative imagery and they render it beautifully...but it all sounds fake next to The Partridge Family's version, doesn't it? Hard to beat the warmth and sincerity in young David Cassidy's delivery.

I specify "young David Cassidy" because he redid the song almost thirty years later for his "Then & Now" album and...well, he shouldn't have. It sucks. Wish I had the terminology to express how awful it is but whoever has the album could probably chime in. If I could find it on YT, I'd share it with you. What happened to his singing during all those years? Can't say it's his voice that sounds different (that's normal with age), it's his phrasing. There's no vulnerability in his delivery. Sorry, I know I've bitched about it before but I was just listening to that "Now" track and the difference between the two never fails to hit me.

Breaking Up Is Slow To Do

"Breaking Up is Hard to Do" was my favorite Partridge Family song when I was a kid. I played it over and over. Neil Sedaka's composition was just so peppy - how could I not like it? But wait a minute. Breaking up isn't only hard to do, it's often sad! Why am I smiling when I'm listening to a song about breaking up?!

Perhaps this is what David Cassidy was wondering when he went on his world tour in 1974. He played the song but in a much slower tempo. (Bye-bye peppiness. Hello bluesyness. I'm think I'm going cry.) It became a bluesy, achy number that seduced many fans who heard it live and many more who heard it captured on his Cassidy Live! album. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find that live version on YT (call to action, people!). However, he's recently played the slow version live. Trust me though, it gives you but an inkling of that first slow interpretation. In the live 1974 version, I swear you can hear his heart breaking.

Back to Mr. Sedaka, the song's composer. From what I understand, he liked Cassidy's slow version so much that he re-recorded the song in that tempo in 1975 and got another hit out of it.

First up is The Partridge Family's uptempo version. Second, Cassidy's recent live slow version and finally, Mr. Sedaka's slow version.

What say you? Uptempo or sloooow?

Also, does anyone know if it's really Cassidy who changed the arrangement of the song or if he discovered the slow one from Sedaka and decided to play it live that way? If Cassidy did change the arrangement (and that's how he expressed it in his bio, IIRC), he should get the credit for it on those YT Sedaka uploads. The one I embedded here mentions Cassidy but none of the others do.

The Business of Show Business

Well, this is a new David Cassidy clip for me. We certainly get a good glimpse of how tiresome self-promotion can be. Imagine trying to answer questions while someone is whispering directives in your ear. And could they have found a longer name for those freakin' Billboard awards?! Holy crap on a stick, let's make tongues somersault every time people announce them.

Got to love how Cassidy mentions not wanting to mess with perfection by making a Partridge Family reunion TV movie. Hmm, kind of my thought when I heard his 2000 remakes of those PF classics. But dang, every time he laughs, I wish I could buy a David Cassidy laugh track. Could his laugh be any more charming?



Double yay on the B-52s love. That's where it's at, indeed. I loved Areosmith back then too but Don Henley, um, no. Here are the B-52s to remind everyone of good pure pop. Confession: I have not watched the video the whole way through. There's just no way I can resist getting up and dancing when this song plays.

So Cool! I'm a Believer Again

Doesn't our Mr. Cassidy look and sound great here? I love how easily I can pick out his voice. And yes, a non-white shirt! bless his heart.

How cool is this?

Worth it to watch the whole thing but Mr. Cassidy's solo starts around the 5:54 mark. Don't you just love how the term "teen idol" was never mentioned in the intros? And there were two bona fide teen idols on that stage. Respect.

iSlinky!!!

Back in December 2009 (I know, almost 2 years ago!), I shared news that our Mr. Cassidy was slated to record a new jingle for the iSlinky phone app. Well, the clip of him recording it in studio was posted on YT yesterday and over a hundred of you fans (or two fans who've viewed it over fifty times) have seen it.

I love his voice when he sings "a spring, a spring, it's a marvelous thing".

Surprising Cover

Don't know if anyone out there is keeping tabs on covers of Partridge Family songs but Weezer ("Buddy Holly") covered "I Woke Up in Love This Morning". Can't imagine how their grunge manifesto escaped my notice all this time. FWIW, I discovered Weezer's version after stumbling on Mark Chevalier's version. More rock, less grunge for Mr. Chevalier.

Which cover version do you prefer?

Hiatus

A whole year of blogging about David Cassidy. Whodda thunk?!

When I started "Daydreaming David", I was a few months into my David Cassidy re-discovery journey. Was there enough to his story to provide material for a blog? I really wasn't sure but the urge to express my thoughts about him was too strong and I just plunged - into a public platform, no less. It was supposed to be a private blog but Blogger's permissions did not cooperate and it ended up a case of "The heck with it! Here it is, world, my little contribution to the blogosphere". Live dangerously, that's my motto. Ha!

Would anyone read it? I didn't think too much about that. My thoughts on David were practically overwhelming and I was about to burst if I didn't put them into words. I suppose I could have limited myself to email exchanges with other fans but a blog forced me to write on a fairly regular basis in a semi-structured manner. The wannabe writer in me reveled in that.

So, here I am today, dizzy from the realization that a year has passed since my first post. My obsession has abated. My thirst for all things DC has been quenched. As good a time as any to say, in the words of Keith Partridge via David Cassidy, on Canadian TV, circa 1977, "Adios, kids. It's been lots of fun."* I'll call this a hiatus - a break of undetermined length. Should the urge to share my musings or news about David Cassidy resurface, this blog will still be up and ready. Thank you to my faithful readers and contributors: Singme David, British Fan, Clodyne, SLK, UK Fan, CAO aka Racehorses, MaeB, etc. A special thank you to all those YouTubers who shared his work with us... Cherish David, SumerKis, Catgil, etc, etc.

*Wish this Peter Gzowski CBC interview was still on YouTube. I could embed it here for you all. Instead, here's "Could It Be Forever" because it expresses only too well his fans' sentiments. Once again, thank you SumerKis for another great video.

Mine, All Mine!

"It was through a chance conversation with her Norwegian publishers following her first book that Pearson realised her vague idea of writing about a teenager in love with David Cassidy might be something to pursue. As she recalls, all the women around the table immediately started to talk about their own teenage crushes—apart from one who remained completely silent: "I remember thinking, ‘oh gosh, she thinks this is stupid, girly prattle about some teen idol'—then there was a silence in the conversation and she said, ‘But he was mine'. And I heard that and I thought, okay, you have to write this now.""

From the article by Alice O'Keefe on Alison Pearson's upcoming (and eagerly awaited?) novel I Think I Love You about a 13-year old girl "riddled with teenage angst and nursing a full-on obsession with 1970s heart-throb David Cassidy."

Please raise your hand if you are no longer thirteen but still nursing a full-on obsession with David Cassidy. Ok, so you'd call it a mild obsession? ;-

Pearson's first novel, I Don't Know How She Does It, resonated with a lot of women (almost half a million, if I understand the sales figure correctly). I suspect this one will too. David Cassidy was young baby boomers' most popular idol and they form the largest segment of the population. While most soon-to-be middle-aged women don't want to be thirteen again, I suspect many would enjoy revisiting those heady feelings of a first crush through a novel. I know I certainly did via the internet. If Pearson has fleshed out her young protagonist properly, readers should also recognize their idealism and dreams in her.

Who's pre-ordered the book? (Clever title by the way. Surefire reference for anyone in her target audience.)

Can anyone think of a post-David Cassidy teen idol that would spawn a novel like this?

Here's "I Can Feel Your Heartbeat" because he made our hearts beat quicker (and I recently posted ITILY). The twenty year old version, just as high energy as the first, follows.

I Got Misty-Eyed.

Really. Gotta love this former teen idol's attitude.

"Jones unabashedly embraces his career as a Monkee. "John Lennon once said he didn't want to end up singing his old hits in Las Vegas. Well, I do," says Jones"

The article is hardly recent (1992!), but if Mr. Jones has kept the same frame of mind since: Chapeau, monsieur! Chapeau! Photo from his official website.

Nice and New to Me

Thank you Mr. Allan Warren for this 1974 portrait. New York Plaza Hotel.

Let's Hope it's not a La Perla

I wonder what he does with them? Displays them at home in a custom-built curio cabinet?

Credit to John Schultz for photograph found here.

It WAS Extraordinary for That Time

"In 1970, the top pop-radio station in Cedar Rapids was the first in the nation to play "I Think I Love You" -- a song from "The Partridge Family" -- and it became the biggest-selling record of the year, Mr. Cassidy recalled in a recent interview.

"It had never happened before -- went nowhere to No. 1 in one week. It created such a buzz," he said. "I haven't been to Iowa in forever. I want to pay respects and homage to those people who have been such fans of mine.""

Mr. Cassidy is getting good press these days. No excessive boasting, just true statements expressed with lots of enthusiasm. I like this guy. Oh, and did you notice? The Partridge Family Rock Band is mentioned. Sorry, but I'll need the actual product in hand to convince me that it's not an April's Fool joke. Yeah, I'm that cynical.

Had to Hear It to Believe It

Andy Williams singing "I Think I Love You". Here. Is it me or does he look ready to burst out laughing at the beginning? "Can you believe I'm about to sing this teeny-bopper ditty?"

It really is a great song and while the sentiment is universal, I think it's one of those pop tunes that sounds better left to the young and/or innocent ;-) It expresses those "first love" sentiments only too well and is a lot more convincing sung by a "teen idol" than by an established crooner. In my humble opinion, of course.

If you need to rinse your ears out and replace this only-too-respectable attempt with the "definitive" version, here it is.

Of Bygones and Icons.

"On distancing himself from “The Partridge Family”: “Absolutely never. Peoples’ interpretations of me saying I want to do other work didn’t mean I never wanted to talk about ‘The Partridge Family.’ I’ve carried the flag, so to speak, and I hold it in such esteem because it’s touched so many lives. Although I had done 10 leads in dramatic shows and had done a Broadway show before “The Partridge Family,” it’s responsible for making me familiar with people and becoming successful and being able to have the rest of my life to make that. I don’t know how to describe it, but it was a very precious experience for me. As an actor, I care about the work, I just didn’t want to talk about it over and over and over ..."

Found here. Um? No. Especially not the "absolutely never" part. But that's okay because this really seems like a sincere effort at smoothing dissed fans' ruffled feathers. Do notice that he says as an actor, he cares about the work. He doesn't comment on the Partridge Family music. Bah, I nitpick, right? Earlier in the interview is the inevitable mention of having been good friends with John Lennon. He holds his icon as dear to his heart as some of his fans hold him. Too bad these declarations smack so much of reflected glory.

Interesting and candid interview. I like the format.

About that Partridge Family Cruise Episode...

Keith might just be the cutest Peter Rabbit EVER in that episode (any doubters, please refer to pic in April 6 post) but he's also sexy as all get out in the group's "musical performance". Serious Yowza around the the 0:26 mark and then from 0:38 to 0:44. (And to think girls today squeal over that AutoTuned Bieber baby. For shame.) By the way, who decided to mess with the YouTube format? It looks so wishy-washy now. Gah. Can't stand it.

Vroom, Vroom - The Perfect Vehicle?

(Resurrected this entry from a draft written in January, so please excuse any anachronisms.)

In this post's comments, an anonymous reader wondered what vehicle could help David Cassidy expand his audience base since "Ruby & The Rockits" wasn't renewed. What would help him reconnect with his audience or reach a new one?

Cultural references to David Cassidy's heyday ("ITILY" in the Lipton Sparkling Tea commercial, his posters in the recent "The Lovely Bones" movie, for example) are always positive because they prompt "whatever happened to him?" Googling from curious former fans and expose a younger generation to his work. I was thinking along these lines when the ultimate pop culture vehicle du jour appeared to me like that sweet ride DC got during his Partridge Family contract re-negotiations.

Glee.

If you know to what I'm referring, skip the next couple of paragraphs. If you don't, here goes: "Glee" is a Fox TV series about a Spanish high school teacher who decides to revive the school's Glee Club (singing group) and renew its former competition glory. Think "Fame" ("I'm going to live forever!") but replace the pretense with snark and add a dash of convoluted, satiric, plots. It's an hour long cartwheel of drama, comedy and music created by "Nip/Tuck"'s Ryan Murphy.

The show won the Golden Globe for "Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy". It appeals to both kids and adults because the music is varied and story lines revolve around both teachers and students. The cast is brilliant and manages to improve the songs they cover. Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" actually sounds inspirational when sung by a conflicted high school student. "Glee" is enjoying major buzz right now: Madonna granted FREE use of her catalog to the producers for the All-Madonna season-opener episode (which I haven't seen yet, so, please, no spoilers); Olivia Newton-John and Jennifer Lopez are set to guest star; Clint Eastwood watches the show. 'Nuff said.

Anyway, for those who do watch the show, imagine these scenes:

-Mr. Shue introducing The Partridge Family or David Cassidy to the gang with lines like "bubblegum pop that stood the test of time" and "a teen idol who could actually sing"
-Finn singing "Brown Eyes" to Quinn
-Kurt leading the group with "I Woke Up in Love This Morning" after meeting a potential love interest. And he is set to get a boyfriend in the second-half of the season (or is it the second season?).
-Artie playing that rockin' opening bass line in "Love is All That I Ever Needed"

So many good pop songs the cast could cover - "I Can Feel Your Heartbeat", "Summer Days", "Every Little Bit of You"...- they don't even need to touch "ITILY" or "C'mon Get Happy" with a sky-high Cheerios pyramid. It would be amazing if David Cassidy's solo stuff could be featured. These songs still sound current (or am I biased because of the PF/DC bubble I've been living in these past few months?):

-Rock Me Baby
-Mae
-Daydreamer
-I Never Saw You Coming
-Fix of Your Love
-Common Thief
-Damned if this ain't Love
-Run and Hide
-Warm My Soul

What could make David Cassidy fans giddier than seeing his music acknowledged on a cool show?

Here's Bran Van 3000's "Drinking in L.A.". Just because it's from their 1997 debut album, Glee, and I love to plug Canadian talent :-)



And here's DC's "Oh No (No Way)" in the event my idea is loonier than a Canadian dollar coin. (His voice is so very perfectly sexy in this track.)

Who Knew?

Wayne Newton also recorded "Echo Valley 2-6809". It really is a good song. I much prefer The Partridge Family's version though.

Incidentally, hope no one feels old knowing DC turned 60 yesterday. Sixty is the new fifty, dontcha know? ;-) (Want a secret for staying young? Weight training. Gives you strong bones too.)

I'm back with news...

for any of my Canadian readers who subscribe to the channel "Vision TV". Tune in tonight at 10 pm for their show "Unscripted". Seems our man of interest is the featured guest. Was this posted on his Facebook page? It's not on his website nor mentioned anywhere else save for that channel's site and in online TV listings. Thank you Google Alerts for this bit of news today. Wish I could have given more advance notice but I suppose we should be thankful I didn't receive the alert tomorrow. (To be fair to Google, I haven't checked all my alerts yet - hey, I really needed the break - it could have been flagged before today.) If anyone does watch the show, please report :) It might be possible to view online - I'll update this entry with a link, if so.

Hope you had a nice Easter.