![]() ![]() 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1990 - the only time these guns would shoot past the Top 40. (As to what really happened to her, the answer may have lied in the whispering wind that blew those rose petals or the antique-style book Lewis carted around.) In another atypical move, an eerie, subtle Goth theme seems present in the song, evidenced by lyrics such as "Now she's breaking hearts in heaven" and "I still hear of us in the wind," that suggest dark mysteries. Today, "The Ballad Of Jayne" is breaking hearts in the set lists of two bands. Guns and Lewis, now adversaries following an acrimonious breakup in 2002, lead their own separate incarnations of L.A. ![]() In a 2007 interview, Lewis commented on the Guns-led incarnation saying, "You know, my opinion of it is that it's terrible." Two versions of L.A. ![]() What a shame.ĭo you know what happened to Jayne? Got a Forgotten Video recommendation? Leave us a comment. For some, these videos are forgotten, for others just filed away, and for others still, a totally brand-new discovery. Whichever category you fall into, each week we'll feature a video that's possibly been collecting dust when what it really deserves is a fresh look. … We're not here to judge, we just want to take you on a little trip down memory lane. Yep, you'll remember when hair was really that big, when drums were that up front in the mix, when video was young(er) and so were you.įive decades, multiple kitchens and more than 100 cultural milestones - those are the basic ingredients for Billy Joel's 1989 baby boomer apologia, the Record Of The Year GRAMMY-nominated "We Didn't Start The Fire." Lyrically, the song works as a rapid-fire rundown of burning headlines and pop culture sparks from the '40s through the '80s, with clever word pairings to boot ("communist bloc" rhymes with "'Rock Around The Clock'" and "Lawrence of Arabia" rhymes with "British Beatlemania").įor the song's video, Joel and director Chris Blum came up with the idea of moving visually through the decades, using one family's kitchen as the focal point. The particulars of that concept fell to art director and production designer Sterling Storm, who, over the course of the video's hectic three-day shoot, was tasked with accumulating hundreds of period-perfect details. From evolving refrigerators, lunchboxes and wall hangings, to Jell-O molds and floor tiles, every element of every frame had to be era-evocative. "I hit every prop shop in Hollywood," recalls Storm, whose work earned him a nomination for Best Art Direction at the 1990 MTV Music Video Awards. The production took a pre-digital approach to creating real flames. Guns as a whole are at a creative peak.When Joel is seen sitting before a wall of burning iconic images featuring figures such as Lee Harvey Oswald and Oliver North, among others, he was in fact sitting feet away from 12' by 12' photo panels that Storm had blown up and then set fire to. Feeling inspired and excited like they did when they first started out, but with many years of wisdom and experience under their belts, and most importantly, a renewed and stronger creative and personal relationship, Guns, Lewis, and L.A. What’s important to know and understand is that the driving force of all those classic L.A. The story of how we got from the band’s powerful early years to a fourth new studio album in the relatively short time that Guns and Lewis have reunited has already been well documented, so no need to rehash it. But despite having many songs to back up that image, the band could also write powerful ballads (see the smash hit, “The Ballad Of Jayne” for Exhibit A of this argument) that showed there were some serious songwriting chops in the band. Guns never looked like the pretty poster boys that so many of their peers did, but more the band that you would be terrified to bump into in an alley as they would likely be carrying switchblades and ready for a fight. Black Diamonds shows no signs of this renaissance slowing down… Guns in 2017, a rekindling of the band's creative energy has been continuing unabated over the course of, now, four studio albums. ![]() Since core members Tracii and Phil reunited under the banner of L.A. Guns, led by Tracii Guns and Phil Lewis, have always delivered solid rock ‘n roll to their fans. Since their self-titled debut in 1988 to their widely praised recent suite of "comeback" albums, L.A. This makes for a potent and highly listenable cocktail of an album in Black Diamonds. The band doesn't shy away from flexing their hard rock influences as they always have, but also incorporate more introspective acoustic tracks reflective of their classic rock influences from the '70s. ![]()
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