Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now (1987)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) In this song, Gracie Slick challenges, "Let them say we're crazy!" Tell us about something you're glad you did, even though your friends or family may have advised you against it.
Oh, jeez, almost everything I've done that's fun someone has warned me against doing. Or at least looked askance at me. Good thing I tend to be risk-averse unless challenged! I'm glad I went overseas my junior year of college to (what was then) the U.S.S.R. and China, and Mongolia. The reward was going to Italy at the end, which got me through some awful moments in assorted Soviet airports. No one thought this was a good idea, including me, but I was dared so my big mouth got me behind the Iron Curtain. And my risk-aversion got me back out. 😀
2) Slick is the lead singer of Jefferson Starship. This band got its start in 1965 as Jefferson Airplane but updated their name in 1974. Part of their reasoning was that by the 1970s, airplane travel was commonplace. In 2023, an estimated 820 million Americans flew domestically. When was your most recent flight? When is your next one?
Sparky and I flew to Phoenix a year ago last February just to get the hell out of Gray Frozen Darkness for a weekend. It was the first time we'd been on a plane in 5+ years. The trip there was not comfortable at all, the flight home was better (and I got to see the Barbie movie!), but the whole traveling thing was nerve-wracking.
We're heading East this fall, but I think we'll drive, even though it'll be a long three-day drive. We have business to take care of in Maine.
3) Songwriter Albert Hammond said the song was inspired by his divorce. After years of legal wrangling, he was finally free to marry his long-time, long-suffering girlfriend. They're still married today. What is something you waited a long time for? Was it worth the wait?
Waiting for children (child in my case) to reach adulthood feels like a kabillion years, and then once they're legal adults it feels like no time at all.
4) Albert Hammond is perhaps best known as the one-hit wonder who sang, "It Never Rains in Southern California." Is rain expected where you are today?
Nope, no rain today. We're in a pattern of wind and cold with some general gloom. I'm NOT wearing socks anymore though! It's spring (despite the 55-degree F high today) dammit! I'm also glad not to have to have AC going too, though.
5) He co-wrote the song with Diane Warren. In January, she lost her home to the Los Angeles fires. When a friend is confronted by heartache or tragedy, what can you say or do for them? What shouldn't you say or do?
Let them tell you what they need, unless they seem stuck in "freak-out mode." NEVER say, "I know just how you feel" or anything of the sort. I promise, even if you went through the same scenario, you do NOT know how they are feeling. Silence and hugs, listening more than talking. All of which is really hard. For me.
6) "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" was the love theme to the romantic fantasy Mannequin. In that movie, a department store mannequin comes to life and falls for a struggling artist. While it was a moderate success at the box office, the gritty Vietnam drama Platoon was a much bigger hit. When you sit down to watch a movie, what genre would you prefer (fantasy, romance, comedy, drama, etc.)?
I want a comedy with some action, not lowbrow stupidity. I don't see too many movies anymore because they irritate me, and I get fidgety and bored sitting still so long. Late-onset ADHD? Sparky curates my movie-viewing these days. Last up was the last Deadpool movie, which was pretty close to the perfect sweet spot. I guess some would say this is lowbrow stupidity, but at least it wasn't Adam Sandler.
(Incidentally, I ever saw Mannequin--though I love the lead actor--but I did sit in a theater full of Vietnam Vets to see Platoon. Like full, need-an-usher-to-find-an-empty-seat full.)
7) In 1987, when this song was popular, Aretha Franklin became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Aretha was proud of her Detroit roots. Have you been to Michigan? If yes, where did you go?
I have been to Michigan a couple of times, to East Lansing once and to Windsor once. I have been told the Detroit airport is pretty dope but haven't ever needed to stop there.
But can we talk about taking until 1987 to honor a woman in rock and roll? When it was Rosetta Tharpe who "invented" it??? Men piss me off so much, so hard, so often.
Incidentally, it took me awhile to figure out why we were talking about Michigan instead of Ohio because the HoF is in Cleveland.
8) In 1987, the Chevy Corvette made news by adding a low tire pressure light to its dashboard. When you're driving and a yellow warning light comes on, do you handle the issue promptly? Or is it something you'll get to when you get around to it?
lol My check engine light has been on for at least 2 years now. The car is also 14 years old. If a different light came on, I'd handle it fairly quickly, but My Car Guy told me to just ignore the engine light so I'm following his directions. I need a new car, but there is literally not enough time to think about that right now.
9) Random question: A magic mirror reflects your appearance five years from today. Would you look at it?
