RIP Jim Steinman
April 20, 2021 4:38 PM Subscribe
Jim Steinman has died at the age of 73. He's best known for writing and producing a string of hits for artists including Meatloaf (Albums "Bat Out of Hell" and "Bat Out of Hell II"), Bonnie Tyler ("Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "Holding Out for a Hero"), Air Supply (Making Love out of Nothing at All), among many others.
Rolling Stone has a selection of his best. Here's a few more (some duplication):
[1] 'Literal lyrics' parody version
Rolling Stone has a selection of his best. Here's a few more (some duplication):
- Paradise by the Dashboard Light
- Total Eclipse of the Heart[1]
- Nowhere Fast and Tonight is What It Means to Be Young from the film "Streets of Fire"
- Holding Out For a Hero (lip sync performance by Tandi Iman Dupree, which I selected entirely for her entry to the stage.
[1] 'Literal lyrics' parody version
I'm not sure if the website https://www.jimsteinman.com/ is an official site, but it throws a certificate error in Firefox at the moment so I didn't include it in the post.
posted by rmd1023 at 4:47 PM on April 20, 2021
posted by rmd1023 at 4:47 PM on April 20, 2021
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posted by Miss Cellania at 4:48 PM on April 20, 2021
posted by Miss Cellania at 4:48 PM on April 20, 2021
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posted by May Kasahara at 4:49 PM on April 20, 2021
posted by May Kasahara at 4:49 PM on April 20, 2021
I was in high school shopping for CDs and this was in the days when I'd buy a bunch of random albums I had heard about but never listened to. I saw Bat Out of Hell in the racks and only vaguely having an idea of who Meat Loaf was bought it since it was often mentioned as a classic. I was hooked from the opening piano riff and it's still one of my favorites to this day. Thanks Jim.
posted by downtohisturtles at 4:52 PM on April 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by downtohisturtles at 4:52 PM on April 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
Bat Out Of Hell is a perfect album, and I have a specific, extremely teenaged memory associated with every song on it, and they're all magic. I wish I could have thanked him in person for that, and I suspect I'm far from alone in all of it.
posted by mhoye at 5:13 PM on April 20, 2021 [16 favorites]
posted by mhoye at 5:13 PM on April 20, 2021 [16 favorites]
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posted by Going To Maine at 5:14 PM on April 20, 2021
posted by Going To Maine at 5:14 PM on April 20, 2021
Glad to see the Rolling Stone article mention his work with the Sisters of Mercy, a collaboration that initially makes no sense at all and then makes perfect sense.
posted by foldedfish at 5:19 PM on April 20, 2021 [16 favorites]
posted by foldedfish at 5:19 PM on April 20, 2021 [16 favorites]
His style was instantly recognizable no matter who was singing the songs. Lonely pianos, declarative guitars, soaring strings and a chorus of angels going AAAAHHHH. Go-for-broke, ridiculous glory.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 5:22 PM on April 20, 2021 [18 favorites]
posted by Ursula Hitler at 5:22 PM on April 20, 2021 [18 favorites]
Total Eclipse of the Heart Literal Video Version
posted by kirkaracha at 5:23 PM on April 20, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 5:23 PM on April 20, 2021 [8 favorites]
Nobody reads the footnotes...
posted by rmd1023 at 5:25 PM on April 20, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by rmd1023 at 5:25 PM on April 20, 2021 [5 favorites]
The money that Todd Rundgren made off the album Bat out of Hell kept him alive for many years and pretty much bought his Hawaii compound. I wonder how he feels hearing this news. RIP
posted by dbiedny at 5:27 PM on April 20, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by dbiedny at 5:27 PM on April 20, 2021 [4 favorites]
His style was instantly recognizable no matter who was singing the songs. Lonely pianos, declarative guitars, soaring strings and a chorus of angels going AAAAHHHH. Go-for-broke, ridiculous glory.
Yeah.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:32 PM on April 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
Yeah.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:32 PM on April 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
You know that scene in Arrested Development when Maeby and Michael sing Afternoon Delight at a company karaoke party and eventually realized what it was about, mid-song?
I came to that same realization in the middle of a corporate retreat duo rendition of Paradise by the Dashboard Light.
Yeah.
posted by hwyengr at 5:42 PM on April 20, 2021 [21 favorites]
I came to that same realization in the middle of a corporate retreat duo rendition of Paradise by the Dashboard Light.
Yeah.
posted by hwyengr at 5:42 PM on April 20, 2021 [21 favorites]
I love Jim Steinman. He was a beautiful weirdo who was so aggressively himself. I loved his absolute honest dedication to theatricality and his songs are just so big and fun. They're entire worlds.
I have been collecting a lot of his stuff on vinyl over the years (I don't have any of the Meat Loaf stuff but it's mostly because a lot of the copies I've come across haven't been in good shape for the price).
I don't think we'll ever see anyone like him again. He was such an inspiration to me when it came to just doing my own thing regardless of if anyone else liked it or not. He's going to be missed.
posted by edencosmic at 5:48 PM on April 20, 2021 [12 favorites]
I have been collecting a lot of his stuff on vinyl over the years (I don't have any of the Meat Loaf stuff but it's mostly because a lot of the copies I've come across haven't been in good shape for the price).
I don't think we'll ever see anyone like him again. He was such an inspiration to me when it came to just doing my own thing regardless of if anyone else liked it or not. He's going to be missed.
posted by edencosmic at 5:48 PM on April 20, 2021 [12 favorites]
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posted by dragstroke at 5:48 PM on April 20, 2021
posted by dragstroke at 5:48 PM on April 20, 2021
He's not dead. He just turned around (Bright Eyes).
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:53 PM on April 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:53 PM on April 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
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posted by equalpants at 6:04 PM on April 20, 2021
posted by equalpants at 6:04 PM on April 20, 2021
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posted by MCMikeNamara at 6:04 PM on April 20, 2021
posted by MCMikeNamara at 6:04 PM on April 20, 2021
I've only really ever really had time for Bat Out Of Hell (the song) ... but I've had a lot of time for it. Starting I suppose that beautiful autumn morning I got a phone call from a friend that our mutual friend (call him Craig) had been found dead, a suicide. I was nineteen at the time, maybe just turned twenty. Craig had been missing for a while so this wasn't a complete shock. More of a slow motion blow to the emotional solar plexus. Yeah, it hurt.
As I remember it, I was listening to a mix tape at the time of big deal rocking favourites. Springsteen's Badlands was playing as I hung up the phone ... and Bat Out Of Hell came next. I cranked it. And it's been cranked ever since, brash and big and so loaded with life it goes straight to hell then back again, a few times. How many endings does that song have?
Here they all are, live from 1978.
Words will always fail which is why we have music.
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posted by philip-random at 6:13 PM on April 20, 2021 [5 favorites]
As I remember it, I was listening to a mix tape at the time of big deal rocking favourites. Springsteen's Badlands was playing as I hung up the phone ... and Bat Out Of Hell came next. I cranked it. And it's been cranked ever since, brash and big and so loaded with life it goes straight to hell then back again, a few times. How many endings does that song have?
Here they all are, live from 1978.
Words will always fail which is why we have music.
.
posted by philip-random at 6:13 PM on April 20, 2021 [5 favorites]
Yeah, you probably don't want to sing Paradise By The Dashboard Light at a corporate retreat. But if you have a chance to sing it with a group of people, preferably drunken people, preferably a bunch of drunken people crammed into a little room in the dorms of a restaurant on Block Island late on a midsummer night, I recommend it highly. Those backup vocals are a blast.
Thanks for the memories, Mr. Steinman. I hope your afterlife is appropriately epic.
posted by MrVisible at 6:14 PM on April 20, 2021 [5 favorites]
Thanks for the memories, Mr. Steinman. I hope your afterlife is appropriately epic.
posted by MrVisible at 6:14 PM on April 20, 2021 [5 favorites]
"Total Eclipse of the Heart" is my favorite karaoke song. I really can't sing it but I do not care. It's a great one.
(I only do private room karaoke where it's only being drunk and embarrassing in front of your friends. I miss it.)
posted by edencosmic at 6:51 PM on April 20, 2021 [3 favorites]
(I only do private room karaoke where it's only being drunk and embarrassing in front of your friends. I miss it.)
posted by edencosmic at 6:51 PM on April 20, 2021 [3 favorites]
On the Slate podcast Hit Parade, the episode "Turn Around Bright Eyes" (parts 1 and 2) goes into great detail about Steinman's career and enduring influence.
And I will always appreciate "Total Eclipse of the Heart" for its numerous key changes.
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posted by Quaversalis at 7:05 PM on April 20, 2021 [3 favorites]
And I will always appreciate "Total Eclipse of the Heart" for its numerous key changes.
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posted by Quaversalis at 7:05 PM on April 20, 2021 [3 favorites]
Total Eclipse of the Heart Literal Video Version
posted by kirkaracha at 8:23 PM
Holy shit that takes me back (transcript from the Mefi post). That was 2009‽‽ I though that was the funniest shit ever back then - still mostly holds up now, too.
posted by lazaruslong at 7:31 PM on April 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by kirkaracha at 8:23 PM
Holy shit that takes me back (transcript from the Mefi post). That was 2009‽‽ I though that was the funniest shit ever back then - still mostly holds up now, too.
posted by lazaruslong at 7:31 PM on April 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
One of the strangest hit-makers of the rock and roll era. My mom had three cassettes that she would play all the time when driving us around as a kid: "Bat Out Of Hell," "Pearl" and "A Night At The Opera." "Bat Out Of Hell" was definitely the one that she played the most. Even as a kid you could tell it was ridiculous but everybody involved completely played it utterly straight. There was no room for giggling in Steinman's work it would break the spell.
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posted by HunterFelt at 8:03 PM on April 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
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posted by HunterFelt at 8:03 PM on April 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
Blew my mind when I learned that Steinman also wrote This Corrosion!
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posted by transitional procedures at 8:04 PM on April 20, 2021 [6 favorites]
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posted by transitional procedures at 8:04 PM on April 20, 2021 [6 favorites]
... and never forget Dance of the Vampires!
posted by panglos at 8:22 PM on April 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by panglos at 8:22 PM on April 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
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posted by JoeXIII007 at 8:22 PM on April 20, 2021
posted by JoeXIII007 at 8:22 PM on April 20, 2021
He gave Air Supply their best song, with one of the best titles in pop music: "Making Love Out of Nothing At All"
Also, of course, from his self-titled album (although Rory Dodd sings on this one): "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through"
🎶
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:31 PM on April 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
Also, of course, from his self-titled album (although Rory Dodd sings on this one): "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through"
🎶
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:31 PM on April 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
Baby we can talk all night
But that ain't gettin us nowhere
posted by Beholder at 8:40 PM on April 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
But that ain't gettin us nowhere
posted by Beholder at 8:40 PM on April 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
The greatest album ever released is Floodland by the Sisters of Mercy, and Jim Steinman is a huge part of its greatness.
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posted by Pope Guilty at 8:57 PM on April 20, 2021 [6 favorites]
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posted by Pope Guilty at 8:57 PM on April 20, 2021 [6 favorites]
As I get older I run into more and more cases (for obvious reasons, I guess) of things I would have individually lumped in the more indifferent end of the “like” column, but the moment I realize a single largely-unsung person had so clearly identifiable an influence on all of them is like an epiphany that promotes them all into a much more active appreciation, like realizing how many odd, elegant, lithe fantasy humanoids are Doug Jones.
I only wish I could leave that sort of legacy with regard to something.
posted by gelfin at 9:59 PM on April 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
I only wish I could leave that sort of legacy with regard to something.
posted by gelfin at 9:59 PM on April 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
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Please please if you're revisiting him in the wake of this terrible news, or you're newly discovering this glorious path that will change your life, do not miss out on the track Bad For Good off the solo album of the same name, or the music video for Dance in my Pants, also off the same strangely unknown album for how squarely it does everything he was known for.
I absolutely love Jim Steinman, this is a very sad day.
posted by wyndham at 11:28 PM on April 20, 2021 [3 favorites]
Please please if you're revisiting him in the wake of this terrible news, or you're newly discovering this glorious path that will change your life, do not miss out on the track Bad For Good off the solo album of the same name, or the music video for Dance in my Pants, also off the same strangely unknown album for how squarely it does everything he was known for.
I absolutely love Jim Steinman, this is a very sad day.
posted by wyndham at 11:28 PM on April 20, 2021 [3 favorites]
Bat Out of Hell II was the literal first CD I ever bought.
And while Tanz der Vampire is an "anything but the US version" thing, Carpe Noctem is exemplary of it - you end up on the side of the vampires because they're so damn cool. Steinman cool, over the top and proud of it.
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posted by I claim sanctuary at 12:15 AM on April 21, 2021
And while Tanz der Vampire is an "anything but the US version" thing, Carpe Noctem is exemplary of it - you end up on the side of the vampires because they're so damn cool. Steinman cool, over the top and proud of it.
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posted by I claim sanctuary at 12:15 AM on April 21, 2021
Bat Out of Hell was a bit like the Star Wars of music at the time. The department stores had these wire aisle display racks for the most popular (or just most heavily promoted) stuff and I can remember weeks at several stores where the whole rack was stacked with that one album.
posted by bonobothegreat at 12:29 AM on April 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by bonobothegreat at 12:29 AM on April 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
MrVisible: " But if you have a chance to sing it with a group of people, preferably drunken people, preferably a bunch of drunken people crammed into a little room in the dorms of a restaurant on Block Island small liberal arts college in the Berkshires late on a midsummer deep dark winter's night, I recommend it highly"
(FTFMe)
posted by chavenet at 12:39 AM on April 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
(FTFMe)
posted by chavenet at 12:39 AM on April 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
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Time to rewatch Streets of Fire.
I've forgotten exactly where I saw it, but a description of his music's operatic bombast as accurately portraying the intensity with which one feels as a teenager struck me as apt.
The podcast Beyond Yacht Rock had an episode focusing on Steinman in its songwriters series.
posted by Strutter Cane - United Planets Stilt Patrol at 12:56 AM on April 21, 2021 [3 favorites]
Time to rewatch Streets of Fire.
I've forgotten exactly where I saw it, but a description of his music's operatic bombast as accurately portraying the intensity with which one feels as a teenager struck me as apt.
The podcast Beyond Yacht Rock had an episode focusing on Steinman in its songwriters series.
posted by Strutter Cane - United Planets Stilt Patrol at 12:56 AM on April 21, 2021 [3 favorites]
Blew my mind when I learned that Steinman also wrote This Corrosion!
That's why post-1985-or-so Sisters of Mercy are sometimes referred to as Gothloaf.
posted by acb at 1:12 AM on April 21, 2021 [6 favorites]
That's why post-1985-or-so Sisters of Mercy are sometimes referred to as Gothloaf.
posted by acb at 1:12 AM on April 21, 2021 [6 favorites]
Jim Steinman, The Complete Collection "A complete collection of every English work Jim Steinman has ever been credited with contributing to (as a songwriter, producer, composer or otherwise)." [Spotify - 172 songs]
posted by chavenet at 1:19 AM on April 21, 2021 [10 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 1:19 AM on April 21, 2021 [10 favorites]
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His style was instantly recognizable no matter who was singing the songs. Lonely pianos, declarative guitars, soaring strings and a chorus of angels going AAAAHHHH. Go-for-broke, ridiculous glory.
The type of funeral send-off Steinman really should have is this very incompatible with Covid restrictions, I fear.
"Total Eclipse of the Heart" is my favorite karaoke song. I really can't sing it but I do not care. It's a great one.
The thing about this song is that it starts off seeming simple enough that anybody could have a go - and it ends up six long minutes later ... not like that at all. Better Call Saul did a wonderful illustration of this phenomenon.
Blew my mind when I learned that Steinman also wrote This Corrosion!
I never knew this! - and this list of songs he authored also drew my attention to The Hard One by the Beta Band.
posted by rongorongo at 2:22 AM on April 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
His style was instantly recognizable no matter who was singing the songs. Lonely pianos, declarative guitars, soaring strings and a chorus of angels going AAAAHHHH. Go-for-broke, ridiculous glory.
The type of funeral send-off Steinman really should have is this very incompatible with Covid restrictions, I fear.
"Total Eclipse of the Heart" is my favorite karaoke song. I really can't sing it but I do not care. It's a great one.
The thing about this song is that it starts off seeming simple enough that anybody could have a go - and it ends up six long minutes later ... not like that at all. Better Call Saul did a wonderful illustration of this phenomenon.
Blew my mind when I learned that Steinman also wrote This Corrosion!
I never knew this! - and this list of songs he authored also drew my attention to The Hard One by the Beta Band.
posted by rongorongo at 2:22 AM on April 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
Jim Steinman's music has always been a guilty pleasure. I fondly remember one of the reviews: "This isn't pandering to the lowest common denominator—it's lowering the lowest common denominator."
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posted by daveje at 3:04 AM on April 21, 2021 [5 favorites]
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posted by daveje at 3:04 AM on April 21, 2021 [5 favorites]
Steinman is singlehandedly responsible for me, as a teen, realising that it was fine for boys to be into musicals.
I remember listening and loving his rock stuff, then discovering this whole other layer of stuff he'd done for musicals, and how he just happily talked about loving that too, and it making something click in my teen brain.
That is, that everyone has the right to be a musical chameleon. Nobody gets to gatekeep what music you listen to and enjoy. Nobody - not your friends, parents, MTV or anyone - gets to decide what type of music is cool or uncool, good or bad.
He helped me realise that what you enjoy is what matters. If Jim could give zero fucks and be open about loving all sorts of different music then everyone else could too.
We talk a lot about Pratchett living on in the clacks. Jim lives on in his music (a lot of which I'll be listening to today), but also (which I love and feels appropriate) in the constant echoes to his own compositions that he put in his other works. Dude loved to reuse his own work in new and interesting ways. You can spot a Steinman song often not just because of the general style, but because you'll suddenly hit a whole segment of lyrics or music that is practically lifted wholesale from something else he wrote which bombed, or which he just loved too much not to use again.
I love that so much. It's like he left us musical Easter eggs that we'll be rediscovering for decades within his own work.
Sisters of Mercy, mentioned earlier, is a case in point for that. I posted a bunch of stuff about his lost Batman musical on Twitter earlier, and have been loving Sisters of Mercy fans suddenly discovering where 'More' came from.
RIP Jim.
posted by garius at 3:34 AM on April 21, 2021 [20 favorites]
I remember listening and loving his rock stuff, then discovering this whole other layer of stuff he'd done for musicals, and how he just happily talked about loving that too, and it making something click in my teen brain.
That is, that everyone has the right to be a musical chameleon. Nobody gets to gatekeep what music you listen to and enjoy. Nobody - not your friends, parents, MTV or anyone - gets to decide what type of music is cool or uncool, good or bad.
He helped me realise that what you enjoy is what matters. If Jim could give zero fucks and be open about loving all sorts of different music then everyone else could too.
We talk a lot about Pratchett living on in the clacks. Jim lives on in his music (a lot of which I'll be listening to today), but also (which I love and feels appropriate) in the constant echoes to his own compositions that he put in his other works. Dude loved to reuse his own work in new and interesting ways. You can spot a Steinman song often not just because of the general style, but because you'll suddenly hit a whole segment of lyrics or music that is practically lifted wholesale from something else he wrote which bombed, or which he just loved too much not to use again.
I love that so much. It's like he left us musical Easter eggs that we'll be rediscovering for decades within his own work.
Sisters of Mercy, mentioned earlier, is a case in point for that. I posted a bunch of stuff about his lost Batman musical on Twitter earlier, and have been loving Sisters of Mercy fans suddenly discovering where 'More' came from.
RIP Jim.
posted by garius at 3:34 AM on April 21, 2021 [20 favorites]
🦇
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:42 AM on April 21, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:42 AM on April 21, 2021 [6 favorites]
From the BBC obit, a lovely quote from Steinman:
"If you don't go over the top, how are you ever going to see what's on the other side?"
posted by brainwane at 4:05 AM on April 21, 2021 [24 favorites]
"If you don't go over the top, how are you ever going to see what's on the other side?"
posted by brainwane at 4:05 AM on April 21, 2021 [24 favorites]
We'll never be as young as we are right now...
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posted by Cardinal Fang at 5:22 AM on April 21, 2021
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posted by Cardinal Fang at 5:22 AM on April 21, 2021
"The money that Todd Rundgren made off the album Bat out of Heck kept him alive for many years and pretty much bought his Hawaii compound. I wonder how he feels hearing this news. RIP
posted by dbiedny "
Todd Rundgren on Bat out of Hell
So I don't know how many months the record had been out, but it was long after I had finished the record, and we're sitting in the office and Albert's there, and they're going to cut me a check for the outstanding royalties that I hadn't collected in the whole time between when I had finished the record and when we had settled on what my production cut would be. And the check was between $700,000 and $800,000. One check! (laughs) The biggest check I had ever seen in my life. And at that moment I realized, "Wait a minute, this wasn't such a goofy idea after all."
posted by mecran01 at 5:31 AM on April 21, 2021 [14 favorites]
posted by dbiedny "
Todd Rundgren on Bat out of Hell
So I don't know how many months the record had been out, but it was long after I had finished the record, and we're sitting in the office and Albert's there, and they're going to cut me a check for the outstanding royalties that I hadn't collected in the whole time between when I had finished the record and when we had settled on what my production cut would be. And the check was between $700,000 and $800,000. One check! (laughs) The biggest check I had ever seen in my life. And at that moment I realized, "Wait a minute, this wasn't such a goofy idea after all."
posted by mecran01 at 5:31 AM on April 21, 2021 [14 favorites]
The NYTimes obit has another great quote:
posted by cheshyre at 5:49 AM on April 21, 2021 [14 favorites]
"Most people don't like extremes," he once said. "Extremes scare them. I start at 'extreme' and go from there."And I now deeply regret that he never wrote music for the Muppets, because can you just imagine?
posted by cheshyre at 5:49 AM on April 21, 2021 [14 favorites]
Well, shit. I just learned that Jim Steinman had been living here in my town all this time. He passed at our local hospital.
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posted by sundrop at 6:00 AM on April 21, 2021
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posted by sundrop at 6:00 AM on April 21, 2021
Gosh, yeah - as previously noted, his stuff with Sisters of Mercy is so great. I wore Floodland the fuck out as a teenager.
But my favorite will always be It's All Coming Back to Me Now - hard to choose between the Celine Dion version or the Pandora's Box version with the completely bonkers video/Steinman monologue opening.
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posted by cocotine at 6:22 AM on April 21, 2021 [3 favorites]
But my favorite will always be It's All Coming Back to Me Now - hard to choose between the Celine Dion version or the Pandora's Box version with the completely bonkers video/Steinman monologue opening.
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posted by cocotine at 6:22 AM on April 21, 2021 [3 favorites]
The fact that Rundgren did it as a parody of the bombastic stuff Springsteen was doing at that time just makes it all that more lovable.
posted by JoeZydeco at 6:27 AM on April 21, 2021 [10 favorites]
posted by JoeZydeco at 6:27 AM on April 21, 2021 [10 favorites]
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posted by lewiseason at 6:56 AM on April 21, 2021
posted by lewiseason at 6:56 AM on April 21, 2021
Basically what Garius said. For me, it was Steinman's stuff that convinced me that there isn't such a thing as a guilty pleasure - there are just pleasures, and as long as the thing isn't actively hateful or hurtful there's no reason to feel guilty.
My own favourite Steinman thing is Bad For Good, which was the lightbulb moment for me, though I remember playing Pandora's Box to death when it came out. And Streets of Fire. I'm surprised no one ever suggested it as a stage musical, fully Steinmanned up. Perhaps they did.
There's an odd thing about nostalgia that's just struck me - if there's an aesthetic I associate with Steinman it's 50s greaser rock 'n' roll but at a monumental level, which would make sense: it's the glamour of an older brother or sister, which is why there's such an air of innocence to the sleaze.
posted by Grangousier at 7:01 AM on April 21, 2021 [5 favorites]
My own favourite Steinman thing is Bad For Good, which was the lightbulb moment for me, though I remember playing Pandora's Box to death when it came out. And Streets of Fire. I'm surprised no one ever suggested it as a stage musical, fully Steinmanned up. Perhaps they did.
There's an odd thing about nostalgia that's just struck me - if there's an aesthetic I associate with Steinman it's 50s greaser rock 'n' roll but at a monumental level, which would make sense: it's the glamour of an older brother or sister, which is why there's such an air of innocence to the sleaze.
posted by Grangousier at 7:01 AM on April 21, 2021 [5 favorites]
There's an odd thing about nostalgia that's just struck me - if there's an aesthetic I associate with Steinman it's 50s greaser rock 'n' roll but at a monumental level, which would make sense: it's the glamour of an older brother or sister, which is why there's such an air of innocence to the sleaze.
Agreed.
Steinman's stuff always feels like roaring engines, milkshakes and stolen kisses. Even when lyrically it isn't!
posted by garius at 7:10 AM on April 21, 2021 [6 favorites]
Agreed.
Steinman's stuff always feels like roaring engines, milkshakes and stolen kisses. Even when lyrically it isn't!
posted by garius at 7:10 AM on April 21, 2021 [6 favorites]
Ah, I remember when I started making a post about him that was going to be a light collection of links and ended up being a days-long epic journey because there was no way it wasn't going to be that. Whether you liked his music or not, you couldn't help but marvel at his absolute ...everything.
Hold on to your butts, The Other Side.
🦇
posted by louche mustachio at 7:12 AM on April 21, 2021 [4 favorites]
Hold on to your butts, The Other Side.
🦇
posted by louche mustachio at 7:12 AM on April 21, 2021 [4 favorites]
Wholeheartedly adore every song linked in the post.
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posted by biggreenplant at 7:21 AM on April 21, 2021
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posted by biggreenplant at 7:21 AM on April 21, 2021
The fact that Rundgren did it as a parody of the bombastic stuff Springsteen was doing at that time just makes it all that more lovable.
Rundgren's responsibility for the success of Bat Out Of Hell can't really be under-estimated. As the wiki puts it ...
When Rundgren discovered that the deal with RCA did not actually exist, Albert Grossman, who had been Bob Dylan's manager, offered to put it on his Bearsville label but needed more money.[23] Rundgren had essentially paid for the album himself.[18]
He richly deserved those royalties.
posted by philip-random at 7:51 AM on April 21, 2021 [5 favorites]
Rundgren's responsibility for the success of Bat Out Of Hell can't really be under-estimated. As the wiki puts it ...
When Rundgren discovered that the deal with RCA did not actually exist, Albert Grossman, who had been Bob Dylan's manager, offered to put it on his Bearsville label but needed more money.[23] Rundgren had essentially paid for the album himself.[18]
He richly deserved those royalties.
posted by philip-random at 7:51 AM on April 21, 2021 [5 favorites]
Ellen Foley, who sang the female vocals on "Paradise..." appeared in one season of the teevee show Night Court. My teenaged self had a crush on her from the song and I started watching Night Court when I heard she was on the show. Disclaimer: I am not a long-standing fan of Night Court.
Anyway, RIP Jim. I loved the Bat out of Hell album from start to finish. Discovered it as a teen probably 10 years after it was released (which to me at the time made it seem like a really, really, really old record). I can see the greatness of Total Eclipse of the Heart, but I just didn't love the performance by the vocalist and the glossy 1980s production and sound. I don't think I've ever listened to any of the Bat out of Hell" sequel albums.
Also: I had no idea that album was a goof on Springsteen's bombastic sound! I never really clicked with Bruce, but I'm glad I learned this fact from this thread. And about Rundgren's involvement. Rundgren is a quiet genius of our times.
posted by SoberHighland at 9:05 AM on April 21, 2021 [3 favorites]
Anyway, RIP Jim. I loved the Bat out of Hell album from start to finish. Discovered it as a teen probably 10 years after it was released (which to me at the time made it seem like a really, really, really old record). I can see the greatness of Total Eclipse of the Heart, but I just didn't love the performance by the vocalist and the glossy 1980s production and sound. I don't think I've ever listened to any of the Bat out of Hell" sequel albums.
Also: I had no idea that album was a goof on Springsteen's bombastic sound! I never really clicked with Bruce, but I'm glad I learned this fact from this thread. And about Rundgren's involvement. Rundgren is a quiet genius of our times.
posted by SoberHighland at 9:05 AM on April 21, 2021 [3 favorites]
Ellen Foley, who sang the female vocals on "Paradise..." appeared in one season of the teevee show Night Court.
she also did an entirely ok album with the Clash as her backup band in and around their Sandinista "more is more" phase.
posted by philip-random at 10:11 AM on April 21, 2021 [3 favorites]
she also did an entirely ok album with the Clash as her backup band in and around their Sandinista "more is more" phase.
posted by philip-random at 10:11 AM on April 21, 2021 [3 favorites]
.
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 10:25 AM on April 21, 2021
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 10:25 AM on April 21, 2021
Rundgren's responsibility for the success of Bat Out Of Hell can't really be under-estimated.
by which I mean the opposite, of course. He effectively financed the whole deal. I've really got to stop posting before I'm at least halfway through my morning coffee.
posted by philip-random at 10:31 AM on April 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
But my favorite will always be It's All Coming Back to Me Now - hard to choose between the Celine Dion version or the Pandora's Box version with the completely bonkers video/Steinman monologue opening.
Just a few months ago I discovered a performance of "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" by Jeremy Jordan in 2015 and I have been absolutely obsessed with it ever since.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 12:08 PM on April 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
Just a few months ago I discovered a performance of "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" by Jeremy Jordan in 2015 and I have been absolutely obsessed with it ever since.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 12:08 PM on April 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
I saw Streets of Fire in 1984 and walked straight from the movie theater to the record store and have been obsessed with those songs ever since. It's pretty much a terrible movie but it's gorgeous to look at and the musical numbers are insanely well-staged and produced. Diane Lane and Willem Dafoe are great... Amy Madigan too. Definitely worth a watch if only for those elements.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 12:35 PM on April 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 12:35 PM on April 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
Originator of one of my all time favorite quotes, "If you don't go over the top, you can't see what's on the other side."
posted by brookeb at 1:16 PM on April 21, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by brookeb at 1:16 PM on April 21, 2021 [3 favorites]
ON A HOT SUMMER NIGHT
WOULD YOU OFFER YOUR DOT TO THE WOLF WITH THE RED ROSES?
.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 1:35 PM on April 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
WOULD YOU OFFER YOUR DOT TO THE WOLF WITH THE RED ROSES?
.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 1:35 PM on April 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
philip-random: "Ellen Foley, who sang the female vocals on "Paradise..." appeared in one season of the teevee show Night Court.
she also did an entirely ok album with the Clash as her backup band in and around their Sandinista "more is more" phase."
From that article: Mick [Jones] was sort of, you know, anti-American music – or anti-American music of a certain kind, anyway. I mean, y’know, to Mick, Jim Steinman was The Devil.
posted by chavenet at 2:02 PM on April 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
she also did an entirely ok album with the Clash as her backup band in and around their Sandinista "more is more" phase."
From that article: Mick [Jones] was sort of, you know, anti-American music – or anti-American music of a certain kind, anyway. I mean, y’know, to Mick, Jim Steinman was The Devil.
posted by chavenet at 2:02 PM on April 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
WRT the Steinman/Rundgren/Springsteen thing, E Street Band members Roy Bittan (piano, keyboards) and Max Weinberg (drums) are also Steinman veterans, having played on Bat out of Hell and other songs.
posted by Halloween Jack at 2:35 PM on April 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 2:35 PM on April 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
It's pretty much a terrible movie
IT HAS WILLEM DAFOE IN LEATHER OVERALLS IN A SLEDGEHAMMER DUEL WITH MICHAEL PARÉ!!!! YOU TAKE THAT BACK!!!!
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:59 PM on April 21, 2021 [8 favorites]
IT HAS WILLEM DAFOE IN LEATHER OVERALLS IN A SLEDGEHAMMER DUEL WITH MICHAEL PARÉ!!!! YOU TAKE THAT BACK!!!!
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:59 PM on April 21, 2021 [8 favorites]
.
I got to see the Bat Out of Hell musical in London a few years ago (surprisingly great show!), and there was a group of drunk women sitting in front of me. When "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" started they started giggling confusedly and then sobbed with laughter. I think they didn't understand, and thought it was somehow supposed to be funny that a Celine Dion song was thrown in the mix? They were very drunk and if it weren't so bizarrely funny I'd have been pissed.
Thanks, Jim Steinman.
posted by rhiannonstone at 10:45 PM on April 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
I got to see the Bat Out of Hell musical in London a few years ago (surprisingly great show!), and there was a group of drunk women sitting in front of me. When "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" started they started giggling confusedly and then sobbed with laughter. I think they didn't understand, and thought it was somehow supposed to be funny that a Celine Dion song was thrown in the mix? They were very drunk and if it weren't so bizarrely funny I'd have been pissed.
Thanks, Jim Steinman.
posted by rhiannonstone at 10:45 PM on April 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
Besides Willem Dafoe on leather overalls, it also has A SLEDGEHAMMER DUEL. And early Rick Moranis. And that film definitely inspired my low-key Amy Madigan crush.
posted by rmd1023 at 6:21 AM on April 22, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by rmd1023 at 6:21 AM on April 22, 2021 [2 favorites]
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posted by Splunge at 4:40 PM on April 20, 2021 [7 favorites]