I could get hauled over the coals for having this song in my music library. To even admit that I might have even once liked it could put me into the ‘Did he really like that? – Oh Lordy’ box. Alone was even slated as one of the worst hits of the 80’s by fellow blogger friend Hans from Slice the Life. But he’s wise ol’ Hans who responded when I protested his inclusion of Alone – ‘I love how a song one person loves someone else hates’.
OK I get it, it’s trash music from the 80s and the amount of hairspray in the video below could kill your ordinary cat. But I still like it. No, I’m going to be honest…To quote Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber in another trash hit – ‘I like it ALOTTT’. When I was a young dumb-someteen and my testosterone levels were running at full kilter and Ann Wilson (from Heart) wailed in this power ballad ‘OOOOOooooooooooooh’ just proceeding the Chorus I was an instant fanboy. Even now at this ripened old age when I hear that ‘OOOOOooooooooooooh’ I become that high testosterone boy again even if just lasts the duration of that wailing… We are probably encroaching on the ‘that’s too much information’ zone and I get that.
For a breakdown of the history of the Wilson sisters in Heart see Han’s post here which includes his dishing of the song.
Since I’ve always known shit-all about the group and song apart from ‘OOOOOooooooooooooh’ I will copy and paste interesting facts about them from Wikipedia below. There’s frankly not much interesting information, so I’ll give it extra spacing:
– “Alone” is Heart’s biggest hit to date, spending three weeks at No. 1 on the U.S
– “Alone” is a song composed by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, American rock band Heart covered it on their 1987 album Bad Animals.
–In 2007 Celine Dion recorded it for her album Taking Chances.
– Music critics were divided on “Alone”. Hans from Slice the Life and Matt from Observation Blogger met at high noon to sort out their differences and it didn’t end pretty.
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
I always sing this during karaoke night with friends – I mean, I try (hint: high note at the last part)
I think the high note was the ‘Ooooooooooooh’ I was referring to. I would love to hear someone try that with Karaoke. You are brave trying to replicate this song. I imagine it’s so difficult to sing.
I was laughing reading this…this is great.
It is true that one person can love a song while the other dislikes just as much…many times for the same reasons.
I’m glad it amused you Bad. I had fun writing it too.
I unapologetically like this song—ALOTT. I’ve always liked it. It has all the ingredients of a great power ballad. Ultra-dramatic, thundering vocals. Blistering, slowhand guitar solo, etc…It’s like a gas station hot dog when the bun is fresh and frank is cooked, through and through but the juices are still intact. Love it…mustered, relish packets and all.
I love your vivid description and hot dog metaphor lol I wish I had been as imaginative as you when describing my attraction to it.
Visually the video is … oh Lordy. As to the song itself … it’s okay near the beginning and then quickly degenerates into … oh Lordy.
But, overall you are are huge ‘oh Lordy’ fan?
Me? An Oh Lordy fan? O Lordy!
I was never into ’80s music AT ALL, but listening to this, I remember it well, and really, what IS the complaint? It was perfect for the times and the lead singer has a set a pipes and a half on her, right? The hair reminds me of when I was in my mid-30s and came home from New York for a week and my mom said, “What’s with the big hair?” lol
The 80’s is my least favourite movie era too. I don’t understand the complaint also except it being of that era. ‘A set of pipes’ lol. I haven’t heard that expression for a while perhaps since the 80s hehe.
That big hair you had returning from New York you also had in the photos of your interview for your book?
Yeah! The one where I’m standing with my mom and dad–I was quite a bit older by then and the hair was actually LESS big at that point, believe it or not, but, yeah…. big hair!
But it wasn’t like I MADE it that way. It was and is just that way naturally when I let it grow out.
So…not sure what mom wanted me to do, exactly, lol !! Cut it all off or perm it straight, probably!
I just revisited that photo. My God I now see what your Mum meant by big hair! Haha. That’s scary to picture that it was even bigger! But it looked kinda cool. I’d rather have big hair than my yukky grey hair. I now just support a crew cut like back when I first joined the military. Easy to maintain and saves me a fortune on hair dye Haha.
Oh, how I envy you! Your haircut sounds so easy to deal with! That’s actually what I like about my hair when I just let it grow. I really don’t have to do anything to it. Maybe just get out of bed, wet my hands, and run them through it once, that’s it!
But I’m at that point right now where I’m little by little letting some of the gray just stay instead of getting rid of all of it. So it’s really gray at the temples and I’m letting it stay there and acclimating not only the people at work–but myself, of course, mentally and emotionally, lol– to the fact that I ain’t no spring chicken anymore!
From what I can see of your picture, your haircut is really nice, really debonair.
Gray hair really suits some people, too, and you seem to fall into that category.
I just don’t want to end up like Ronald Reagan and others who have been, like, 75 years old with jet-black hair which looks SO ridiculous. Now I see why women often go blonde as they get older–easier to hide the gray and not have to dye, dye, dye all the time.
Hahaha–so sorry to deviate into this topic away from Heart, but you know what? I’m sure they’re having the exact same issues at this point that we are, lol !!
That’s great your hair is low maintenance too! The photo in my blog is a few years old now. So that makes two of us who aren’t spring chickens anymore.
It was about the time of viewing Lord Henry’s monologue ‘Youth is the one thing worth having’, that I could appreciate his cynicism and understand first-hand his reasoning. I thought what I had lost was my charm when talking to people, but it wasn’t that at all. What I had lost was the beauty of my youth. This is why young ladies for example didn’t reciprocate with the same twinkle in their eyes which I was accustomed to. I had wondered where that ‘twinkle’ went. I know this all sounds so vain on my part and it is, but when you realise it isn’t your charm you have lost rather your beauty, then you can get on quietly with the next chapter of your life. One which I hope less egotistical and hedonistic (less Dorian Gray if you will) and more appreciative of the present moment and pursuant of ‘active love’ towards others.
Sorry I didn’t mean to get so deep in this reply.
I do think the subject matter of hair at least is very relatable to the post of ‘Alone’. Haha
Grey hair does suit some people and it did for me for the millisecond when my photo was taken lol Now I don’t have to be concerned with colours or hair and that makes life that little bit more care-free.
Grey at the temples is no big deal in fact it looks very attractive and refined on many women.
On men, like I saw in a recent video of Brad Pitt – the whole blonde hair and grey beard look doesn’t do it for me. It’s not compatible, but men will almost always try to hide their grey bits until they don’t give a sh&t lol
Man, what a rabbit hole we’ve gone down – but it’s fun!
Haha, we plummeted down that rabbit hole head first!
But it’s a universal issue, very layered and emotional, and at least we’re not alone.
Heart, you’re not alone, lol !!!
You see, nearly everything is relateable to this song.
🙂