MASTAS Episode 10: John Parr, “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man In Motion”)
Atlantic Recordings
Joe Reid returns to request “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man In Motion)”, which gets us ALL up in the business of ’80s movie songs and their inspirational key changes.
Plus, Sarah remembers horrifying high-school traditions and Mark recalls that time he invented a stupid dance.
THE VID
Learn more about David Gregory Byrne, who wrote this week’s new wave theme song
Joe Reid, recent Extra Hot Great Game Time season winner
Grab the legal download of “St. Elmo’s Fire.” And while you’re at it, get “Electric Blue” by Icehouse! And Starship’s “We Built This City”!
And if you need to go into insulin shock, purchase David Foster’s St. Elmo’s Fire instrumental.
Then maybe watch St. Elmo’s Fire the movie? If you want to enjoy Demi Moore’s serious acting?
Then curl up with David Foster’s book about the music industry.
Tags: Andrew McCarthy Christian Slater David Foster David Hansen Demi Moore Diane Warren Edith Wharton Hit Man Icehouse Joe Reid John Parr Keith Gordon Mark And Sarah Talk About Songs Mark Blankenship MTV music Rob Lowe St. Elmo's Fire Starship Streets Of Fire The Legend Of Billie Jean The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills Weekend At Bernie's Yeardley Smith
This episode brought me extreme joy and I got legit chills when the first chords of the instrumental queued up because I am an idiot. Just want to call to everyone’s attention the version of the St. Elmo’s love theme that totally has lyrics. I know this because I used this song to “score” an overwrought senior year goodbye video that I made by compiling drunken home movies of friends a la Lelaina Pierce in Reality Bites. It was performed by Amy Holland and Donny Gerrard, whoever they are, and is simply stupendous, with lyrics like “We laughed until we had to cry, and we loved until our last goodbye.” I commend it to you now for your enjoyment — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHoBjDBPxc8
Am I the only one who thinks this song is possibly the weakest theme song movie tie-in job in cinematic history? Even at the time I thought the words “SAINT ELMO’S FI-YAH” were appended randomly to that chorus.
Also: the Eighties Hair — yikes!
Sars was, IIRC, the person who deplored boyfriends who insisted on singing to you in real life, thus making you feel like you had to act all shy and happy when what you really wanted to do was run away screaming. That is precisely what this song and video do to me. I look back on the 1980s with some degree of fondness, and this serves as a…a palate cleanser? Antidote? Emetic? Shoot, I need to find the right word and I may have to make up my own.
Yes, I did do that and still feel that way and thankgodfully married a person who couldn’t carry a tune in a crossbody. I don’t think everyone agrees, but: GAH.
I went to school with John Parr’s nephew – you’d think he’d written God Bless America it was such a huge deal. That’s how big this song was…so big that even your NEPHEW could act like a bigshot!
Everyone at MY house agrees. Try singing to someone against their will around here, we’ll kick you in the gooch.
@Jaybird: Counter-irritant?