About the only thing I look forward to before moving to Boston back in May of 1988 was – MTV. For years we had to settle with music videos of cliché galore TVB had chunked out, filled with tiresome images of either strolling on the beach or breaking glasses or dry ice overloaded or all three. I was more than hungry for production with some real quality. Unbeknownst to me at the time, MTV is actually a cable network and you will have to pay for it, something not every struggling new immigrant family can afford, such as mine. By the time we are settled enough to enjoy such extravagance, I was already on my way to college and stay in the dorm. It was not until the Christmas/New Year break in year one I finally got the chance to catch the elusive entertainment. One of the very first music videos I watched was Don Henley
Don Henley made a name as a founding member and the drummer of the 70s country-rock band The Eagles. But in 1980 when the partnership ended in acrimony all the members went on to their own solo careers. As with many super-bands that have for years established themselves as a joint entity, it took Don Henley sometimes to re-invent himself. However, when he scored it big in 1985 with his second solo album Building The Perfect Beast, which featured the Top 5 hit Boy of Summer and won him a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance Don Henley became the most commerically successful of all The Eagles. Little did we know the best from Don Henley had yet to come
When he released his third solo album, The End of the Innocence, not only did it become his best selling album in his career, but also one of the most critically acclaimed of the year and the decade. Released in the last months of 1980s, the album took on many social phenomenon of the Reagan era: from lost of the small town attitude (the title track) to the blatant Reaganomic materialism (Gimme What You Got) to the Pat Robertson/Jerry Falwell religious fanatics (Little Tin God). But for those like me who didn't live under the Reagan administration, the biggest impression is probably two VERY heartfelt ballads in the album
The Last Worthless Evening was released as the second (some sources said third) single after the title track. At 6:03 it is a rather long running song but with its earnest lyrics it hardly feels dragging at all. Though it would not be something I recommend, you can't deny there is a certain nobleness in being so enthusiastic to be the rebound guy. When going through a painful breakup, can you not be moved when someone "walk up to you and say this is the last worthless evening that you'll have to spend"? By the way, it is from this song I learned the term "sink or swim", a darn good phrase to describe a desperate situation.
I am a Hong Kong Chinese living in a rather dull but fulfilling existence in Boston as a software engineer. I have come to United States for over 20 years already but in many ways I still feel like I am "fresh off boat" and I am afraid I will continue to be so. A friend of mine has once told me I am very unique, I guess what he really meant is that I am very odd. Although I found myself nothing out of the ordinary, being brought up in a different country and culture does tend to make you stand out. Yet I believe variety is the spice of life. In the final analysis, I like to say I am stubborn and uncompromising, neurotic and overly sensitive, brutally frank and lack in social grace, introverted and slow-burning. Despite all these, I think I am a nice person and do try to be the best person I can be.
