5.23.2006

The Stairway to Stardom -- Or there but for the grace of the goddess goes StinkyLulu

There's somethin about that show -- you know, lovely reader, the one with the finals starting tonight -- well, there's something about that show that always makes Lulu a little nervous, especially during the parade of humiliations/auditions.

See, StinkyLulu loves to sing.
Just. Loves. To. Sing.
And yet -- alas -- Lulu really shouldn't do so in public.

Tragically, however, when Lulu was a wee little Lu -- or, more precisely, when Lulu was beset with early-onset, adolescence-induced insanity -- that didn't stop Lulu from singing, whenever & wherever the opportunity presented itself. (A particularly mortifying incident comes to mind. Involving an 8th or 9th grade school dance for which Lulu served double-duty as planning committe chair AND DJ. Where Lulu seized the opportunity/microphone & sang "The Best of Times" as a special intermission treat. Thankfully, aforementioned horror occurred in a remote desert kingdom & no known documentation has been excavated. Yet.)

But -- had the opportunity presented itself back in the early 80s -- Lulu would have so totally "tried out" for that show. And it would have just been...sad. Not so remarkably sad that it would have been featured on national teevee. But sad, nonethe. So something about that show always brings up conflicting feelings for StinkyLulu. The misguided sincerity just cracks Lu's heart. Cuz -- really, truly, deeply -- that couldawouldashoulda been Lulu had that show been in the mix, circa 1984.

But, in the NYC area circa 1984, "The Stairway to Stardom" was there. And so was Mike Weiss (see below). Mike Weiss -- who shared the same hair, the same outfit, the same droopy eyes AND the same slippery grip on pitch as StinkyLulu. (Not to mention the intermittent terror at the fingers of the accompaniest.)



Heard about "The Stairway to Stardom" on NPR this morning. Gotta love that YouTube.

1 comment:

Criticlasm said...

Oh, and the song choice. And that's he's wearing a white button down--perfect. I love that 8th grade story. I am laughing out loud at work. Brilliant.

And to share--I wanted to sing so badly I actually sang "Evergreen" for my fourth grade music class, and "A Taste of Honey" for my fifth. I'm sure they were as mortified for me then as I am for me now. A ten year old singing Streisand. Just like this one with ONJ.