Friday, December 26, 2014

Songs That Ruined Me for Love: Rush, Rush

This series will explore the many ways that music has shaped my way of thinking about love. It's not all fairy tales and flowers, but thanks to these songs, love will remain a constant disappointment. The first one starts with a 1991 classic:


Paula Abdul's "Rush Rush" came out and my grade school self ate it up. I learned all the words and watched the music video on repeat. My first crush was in the second grade, but I don't think I could say I knew what love was. Maybe I can't now either, even though a couple of decades have passed. What I did learn about love, I learned it from songs like this. 

The lyrics were pretty simple in their message: "I'm gonna run, I'm gonna try. I'm gonna take this love right to ya. All my heart, all the joy. Oh, baby, baby, please. Rush, rush. Hurry, hurry lover, come to me." What got me was the Rebel Without a Cause style music video featuring Keanu Reeves as the lover/male lead. There's just the right amount of smiling and kissing to keep Keanu from having to do too much acting in this video and still keep him dreamy (don't judge me!).