Tonight I didn't really start working until after 8pm. I prepped fiber for awhile and when basketball ended, was ready to spin, but needed something for "background" noise but just couldn't take ESPN at the time. I started going through the guide and, Wait, what?
Xanadu? Really? As in, the movie from 1980 with Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelly and Michael Beck (who my boyfriend noted was also in
The Warriors)? Well, I had to watch.
Usually when this happens, I don't end up watching through to the end because it just becomes too much to take. (It seems things that I loved when I was young don't hold up well over time.)
Thankfully, since I was spinning during this, and therefore was mostly *listening* and not *watching*, I "watched" to the end. Of course, I mostly wanted to hear "Suspended in Time" - my favorite song from the soundtrack (which I still have to this day on vinyl!)
The thing about this movie is that it is probably one of 3 movies that I really remember as being my favorites. There was
Grease, Xanadu, and . . .
The Outsiders. I've watched Grease from time to time and still can't help but love the music. I can't watch the Outsiders because it depresses me more than it did when I read the book when I was 12. This track record probably contributed to the thought that there'd be no way I'd make it through all of Xanadu . .
There were definitely moments I cringed at the
-cheesiness!
-the fashion! oh my GOD! i'm sorry, but it was HIDEOUS. There is NO fashion trend of the 80s that should EVER come back!**
-the special effects!
-the rollerskating!
Okay, the last one I actually thought was just weird seeing featured so prominently in a movie! I LOVED to roller skate. We'd go ALL THE TIME when we were kids - especially from about 12 - 16? 17?. My 16th birthday was spent at SkateLand. I had my own skates (actually still do), and have actually had a birthday party *as an adult* at a rollerskating rink! But, it was weird to see it in a movie.
I'm sure that's one of the reasons I loved it way back when, though. The rollerskating! And, I remember liking the music, with the aforementioned Suspended in Time being my favorite song. So simple and sappy! I remember playing the soundtrack ALOT.
I wanted to BE Kira. I wanted her dress and the barretts, with the ribbons? My grandma actually made us barrets similar to that - they were all the rage back then. Seeing it now, well, I don't know what I was thinking. The dress isn't as light and flowing as I remember it. All of her "Muse" dresses looked really thick, layered, and heavy to me now.
I was maybe 8 when it came out. I don't know if I saw it right when it came out or not, because that seems sort of young, but who knows.
And, maybe because I was fairly young when I first saw it, as I watched it tonight and tried to figure out what part it has played in my life, how it fits into who I am and how I got to this point, I realize why maybe this movie stood out.
The whole, muse, follow your dreams thing? I like that, and still do, even if it has taken me almost 30 years past that to realize the truth of it.
I know, that may not make sense, but this is the point to this post - what I'm trying to get at, and that is - even though from very early on, I *wanted to believe* in the whole "follow your dreams" thing, the "you can do anything" thing, the wanting to do something *creative* . . . at every fork in the road of my life I've taken the opposite path. Until recently. Until I was almost forced into it . . . finally, there were no more "smart" or "safe" or "easy" options - the only logical path was finally the one I had always wanted - being able to do something creative, something artistic, to *make* something.
And, now, I really should go to sleep. I may delete this post in the morning, but for now, here is a post about something other than yarn and I'll end with the lyrics to Suspended in Time -
A child and a fool in one/So sure I could need no one/My heart always on the run to nowhere
Now as you're holding me/My heart is reminding me/That now I could never be without you
But how can our love succeed/A miracle is what we need/And so I appeal to you
Keep me suspended in time with you/Don't let this moment die
I get a feeling when I'm with you/None of the rules apply
But I know for certain/Goodbye is a crime/So love if you need me
Suspend me in time
Wasted the time away/Holding our love at bay/Now I can't last a day without you
Your smile is a thrill to see/Your eyes hold me tenderly/They'll shine in my memory forever
(yes, i do have a really sappy side which is why i don't watch movies - i cry at anything!)
**i keep thinking about this, and there were actually many eras represented in this movie, but some of the costuming was just - ugh! Don't want to go back there, really!
The top two are more "Tainted Love" but this time I'm sticking to the colorway name of "Black Cherry" because this fiber batch was so dark and wonderful and saturated that I actually spun in some black eyelash yarns along with the other colors. So these are just a bit different than previous skeins. The bottom two are spun from the colorway "Whitman", which helped inspire the name - Leaves of (Ocean) Grass. I had to add the ocean to it because there was something about it that made me think of the sea. Both were spun from merino wool handdyed by Lynn aka The Yarn Wench.
